BioAmber Inc. (www.bio-amber.com; Montreal, Canada), an industrial biotechnology company producing sustainable chemicals, has announced that it has signed its first take-or-pay contract for succinic acid. Under the terms of the agreement, BioAmber will be the principal supplier of bio-succinic acid…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is evaluating an investment in a world-scale methane-to-propylene complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The on-purpose production of propylene to supply the company’s North American operations would allow BASF to take advantage of low gas…
TPC Group Inc. (Houston; www.tpcgrp.com) has announced a significant milestone in its comprehensive expansion program to increase polyisobutylene capacity. In early 2013, TPC embarked on an expansion effort to both debottleneck existing capacity and build additional capacity. TPC's Board…
LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, The Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) has received a key permit required in the company's multi-plant ethylene expansion program which, when fully operational, is expected to increase annual ethylene capacity by an estimated 840,000 metric tons per yer (m.t./yr) for a…
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose 0.4% in March, on a three-month-moving-average basis, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Production gains in the Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa and Middle East regions…
Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) has inaugurated a new electrolysis unit at its Jarrie plant near Grenoble, France. This €100 million investment has enabled the facility to adapt to the latest regulations on industrial risks and to convert its mercury electrolysis…
Bayer MaterialScience AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.materialscience.bayer.de) has been issued the permit for the expansion and operation of its hydrochloric acid facility in Dormagen. The Cologne district authority issued the corresponding ruling on Tuesday following a detailed appraisal. The company can…
Honeywell’s (Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) Resins and Chemicals division has announced that it will expand production capacity at its Chesterfield, Va., facility to meet demand for high-grade nylon polymers for packaging film and other applications. The new production line will be…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland, www.fwc.com) has announced that subsidiaries of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, together with a joint venture partner for the project, Altair Strickland LLC, have been awarded contracts by Pemex Refinación (www.ref.pemex.com) for the engineering,…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is investing in the technology startup Algal Scientific Corp. (Northville, Mich.; www.algalscientific.com). Evonik is part of an investors’ consortium that is investing more than $3 million in Series A financing round. Under the trade…