Following successful the successful demonstration of its microchannel Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reactor for small-scale production of biofuels at a biomass gasification plant in Güssing, Austria, the Oxford Catalysts Group Plc. (Abingdon, U.K.; www.oxfordcatalysts.com) has now received an order for two full-scale…
KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) was awarded a contract by Lihuayi Weiyuan Chemical Co. to license its phenol technology for Lihuayi’s grassroots, 220,000-ton/yr phenol/acetone plant in Lijin County, Shandong Province, China. “The phenol/acetone project is one of the major organic chemical projects…
Codexis, Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.; www.codexis.com) and Chemtex Italia S.r.l. (Tortona, Italy; www.chemtex.com) , a global technology and engineering company wholly-owned by Italy’s Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi (M&G Group), today announced a broad collaboration to develop and produce sustainable detergent…
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is strengthening its commitment to serve the growing Chinese market with premium products by making a number of local investments totaling more than €40 million. “China remains one of the fastest growing markets in Asia…
Solvay S.A. announced today that it has the intention to create a 50/50 joint venture with Sadara Chemical Co. (itself a planned joint venture of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and The Dow Chemical Co.) for the construction and operation of…
Synagro Technologies, Inc. (Houston; www.synagro.com) announced yesterday a 10-year, $28-million contract with the Camden (N.J.) County Municipal Utilities Authority's (CCMUA) to begin operation of a green energy sludge drying facility. The facility converts sewage sludge into a renewable fuel, transforming…
AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) plans to further strengthen its leadership position in specialty surfactants while enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Asia by acquiring Boxing Oleochemicals. Boxing is the leading supplier of nitrile amines and derivatives in China and throughout…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) has signed a definitive agreement under which Dow’s global polypropylene business will be divested to Braskem (São Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com.br) for a total enterprise value to Dow of $340 million, comprised of $323…
Bechtel Corp. (San Francisco, Calif.; www.bechtel.com) and Linde AG (Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) announced today they will work together to expand and build ethylene cracker plants in North America. The combination of Bechtel’s unmatched engineering, procurement, and direct-hire construction (EPC) capabilities…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is planning to double production of its phthalate-free plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH from 100,000 metric tons (m.t.) to 200,000 m.t./yr at the Ludwigshafen site by 2013. Therefore a second production plant will now be built in…