Chemical Engineering July 2015 - 14

Business News
LineUp
AKZONOBEL
ASHLAND
AVEVA
BASF
CHEVRON
DSM
EVONIK
GRACE
INNOSPEC
JOHNSON MATTHEY
KBR
KEMIRA
MESSER
MEXICHEM
NESTE
RAYONIER
SASOL
SuMITOMO
TOTAL FLuIDES
WACKER
WESTLAKE
Plant Watch
Sumitomo announces battery-separator
capacity expansion, new plant in Korea
June 10, 2015 - Sumitomo Chemical Co.
(Tokyo; www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp) plans to
more than double its production capacity for
lithium-ion secondary battery separators at a
site in Japan. In addition, a new production plant
for lithium-ion secondary battery separators
will be built in South Korea, and is scheduled to
start commercial-scale production in 2017.
Wacker starts up new production plant
for specialty monomers at Burghausen
June 9, 2015 - Wacker Chemie AG (Munich,
Germany; www.wacker.com) started up a new
plant with a capacity of 3,800 metric tons
per year (m.t./yr) of the specialty monomers
vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate at its
Burghausen site in Germany. Wacker invested
€8 million in the new facility.
Messer commissions production facility
for krypton and xenon in China
June 9, 2015 - Messer Group GmbH (Bad
Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com)
has commissioned a new production facility for
the noble gases krypton and xenon, located
in Panzhihua, Sichuan, China. The new facility
has production capabilities for 5,000 m3/yr
of krypton and 450 m3/yr of xenon.
Kemira opens manufacturing plant for
water-treatment chemicals in Spain
June 3, 2015 - Kemira Oyj (Helsinki; www.
kemira.com) opened a new production plant for
the manufacture of water-treatment chemicals.
The plant, located in La Canonja, Spain, produces
aluminum- and iron-based coagulants, including
polyaluminum chloride, aluminum sulfate
and ferric chloride.
Sasol commissions first phase
of wax expansion project
June 2, 2015 - Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South
Africa; www.sasol.co.za) announced that phase
one of its Fischer-Tropsch Wax Expansion Project
(FTWEP) has been successfully commissioned
at its Sasolburg site in South Africa. Major
construction activity is already underway for
FTWEP's phase two, which is expected to be
commissioned in the first half of 2017.
Mexichem subsidiary to expand
specialty PVC capacity in Germany
May 29, 2015 - Vestolit, a subsidiary of
Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla,
Mexico; www.mexichem.com) is expanding
its production of specialty-paste polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) in Marl, Germany. Vestolit will
build a new production line with a capacity of
40,000 m.t./yr of paste PVC.
14
AkzoNobel to build coatingsmanufacturing
plant in Thailand
May 27, 2015 - AkzoNobel (Amsterdam,
the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has
announced plans to invest more than €30
million in a new manufacturing facility in Thailand
to support its Performance Coatings business.
Earmarked for an initial production capacity
of 45,000 m.t./yr, production is due to start
in the third quarter of 2016.
KBR awarded contract for revamp of
seven ammonia plants in Russia
May 27, 2015 - KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.
com) has been awarded a contract by OJSC
Togliattiazot (ToAZ) to provide licensing, basic
engineering design, front-end engineering and
design services to revamp ToAZ's existing
seven ammonia plants in Togliatti, Russia.
With this contract, KBR will supply ToAZ with
proprietary technology to significantly increase
overall ammonia production capacity.
Grace-Chevron JV to build
catalyst plant in Lake Charles
May 20, 2015 - W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia,
Md.; www.grace.com) announced that
Advanced Refining Technologies, the
company's joint venture (JV) with Chevron
Products Co., will invest approximately $135
million to build a residue hydroprocessing
-catalyst plant and add additional alumina
production capacity at the existing Grace
manufacturing site in Lake Charles, La.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2015,
with completion anticipated in 2018.
Evonik doubles methacrylic
anhydride capacity in Germany
May 19, 2015 - Evonik Industries AG
(Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has
doubled production capacity for methacrylic
anhydride (MAAH) at its site in Worms,
Germany. MAAH is an important building block
in the production of specialty methacrylates,
which are used in concrete additives, paints,
electronics applications and plastics.
Mergers & Acquisitions
BASF to sell its global paper hydrous
kaolin business to Imerys
June 9, 2015 - BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany; www.basf.com) has signed a contract
to sell its global paper hydrous kaolin business
to Imerys S.A. (Paris, France; www.imerys.
com). Closing of the transaction is expected to
take place during the third quarter of 2015.
Total and Neste collaborate on
bio-based isoalkane products
Total Fluides (Paris; www.totalspecialfluids.
com) and Neste Oil Oyj (Espoo, Finland;
ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com july 2015
http://www.akzonobel.com http://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp http://www.kbr http://www.wacker.com http://www.messergroup.com http://www.grace.com http://www.kemira.com http://www.evonik.com http://www.sasol.co.za http://www.basf.com http://www.imerys http://www.mexichem.com http://www.totalspecialfluids http://www.Chemengonline.Com
Chemical Engineering July 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2015
