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Business News: November 2025
Plant Watch World-scale black pellet plant begins commercial operation in Vietnam October 14, 2025 — Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Tokyo; www.idemitsu.com) has commenced commercial operation of its newly constructed plant in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, to produce black pellets (BP), a…
“Chemical sorting” process improves separation rate of solid contaminants from automotive waste
Processes to reuse plastics from end-of-life vehicles are complicated by solid contaminants — including pre-embedded metal and rubber components of different sizes and reinforcing glass fiber. Currently, recycling solids-containing waste-plastic parts is accomplished by physical sorting processes. Honda (Tokyo, Japan;…
Advanced Mixing Technologies for Efficient Lithium Processing
In lithium processing, advanced mixing technologies — applied across the crystallization, carbonization and decomposition steps — can serve as critical enablers in meeting efficiency, scalability and sustainability demands Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) is a key raw material in the production of…
Novel PVC-recycling process piloted in Ohio
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is among the world’s most widely used polymers. Recycling PVC via mechanical and high-temperature chemical processes is challenging due to its chlorine content.The startup company Plastic Back (Tel Aviv, Israel; www.plastic-back.com) aims to raise the rates of…
CO2-utilization technology makes renewable acrylonitrile
Nearly all of the currently produced building-block chemical acrylonitrile (AN) results from the ammoxidation of propylene, a process that requires precise heat control and generates several toxic side products, such as hydrogen cyanide. The startup company Mars Materials (Houston, Tex.;…
Recycling automotive shredder residue and bio-waste into high-value feedstock
A new research study by ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch), in collaboration with BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany), has investigated an alternative route for mixed plastic waste streams from end-of-life vehicles: to recycle it alongside biomass. The results show: the recycling of one…
Plug Power partners with Edgewood Renewables to build renewable fuels facility in Nevada
Plug Power Inc. (Latham, N.Y.) announced a strategic partnership with Edgewood Renewables to support the development and construction of its advanced renewable fuel facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The project is designed to process waste biomass feedstocks to produce…
Outokumpu to construct enriched ferrochrome pilot plant in New Hampshire
Outokumpu (Helsinki, Finland) is investing approximately $45 million in a new pilot plant in New Hampshire, planned to be operational in H1 of 2027. The unique pilot plant will represent a significant step forward in Outokumpu's strategy to scale up…
Siemens and Capgemini expand collaboration to develop AI technologies for engineering and manufacturing
Siemens AG (Munich, Germany) and Capgemini SE (Paris, France) are expanding their strategic partnership to co-develop AI-native digital solutions for product engineering, manufacturing and operations. Such solutions fundamentally embed artificial intelligence at their core from inception, rather than merely adding…
Syensqo to divest Oil & Gas business to SNF Group
Syensqo S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) announced that it has entered into an agreement to divest its Oil & Gas Business Unit to SNF Group (Andrézieux-Bouthéon, France), a specialty chemical company headquartered in France and a global leader in polyacrylamide production, for…