In one of our prior posts, we talked about the key differences between direct and indirect vacuum gauges. One of the most common direct gauge technologies is the capacitive gauge. This post will review how these gauges are constructed and…
Akzo Nobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has broken ground on its new powder coatings plant in Mumbai, India. The investment of €9 million will allow the company to increase capacity in the region, which forms an important part of…
Sadara Chemical Co. (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; www.sadara.com) started up its mixed-feed cracker (MFC) on August 28, 2016. The MFC is the only one of its kind in Saudi Arabia and will allow Sadara to produce a diversified range of plastics…
In a further step to expand its participation in the agricultural market in the Brazilian Midwest, Yara International ASA (Oslo, Norway; www.yara.com) announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of the fertilizers blending unit of Adubos Sudoeste in…
During the celebration of the five-year anniversary of the Lewabrane membrane-elements plant operated by IAB Ionenaustauscher GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com), LANXESS also announced plans to double production capacity in the…
Yara International ASA (Oslo, Norway; www.yara.com) has officially opened the world’s first modular ammonium nitrate plant. The plant’s location is remote, in the desert-like landscape of Western Australia, northeast of Perth. Ammonium nitrate is the main component of explosives used…
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that growth in the industry has been nearly flat most of the year thus far. The headline index for July rose just 0.1 percent…
KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) says that HollyFrontier Corp. (HFC) has successfully started up two dividing-wall columns (DWC) at their El Dorado Refinery, Kansas. These grassroots and revamp column startups for HFC apply KBR's Distill-Max technology and add to KBR's portfolio…
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with BTG BioLiquids B.V. (BTL; Enschede, the Netherlands; www.btg-btl.com) to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its modular pyrolysis plants. The plants will be based on BTL’s Fast…
SNC-Lavalin (Montreal, Canada; www.snclavalin.com) has been awarded a construction services contract for the Balama Graphite Project in Cabo Delgado, Northern Mozambique. The contract is valued at C$21.7 million and SNC-Lavalin’s Kentz Field Operations team will provide structural mechanical and piping…