On May 9, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels surpassed 400 ppm in Mauna Loa, Hawaii for the first time since measurements began there in 1958. This concentration is well above the 280 ppm levels occurring prior to the Industrial Revolution of…
Plant Watch Uhde Inventa-Fischer to build commercial-scale Nofia plant June 12, 2013 — Uhde Inventa-Fischer AG (Berlin, Germany and Domat/Ems, Switzerland; www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com) has won a contract to build the world’s first commercial-scale plant for production of Nofia, a flame retardant…
Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) says it has fully acquired GPN SA from the Total Group. GPN S.A. is France’s largest nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer. Borealis is already active in nitrogen fertilizers in Central Europe, as well as in France following…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) plans to build a new state-of-the-art facility to manufacture vanillin in Zhenjiang City, in China's Jiangsu Province, boosting its production capacities by 40% and enabling the Group to better serve the fast-growing Asian market. Solvay…
Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.metso) and CMPC Celulose Riograndense S.A. (CMPC) have finalized the agreement, according to which Metso will supply the key technology to CMPC's Guaíba II pulp line in Brazil. The total value of the project is around…
Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark; www.novozymes.com), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TJ Technologies Inc. (Watertown, S.D.; www.tjtechnologiesinc.com). With annual revenue close to $15 million, TJ Technologies provides North American farmers with biological solutions designed to enhance plant growth, increase stress…
Enefit Outotec Technology (EOT; Frankfurt, Germany; www.enefit.com/eot), a joint venture (JV) of Estonia's energy group Enefit and Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com),a global leader in providing minerals and metals processing technology, has brought a pilot plant based on Enefit solid…
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) a Honeywell company, says that its technology has been contracted by PNBV, a subsidiary of Petrobras, to supply UOP Separex membrane systems to process natural gas aboard four Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO)…
Borealis AG (Vienna, Aurstia; www.borealisgroup.com) has announced a major upgrading project at its production site in Porvoo, Finland. An investment of €65 million will serve to upgrade the Borstar PE2 plant technology to the third generation (3G), thereby extending the…
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) and Genomatica (San Diego, Calif.; www.genomatica.com) announce that Lanxess has run a production campaign of bio-based polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) in Lanxess’ world-scale production plant using 20 metric tons (m.t.) of bio-based BDO made with Genomatica’s…