Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has invested in Noble.AI, a leading developer of software that helps R&D organizations speed up their innovation efforts. Noble’s software, which incorporates physics-based principles into an artificial intelligence engine, will enable Solvay to accelerate its…
Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is expanding its production capacity for the industrial chemical benzyl alcohol for the global market by around 30%. The two-stage expansion of the plant at the German site in Krefeld-Uerdingen is scheduled for completion by…
Thyssenkrupp’s plant engineering business (Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com) has won a major order from the Egyptian chemical and fertilizer manufacturer NCIC (El Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals). The order for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a new fertilizer complex…
Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) show that global chemicals production rose 0.1 percent in January. This follows a 0.3 percent gain in December, stable activity in November and a 0.1 percent gain…
Nokia (Espoo, Finland; www.nokia.com) announced that it will partner with Pöyry PLC (Helsinki, Finland; www.poyry.com), an international consulting and engineering company, and Infosys (Bengaluru, India; www.infosys.com), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, to further enhance and accelerate…
McDermott International, Inc. (Houston; www.mcdermott.com) announced the successful commercialization and startup of its single largest CDAlky reactor to date at PetroChina's refinery in Jilin, China. The 350,000-metric-tons-per-year (m.t./yr; 9,000 barrels per day) plant is one of four CDAlky projects awarded…
WorleyParsons Ltd. (North Sydney, Australia; www.worleyparsons.com) and WatershipBlue (Pawleys Island, South Carolina; www.watershipblue.com) have entered into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) supporting the advisory, consulting, design, construction and operation of waterships worldwide. Waterships are large-scale, floating seawater desalination plants based…
Honeywell (Charlotte, N.C.; www.honeywell.com) announced that Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd. will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology to produce 700,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of polymer-grade propylene at its facility in Lianyungang City in China’s Jiangsu Province. Jiangsu…
Caprolactam production requires tight oxygen control to prevent explosive conditions developing in reactor vessels. For a Chinese manufacturer, the slow response and high maintenance of their O2 analyzers was unacceptable. Changing to GPro® 500 in situ TDL sensors has reduced…
Sibur (Moscow; www.sibur.com) announced that the polypropylene unit at ZapSibNeftekhim, a deep hydrocarbon conversion plant under construction, is 99.8% complete. Construction and installation work on the process unit are over, and commissioning is underway. In particular, systems are undergoing functional testing…