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Eastman plans a dramatic increase in chemicals production from syngas

Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-534), which has been producing chemicals via coal gasification (flowsheet) since 1983, will build a $l.6-billion plant in Beaumont, Tex., that will roughly quintuple the size of its current production of chemicals from synthesis gas.…

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ABB divests Lummus

ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-546) has agreed to sell its Lummus Global business to Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CB&I; The Woodlands, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-547) for an enterprise value of $950 million on a debt and cash free basis, subject to…

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Butyl rubber

ExxonMobil Chemical (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-543) has commercialized a new process for making butyl rubber at its Notre Dame de Gravenchon plant in France. The company declines to give details on the process, but says it is more energy-efficient than the…

September Bookshelf

Fundamentals of Industrial Catalytic Processes, Second Edition. By C.H. Bartholomew and R.J. Farrauto. John Wiley & Sons, 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ. Web: wiley.com. 2006. 966 pages. $99.95 Reviewed by Richard D. Newman, Ph.D., CRI Catalyst Company, Houston, Tex. This…

Further scaleup for a ‘downer’ FCC process

In order to confirm the performance of its proprietary, high-severity fluid-catalytic-cracking (HS-FCC) process, Nippon Oil Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-533) plans to build a new confirmation-test plant at its Mizushima, Japan, refinery. The unit will have a treating capacity of 3,000…

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A step closer to release for a new hydrotreating catalyst

Chiyoda Corp. (Kawasaki, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-535) has licensed its proprietary titania-supported catalyst for ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of gas oil to Axens (Paris, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-536). Axens is currently working on the final adjustment of industrial operating parameters, and plans to start commercial…

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Commercialization is set for a cellulose-to-ethanol process

What is billed as the first commercial-scale plant to produce ethanol from cellulosic feed will be built in Treutlen County, Georgia, by Range Fuels, Inc. (Broomfield, Colo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-541). The company received a construction permit from the State of Georgia last…

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Major M&As

Last month, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-546) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Huntsman Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10.6 billion, including the assumption of debt. Huntsman has terminated its previous…

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Sugar-to-PE

Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-548) and Crystalsev (São Paulo, Brazil; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-549) are forming a joint venture in Brazil to design and build the first integrated facility of its scale in the world for making polyethylene (PE) from sugar cane.…

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Printed electronics

Solvay Solexis, a subsidiary of Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-554), and Thin Film Electronics ASA (Oslo, Norway) are cooperating to develop materials for the production of printed electronics devices.The aim of the joint-development program is to optimize ferroelectric-polymer materials to…