Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa; www.sasol.co.za) formally began construction of its new ethoxylation (ETO) plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Ushered in by a groundbreaking ceremony on June 8th at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park (NCIP), the new plant is expected…
Wison Engineering Services Co. (Shanghai; www.wison-engineering.com) announced that its non-wholly owned subsidiary, Wison Engineering (China) Limited, was successfully awarded a contract by Zhejiang Petrochemical Co. to deliver nine ethylene cracking furnaces for a 4-million metric tons per yr (m.t./yr) refining…
Cabot Corp. (Boston, Mass.; www.cabot-corp.com) and joint venture partner Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone Co. (HYC) broke ground on their new fumed silica manufacturing facility in Wuhai, China. The project, announced in September 2016, is scheduled to be completed in 2019, and…
The Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) announces its LifeSciences business continues to invest in its key capabilities through a variety of planned expansions. During this latest phase, a $60 million investment will focus on new product solutions, capacity expansion and…
Sibur’s (Moscow; www.sibur.com) Perm subsidiary and the Perm Territory government signed a special investment contract to set up a new 100,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) facility producing dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), a general-purpose plasticizer. Production is scheduled to start in 2019. …
NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minn.; www.natureworksllc.com) announced that it has signed a contract to license Plaxica's Optipure chemical processing technology for the production of D-lactic acid. The license provides NatureWorks with a low-cost route to produce D-lactic acid, a building block for…
Innospec Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; www.innospecinc.com) announced that it has approved a significant investment in its Performance Chemicals business to increase capacity at the surfactant production facility in Saint Mihiel, France. This strategic investment will focus on increasing Innospec’s production of…
AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has completed the €2.6 million ($3.5 million) expansion of its U.S. research and development (R&D) facilities in Houston, Texas. Carried out in phases over a period of three years, the investment in the site -…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced the completion of the construction phase of its new Elite enhanced polyethylene production facility in Freeport, Texas. Completed on time, the 400,000 metric ton (m.t.) polyethylene unit is the first of four…
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) announced that it has successfully completed a low-viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) capacity expansion at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. The 20% capacity expansion enables the company to meet the increasing…