Capital equipment prices, as reflected in the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), decreased 0.34% from November to December. Decreases are typical during the third quarter. Annual CEPCI data will be released in the April 2012 issue, when the December 2011…
The engineering company Uhde Inventa-Fischer (Berlin, Germany and Domat/Ems, Switzerland; www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com) has successfully commissioned a plant for the production of polyamide 6.6 for its Chinese customer Huafon Group. The production plant has an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons and…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has awarded WorleyParsons Ltd. (North Sydney, Australia; www.worleyparsons.com) a contract for the detailed engineering, procurement support and construction management on the building of world-scale plants for the production of isophorone and isophorone diamine. The…
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of DuPont’s (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) interest in DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials LLC (DA NanoMaterials; Tempe, Ariz.; www.nanoslurry.com ), the two companies’ 50-50 joint venture serving…
Forsthoffer’s Best Practice Handbook for Rotating Machinery. By William Forsthoffer. Elsevier Inc., 30 Corporate Drive, 4th floor, Burlington, MA 01803. Web: elsevier.com. 2011. 672 pages. $295.00. Reviewed by Amin Almasi, Rotating machinery consultant, Brisbane, Australia Rotating machines require expertise…
ZAO “Far East Petrochemical Co.” (FEPCO), which is implementing the project of OJSC “NK Rosneft” for the construction of petrochemical complex to be located in Primorsk region of Russia, has selected Axens’ (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net) AlphaButol and AlphaHexol technologies for…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) has been awarded a contract from Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) for a major, specialty-polymers production plant to be built at Solvay's industrial site in Changshu, which is located in the province of…
Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. (Woodridge, Ill.; www.elevance.com) and Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) have formed a global partnership for the development and production of renewable specialty polymers. Elevance is providing novel, differentiated, functionalized renewable starting materials including the company’s 9-decenoic methyl…
Albemarle Corp. (Baton Rouge, La.; www.albemarle.com) has announced that John Steitz has been elected president and CEO of the company, effective March 1, 2012. In this role, Steitz will oversee all aspects of the company's operations, including global responsibility for…
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose 0.3% in January, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). In the latest ACC Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report, ACC points out that chemical production gains in…