“This is the first time since the early 1970s there have been four strong years in a row; every piston of the economic engine was running,” says Dr. Thomas K. Swift, chief economist for the American Chemistry Council “We have…
Chemical Engineering announced today the release of its new beta website. The completely retooled site and online information service will provide up-to-the-minute news and in-depth technical expertise from Chemical Engineering’s global team of chemical engineers, CPI professionals and journalists. “The…
Genencor, the enzymes division of Danisco A/S (Copenhagen; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-544) and DONG Energy (Fredericia, both Denmark) are collaborating to produce second-generation bioethanol. Public subsidies are being sought for establishing a demonstration plant, which will process 4 m.t./h of straw and produce…
The Chemical Business Area of Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-542) is the new identity of what was formerly known as Degussa. The other two business areas of Evonik Industries are energy and real estate. The German coal-mining operations will…
Lanxess (Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-543) has won a large contract to supply ion-exchange resins to Goro Nickel S.A.S. (Noumé, New Caldedonia), which will use the resins in future mining operations. Goro Nickel will start Ni production at the mine in 2009.…
Plant Watch Liheng adds largest continuous polymerization capacity for PA6 to China September 25, 2007 — Liheng (Changle) Polyamide Technology Co. has contracted Lurgi Zimmer GmbH to build a polyamide-6 (PA6) plant in the province of Fujian. The plant will…
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Racah Institute of Physics (Israel; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-539) have succeeded in programming polymer sheets to bend and wrinkle by themselves into prescribed structures, such as domes, saddles and sombrero shapes (photo). Their work, described in…
Plant Watch Petrochina selects Axens for clean fuels projects August 2, 2007 — PetroChina selected Axens’ desulfurization technology for the production of clean gasoline in two of its gasoline-producing complexes. The Jinxi Petrochemical Complex in Liaoning Province will install a…
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-534), which has been producing chemicals via coal gasification (flowsheet) since 1983, will build a $l.6-billion plant in Beaumont, Tex., that will roughly quintuple the size of its current production of chemicals from synthesis gas.…
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-546) has agreed to sell its Lummus Global business to Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CB&I; The Woodlands, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-547) for an enterprise value of $950 million on a debt and cash free basis, subject to…