Mobile Navigation

Business & Economics

World’s largest single-train methanol-to-olefins plant now operating

Honeywell today announced that Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Company, Ltd. has accepted a new methanol-to-olefins (MTO) unit provided by Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), and that the plant is operating and has met all guarantees. With a production capacity of…

Recently Published Books for March 2018

The following titles are recently published books with relevance to the chemical process industries (CPI) . . .   Carbon Dioxide to Chemicals and Fuels. By Aulice Scibioh and B. Viswanathan, Elsevier, 2018, 510 pages, $170.00. Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy…

Member Exclusive

Business News – March 2018

Plant Watch Air Liquide inaugurates CO2 -recovery plant in Ontario February 12, 2018 — Air Liquide Canada, a subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com), inaugurated a carbon dioxide (CO 2) recovery plant in Johnstown, Ontario. The plant…

U.S. specialty chemical markets start year on slower note, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported today that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes gained 0.1 percent in January, following a 0.8 percent gain in December. All changes in the data are reported on a three-month moving average…

2017 CEPCI Updates: Dec. (prelim.) and Nov. (final)

The preliminary value for the December CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) decreased compared to the previous month’s value for the second consecutive month. Decreases in the Equipment and Buildings subindices for December 2017 offset small increases in…

Strong appetite for mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry, Deloitte says

Global chemical mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2018 is expected to remain strong, as higher valuations continue to be mitigated by improving global economic conditions, continued inexpensive financing, and an appetite amongst industry participants for growth and transformative M&A…

Chemours president named new officer of ACC

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) announced today that The Chemours Co. president and CEO Mark Vergnano became the Council’s newest officer, effective January 1, 2018.  As its newest officer, Vergnano will first assume the role of Vice Chairman…

Engineering energy

The chemical process industries (CPI) influence much of what affects our daily lives in areas as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food products, basic chemicals and more. One field where many engineers are focusing their efforts is energy. Efforts toward widening…

Member Exclusive

Business News February 2018

Plant Watch Asahi Kasei to increase global production capacity for LIB separators January 11, 2018 — Asahi Kasei Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) will increase production capacity for lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators at its plants in North Carolina and Shiga, Japan.…

Technology Profile: Cyclohexane Production from Benzene and Hydrogen

This column is based on “Cyclohexane from Benzene and Hydrogen – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/cyclohexane-production-cost. Cyclohexane is a relatively stable cycloalkane, present in crude oils in concentrations of 0.1–1.0%. This cycloparaffin…