Citing data from the U.S. Federal Reserve (Washington, D.C.; www.federalreserve.gov), the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) says chemical production (excluding pharmaceuticals) rose in April in the U.S by 0.3%. The gain for April follows a 0.4% rise in…
U.S. production of major plastic resins totaled 6.7 billion pounds during March 2015, a 5.1% increase over the same month last year, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).…
Industrial Security: Managing Security in the 21st Century. By Pieter Arlow and David Russell. John Wiley & Sons, 2015, $89.95. 224 pages. Industrial Applications of High-Performance Computing: Best Global Practices. Edited by Anwar Osseyran and Merle Giles. Chapman and Hall/…
Hydrogen (H2) is an important chemical feedstock, mainly applied in the manufacture of ammonia and methanol, and for hydroprocessing operations in petroleum refineries. Also, since H2 is an energy carrier, it has been considered for stationary power and transportation applications.…
Prudent planning and scheduling during a project’s front end can lead to more expedient commissioning and startup activities The cost of starting up large new facilities in the chemical process industries (CPI; Figure 1) is a significant element in a…
Developments from the 2015 AFPM annual meeting frame a picture of the current state of the U.S. petroleum refining industry On a broad level, the outlook for the U.S. petroleum-refining industry remains bright, despite a recent decline in crude oil…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), the leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), showed a 0.1% gain in April, while, the Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) remained stable through March. Both pieces…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) decreased by 0.3% in March, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report. The decline in March follows flat growth for February and is…
The Performance Products division of Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Texas; www.huntsman.com) today announced plans to expand capacity of specialty amines at its manufacturing facilities in Petfurdo, Hungary and Conroe, Tex. The new multipurpose unit at Petfurdo extends the Huntsman manufacturing…
The preliminary value for the February 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) declined from the previous month’s value and now stands at 0.7% lower than the corresponding value from a year ago. The Equipment, Construction Labor and…