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Commissioning on Evonik polyamide-12 plant starts; another anticipated for 2021

Construction work on the largest investment to date by specialty chemicals company Evonik (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) in Germany, at more than €400 million, is progressing well. The first plant was completed on schedule in mid-October and is currently being commissioned.…

The American Chemistry Council Comments on the U.S. Election

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; www.americanchemistry.com) has issued the following statements in response to the 2020 U.S. Presidential election results:  “ACC and our member companies congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on a fair and transparent historic and hard…

Henkel acquires skin model technology from SkinInVitro

Henkel AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.henkel.com) closed the acquisition of the skin model technology from the SkinInVitro GmbH (Troisdorf, Germany; www.phenion.com), effective November 2, 2020. The closing was preceded by an extended and successful technology transfer phase, which guarantees the epiCS…

Joint feasibility study for chemical complex in India completed, but project is on hold because of COVID-19 pandemic

  As part of a four-party memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on October 4, 2019, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; www.adnoc.ae), Adani Group (Ahmedabad, India; www.adani.com), BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Borealis AG (Vienna,…

Mitsubishi Chemical to end MMA monomer and MAA production at Texas site

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC; Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan; www.m-chemical.co.jp) announced yesterday that it has decided to end methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer and methacrylic acid (MAA) production at the Beaumont, Tex. site of Lucite International, Inc., a subsidiary of MCC and close…

CE Voices: Wood Mackenzie’s Steven Jenkins

In this CE Voices video interview, Chemical Engineering senior editor Scott Jenkins talks with Wood Mackenzie VP for Chemicals and Polymers (Asia-Pacific region) Steven Jenkins about a recent opinion piece written by the Wood Mackenzie VP on industry collaboration and…

A heightening interest in ‘green’ hydrogen

Last year, this column addressed hydrogen’s potential for playing a significant role in the global search for clean, secure energy sources. This year, the interest in hydrogen has ramped up with a striking number of plans for and developments in…

Business News: November 2020

Plant Watch Solvay inaugurates second bio-based solvent plant in Brazil October 15, 2020 — Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) inaugurated its second manufacturing plant in Brazil for its bio-based solvent marketed under the name Augeo. Installed in the company’s industrial…

Chemical Activity Barometer rose in October, but decelerated, ACC says

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 0.9 percent in October on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, a marked deceleration from the 1.5 percent gain in…

U.S. chemical production expanded in September, ACC says

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose 0.8 percent in September, following a 0.8 percent gain in August and a 1.0 percent increase in July. During September, chemical…