Business & Economics
ACC leading indicator rises for 8th consecutive month
The chemical activity barometer (CAB), a macroeconomic leading indicator developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose in March on a three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis. The March gain is the eighth consecutive monthly gain, and the CAB readings…
Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works and Davy announce the acceptance of a methanol plant in China
China Petrochemical International Ltd. (Sinopec International), Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works (SVW) and Davy Process Technology (Davy; London, England; www.davyprotech.com), a wholly owned Johnson Matthey subsidiary, are pleased to announce the acceptance of a 771,000 metric ton (m.t.) per year methanol…
ThyssenKrupp to build complete cement plant in Indonesia
ThyssenKrupp Polysius has won a contract from PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk., Jakarta, to build a second cement plant near the town of Tuban on the northern coast of the island of Java. The contract is worth around $250 million and…
Markus Steilemann is appointed head of Bayer’s Polycarbonates business unit
Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany; www.materialscience.bayer.com) has appointed Markus Steilemann as the new head of its Polycarbonates business unit. He succeeds Michael Koenig, who will join the Board of Management of Bayer AG on April 1, 2013. At the same time,…
UOP PDH technology selected by Williams for propylene plant in Canada
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, says that its UOP C3 Oleflex process technology has been selected by Williams (Tulsa, Okla.) to produce propylene, a valuable petrochemical used in plastics production. The selection is the sixth win…
ICIG kicks off €53-million investment at PPC in Thann
PPC (Thann, France; www.ppchemicals.com), a company of WeylChem Group (Frankfurt am Main, Germany; www.weylchem.com), the fine chemicals platform of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG; Luxembourg), has secured bank financing from Commerzbank for the conversion of the mercury electrolysis plant. The…
Uhde Inventa-Fischer commissions polyamide 6 plant for JSC Grodno Azot PTC Khimvolokno
Uhde Inventa-Fischer (Domat/Ems, Switzerland; www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com) and JSC Grodno Azot PTC Khimvolokno (Belarus) have successfully commissioned a plant for the production of polyamide 6. The multiline plant is located in Grodno, Western Belarus, has a capacity of 91,000 metric tons (m.t.)…
Outotec cooperates with Maschinenfabrik Köppern to expand its comminution products
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with Maschinenfabrik Köppern GmbH & Co. KG (Hattingen, Germany; www.koeppern.com) on cooperation in the manufacture and supply of Outotec branded comminution products as part of Outotec's process solutions. Köppern is a global leader…
Chemical production in the U.S. rises in all regions, ACC says
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (CPRI) rose 0.6% in February, following a revised 0.8% gain in January, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). “Chemical production rose across all regions for the third consecutive month,” ACC…
CB&I to acquire gasification technology from Phillips
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) says it has entered into an agreement with Phillips 66 to acquire the company’s E-Gas Technology business. The E-Gas solids-gasification technology is a commercially proven process to convert coal or petroleum coke (petcoke) into synthesis…