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U.S. specialty chemical market growth eases in May, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported today that after a strong start to the second quarter, growth in U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes eased to a 0.3 percent gain in May, about half the pace of the…

Current economic trends: April CEPCI

The preliminary value for the April CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) rose compared to the previous month’s value, making it the seventh straight month of increasing values. The gain in the overall PCI was driven by…

Global chemical production expands in April, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals production rose 0.1 percent in April after a revised flat performance in March, as measured on a three-month moving average (3MMA)…

Achieving commercialization

Much hard work goes into developing new processes and products, and few of these developments make it to commercialization. Those innovative technologies that have been commercialized are honored by Chemical Engineering through the Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award, which is…

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Business News – June 2017

Plant Watch Dow plans for significant U.S. growth with five-year investment strategy May 11, 2017 — The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced a five-year investment plan that includes expansion of Dow’s new TX-9 ethylene cracker through the addition…

Purdue University Saves $400,000 Annually with Local Vacuum Networks

After Purdue University noticed that the water and sewer costs for their Biochemistry building were running quite high, a subsequent investigation showed that the building vacuum system was the cause of the high bills and massive water consumption.  Purdue University…

Honeywell UOP opens new R&D center in China

Honeywell (Morris Plains, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) today announced that Honeywell UOP will open a new research, development and engineering center in China to further strengthen its business presence and meet its growing engineering and technical service needs. The new center, located in…

Current economic trends: CEPCI March Preliminary numbers

The preliminary value for the March CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) rose compared to the previous month’s value, continuing a string of 6 months of increasing values. All four of the major subindices — Equipment, Construction…

U.S. specialty chemicals rise for 3rd month in a row, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes started the second quarter on a strong note, rising 0.6 percent in April and following similar gains in March and February. Volumes have generally been…

Honeywell PSA units selected for Chinese refinery project

Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) announced today that Zhejiang Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (ZPC) will use four of its Polybed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units to supply high-purity hydrogen for its new integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Zhoushan, Zhejiang…