North Kingstown, Rhode Island—(June 20, 2018) Toray Plastics (America), Inc. (North Kingstown, Rhode Island; www.toraypta.com) has completed a two-year, $40 million expansion at its PEF Division in Front Royal, Virginia. The company officially launched a new extrusion line, a new…
Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, today announced the official opening of two new, fully-owned additives facilities at its site in Zhenjiang, China. This completes a multi-million CHF investment originally announced last year and puts Clariant’s…
Following a mixed year in 2017, the foundation is set for better performance by the U.S. chemical industry in 2018, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Mid-Year 2018 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook. Strong global growth prospects, rising exports,…
Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) show that the global chemical industry started the second quarter on a good note. ACC’s Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals production…
Plant Watch Total and Sonatrach begin engineering studies for joint petrochemicals project May 11, 2018 — Total S.A. (Paris, France; www.total.com) and Sonatrach (Algiers, Algeria; www.sonatrach.com) will launch engineering studies for a petrochemical project in Arzew, Algeria. The project includes…
This column is based on the report “Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate Production – Cost Analysis,” published by Intratec. It can be found at the following URL: www.intratec.us/analysis/sles-e11a. Sodium lauryl ether sulfate (also known as SLES and sodium laureth sulfate) is…
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemical market volumes started the 2nd quarter of 2018 on a strong note, increasing 0.9 percent in April after an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in March and…
The preliminary value for the March 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) increased compared to the previous month’s value, continuing a string of monthly increases since the beginning of the year. And for the second consecutive month,…
Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) show that the global chemical industry ended the first quarter on a soft note. The ACC’s Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals…
The following recently published titles may be relevant for chemical process industries (CPI) professionals: Biomass as Renewable Raw Material to Obtain Bioproducts of High-Tech Value. Edited by Valentin Popa and Irina Volf, Elsevier Press, 2018, e-book, $31.50 per chapter. Dealing…