Most chemical processes are born in the laboratory. The challenge for engineers is to then convert the laboratory method into a large and economically sound industrial process. Unfortunately, many promising technologies never see the light of day; some because of…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), has reached its highest peak since March 2008. Even accounting for seasonal adjustments, the unusually harsh winter skewed earlier data, and…
Novozymes A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark; www.novozymes.com) today announced the establishment of a new research and development center in the U.S. dedicated to its bioagriculture business. The center will be located near the Research Triangle Park in Cary, North Carolina, where the…
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.shinetsu.co.jp) has decided to establish a new rare-earth magnet manufacturing plant in the Vietnam. The manufacturing capacity of the new plant will be 2,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) and the investment amount is about…
PolyOne Corp. (Avon Lake, Ohio; www.polyone.com) is establishing a new innovation center in Shanghai, China. The new site will facilitate collaboration, accelerate application development and increase speed-to-market for customers in the Asia Pacific region. The state-of-the-art facility will be…
The Hungarian fertilizer manufacturer NitrogeÌnmüvek Zrt. is extending its cooperation with plant engineering specialist ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com). A granulation plant with a capacity of 1,550 ton/yr of ammonium nitrate (AN) or 1,960 ton/yr of calcium ammonium…
GTC Technology (Houston; www.gtctech.com) will provide its licensed Isomalk technologies to Shandong Sincier Chemical Group (SSCG) for a new refinery and petrochemicals complex in Dongying, Shandong province, China. Isomalk-2, a light-naphtha isomerization technology, will be used to produce an isomerate…
ICL (Tel Aviv, Israel; www.icl-group.com) says that its ICL Industrial Products segment (ICL IP) is progressing as planned with the project to increase its production capacity of FR-122P, it's polymeric flame retardant (FR) to replace the HBCD FR which is…
WorleyParsons Ltd. (North Sydney, Australia; www.worleyparsons.com) has signed a general agreement with ASD Global for the use of OptiPlant Pipe Router and Pipe Support Optimizer for all of its projects worldwide. In order to increase engineering efficiency for pre-FEED and…
Chemtura Corp. (Philadelphia, Pa.; www.chemtura.com) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its agrochemicals business, Chemtura AgroSolutions, to Platform Specialty Products Corp., a global specialty chemicals company, for approximately $1 billion. The consideration will be…