In The News
BASF to build plant for sodium methylate in Brazil
BASF S.E. (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is planning to construct a production plant for sodium methylate in Guaratinguet‡, Brazil, its largest site in South America. The plant, which will have a capacity of 60,000 m.t./yr, will be the first such plant…
Akzo Nobel relocating its chelates HQ to China
AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals (Amersfoort, Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) is relocating the headquarters of its chelates business from the Netherlands to China. The move has been prompted by the growing importance of the Asian market. “It is extremely important for us to be…
Emerson to digitally automate two glass plants in China
Emerson Process Management (Bredbury, Stockport, U.K.; www.emersonprocess.eu) has been selected, by the Zhejiang Changxing Glass Co., Ltd. and the Zhejiang Pinghu Glass Co., Ltd., to engineer and install PlantWeb digital architecture with DeltaV automation systems and Emerson’s intelligent field devices…
Kemira and Rockwood to form leading TiO2 JV
Kemira Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; www.kemira.com) and Rockwood Holdings Inc. (Princeton, N.J.; www.rocksp.com) have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) that includes both parties’ titanium dioxide businesses and the functional additives business owned by Rockwood. The transaction values Kemira’s TiO2…
CAC wins order for Russian membrane electrolyzer
Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz GmbH (CAC; Germany; www.cac-chem.de) has been awarded a new contract for the planning and construction of a membrane electrolysis plant by the Russian large-scale enterprise “Soda-Chlorat Ltd.”, Berezniki/Perm region. This contract follows the construction of the first membrane…
Alstom to build large biomass-processing facility in U.K.
Drax Group plc (www.draxgroup.plc.uk), a power generation business, and Alstom (Paris, France; www.power.alstom.com), a global leader in power generation technology, have today announced the signing of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, of some £50 million, between Drax Power…
Topsoe technology for large ammonia plant in Algeria
A contract for the supply of Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) process technology and catalysts for two ammonia plants has been signed with the Algeria Oman Fertilizer Co. (El Djazairia El Omania Lil Asmida SPA) — a joint venture…
Saudi Aramco/Total confirm Jubail Refinery Project
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; www.saudiaramco.com) and Total (Paris, France; www.total.com) have both confirmed their decision to invest in a 400,000 bbl/d world-class, full-conversion refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The refinery will process Arabian Heavy…
Chementator: A Cellulosic-Ethanol Demonstration Plant Enters Startup Phase
Verenium Corp. (formerly Celunol; Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-537) is starting up a 1.4-million gal/yr demonstration-scale facility at Jennings, La., which will produce ethanol from regional feedstocks (including sugarcane bagasse and specially bred "energy cane") via proprietary cellulosic-ethanol technology. The technology was…
JGC wins major EPC contract for refinery in Kuwait
JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan; www.jgc.co.jp) and its partner GS Engineering & Construction (GS), Korea, announced today that they received Award Notification by Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) to provide engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and commissioning services for the NRP Project,…