In a development toward a circular economy for plastics, SABIC (Jubail, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) and Plastic Energy Ltd. (London, U.K.; www.plasticenergy.com) are set to commence construction on the first commercial unit to produce its flagship certified circular polymers, part of…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top) for November 2020 (the most recent available) increased compared to the previous month’s value. The increase for November is the second consecutive monthly increase, and this month’s rise is…
The following is a list of recently published books of potential interest for CPI professionals Digital Transformation for the Process Industries: A Roadmap. By Osvaldo Bascur and PJ O’Rourke, CRC Press, 2021, 320 pages, $130.00. Data Science in Chemistry:…
Since 1933, Chemical Engineering has honored noteworthy chemical engineering technologies that have advanced to the commercialization phase. These technologies generally seek to develop new processes or improve current ones, often with targets of better efficiency, new or improved products and…
Plant Watch LG Chem to run Wuxi cathode-materials plant on 100% renewable power December 14, 2020 — LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea; www.lgchem.com) concluded an agreement related to the supply of 140 GWh of renewable energy for its cathode-materials…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 1.1% in December on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, unchanged from November and October. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis,…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose 0.4% in November following a 1.1% gain in October and a 0.6% gain in September, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). During November, chemical output expanded in…
International Process Plants and Equipment Corp. (IPP) and Bluestar (Beijing) Chemical Machinery Co. Ltd. (BCMC, a unit of ChemChina), announced today that they have completed commissioning of SR Chemical Group's brand new chlor-alkali production complex, yielding 30,000 tons/yr of 32%…
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes grew 0.4% in November following a revised 1.5% gain in October. Of the 28 specialty chemical segments that ACC monitors, 17 expanded in November, off…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for October 2020 (the most recent data available) increased compared to the previous month’s value, after the final September value was downwardly revised. The October increase continues a period of…