Business & Economics
Wanhua Chemical Group to institute first UOP Process Reliability Advisor service in China
Honeywell (Morris Plains, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) today announced that Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. will use the Honeywell Connected Plant Process Reliability Advisor to provide prescriptive monitoring of its UOP C3 Oleflex unit at its plant in Shandong Province in Eastern…
Recently Published Books for the CPI: November 2018
The following recently published books are relevant to the chemical process industries (CPI): Membrane-Based Salinity Gradient Processes for Water Treatment and Power Generation. Edited by Sarper Sarp and Nidal Hilal, Elsevier Press, 2018, 366 pages, $187.00. Bow Ties in Risk…
Brewing Technology: An Old Art Looks Forward
Research and development in the brewing industry is peaking, driven by efforts to improve quality, efficiency and sustainability Within the chemical process industries (CPI), the brewing industry is among the sectors with the deepest historical roots and the most entrenched…
Plant Watch: November 2018
Plant Watch Covestro to invest €1.5 billion in new, world-scale MDI plant in Baytown October 9, 2018 — Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) approved an investment of around €1.5 billion to build a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant in…
Shifting to EVs
While it may not be obvious to the average driver, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads is increasing rapidly, and correspondingly, the number of available charging stations is also growing. Worldwide, about two million electric cars were…
Technology Profile: Bio-based Butanediol Production
This column is based on “Bio-Butanediol Production from Glucose,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/butanediol-production-cost. Butanediol (BDO) refers to all butylene glycol isomers. The most common isomer — 1,4-butanediol — is a versatile intermediate chemical…
2018 CEPCI updates: August (prelim.) and July (final)
The preliminary value for the August 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; most recent available) increased compared to the previous month’s value, continuing an upward trend that has been in place throughout 2018. The increase, however was driven by…
Quench tower installed at Shell petrochemicals complex in Pennsylvania
Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC (Houston, www.shell.us) today announced the successful installation of its quench tower – the largest piece of equipment at its Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, currently under construction. The heavy lift of the quench tower, undertaken October 7, marked…
Non-phthalate plasticizer capacity to be added in 2019, Perstorp says
Perstorp (Malmö, Sweden; www.perstorp.com) announced that it will substantially expand the production capacity of its non-phthalate polyester plasticizer Pevalen in 2019. To accomplish this Perstorp has entered into a long-term production agreement with Italian company Alcoplast Srl. The new partnership…
Business News October 2018
Plant Watch Dow announces investment plans to increase global silicones production September 12, 2018 — The Dow Chemical Company (Dow; Midland, Mich.; www.dow-dupont.com) will make investments in its global silicones businesses, including plans to build a new hydroxyl functional siloxane…