Preliminary data for the February 2013 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), which is the most recent available, indicate that capital equipment prices declined from January to February, by 0.2%. The current February 2013 preliminary Plant Cost Index stands at 4.4%…
Domtar (Montreal, Québec, Canada; www.domtar.com) has successfully started up a commercial-scale LignoBoost lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill. This is the first commercial installation of a LignoBoost plant in the world and the technology is supplied by…
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract by Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co. to provide the license and processing engineering design for a first-of-a-kind solid-acid alkylation unit to be located in China. The unit will be capable…
Illa International LLC (ILLA; Long Grove, Ill.; www.illallc.com) and Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) have agreed to develop a combined offering in phenol and acetone production technologies, engineering and project services. Together, the companies intend to offer petrochemical companies…
Stamicarbon B.V. (Stittard, the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.com), the Licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (www.mairetecnimont.com), has signed a contract with First Global Company for revamping the urea plant of State Company for Fertilizer North Area (NFC) in Iraq. The…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (US CPRI) slipped by 0.1% in March, following a revised 0.4% gain in February, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). In its latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report, ACC…
Sulzer Ltd. (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.sulzer.com) has been awarded a contract for the delivery of a production plant based on Sulzer's proprietary polylactic acid (PLA) technology (for more process details, see Chem. Eng., March 2012; www.chemengonline.com/chementator/9161.html). The facility, with a capacity of…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with various Industrias Peñoles' mines ("Grupo Peñoles") for the delivery of grinding mills and filters for three new concentrators to be built in Mexico in the next years. The contract value…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; www.petronaschemicals.com) intend to invest $500 million (MYR 1.5 billion) in an integrated aroma-ingredients project at their existing joint venture site BASF Petronas Chemicals in Gebeng, Kuantan.…
Despite headlines to the contrary, the U.S. economy remains in a state of slow growth, according to the American Chemistry Council's (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) monthly Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), released this week. The economic indicator, shown to lead U.S.…