Water scarcity is one of the most serious global challenges of our time. Desalination and water reuse are effective and reliable means to provide new water resources. Among the many methods available to treat water, reverse osmosis (RO) has widely…
Since the turn of the new millennium, considerable changes have been taking place in the methanol sector. About ten years ago, methanol plans in the U.S. were being shuttered, while new ones, with much larger capacity — the so-called mega-methanol…
The potential usefulness of 1,1-di-substituted alkenes for making performance polymers has been recognized for some time, but commercialization has been elusive because of the reactive nature of the monomers. Startup company Sirrus Inc. (Loveland, Ohio; www.sirruschemistry.com) has developed technology to…
Ineos (www.ineos.com) will acquire BASF SE’s (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) 50% share in Styrolution, a joint venture between the companies. The purchase price to be paid by Ineos amounts to €1.1 billion. A call option in favor of Ineos to buy…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has signed a definitive agreement with Ineos to create a strong player in chlorovinyls, to be named Inovyn. The joint venture (JV) is expected to be effective by year-end following the divestments required by the…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) says today that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by Glencore Oil Projects AG for the engineering and material supply of a steam reformer heater for…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with Nyrstar, a global integrated mining and metals company, to provide Outotec Ausmelt technology to the Port Pirie redevelopment in South Australia. Outotec will provide a technology licence, engineering, proprietary equipment and advisory…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) says that it was awarded a contract to support Ashta Chemicals Inc. in making significant upgrades to its chlorine and potassium-based chemicals plant located in Ashtabula, Ohio. Company officials did not disclose the…
Oxea (Oberhausen, Germany; www.oxea-chemicals.com) says that its specialty esters plant in Nanjing, China, is now mechanically complete. After a construction period of slightly more than fifteen months the new state-of-the-art plant is currently in the commissioning and startup phase. The…
ExxonMobil Chemical Co. (Houston; www.exxonmobile.com) says that it has started construction of a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker at its Baytown, Tex., complex and associated premium product facilities in nearby Mont Belvieu. This project, and major investments ExxonMobil has made to…