On September 30, 2020, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) closed the divestiture of its Construction Chemicals business to an affiliate of Lone Star, a global private equity firm. The purchase price on a cash and debt-free basis is €3.17 billion. The…
The Gazpromneft Omsk Oil Refinery (Omsk) in Siberia, Russia has significantly lowered its air emissions using wet-scrubbing technology licensed by DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont). With an installed capacity of 22.23 million tons of oil per year, the Omsk Oil Refinery…
PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (Jakarta, Indonesia) is starting up a new Enclosed Ground Flare (EGF), a smokeless flare technology, at its petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Banten, Indonesia. The total investment for the EGF was around $14 million. In construction…
Metsä Fibre Oy, part of the Metsä Group, and AFRY AB (Stockholm, Sweden) have entered into a preliminary agreement for the engineering, project management and site services for the implementation of a new chlorine dioxide plant at the Kemi bioproduct…
Nippon Shokubai Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) has begun the facility design for an enhanced production plant for the electrolyte lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (LiFSI; marketed under the name Ionel) for lithium-ion batteries. The company has assembled the Ionel Construction Team in order…
Improved understanding of the causes of piping leaks can reduce the frequency of leaks and lead to significantly better performance over time Leakage in pipes is an ongoing problem in research and development facilities across many sectors of the chemical…
Lignin bio-oil is a common waste stream formed during the production of cellulose and ethanol from biomass. Due to its high oxygen and low hydrogen content, lignin bio-oil must be upgraded via hydrogenation and deoxygenation before it can be used…
Pipe supports in industrial process plants are often more complicated than commonly thought. Presented here are some of the challenges that can arise and how to address them On one level, the topic of pipe supports seems like it should…
Drinking water can be contaminated with micropollutants, including steroid hormones that are used as medical substances and contraceptives. Although their concentration in wastewater may be only a few nanograms per liter, this small amount can already damage human health and…
Testing steam-trap stations can be very easy if the plant provides the correct equipment, training and commitment to the steam-system management program When it comes to testing steam traps, a frequently asked question is, “what is the best method?” The…