Chemical Engineering August 2012 - 68

Economic Indicators
BUSINESS NEWS
PLANT WATCH
BASF plans to expand vinylformamide
capacity in Ludwigshafen and . . .
July 5, 2012 - BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany; www.basf.com) is planning to
expand the manufacturing plant for vinylformamide
(VFA) in Ludwigshafen. In addition,
it intends to increase the polymerization
capacity at this site and build a new polymerization
line for VFA in China for further processing
of the feedstock from Ludwigshafen.
This facility will be built at the Zhenjiang site,
Jiangsu province. The total investment is in
the three-digit million euro range. Production
is scheduled by the end of 2014.
. . . to build a butadiene extraction
plant in Antwerp
July 4, 2012 - BASF SE plans to build a butadiene
extraction plant at its Verbund site in
Antwerp, Belgium. The plant will have a production
capacity of 155,000 metric tons per
year (m.t./yr) and is scheduled to start up
during 2014. The investment amount will be
in the high double-digit million euro range.
Ineos Technologies has been selected by
Sibur for four PE units
June 29, 2012 -Ineos Technologies (Lyndhurst,
U.K.; www.ineos.com) has licensed
its Innovene G and Innovene S processes
for the manufacture of linear low density
and high density polyethylene (PE) products
to the ZapSibNeftekhim production
complex of Sibur in Tobolsk, Russia. The two
400,000-ton/yr Innovene G plants and the
two 350,000 -ton/yr Innovene S plants will
produce a full range of Ziegler monomodal,
Ziegler bimodal, chromium and metallocene
products. The ZapSibNeftekhim plants
will be positioned to deliver specialty and
commodity PE products for the Russian and
export markets.
Evonik plans new facility in Brazil for feed
additive for animal nutrition
June 19, 20120 - Evonik Industries AG (Essen,
Germany; www.evonik.com) intends to
build a facility for the biotechnology production
of Biolys in the Brazilian town of Castro in
the state of Paraná. Biolys is a source of the
amino acid L-lysine that is used as a feed
additive in animal nutrition. The plant will be
built at a site owned by the U.S.-based company
Cargill and is scheduled to become
operational in 2014. Both companies have
signed a letter of intent, according to which
Cargill will provide the infrastructure at the
site and will supply Evonik with locally manufactured
raw materials.
Dow invests in water technology
manufacturing in China
June 7, 2012 - The Dow Chemical Company
(Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) has
announced plans to invest in a world-class
manufacturing facility for its Filmtec reverse
osmosis (RO) elements in Huzhou, China.
The new facility will be online in 2013. The facility
joins Dow's ultrafiltration manufacturing
facility in Huzhou and ion-exchange resin
facility in Qingpu.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Gevo and Beta Renewables sign JDA to
develop process for cellulosic isobutanol
July 10, 2012 - Gevo, Inc. (Englewood,
Colo.; www.gevo.com), a renewable chemicals
and next-generation biofuels company,
and Beta Renewables, a joint venture
between Chemtex and TPG, have signed a
joint development agreement (JDA) to develop
an integrated process for the production
of bio-based isobutanol from cellulosic,
non-food biomass. The project would integrate
technologies from both companies
with anticipated production plants to be
located where cellulosic feedstocks will be
readily available.
DeZurik to acquire Hilton Valve to create a
broad-ranging valve-supply company
June 29, 2012 - DeZurik, Inc. (Sartell, Minn.;
www.dezurik.com) has reached a definitive
agreement to acquire Hilton Valve, Inc. DeZurik
will acquire all Hilton products and production
capability, while Hilton operations
will remain in its Redmond, Wash. facility. The
Hilton name will be retained as a brand of
DeZurik, Inc. Consolidated sales activity will
be coordinated between DeZurik and Hilton
with continuing product technical and project
engineering support provided by Hilton.
SABIC signs research agreement with
German research organization
June 23, 2012 - The Saudi Basic Industries
Corp. (SABIC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.
sabic.com) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a
German organization for applied research,
have signed a multiyear agreement to
mutually develop advanced technologies
into innovative solutions in areas such as
lightweight construction and renewable
energy. SABIC is especially interested in
research cooperation in fields such as lightweight
products including polymeric materials
and composites, with applications
in the automotive and aerospace industry.
SABIC also has a strong interest in solar energy
technology.
GTC Technology signs MOU with Beijing
Sanju for cooperation in sulfur removal
June 21, 2012 - GTC Technology US, LLC,
(Houston; www.gtctech.com ),has announced
a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with Beijing Sanju Environmental
Protection and New Material Co., for cooperation
in sulfur removal technologies. The
MOU expands GTC's platform of acid-gas
removal technology and allows GTC to
expand its offerings to applications of less
than 1 ton/day of sulfur removal.
Cabot corporation plans to
acquire Norit N.V.
June 21, 2012 - Cabot Corp. (Boston, Mass.;
www.cabot-corp.com) has entered into an
agreement to purchase Norit N.V. from affiliates
of Doughty Hanson & Co. Managers
Ltd. and Euroland Investments B.V. for $1.1
billion. Cabot expects the acquisition to be
financed with a combination of approximately
$200 million of cash and $300 million
of borrowings under its existing revolver. In
addition, the company plans to issue approximately
$600 million of long-term debt
prior to closing. The transaction is expected
to close in 2012 and is conditional upon
Dutch works council consultation and
advice and approval of the competition
authorities in the U.S. and Germany.
AkzoNobel completes demerger
of Pakistan activities
June 14, 2012 - AkzoNobel (Amsterdam,
the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com)
has completed the restructuring of its activities
in Pakistan by formally establishing
AkzoNobel Pakistan Ltd. as a separate legal
entity from ICI Pakistan. The split means that
the company has started the formal sale
process to divest its 75.81% shareholding in
ICI Pakistan. The new AkzoNobel Pakistan
Ltd. business is focused on three core areas
- decorative paints, performance coatings
and specialty chemicals. Jehanzeb Khan
has been appointed as its CEO. The coatings
activities of ICI Pakistan were transferred
to AkzoNobel Pakistan Ltd. through a legal
process of demerger. ICI Pakistan's business
now comprises polyester fiber, soda ash, life
sciences and chemicals.
FOR ADDITIONAL NEWS AS IT DEVELOPS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHE.COM
August 2012; VOL. 119; NO. 8
Chemical Engineering copyright @ 2012 (ISSN 0009-2460) is published monthly, with an additional issue in October, by Access Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd
Floor, Rockville, MD, 20850. Chemical Engineering Executive, Editorial, Advertising and Publication Offices: 88 Pine Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10005; Phone: 212-621-4674, Fax:
212-621-4694. Subscription rates: $149.97 U.S. and U.S. possessions, $166.97 Canada, and $269 International. $20.00 Back issue & Single copy sales. Periodicals postage paid
at Rockville, MD and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Chemical Engineering, Fulfillment Manager, P.O. Box 3588, Northbrook, IL 60065-3588.
Phone: 847-564-9290, Fax: 847-564-9453, email: clientservices@che.com. Change of address, two to eight week notice requested. For information regarding article reprints,
please contact Wright's Media, 1-877-652-5295, sales@wrightsmedia.com. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. Canada Post 40612608.
Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: PitneyBowes, P.O. BOX 25542, LONDON, ON N6C 6B2
FOR MORE ECONOMIC INDICATORS, SEE NEXT PAGE
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2012 63
■
Dorothy Lozowski

http://www.basf.com http://www.dow.com http://www.gtctech.com http://www.gevo.com http://www.cabot-corp.com http://www.ineos.com http://www.dezurik.com http://www.akzonobel.com http://www.evonik.com http://www.sabic.com http://WWW.CHE.COM http://WWW.CHE.COM

Chemical Engineering August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2012