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2019 CEPCI Updates: September (prelim.) and August (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) for September 2019 increased from the previous month’s value by 0.7, reversing a trend of declining values this year. Three of the four major subindices —…

MOL Group acquires German compounder Aurora

Following satisfaction of customary transaction approvals, MOL Group (Budapest, Hungary; www.molgroup.info) announced that effective 31 October 2019, it has acquired 100% shareholding in Aurora, a German plastic compounder company. As a result of the acquisition, MOL Group is strengthening its…

Total revises industry association memberships with strategy report

In its fourth "Integrating Climate Into Our Strategy" report, released today, Total (Paris, France; www.total.com) reviews the 30 most significant industry associations of which it is a member to verify that their stances on climate issues are aligned with the…

Axchem USA and Novel Industrial Solutions combine for pulp-and-paper chemicals

Axchem USA, Inc. (Greensboro, N.C.; www.axchemgroup.com) and Novel Industrial Solutions LLC (New Albany, Ohio; www.novelindustrial.com) today announced the combination of business operations, assets, people and customer contracts under the Axchem USA brand to offer chemicals and solutions to the pulp-and-paper…

Altivia completes acquisition of Dow’s acetone-derivatives business

Altivia Ketones & Additives, LLC (Houston, Tex.; www.altivia.com) an affiliate of Altivia Petrochemicals, today announced that it acquired Dow's Acetone Derivatives Business and associated chemical manufacturing assets at Institute, W.Va., as well as the Institute Industrial Park. Altivia successfully assumed…

Books for the CPI: November 2019

The following is a list of selected titles that have been recently published and may have relevance for chemical process industries (CPI) professionals: Data Analytics: Effective Methods for Presenting Results. Edited by Subhashish Samaddar and Satish Nargundkar, Auerbach Publications, 2019,…

Computational Fluid Dynamics for Driving Engineering Productivity

This article provides an overview of how computational fluid dynamics (CFD) works, and what benefits it can bring to the chemical process industries Sustainability, waste reduction, energy efficiency and increased demand for engineered material are driving process engineers to continuously…

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Portable CFD: Build Interpolation Models from CFD results

Portable laptop computers and smartphones can be used to emulate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling results using this interpolation procedure Most engineers are familiar with computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) models and their power (for an overview of CFD, see Part 1). At…

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Technology Profile: Nitrile Rubber Production

This column is based on “Nitrile Rubber Production – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/nitrile-rubber-production-cost. Nitrile rubber (NBR), also known as Buna-N, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of 1,3-butadiene and acrylonitrile. The material…

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Business News – November 2019

Plant Watch Arkema to expand PVDF plant in Changshu October 15, 2019 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) will increase the capacity of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) at its Changshu, China plant by approximately 50%. The expanded capacity is scheduled to come…