Introduction Historically, mini-plants have utilized oil-sealed rotary vane vacuum pumps as a vacuum source because they provide relatively high flow rates and because they can reach relatively deep vacuum levels, such as 10-3 mbar. The same can be said of…
Specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) announced plans to acquire Chemtura Corp. (Philadelphia, Pa., www.chemtura.com), one of the major global providers of flame-retardant and lubricant additives. With the largest acquisition in its history, Lanxess is building on its…
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE; Rugby, U.K.; www.icheme.org) has confirmed the appointment of Jon Prichard as its new Chief Executive Officer. Jon succeeds David Brown, who stepped down in July. Jon currently leads the regulatory body for the engineering…
Linde LLC, a member of The Linde Group (Munich, Germany; www.linde.com), announced that it will spend over $100 million to increase the production of its industrial gases plant in Claymont, Del. The expansion project includes installing a new air separation…
Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) will study the feasibility of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant. The plant would be located at the existing Borealis production site in Kallo, Belgium. The feasibility study will be carried out over the…
Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) announced that its Callidus Technologies business has inaugurated a new state-of-the-art facility for the testing of gas combustion flares at its manufacturing facility in Beggs, Okla. The new flare field was built to develop…
Celanese Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.celanese.com) has started production at its newest vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) production unit. The unit is located at the Celanese manufacturing facility on Jurong Island, Singapore, and will support the growing demand for ecologically friendly materials…
PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) has reached an agreement to divest its 50% ownership interests in its two PFG Fiber Glass joint ventures (PFG) to Nan Ya Plastics Corp., which currently controls the other 50 percent ownership interest in…
ALTIVIA Petrochemicals, LLC (Houston; www. altivia.com) announced that Frank J. Hayes will join the company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective October 3, 2016. Hayes will replace the company’s current CFO, Fred Stahelin, who is retiring after 16 years of…
Siemens AG (Munich, Germany; www.siemens.com) has received two orders from Russia and Turkey for a model SST-111 compact steam turbine (photo). One turbine was ordered by the Russian aluminum producer Rusal for a production facility in Volgograd and is to…