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Production workers in U.S. chemical industry are up, but equities slip, ACC report says

Employment of production workers in the U.S. chemical industry rose by 2,300 jobs (0.5%) to 503,000 in July, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that were discussed in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report…

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Construction begins on Evonik’s methionine complex in Singapore  

Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is right on schedule with its plans to expand amino-acid production for animal feed — one of its core businesses. A symbolic ground-breaking ceremony in Singapore today officially marked the start of construction of…

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Estonian shale-oil plant hot commission underway  

Enefit Oil & Gas (Tallinn, Estonia; www.energia.ee) began the first hot commissioning of its Enefit280 shale oil plant in Auvere, Estonia on July 27. The first shale oil from the new plant is expected in September. “The start-up for this…

Current economic trends

Capital equipment prices, as reflected in the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top), dropped 2% from April to May (the most recent data). Meanwhile, all of the Current Business Indicators from IHS Global Insight, including the operating rate, increased slightly…

Calendar: September – November 2012

NORTH AMERICA World Class Process Safety Management for Chemicals, Petrochemicals & Refining. T.A. Cook Consultants (Houston). Phone: 919-510-8142; Web: tacook.com/psmusa Houston, Tex. September 18–20   Plastics in Photovoltaics 2012. Applied Market Information LLC (Wyomissing, Pa.). Phone: 610-478-0800; Web: amiplastics.com/events Phoenix,…

Process Lead Responsibilities In Design Projects

Arbitrarily, process leads can be categorized into three different sub-categories or levels. Level one process leads are those who directly interact with the client to achieve the results required of the project, and are therefore accountable for any and all…

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BASF plans to expand vinylformamide capacity in Ludwigshafen and more business news

Plant Watch BASF plans to expand vinylformamide capacity in Ludwigshafen and... July 5, 2012 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is planning to expand the manufacturing plant for vinylformamide (VFA) in Ludwigshafen. In addition, it intends to increase the polymerization…

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Outotec to provide technology for Canadian high-purity alumina plant  

Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) and Orbite Aluminae have agreed to terms for a project related to the Canadian company's new plant to process high purity alumina. The scope of delivery for Outotec involves both basic and detail engineering as…

Randall Dearth becomes president and CEO of Calgon Carbon…

Dearth Scott Palucci Cohen Dalvi   Calgon Carbon Corp. (Pittsfield, Pa.) names Randall Dearth as president and CEO and Seth Schofield as independent chairman of the board. Jörg Krüger joins Orion Engineered Carbons (Kingwood, Tex.) as senior vice president of…

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Cobalt and Rhodia to build biobutanol demonstration plant in Brazil  

Cobalt Technologies (Cobalt; Mountain View, Calif.; www.cobalttech.com) and Rhodia, a member of the Solvay Group (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com), today announced they will begin joint development and operation of a biobutanol demonstration facility in Brazil. This is one more step by…