Business & Economics
Merck and Nano-C to develop new materials for OPV applications
Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany; www.merck.de) has signed a collaboration agreement with Nano-C, Inc. (Westwood, Mass.; www.nano-c.com), a developer of nanostructured carbon for use in energy and electronics applications. Both companies aim to jointly develop and commercialize advanced semiconducting materials and…
Dow and Saudi Aramco: JV for a $20-billion world-scale chemicals complex
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) and the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; www.saudiaramco.com) announced that the boards of directors of both companies have approved the formation of a joint venture (JV) to build and operate a…
KBR wins EPC contract for Molycorp chlor-alkali project
KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by a wholly owned subsidiary of Molycorp, Inc. (Greenwood Village, Colo.; www.molycorp.com ) to build a new chlor-alkali plant as part of Molycorp’s Project Phoenix. The chlor-alkali…
Solutia’s heat-transfer fluid for two solar projects in Spain
Solutia, Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.; www.solutia.com) has been awarded contracts to supply its Therminol VP-1 synthetic heat-transfer fluid for two new solar power plants in Spain. The projects are each 50-MW solar power plants with thermal storage located in Extremadura,…
Global Chemical Production Up Slightly in June, ACC says
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (global CPRI) rose 0.2% in June, the result of the global softâ€path in manufacturing, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C., www.americanchemistry.com). In the organization’s most recent Weekly Chemical and Economic Trends…
Praxair expands German capacity
Praxair, Inc.’s (Danbury, Conn. www.praxair.com) German subsidiary has started up a new air separation unit at its complex in Hurth, Germany. With a capacity of 1,800 tons per day, the new facility more than doubles Praxair Deutschland’s total capacity at…
Lanxess to double its menthol-production capacity in Krefeld
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) has commenced work on expanding its menthol facility. The capacity of the plant at the Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany site is to be doubled to meet the increasing demand on the world markets. Completion of the project…
BASF to build antioxidant-blends plant in Bahrain
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will significantly expand its presence in the Middle East region by building a state-of-the-art plant for customer specific antioxidant blends (CSB) in Bahrain. CSBs are key additives for the production of polymers for the plastics…
Air Products to expand nitrogen capacity in Korea
Air Products (Allentown, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) says it will increase production of gaseous nitrogen and expand its nitrogen pipeline in the Gumi National Industrial Complex, North Gyeongsang Province, Korea to serve the increasing demand of its electronics customers in the country’s…
Praxair China supplies combustion technology to Shandong Steel Mill
Praxair (China) Investment Co. (Shanghai; www.praxair.cn) has signed a combustion equipment contract with Shandong Guangfu Group Co. to implement the Praxair proprietary oxy-fuel technology for this new customer, one of the leading steel and iron enterprises in Shandong province, North…