Business & Economics
Toyo wins world’s largest single-train urea plant in Nigeria and more business news
Plant Watch Stamicarbon wins contract for urea plant in China December 6, 2012 — Stamicarbon B.V. (Sittard, the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.com), the Licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Milan, Italy; www.mairetecnimont.it), has been awarded a contract for a new…
Current Economic Trends
Preliminary data from the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top) for October 2012 (the most recent available) indicate that capital equipment prices dropped 0.35% from September to October. The current-year plant cost index is 3.2% lower than it was in…
January Who’s Who
Philippault Weser McCarthy Raty Azibert Peter Bigelow joins the board at engineering firm Integrated Project Services (Lafayette Hill, Pa.). Ton Büchner returns to AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) as CEO, after a medical-related absence. Matthieu Philippault joins the international sales team…
KBR’s first VCC-technology processing unit in Russia enters construction phase
In February 2012, KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) signed an agreement with TAIF-NK (www.en.taif.ru) to establish a Veba Combi Cracker (VCC) technology processing unit to be implemented at the Nizhnekamsk petroleum refinery in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia (www.chemengonline.com/only_on_che/latest_news/9005.html). The unit, whose…
Renewable farnesene facility starts production in Brazil
The renewable chemicals and fuels company Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.; www.amyris.com) today announced it has started production of renewable farnesene at its purpose-built industrial fermentation facility in Brazil. The Amyris brand of farnesene is known as BioFene. The company also…
BASF to sell Meyco Equipment business to Atlas Copco
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has signed a contract with Atlas Copco to sell its Meyco Equipment business providing concrete spraying machines to the tunneling and mining industries. The machinery manufacturer, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, will continue operations…
Chemical production slips globally; U.S. flat, says ACC
Overall production of chemicals, as measured by the Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI), slipped 0.3% in November, while chemical production in the U.S. was flat, according to data from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). …
Evonik expands U.S. production of precipitated silica
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) plans to increase its annual production capacities for precipitated silica at its site in Chester, Pa. by around 20,000 metric tons. The new facility, which received an investment in lower double-digit euros range, is…
Technip awarded EPC contract by BASF
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip), in a consortium with Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/chemicals, was awarded by BASF SE a lump sum turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, for the expansion project of a chlorine plant (chlor-alkali). The plant…
Caloric to supply H2-generating plant to the Czech Republic
Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH (Gräfelfing, Germany; www.caloric.com) has won the contract for a hydrogen generating plant with a capacity of 2,000 Nm³/h based on naphtha feed stock. The hydrogen unit will be located in the Czech Republic proving hydrogen to a…