The end of 2021 saw an important milestone for Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz (CAC; Germany) — the successful commissioning of the first ferric chloride plant using proprietary technology. In this plant, the client from Kuwait produces a saleable product, which can be…
Arkema S.A. (Colombes, France) is expanding its offer of engineering adhesives with the planned acquisition of Shanghai Zhiguan Polymer Materials (PMP), specialized in hot-melt adhesives for the consumer electronics market. This project is in line with Bostik’s strategy to build…
Thyssenkrupp Uhde’s (Dortmund, Germany) subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer signed a contract to build three new world-scale polymer plants for SASA Polyester Sanayi A.Ş in Adana, Turkey. One plant is planned to produce 1,050 metric tons (m.t.) per day polyethylene terephthalate (PET)…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for December 2021 (most recent available) rose compared to the previous month, extending the increases observed throughout 2021. For December 2021, increases in the Equipment and Buildings subindices more than…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen) and Heraeus Precious Metals (Hanau, both Germany) have agreed to form a 50–50 joint venture (JV) to recover precious metals from spent automotive catalysts. The new company named BASF Heraeus (China) Metal Resource Co., Ltd. will be…
Plant Watch Ascend to build HMD plant in China’s Jiangsu province January 12, 2022 — Ascend Performance Materials (Houston; www.ascendmaterials.com) signed an investment agreement to construct a new hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and specialty chemicals plant in Lianyungang, China in the…
Allyl chloride (3-chloropropene; Figure 1) is primarily used almost exclusively as a chemical intermediate in the production of epichlorohydrin. A three-carbon epoxide, epichlorohydrin is used in the manufacture of epoxy resins prevalent in coatings, adhesives, and plastics. Epichlorohydrin is also…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for November 2021 (the most recent available) is once again higher than the previous month, continuing the upward trend that dominated 2021. The increase for November is driven by two…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) expanded by 2.2% in December following a 0.8% gain in November and a 0.2% decline in October, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Chemical output rose in all…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) is investing a three-digit million-euro sum in the construction of a new production plant for bio-based and fully biodegradable rhamnolipids. The decision to build the plant follows a breakthrough in Evonik's research and development. Rhamnolipids…