Recovering valuable metals, such as cobalt and nickel, from used lithium-ion batteries is emerging as a key capability because of anticipated high battery demand and material shortages. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, Calif.; www.lbl.gov) have developed a technology…
Plant Watch Arlanxeo starts up new polybutadiene production line in Brazil February 14, 2023 — Arlanxeo B.V. (Maastricht, the Netherlands; www.arlanxeo.com) opened a new polybutadiene production line in Brazil. The new production line supplements Arlanxeo’s existing production capacity in Brazil…
From headsets to gloves to fabric sensors, technologies that can be worn on the body are providing many new benefits for plant workers Apace with innovations in all “smart” technologies, wearable devices for industrial personnel are rapidly evolving to incorporate…
Victrex plc (Thornton Cleveleys, U.K.) has announced priority investment to support expanding its medical division, Invibio Biomaterial Solutions, including the opening of a new product development facility in Leeds, UK, this month. As part of Victrex’s plans to accelerate future…
Givaudan International SA (Vernier, Switzerland) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire certain cosmetic ingredients from Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.) , including Neossance Squalane, the high-performant emollient, Neossance Hemisqualane, the plant-based silicone alternative and CleanScreen, a sustainable sun…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) announced that it is investing in a production-plant expansion for fumed aluminum oxide at its site in Yokkaichi, Japan. The facility will be the company’s first alumina plant in Asia, focusing on the production of…
Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.) announced two joint venture (JV) actions with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) to extend their longstanding strategic partnership. Celanese announced the signing of a term sheet to form a Food Ingredients JV with Mitsui, subject to…
Vencorex (Saint-Priest, France; www.vencorex.com), a fully-owned subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical, is investing in its Freeport site in Texas to meet the rising demand for specialty aliphatic isocyanates used in the production of low VOC polyurethane coatings and adhesives. The…
Vitol (Geneva, Switzerland) announced that Vitol Asia has signed a long-term commitment for the exclusive use of a dedicated bitumen storage facility now under construction by engineering firm Rotary Group, at the VTTI ATB terminal in Malaysia. Operated by VTTI, this…
Neste Corp. (Espoo, Finland) is aiming to establish an algae pilot production facility in Spain to further strengthen the growth of its global raw material pool. With this pilot, Neste strives to develop and demonstrate algae cultivation and processing. The…