Latest News: Business
Stora Enso to build biomass-to-sugars demonstration plant in Louisiana
Following its recent acquisition of the biotechnology company Virdia, Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.; www.virdia.com), Stora Enso Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; www.storaenso.com) is investing €32 million ($43 million) in a demonstration and market development plant to be built at Raceland, Louisiana. The…
Methes Energies and Dorf Ketal sign supply agreement for biodiesel catalysts
Methes Energies International Ltd. (Las Vegas, Nev.; www.methes.com), a renewable energy company that offers an array of products and services to biodiesel fuel producers, has announced the introduction of the Methes PP-MEC catalyst. Dorf Ketal Speciality Catalysts LLC (Houston; www.dorfketal.com)…
KBR awarded EPC contract for Koch Nitrogen urea expansion
KBR Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a reimbursable contract by Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a new grassroots urea plant, part of a $1.3-billion expansion project by Koch Nitrogen at its…
Topsøe to design large-scale fertilizer plant with project partners in Turkmenistan
In collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi-global.com), Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) has been selected for the design of a new ammonia plant for a major fertilizer project in Turkmenistan. The project has been awarded…
Evonik invests in German operations
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is investing in its German operations with new large- scale industrial plants, capacity expansions, and new research centers. The company plans to invest some €2 billion of the extensive investment program it has developed…
A. Schulman acquires Australia-based Compco for $6.7 million
A. Schulman, Inc. (Akron, Ohio; www.aschulman.com) has announced that it has acquired Compco Pty. Ltd., located near Melbourne, Australia, for $6.7 million in cash. Compco is a manufacturer of a variety of plastic compounds and products, including masterbatches and custom performance colors.…
Albemarle and ICL form JV for flame retardants
Albemarle Corp. (Baton Rouge, La.; www.albemarle.com) and ICL (Tel Aviv; www.icl-group.com) have announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement to establish a manufacturing joint venture (JV) for the production of ICL's FR-122P polymeric flame retardant and Albemarle's…
U.S. specialty chemical market values rose in July, ACC says
Specialty chemical market volumes rose 1.0% in July, following a 0.8% rise in June, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Of the 28 specialty chemical markets monitored…
Hanovia and Aquionics open UV application center in Shanghai
Ultraviolet (UV) treatment specialist Hanovia (Slough, U.K.; www.hanovia.com) and the industrial division of its U.S. sister company Aquionics (Erlanger, Ky.; www.aquionics.com) have launched a new UV Application Center in Shanghai, China. Aquionics provides industrial UV technology to the Americas region,…
BASF inaugurates concrete admixtures plant in Nairobi
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has inaugurated its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Nairobi, Kenya. The production site will allow BASF to better meet the increasing demand for construction chemicals of customers in Eastern Africa. There, BASF produces…