Plant Watch Petrobras announces biorefining breakthrough at Riograndense refinery November 9, 2023 — Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) has successfully processed 100% soybean oil in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its Riograndense petroleum refinery…
A practical overview on how to use location factors, and some tips on when to use — or not use — them Often in the early stages of project development in the chemical process industries (CPI), the development team is…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for September 2023 (the most recent available) fell compared to the August value, reversing the slight increase that was observed from the cycle prior to that. The CEPCI has been…
According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) trended higher by 0.6% in September, following a revised 0.6% gain in August. In the U.S., the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index…
The following is a selection of recently published books with relevance to parts of the chemical process industries (CPI) Integrated Process Modeling, Advanced Control and Data Analytics for Optimizing Polyolefin Manufacturing. By Y.A. Liu and Niket Sharma, Wiley-VCH Publishing, 2023,…
Plant Watch BASF to build a new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen October 12, 2023 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is investing in a new fermentation plant for biological crop-protection products, such as fungicides, insecticides and seed treatments, at its…
Producing hydrogen via methane pyrolysis – termed ‘turquoise hydrogen’ – has thus far received less attention than ‘blue’ and ‘green’ H2, but it may offer advantages over both While the vast majority of current hydrogen production occurs by steam reforming…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for August 2023 (most recent available) is unchanged from the previous month, although some of the subindices making up the composite index changed higher and lower. In August, the Equipment…
Charles Ross & Son Co. (Haupauge, N.Y.; www.mixers.com) announced the creation of the U.S. Battery Machine Builders (US BMB), a new initiative dedicated to fortifying the U.S. battery supply chain by encouraging adoption of American-made machines and equipment. Ross joined…
Unipar (São Paulo, Brazil) is modernizing its chlor-alkali plant at the Cubatão plant in Brazil by incorporating electrolyzers from thyssenkrupp nucera AG & Co. KGaA (Dortmund, Germany; ). To modernize the plant, the Brazilian chemical company, a leader in the…