Last month, a Dutch consortium composed of Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7473-549), energy firm Essent, algae producers Ingrepo and Wageningen University, received a 1-million grant to investigate the potential of converting algae into feedstock for the CPI. The four-year study…
Much as the chemical process industries (CPI) themselves are always evolving, so too are the engineering materials that play a role behind the scenes. While they may not always make headlines as groundbreaking scientific technologies tend to do, new…
Plant Watch Evonik to close its orthoesters plant in Niederkassel... June 11, 2008 — Evonik Industries AG will be shutting down its production plant for orthoesters in Niederkassel (Germany) in the 3rd Q of this year. It has been forced…
GEA Group AG (Bochum, Germany; www.geagroup.com) has further strengthened its Farm Technologies Division through the acquisition of Norbco, Inc. (Westmoreland, NY). Norbco, Inc., has so far been the sole and exclusive supplier of conventional heavy- and medium-duty milking parlor stalls…
Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.) and Hercules Inc. (Wilmington, Del.) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ashland would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hercules for $18.60 per share in cash and 0.093…
Airgas, Inc. (Radnor, Pa.; www.airgas.com) today announced that it will build a new 450-ton/d liquid-carbon-dioxide plant at the First United Ethanol LLC, (FUEL) complex in Camilla, Ga. Airgas entered into a 15-year agreement with FUEL, which will supply the feedstock…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.) and Rohm and Haas (Philadelphia, Pa.) today announced a definitive agreement, under which Dow will acquire all outstanding shares of Rohm and Haas common stock for $18.8 billion ($78 per share) in cash. The…
The Dutch company Yara Sluiskil B.V., part of the Norwegian chemicals group Yara International ASA, has commissioned Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.biz) to design and build a major urea plant at its production site in Sluiskil (Zeeland Province), near the…
Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.;www.emerson.com) today announced it has acquired TopWorx (Louisville, Ky.; www.topworx.com). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TopWorx becomes part of Emerson Process Management (www.emersonprocess.com), expanding Emerson’s valve instrument offering and extending the reach of Emerson’s PlantWeb…
Evonik Industries AG’s (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) Inorganic Materials Business Unit and the Russian Synttech Group are considering working together to manufacture Thermal Blacks. On June 30, 2008 representatives from both companies signed a letter of intent in Frankfurt, Germany. In…