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Dow and DuPont to combine in massive merger; and more business news

Plant Watch   Dow to increase capacity for glycidyl methacrylate at Freeport site December 10, 2015 — The Dow Chemical Co. (Dow; Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) plans to complete a debottlenecking project at its Freeport, Tex. facility to increase capacity for…

Global and U.S. CPRI rise in November, ACC report says

The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose by 0.4% in November on a three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Meanwhile, the ACC’s final…

Hazardous-waste incinerator under construction in U.S.

Clean Harbors (Norwell, Mass.; www.cleanharbors.com) and CDM Smith (Boston, Mass.; www.cdmsmith.com) are constructing a new thermal treatment plant at Clean Harbors’ existing facility in El Dorado, Arkansas—the first new commercial incinerator of its kind built in the United States in…

Dow announces startup of commercial operations for PDH unit in Texas

The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) today announced its new world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit located at the company’s Oyster Creek site in Freeport, Texas, has begun commercial operations. The start-up of this unit is the most recent milestone…

U.S. chemical industry renaissance just beginning, ACC outlook report says

The business of American chemistry expanded 3.6 percent in 2015 despite global headwinds that included a strong appreciation of the U.S. dollar and a weakness in several key global markets, according to the Year-End 2015 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook,…

Current Economic Trends

The preliminary value for the October 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) continued a string of monthly declines that has been observed in recent months. For October, the drop is driven by a decline in the…

Global CPRI rose for October, ACC report says

The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose for October by 0.4% on a three-month-moving-average basis, according to the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report. The data show the 4th quarter…

Sharing your expertise

Chemical engineers can put their skills to use in a very broad range of areas — from chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing to petroleum refining and to areas of biomedical work, such as development of artificial dialysis equipment and more. This…

Fluor completes Shell’s Quest carbon-capture project in Alberta; and more business news

Plant Watch Ineos to import ethane to ExxonMobil ethylene plant in Scotland November 10, 2015 — Ineos (Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) will supply ethane from its new import terminal in Grangemouth, Scotland from U.S. shale gas for the ExxonMobil-owned Fife Ethylene…

Optimizing the Design-to-Cost Cycle

By intensifying cooperation between process designers and cost engineers in the conceptual stage of plant projects, better-informed decisions can be made on the economic viability of plant projects The global economic environment is competitive, demanding and fast-paced, and becoming more…