Chemical Engineering December 2010 - 59

Economic Indicators
Business neWs
Plant Watch
Total and CPI to study coal-to-olefins
petrochemical project in China
November 5, 2010 - Total S.A. (Paris, France;
www.total.com) and the Chinese energy
group China Power Investment Corp. (CPI)
intend to build a coal-based petrochemical
plant in China. The two companies signed
a letter of understanding to study the construction
of a plant in Inner Mongolia. Both
companies will now launch a feasibility
study on a project for a 1-million ton/yr polyolefins
production site, based on methanol
produced from the gasification of coal. The
investment for the plant, which is due to
start production after 2015, is estimated at
€2-3 billion.
Yulin selects Unipol PE process
for plant in China
November 3, 2010 - Univation Technologies
LLC (Houston; www.univation.com) has
announced that Yulin Energy and Chemical
Ltd. of Yanchang Petroleum Group Co.
(Yulin) has selected Univation's Unipol PE
process for a 300,000 metric ton per year
(m.t./yr) linear low-density polyethylene
(PE) plant. The facility will be located in
Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
The Unipol PE process facility will be fed
by a unique combination of conventional
feedstock and coal-to-olefins feedstock.
Planned startup of the facility is 2013.
Stamicarbon's urea technology
licensed in Argentina
October 30, 2010 - Stamicarbon B.V. (Sittard,
the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.
com), the licensing and IP Center of Maire
Tecnimont S.p.A. (www.mairetecnimont.
it), has signed a license agreement with
Tierra del Fuego Energia Y Quimica S.A., an
Argentina-based company controlled by
shareholders from China. The agreement
concerns a urea synthesis plant and a urea
granulation plant with a capacity of 2,700
m.t./d to be built in southern Argentina.
Startup is planned in 2012.
Lanxess invests €9 million to
expand EVM production
October 28, 2010 - Specialty chemicals
company Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany;
www.lanxess.com) is to expand the
production capacity at its Dormagen, Germany,
site for its ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer
(EVM) line sold under the product
brands Levapren and Levamelt by 30% to
15,000 m.t./yr. The new capacities are due
to be available from the second half of 2012.
Evonik to expand capacity of
precipitated silicates
October 22, 2010 - Evonik Industries AG
(Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is planning
to increase its silica (precipitated silicic
acids) production capacity by 25% over the
next four years. Investments to ensure this
increase in production capacity will be in
the mid double-digit million Euro range. Total
capacity expansion is expected to be in the
six-digit metric ton region and will be implemented
mainly at Evonik's existing silica sites
in Asia and Europe.
Yara Praxair to build air
separation unit in Sweden
October 22, 2010 -Yara Praxair (www.
yarapraxair.com) - a 50-50 joint venture
(JV) between Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.;
www.praxair.com) and Yara International
ASA - will invest in a new air separation unit
to be located in Perstorp, Sweden. The plant,
with a capacity of 200 ton/d, is scheduled to
start up in 2012.
World's first onsite, large-scale
specialty gas plant
October 19, 2010 - Air Products and
Chemicals, Inc. (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com)
has signed a contract with
Anhui Sanan OptoElectronics Co., a subsidiary
of Sanan OptoElectronics, to build
two onsite ammonia plants at Sanan's new
high-brightness light emitting diode (LED)
manufacturing facility in the Wuhu Economic
and Technological Development
Area, Anhui Province, China. These new
facilities are said to be the first and largest
onsite specialty gas plants in the world.
Each plant will be capable of supplying
2,000 m.t./yr of ammonia.
Mergers and acquisitions
Chevron to gain natural gas resource
through Atlas Energy acquisition
November 9, 2010 - Chevron Corp. (San
Ramon, Cal.; www.chevron.com) will acquire
Atlas Energy, Inc. (Philadelphia, Pa.;
www.atlasenergyresources.com) for cash
of $3.2 billion and assumed pro-forma net
debt of approximately $1.1 billion. The acquisition
will provide Chevron with a natural
gas resource position primarily located
in southwestern Pennsylvania's Marcellus
Shale. The acquisition is subject to certain
Atlas Energy restructuring transactions, approval
by Atlas Energy shareholders and
regulatory clearance.
CB&I signs agreement with Sabic to
license aromatics technology
November 9, 2010 - CB&I (The Woodlands,
Tex.; www.cbi.com) has signed an agreement
with Sabic Americas Inc. (Houston;
www.sabic.com/americas/en) to jointly develop
and commercialize toluene methylation
technology. Toluene methylation is used
to selectively produce para-xylene within an
aromatics complex. The technology was developed
around a proprietary Sabic catalyst
and process. The terms of the agreement
were not disclosed.
Lanxess strengthens portfolio with two
businesses from Flexsys
November 8, 2010 - Lanxess AG has
agreed to acquire two businesses from Flexsys,
a division of Solutia Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.).
Lanxess will acquire the primary accelerator
business and the anti-reversion agent
Perkalink 900. Both parties have decided
not to disclose the acquisition prices. The
acquisition of the primary accelerator business
requires approval from the relevant
antitrust authorities.
BASF enters agreement to market
additional molecular sieve products
November 8, 2010 - BASF Catalysts LLC (Iselin,
N.J.; www.basf.com) has entered into an
original equipment manufacturing agreement
with Chemiewerk Bad Köstritz (Thüringen,
Germany; www.cwk-bk.de) to market
molecular sieve products targeted at the
natural gas, petroleum refining, petrochemical
and air-drying markets. BASF will manage
the business through its Adsorbents
group, which is part of the BASF Process
Catalysts and Technologies business.
Toyo and LG Group
form 'green' JV
October 12, 2010 - Toyo Engineering Corp.
(Toyo; Chiba, Japan; www.toyo-eng.co.jp)
has established a JV with LG Group (Seoul,
South Korea; www.lgcorp.com) through
Toyo Engineering Korea Ltd. and Serveone
Co., both of which are 100% subsidiaries of
their respective parent companies. The JV,
named LG Toyo Engineering Co., is located
in Seoul. Serveone controls 70% of the venture
with the remaining 30% share controlled
by Toyo-Korea.
Dorothy Lozowski
For additional news as it develops, please visit www.che.com
December 2010; VOL. 117; NO. 13
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http://www.total.com http://www.evonik.com http://www.cbi.com http://www.sabic.com/americas/en http://www.yarapraxair.com http://www.univation.com http://www.praxair.com http://www.air http://www.products.com http://www.basf.com http://www.cwk-bk.de http://www.stamicarbon http://www.mairetecnimont http://www.toyo-eng.co.jp http://www.chevron.com http://www.lgcorp.com http://www.atlasenergyresources.com http://www.lanxess.com http://www.che.com http://www.Che.Com

Chemical Engineering December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering December 2010