Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) has strengthened its system for supplying semiconductor-processing high-purity gases in Asia. In China, SDK increased the production capacity for high-purity ammonia at its subsidiary in Zhejiang Province in January this year. This month,…
On June 30, The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) will begin construction of its previously announced world-scale ethylene production facility, representing a prominent milestone in delivering on its strategy to invest in its performance-based portfolio of technology-enabled businesses. This…
To coincide with Graphene Week 2014, taking place June 23-27 in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Graphene Flagship (www.graphene-flagship.eu) has announced that it is doubling in size. Already one of the largest-ever European research initiatives, with funding of €1 billion over the…
Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) is increasing production capacity for its Licocene Performance Polymers by 50% at its facility on the Frankfurt-Höchst Industrial Park in Germany. The debottlenecking of Clariant’s existing production line represents a low double-digit million Swiss Franc…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) says that it was awarded a contract to support Ashta Chemicals Inc. in making significant upgrades to its chlorine and potassium-based chemicals plant located in Ashtabula, Ohio. Company officials did not disclose the…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), continued its upward growth this month, with a 0.5% gain from May. Measured on a three-month moving average (3MMA), the CAB’s…
Neste Oil Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.nesteoil.com) and Renewable Algal Energy, LLC (RAE; Johnson City, Tenn.; www.rae-energy.com), an algae biomass producer, have signed a contingent commercial algae oil offtake agreement. Algae oil is one of the alternatives being researched by Neste…
Oxea (Oberhausen, Germany; www.oxea-chemicals.com) says that its specialty esters plant in Nanjing, China, is now mechanically complete. After a construction period of slightly more than fifteen months the new state-of-the-art plant is currently in the commissioning and startup phase. The…
ExxonMobil Chemical Co. (Houston; www.exxonmobile.com) says that it has started construction of a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker at its Baytown, Tex., complex and associated premium product facilities in nearby Mont Belvieu. This project, and major investments ExxonMobil has made to…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) was 0.4% higher in May, following a 0.6% gain in April, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Chemical output was…