In The News
Demonstration of methane fermentation to lactic acid
What is said to be the world’s first fermentation pathway from methane to lactic acid has been demonstrated by Calysta, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.calysta.com). The fermentation process begins with an organism that feeds off of methane rather than typical…
Aveva launches a new application for governing asset information
Aveva (Cambridge, U.K.; www.aveva.com) has launched AVEVA Information Standards Manager (AVEVA ISM), a software product that enables both EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractors and asset owner operators to achieve greater control over critical engineering information across their projects and enterprises. It…
Outotec acquires the business of Kalogeo Anlagenbau
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has purchased the assets of Kalogeo Anlagenbau GmbH (Leobersdorf, Austria) after the company became insolvent. Kalogeo has provided solutions for biomass, sludge and wastewater treatment and designed, built and operated several mid-size thermal sludge-treatment plants…
CB&I and Clariant’s polypropylene-catalyst partnership off to a successful start
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) and Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) announced today its new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst production plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership…
Air Liquide expands its relationship with OCI in Texas
Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) says that it has been selected by Natgasoline LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCI N.V., as the supplier of oxygen for its new world-scale methanol plant in Beaumont, Tex. Air Liquide will invest around €90…
GEA Wiegand: New orders from the gelatine industry
GEA Wiegand GmbH and GEA Filtration (Ettlingen, Germany; www.gea-wiegand.com) have received an order for a revamp of an old evaporator and for a new direct-steam sterilization unit of a German gelatin manufacturer. After the commissioning phase of the evaporation plant,…
Evonik invests in new silica plant in Brazil
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, German; www.evonik.com) plans to build a plant to produce precipitated silicas in Americana (São Paulo, Brazil). The company is investing a mid-double-digit-million euro amount; the plant is scheduled to go on stream in 2016. This will…
Evonik and AkzoNobel look into production JV for membrane electrolysis in Ibbenbüren
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) and AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) have entered into negotiations to build a membrane electrolysis facility at AkzoNobel’s site in Ibbenbüren, Germany. The objective of the negotiations is to establish a joint venture (JV)…
Topsøe opens new sulfuric-acid-catalyst production plant in Texas
Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) recently opened a new plant at its production site in Bayport, Texas, which is currently the company’s second largest in the world. The new plant is devoted to producing Topsøe’s VK portfolio of extruded…
Evonik builds dispersant plant in Essen
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is building a new production plant for polymer dispersants at the Goldschmidtstrasse site in Essen. The specialty chemicals company is thus investing an amount in the double-digit-million-euro range and is tripling its global capacity…