Mobile Navigation

Latest News: Business

Evonik and LanzaTech to partner on bio-processed precursors for specialty plastics

Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) and LanzaTech (Roselle, Ill.; www.lanzatech.com) have signed a three-year research cooperation agreement which will see Evonik combining its existing biotechnology platforms with LanzaTech’s synthetic biology and gas fermentation expertise for the development of a route…

BASF divests polyvinylchloride modifier business to Kaneka

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has signed a contract to sell its Vinuran polyvinylchloride (PVC) modifier business to Kaneka Belgium N.V., a subsidiary of Kaneka Corp. (Osaka, Japan; www.kaneka.com). The transaction comprises intangible assets and inventory. It does not include…

Brenntag to acquire portion of Kemira’s operations in Denmark

Brenntag AG (Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany; www.brenntag.com) has signed an agreement to acquire a part of the operational business of Kemira Water Denmark A/S registered in Copenhagen. Brenntag takes over the distribution of caustic soda, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids,…

Amyris and Total form joint venture for fuels

Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.; www.amyris.com) and Total (Paris; www.total.com) announced today the formation of Total Amyris BioSolutions B.V., a 50-50 joint venture that now holds exclusive rights and a license under Amyris's intellectual property to produce and market renewable diesel…

Member Exclusive

Clariant expands its ethoxylation site in Texas  

Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) today announced the second expansion of its ethoxylation site at Clear Lake in Pasadena, Texas. Following the first expansion in 2012, now already fully utilized, the investment will provide the necessary further capacity to continue profitable…

Orion Engineered Carbons to restructure carbon black production in Europe

Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany; www.orioncarbons.com) will cease production at its Sines, Portugal facility by the end of 2013. This decision came after an intensive review of its European carbon-black operations. The shutdown will take place while investments are being…

Gani to take office as president of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering

Effective January 1, 2014, Professor Rafiqul Gani from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) will take office as president of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE; www.efce.org) for a two-year term. Gani succeeds the outgoing president, Professor Richard Darton,…

OSHA seeks public comment on standards to improve chemical process safety

The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA; Washington, D.C.; www.osha.gov) has announced a request for information (RFI) seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other…

Member Exclusive

Exterran and Black & Veatch to market natural-gas-processing technology in North America  

Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.; www.bv.com) and Exterran Energy Solutions, L.P. (Exterran) are joining forces to reduce capital and operating costs, improve natural gas liquid product yields and enhance system flexibility for natural gas processors. The two companies have…

Member Exclusive

CB&I wins contract for U.S. ethylene plant  

CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $1 billion by Ingleside Ethylene LLC, a joint venture between Occidental Chemical Corp., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V. (Mexichem) for the…