Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, announced the start of its new polypropylene (PP) compounding plant in Taylorsville, US. The 50,000 sq. ft. facility, with rail siding in place, adds an initial 30,000 MT of capacity to strengthen Borealis’ and Borouge’s global supply capability for … Read more
Arkema announced on Thursday that it is to acquire ArrMaz Products (Mulberry, Florida), a producer of specialty surfactants, from Golden Gate Capital for $570 million. ArrMaz is a leader in specialty surfactants for crop nutrition, mining and infrastructure with $290 million in sales, an EBITDA margin of 18% and around 2.5% of capex to sales. … Read more
Venator Materials announced the filing of a lawsuit against Tronox at the Delaware Superior Court. The lawsuit resulting from Tronox’s refusal to honor its contract to pay Venator a $75 million “break fee” over the divestment of the Cristal North American titanium dioxide business. Venator seeks a judgment for $75 million, plus interest in pre-and post-judgment, and legal … Read more
Lotte Chemical Corp said on Thursday that it expects that its U.S. ethane cracker will start commercial operations in Louisiana in May. The U.S. ethane cracker from Lotte Chemical is a joint venture with Axiall Corp, now merged with Westlake Corp. In the plant, Lotte owns 88 percent, while the rest is held by Westlake Corp. … Read more
DuPont announced that Raj Ratnakar has been named Chief Strategy Officer for the Specialty Products Division of DowDuPont, which is expected to become an independent company (the new DuPont) on June 1, 2019. Ratnakar’s appointment is effective May 1. He will report to Marc Doyle, chief executive officer-elect for DuPont and chief operating officer, DowDuPont … Read more
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited announced on Friday that its indirect subsidiary Indorama Ventures Olefins LLC has achieved mechanical completion of its ethane cracker and is undergoing trial runs. Located at Westlake, LA, USA, Indorama Ventures Olefins LLC (IVOL) is a manufacturer of Ethylene from Ethane with annual capacity of 440,000 MT. IVOL has stabilized … Read more
AmSty and Agilyx announce they have formed a joint venture, Regenyx LLC, to recycle post-consumer polystyrene materials back to new polystyrene products. Regenyx will utilize Agilyx’s chemical recycling process to convert used polystyrene products back to their original liquid form, styrene monomer. AmSty can then take that styrene monomer and work with its supply chain … Read more
Air Liquide announced today that it has expanded its utilities supply agreement with LyondellBasell for its new propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) project in the Houston area. This agreement comes in addition to the long-term contract already signed with LyondellBasell to supply oxygen for this project, which will be the world’s largest … Read more
Kaneka Starts New Biopolymers Division Kaneka Americas Holding, Inc. announced on Tuesday the establishment of the new Houston-based Biopolymers Division. PHBH (a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate) from Kaneka is a plant-based product offering flexibility as well as heat resistance. It is produced through a novel process of bio-fermentation using renewable plant oils as feed stock. PHBH … Read more
Verus Investment Partners, a leading private equity investment firm, announced today that it has sold its portfolio company VanDeMark Chemical Inc., Lockport, NY. There was no disclosure of financial terms. VanDeMark, an independent manufacturer of phosgene and phosgene derivatives, offers a range of more than 30 chemical compounds used in the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, … Read more
W. R. Grace & Co. announced today that it has signed an agreement with TechnipFMC PLC to jointly develop improved catalyst and process technology related to TechnipFMC Deep Catalytic Cracking (TDCC). TDCC is a high-severity fluid catalytic cracking process licensed by TechnipFMC and designed to produce very high yields of propylene and other petrochemical feedstocks. … Read more
Air Products announced on Monday that it made an agreement to build, own and operate a second air separation unit (ASU) to support the expansion of Big River Steel LLC at its Osceola mill in Arkansas. The 250 ton / day unit is expected to start in January 2021 to supply oxygen, nitrogen and argon to … Read more
Dow Chemical is closing its acrylic emulsions facility in east Charlotte this July. The company said that it made the decision after thorough assessments on sustainability of the operations. The company will decommission the plant on July 31st and will supply the product to its customers from other locations. The Charlotte site produces acrylic emulsions … Read more
Celanese Corporation announced today its plans to significantly expand methanol production capacity at the company’s Clear Lake acetyl intermediates manufacturing facility located in Pasadena, Texas. Celanese has recently been granted approvals from the Fairway Methanol LLC board of directors for a second phase expansion, which will increase production to 1.7 million metric tons per year … Read more
BASF SE will increase production capacity in Guaratinguetá, Brazil, for its sodium methylate plant. The nameplate capacity will increase by 30 %, from 60,000 metric tons to 80,000 metric tons. By 2020, the new capacity is expected to become operational. Sodium methylate is an effective and reliable catalyst that provides a sustainable solution for biodiesel production … Read more
Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, announced on Monday that after an extensive search, the Board has selected Lori Ryerkerk to succeed Rohr as CEO. The appointments are effective May 1, 2019, and at that time Ryerkerk will also join Celanese’s Board. Mark Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will assume … Read more
Merck KGaA won Versum board’s support for a $ 6.5 billion sweetened takeover offer, reversing an agreed merger with rival Entegris. “This proposal constitutes a ‘Superior Proposal’ as defined in Versum’s previously announced merger agreement with Entegris, Inc.,” Versum said in a statement on Monday. After reviewing business data and following meetings between Merck KGaA Chief … Read more
Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) has started production of a new version of its dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO), Perkadox GB-50, at Los Reyes, Mexico. It is the first dry BPO on the market that does not use the desensitizing agent dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), which the European Union recently reclassified as a category 1B Reproductive Toxin. Perkadox … Read more
AkzoNobel is set to transform its wood coatings facility in High Point, North Carolina, into a best-in-class manufacturing site – and further strengthen the company’s market position in the US. The transformation will involve reorganizing manufacturing operations at the site and will include the addition of automatic dosing unit technology to produce paint more efficiently. … Read more
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC) and its group’s think tank and research institute, The KAITEKI Institute, Inc. on Wednesday announced that they have jointly established “The Global KAITEKI Center” on campus in cooperation with Arizona State University (ASU) in the U.S. on April 1. The center will focus on research aimed at realizing a sustainable … Read more