Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant within the Ichihara Works (Ichihara City, Chiba) to manufacture hydrocarbon-based synthetic fluid marketed under the name Lucant. The new plant is expected to reach commercial operation in…
Dow (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced plans to expand its alkoxylation capacity at its existing facility in Tarragona, Spain directly benefiting the Europe, Middle East, Africa and India region. This low capital intensity, high return, incremental investment builds on the previously…
According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) fell by 0.4 percent in March, following a revised 0.3 percent decline in February and a 0.1 percent gain in January. During…
Exxon Mobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) has made a final investment decision to expand the Fawley refinery in the U.K. to increase production of ultra-low sulfur diesel by almost 45%, or 38,000 barrels per day, along with logistics improvements. “ExxonMobil…
Wood plc (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodplc.com) has been awarded a new contract by Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) to deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the group’s new polyamide 12 (PA12) production complex, to be built at…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is investing a mid-range double-digit euro million sum in the modernization of its silica plant at the Düsseldorf-Holthausen site. The investment is earmarked for the modernization and improvement of existing facilities over the next ten…
Altivia Specialty Chemicals, LLC (Houston; www.altivia.com) announced the completion of a new multipurpose production unit at its Phosgene Derivatives Unit at La Porte, Texas. This new facility will result in a 30% increase in capacity for the production of acid…
Step changes in condition-monitoring technology to achieve operator-driven reliability can be a reality for organizations of any size The chemical process industries (CPI) are like all others in that they must negotiate the twin challenges of maximizing productivity and opportunities…
INEOS (London; www.ineos.com) has announced the sale of INEOS Melamines and INEOS Paraform to Prefere Resins Holding GmbH. The agreement covers sites in the U.S., Germany and Indonesia. INEOS Paraform is Europe’s second largest producer of Paraformaldehyde. It employs around…
Shenghong Refining & Chemical (Lianyungang) Co., Ltd has selected Axens’ (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net) ebullated-bed residue hydrocracking technology H-Oil for a capacity of 3,200,000 ton/yr in combination with a 3,450,000 ton/yr distillates hydrocracking technology HyK as the key units of its…