Business & Economics
Lanxess and BioAmber partner to produce renewable, phthalate-free plasticizers
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) plans to produce phthalate-free plasticizers from bio-based succinic acid from 2012 onward. Its strategic partner, BioAmber, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn., www.bio-amber.com), is a global leader in succinic acid generated on the basis of renewable resources. Under…
New Topsøe methanol plant started up in Russia
On October 20, the official ceremony of commissioning of the new 1,350 metric tons per day. Topsøe methanol plant took place in OAO ShchekinoAzot, Russia. The contract for engineering and supply between Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) and OAO…
Wacker and Dow Corning open expanded pyrogenic-silica plant in China
Today, Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) and Dow Corning Corp. (Midland, Mich.; www.dowcorning.com) officially inaugurated the completed second phase of their joint pyrogenic silica plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, China. The pyrogenic silica plant, together with a siloxane plant,…
Cobalt Technologies and Rhodia to develop bio-butanol market in Latin America
Cobalt Technologies (Mountain View, Calif.; www.cobalttech.com) and Rhodia (Paris, France; www.rhodia.com) today announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding setting the basis for a strategic alliance to develop bio-based n-butanol refineries throughout Latin America. Under the terms of the…
Siemens builds a new automation-engineering factory in China
The Siemens Industry Automation Division (Nuremberg, Germany; www.siemens.com) is further expanding its position in the Asian growth market: In a new factory to be built in Chengdu in the Chinese province of Sichuan, Siemens will develop and manufacture high-end Simatic…
Air Liquide: Two new ASUs for Korean steelmaker
Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) has signed a contract with Posco E&C, the Engineering and Construction division of Posco, to design and build two very large air separation units (ASUs), each of which will have an oxygen production capacity of…
UOP: Propylene and isobutane production technology for Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill: www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, has been selected by Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co. to provide technology to produce key petrochemicals to meet growing demand in China. Yantai Wanhua will use UOP’s process technology, catalysts and adsorbents…
Uhde commissions Europe’s biggest urea plant
Europe’s biggest urea plant comes on-stream: ThyssenKrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.eu) contractors have supplied and commissioned a plant for the production of 3,500 metric tons (m.t.) per day of urea solution in Sluiskil, Netherlands, for Yara of Norway, the…
U.S. chemical exports up; OECD CLI points to slowdown, ACC report says
U.S. chemical exports increased by 4.8% in August, rising by $747 million to $16.2 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau that were discussed in the latest Chemistry and Economic Trends report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC;…
M&G Group partners with TPG to form Beta Renewables
Gruppo Mossi and Ghisolfi (M&G; Milan, Italy; www.gruppomg.com), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Chemtex (Wilmington, N.C.; www.chemtex.com), has founded Beta Renewables, a joint venture (JV) with TPG Capital and TPG Biotech (collectively TPG; San Francisco, Calif.; www.tpgbiotech.com), established to exclusively license…