Business & Economics
Clariant and CB&I to design new PDH unit in China
Clariant (Munich, Germany; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in cooperation with CB&I…
Archroma expands capacity for tetrasulfonated brightening agents
Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland; www.archroma.com), a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, today announced that it will invest in a new production facility for tetrasulfonated optical brightening agents (OBAs) at its existing production site in Prat del Llobregat, Spain. The…
Business News – February 2017
Plant Watch Arkema plans $90-million upgrade at Clear Lake acrylic acid plant January 11, 2017 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) is investing $90 million at its Clear Lake, Tex. site to replace two acrylic-acid reactors, each with a capacity of…
Global chemical production ends Q4 positively, ACC says
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that headline global production ended the year on a stronger note, rising 0.4 percent in December after a 0.2 percent gain in November, on…
Chemical activity barometer starts new year with strong gain, ACC says
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), started the year on a strong note, posting a monthly gain of 0.4 percent in January. This follows a 0.3 percent…
U.S. specialty chemicals ended Q4 on good note, ACC says
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.3 percent in December. This follows an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in November. Volumes have generally been moving up since May. All changes…
Current Economic Trends: CEPCI for November 2016
The preliminary value for the November CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) experienced a jump from the previous month’s value, due largely to fresh data on carbon-steel plates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that pushed the…
Petronas selects LyondellBasell polyethylene technology for Malaysia project
LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) announced that PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd (PRPC Polymers), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), has selected the LyondellBasell Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (Hostalen ACP) technology. The polyethylene process technology will be…
Business News – January 2017
Plant Watch Linde starts up CO 2 plant in Fort Worth December 12, 2016 — Linde North America (Bridgewater, N.J.; www.lindeus.com) started up a new carbon dioxide plant in Fort Worth, Tex. The plant, which has a production capacity of…
VAC 24seven – dry, chemical resistant process vacuum
VACUUBRAND's modular VAC 24seven pumping systems provide a dry, chemical resistant vacuum source for industrial and process applications. Watch the video below or visit www.vacuubrand-process.com to learn more.