Business & Economics
Baytubes now also available in the U.S.
Bayer MaterialScience (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayermaterialscience.com) has received regulatory approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.) for Baytubes, BMS’ multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CE, December 2005, p. 16). This enables the company to sell Baytubes on the American…
Foster Wheeler awarded EPCM contracts for Thailand facility
Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Hamilton, Bermuda; www.fwc.com) announced today that its subsidiary Foster Wheeler International Corp. (Thailand branch), part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded contracts by MTP HPPO Manufacturing Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Siam Styrene…
BASF to increase capacity of Glissopal
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is increasing its production of low molecular weight, highly reactive polyisobutene (HR PIB). Between now and 2010 the company will increase its annual capacity by 25,000 metric tons (m.t.). The polymer, marketed worldwide under the…
Uhde wins several contracts for aromatics plants
Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.biz) has been awarded a contract by Risun Chemical Co. of China to build an aromatics plant at Tangshan (Hebei Province), some 150 km east of Beijing. The new plant will produce top-quality benzene, toluene and…
Evonik to produce catalysts in China next year
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com), has started building a catalyst manufacturing plant, for producing precious-metal powder catalysts, in Shanghai, China. The plant will start operation in the fourth quarter of 2009. Precious-metal powder catalysts are used in the synthesis…
Lurgi to build an acrylic-acid plant in China
Lurgi GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany; www.lurgi.com) a company of Air Liquide S.A. (Paris, France), today announced that, in November, it received a contract from CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Co., to build a…
AkzoNobel acquires majority ownership of Japanese joint venture
AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has agreed to acquire a 75/25 majority interest in its Kayaku Akzo Co. Ltd (KAC) joint venture with Nippon Kayaku. KAC has been a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies for nearly 40 years.…
Dow Corning announces multi-billion dollar investments to emerging global solar-power industry
Dow Corning Corp. (Midland, Mich.; www.dowcorning.com) announced several billion dollars of investment to provide critical materials to the fast-growing solar technology industry. Dow Corning will begin manufacturing high-purity monosilane, a key specialty gas used to manufacture thin-film solar cells and liquid…
Evonik & Daimler: Strategic alliance for Li-ion batteries
Evonik Industries AG (Essen; www.evonik.com) and Daimler AG (Stuttgart, both Germany; www.daimler.com) are developing the energy storage of the future. Based on lithium-ion technology from Evonik and with Daimler expertise, both groups will drive forward the research, development and production…
Evonik Industries builds new polymerization unit for methacrylic resins in China
The expansion of worldwide production capacity for thermoplastic methacrylic resins at Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is proceeding according to schedule. At Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in China, the company is currently completing the technical equipment that will be…