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Solid rise in U.S. specialty chemical markets to start Q4, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes increased 1.2 percent in October, up from a revised 0.1 percent gain in September and 1.1 percent gain in August. Of the 28 specialty chemical…

2020 CEPCI Updates: September (prelim.) and August (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for September 2020 (the most recent data available) decreased by a small margin compared to the previous month’s value. It continues a period of up-and-down fluctuations in the CEPCI values.…

Shell and Nexus announce supply agreement for production of chemicals from plastic waste

Nexus Fuels LLC (Atlanta, Ga.; www.nexusfuels.com) and Shell (Houston, Tex.; www.shell.com/chemicals) today announced a supply agreement, for 60,000 tonnes over four years, of pyrolysis liquid made from plastic waste, which is then converted into chemical products.  Nexus, a leader in…

AIChE announces new officers and board members for 2021

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE; New York; www.aiche.org) announced today that Deborah L. Grubbe, Owner and President of Operations and Safety Solutions, LLC, will become President of AIChE in 2021. Grubbe succeeds 2020 President Monty M. Alger, Professor…

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…