U.S. transactions led merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the chemicals industry in the first quarter of 2013, driving almost 45% of the total deal value as companies focused on domestic growth, according to PwC US (PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC; New York;…
MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (Augsburg, Germany; www.man.eu) has been awarded the contract for a major project to construct eleven turbomachinery trains in China. The contract value is in excess of €125 million. The site of the project is Yinchuan…
Rennovia, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.rennovia.com), announced at the PCI 6th American Nylon Symposium that it has successfully demonstrated production of hexamethylenediamine (HMD) from widely available, renewable feedstocks. Coupled with Rennovia’s previously announced renewable adipic acid, this enables for the…
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, announced today that it was selected by Crosstex Processing Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Crosstex Energy, L.P., to provide technology and equipment to extract valuable petrochemical feedstocks from natural gas liquids…
As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) today announced nearly $18 million in four innovative pilot-scale biorefineries in California, Iowa and Washington that will test renewable biofuels as a domestic alternative…
Praxair Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has entered into a long-term agreement with North West Redwater Partnership (NWR) to build, own and operate an air separation facility at NWR’s Sturgeon Refinery near Edmonton, Alberta. The…
Industrial production rose by 0.4% in March, according to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (Washington, D.C.; www.federalreserve.gov) that was discussed in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). …
Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) has signed a partnership agreement with the CEA (Commission for atomic energy and alternative energies in France) aiming to develop a second-generation biofuel-production pilot unit in France. As part of this partnership, the CEA will…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) and Valero have successfully implemented Praxair’s new CONOx emissions-control technology at Valero’s petroleum refinery in Ardmore, Oklahoma. This technology has helped the refinery meet its fluid-catalytic cracking (FCC) unit oxides-of-nitrogen (NOx) reduction target without requiring…
A new non-profit organization was launched this month to promote the responsible development and commercialization of graphene and graphene-enabled products. The Graphene Stakeholders Association (GSA; Buffalo, N.Y.; www.graphenestakeholders.org) is a 501(c)6 enterprise headquartered in Buffalo, NY. The GSA's founders include…