In The News
HSC adds new polysilicon production capacity
The Hemlock Semiconductor Group (HSC; Hemlock, Mich.; www.hscpoly.com), which includes two Dow Corning joint ventures, has started up a new 8,500 metric tons (m.t.) polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) production facility at its Hemlock, Mich. location. This new capacity, which has been…
Silicon-crystal production expands in Jena
WackerSchott Solar GmbH (Jena, Germany; www.wackerschott.de), a joint venture between Wacker Chemie AG (Munich) and Schott Solar AG (Alzenau), officially commissioned a new factory building in Jena today. The building will be used to produce solar-grade silicon crystals. After a…
Caloric lands second CO2-capture contract
Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH (Gräfelfing near Munich, Germany; www.caloric.com) has signed the second contract for the supply of a carbon dioxide recovery unit using aMDEA-solvent within the last 12 months, based on its license granted by BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com).…
BASF to build new methylamines plant in Geismar
BASF SA (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is building a new plant for the production of methylamines at its integrated Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, that is scheduled to start operations in 2011. The methylamines will serve as raw materials for some…
Cognis opens affiliate in India
Cognis GmbH (Monheim, Germany; www.cognis.com) has opened an affiliate in Mumbai, India. As of today, Cognis India will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cognis Group, and will operate under the name of Cognis Specialty Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Cognis first…
BMS & Nano Terra to collaborate in surface engineering on films
Bayer MaterialScience (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayermaterialscience.com), a global leader in high-value polymers, announced an alliance with Nano Terra Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.; www.nanoterra.com), a leading surface engineering and nanotechnology co-development company. Nano Terra will apply its unique surface engineering expertise to…
Siemens installs 1-MWp PV plant in Italy
Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany; www.powergeneration.siemens.com) has built a large ground-based photovoltaic (PV) plant in Italy under contract to Ferrarelle S.p.A, the Italian bottled water company. The turnkey solar power plant, with a peak capacity of 1 megawatt (MWp), was constructed…
HPD wins FEED contract for NaHCO3-production expansion
HPD (Plainfield, Ill.), a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company (www.veoliawater.com), has been awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase for Natural Soda’s proposed “State of the Art” expansion at its existing facility near Rifle, Colorado. The design effort from…
Süd-Chemie and Linde piloting biofuels process
Süd-Chemie AG (www.sud-chemie.com) The Linde Group (Both Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) have started up a pilot plant for processing lignocellulosic biomass (straw) into biofuels. The facility — officially opened at Süd-Chemie’s research center in Munich-Obersendling on April 27 — will be…
Therminol heat-transfer fluid selected for new solar thermal power plant in Spain
Solutia Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.;www.solutia.com) will be supplying Therminol synthetic heat transfer fluid to a new 50-MW, solar-thermal power plant in Lebrija, Spain, which will start up in spring 2010. Iberese, a Spanish company dedicated to building and managing plants…