Chemical Engineering
Enzymatic splitting process cuts cost and energy consumption for fatty-acid manufacturing
Fatty acids are indispensable ingredients in a broad range of high-value products, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food additives, industrial lubricants and many more. Current commercial production plants usually employ a thermal fat-splitting process that is often not economical for small- and…
Business News: January 2026
Plant Watch Aster invests in expansion projects at Bukom petroleum refinery December 11, 2025 — Aster Chemicals and Energy Ltd. (Singapore; www.aster.com.sg) announced a significant investment program at its Bukom petroleum refining facility in Singapore. The project includes a $75-million…
Advanced Seals Enhance Safety and Reliability
Premium solutions prevent seal failure caused by extreme chemical process conditions Seals and gaskets are mission-critical components in the chemical process industries (CPI), where seal failure can have catastrophic consequences. While the corrosive and aggressive media and extreme operating conditions…
Mosaic to sell its potash assets in Carlsbad, New Mexico
The Mosaic Co. (Tampa, Fla.) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc., including the operations, assets and liabilities of the Mosaic mine in Carlsbad, New Mexico to International Minerals Carlsbad, LLC for $30…
NEXTCHEM acquires process engineering firm Ballestra Group
MAIRE S.p.A. (Milan) announced that NEXTCHEM has signed a binding agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Ballestra Group, a global leader in the licensing, design and engineering of processing plants, as well as the supply of proprietary technologies…
Bp sells its majority stake in Castrol lubricants business
Bp plc (London) has reached an agreement to sell a 65% shareholding in lubricants business Castrol to Stonepeak, at an enterprise value of $10.1 billion. This represents an implied EV / LTM EBITDA of around 8.6x reflecting the strength of…
Outlook for the Chemical Process Industries (CPI) 2026: Putting the Pieces Together
Several 2025 year-end reports and data releases paint a nuanced picture of the global chemical process industries (CPI) as we head into 2026. The complex picture reflects the diversity of industry sectors comprising the CPI, and the wide range of…
Protecting Process-Plant Operations from the Impacts of Lightning
Editor’s note: The following is a question-and-answer conversation between Chemical Engineering magazine senior editor Scott Jenkins and Sean Carpenter, solutions analyst at Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (LEC), a leading provider of lightning protection solutions. Chemical Engineering’s questions appear below…
Tata Chemicals acquires sodium bicarbonate manufacturer Novabay
Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL; Mumbai, India) announced that Tata Chemicals International Pte. Limited (TCIPL) a 100% subsidiary of TCL, has signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% equity shares of Novabay Pte. Limited (Novabay) manufacturer of premium grade…
KBR technology selected for Saudi Arabia’s first biomethanol plant
KBR, Inc. (Houston) announced that it has been awarded a contract for its PureMSM green methanol technology by Fikrat Al-Tadweer for a pioneering biomethanol plant in Saudi Arabia for transforming landfill-gas into clean fuels. KBR’s PureM solution is designed for…