Chemical Engineering June 2012 - 83

Economic Indicators
BUSINESS NEWS
PLANT WATCH
Outotec's EOS process is selected for
sinter project in India
May 14, 2012 - Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland;
www.outotec.com) has been selected by
Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. (BPSL) to design
and deliver technology for a new iron-ore
sintering plant that will be built in Rengali in
the state of Orissa. The contract value is approximately
€20 million. The sintering facility
is expected to produce 2.45 million metric
tons (m.t.) per year of iron-ore sinter, which is
used as a raw material in steel production.
Evonik plans to expand its L-threonine
capacity in Europe
May 14, 2012 - Evonik Industries AG (Essen,
Germany; www.evonik.com) plans to increase
the capacity of L-threonine at Evonik
Agroferm Zrt. (Kaba, Hungary), a 100% affiliated
company of Evonik. The nameplate
capacity is expected to be expanded to
30,000 m.t./yr of L-threonine (feed grade
98.5%), which represents an increase of
10,000 m.t./yr. The new capacity is scheduled
to come on stream in the 3rd Q of 2013.
L-threonine, which Evonik markets under
the brand name ThreAmino, is an essential
amino acid for animal feed.
Honeywell Green Diesel to be produced
from biofeedstocks in U.S. facility
May 8, 2012 - UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.;
www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, has
signed an agreement to license technology
to Emerald Biofuels LLC to produce
Honeywell Green Diesel at a facility in Louisiana.
Emerald is expected to use UOP's Eni
Ecofining process technology to produce
85-million gal/yr of Honeywell Green Diesel.
For more on Green Diesel, see Chem. Eng.,
May 2007; www.che.com/news/3251.html.
BASF to build formic acid plant
in Louisiana
May 4, 2012 - BASF Corp. (Florham Park,
N.J.; www.basf.us) has announced plans
to build a state-of-the-art production plant
for formic acid at its integrated facility in
Geismar, La. Slated to start up in the 2nd Q of
2014, the new plant will have a capacity of
more than 50,000 tons/yr.
Uhde supplies chlor-alkali electrolysis
technology to AkzoNobel
May 2, 2012 - AkzoNobel (Amsterdam,
the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) is
converting an amalgam electrolysis plant to
the modern membrane process in FrankfurtHöchst,
Germany, and has commissioned
ThyssenKrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany;
www.uhde.eu) to design and supply
the membrane cells. The new plant will increase
production capacity by around 50%
to 250,000 m.t./yr of chlorine and 275,000
m.t./yr of caustic soda solution. Commissioning
is scheduled for the 4th Q of 2013.
Chevron Phillips Chemical selects site for
new polyethylene facilities
May 1, 2012 - Chevron Phillips Chemical
Co. LP (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.
com) has announced that the two polyethylene
facilities planned as part of the company's
U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) Petrochemicals
Project, will be located on a site nearby
the Chevron Phillips Chemical Sweeny
facility in Old Ocean, Tex. The two facilities
will each have a capacity of 500,000 m.t./
yr and will utilize Chevron Phillips Chemical's
proprietary Loop Slurry Technology. The
estimated completion date for the USGC
Petrochemicals Project is 2017.
Largest LNG plant in northeast China to
feature B&V's patented technology
April 23, 2012 - Black & Veatch (B&V; Overland
Park, Kan.; www.bv.com), in partnership
with Chemtex, has been selected by Jilin
Qianyuan Energy Development to deliver
a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. Once
completed in late 2013, the 500,000-Nm3/d
plant will be the largest of its kind in northeast
China and will feature B&V's patented
Prico LNG technology.
BASF to invest in new chemical
production site in India
April 11, 2012 - BASF India Ltd. (Mumbai;
www.basf.com) will invest €150 million in a
chemical production site at the Dahej Petroleum,
Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment
Region located in Gujarat. The site
will be an integrated hub for polyurethane
manufacturing and will also house production
facilities for surfactants, largely for
home and personal care applications, and
polymer dispersions for coatings and paper.
Production startup is planned for 2014.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
BASF acquires fatty-acid
maker Equateq Ltd.
May 9, 2012 - BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany;
www.basf.com) has announced the
acquisition of Equateq Ltd., a global leader
in the manufacturing of highly concentrated
omega-3 fatty acids. With the acquisition,
BASF extends its portfolio of omega-3 products
for the pharmaceutical and dietary
supplement industries with a new offering of
highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids.
The integration is expected to be completed
by the end of 2012. The companies have
agreed not to disclose financial details of
the transaction.
Solazyme and Dow to accelerate
commercialization of bio-based fluids
May 2, 2012 - Solazyme, Inc. (San Francisco,
Calif.; www.solazyme.com) and The
Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.;
www.dow.com) have entered into a contingent
offtake agreement in which Dow
has agreed to purchase from Solazyme
all of its requirements of non-vegetable
microbe-based oils for use in dielectric fluid
applications through 2015, contingent
upon Solazyme's ability to supply such oils.
Concurrently, Solazyme and Dow have
entered into a Phase 2 Joint Development
Agreement (JDA2), a multi-year extension of
the current joint-development agreement
including accelerated commercialization
timelines. JDA2 enables additional application
development work to be conducted
by Dow. Consumption of Solazyme's algal
oil feedstocks is expected to significantly
exceed the minimum estimated volumes of
8.5 million gallons (29,000 m.t.) starting in
the 2nd half of 2013 and through 2015.
BASF acquires
Novolyte Technologies
April 26, 2012 - BASF SE has purchased
Novolyte Technologies (Cleveland, Ohio).
from Arsenal Capital Partners (New York, N.Y.;
www.arsenalcapital.com), a U.S.-based
private equity firm. The companies have
agreed not to disclose financial details of
the transaction. The acquisition comprises
Novolyte's energy storage activities focused
on developing, producing and marketing
performance electrolyte formulations for lithium-ion
batteries. BASF has also purchased
Novolyte's performance materials business.
Additionally within the framework of the acquisition,
BASF will continue a joint venture
of Novolyte with Korean partner Foosung, a
global producer of the high-purity specialty
salt lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), a
key material for manufacturing lithium-ion
battery electrolytes.
■
Dorothy Lozowski
FOR ADDITIONAL NEWS AS IT DEVELOPS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHE.COM
June 2012; VOL. 119; NO. 6
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Chemical Engineering June 2012

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