Chemical Engineering March 2014 - 70

Economic Indicators
Business neWs
Plant Watch
SNC-Lavalin wins contract for sulfuricacid
project in Saudi Arabia
February 7, 2014 - SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal,
Quebec, Canada; www.snclavalin.com),
in consortium with Sinopec Engineering
Group, has signed a contract with Ma'aden
in Saudi Arabia to provide engineering,
procurement, construction, commissioning
and startup services for a three-line sulfuric
acid plant. The total value of the contract
is approximately $764 million. The project is
scheduled to be operational in late 2016.
Linde will supply hydrogen at Nynas
refinery in Hamburg
February 7, 2014 - The Linde Group
(Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) has
signed a longterm contract with Nynas AB,
for the onsite supply of hydrogen at Nynas'
petroleum refinery in Hamburg, Germany.
The Linde Engineering Division will build a
steam-methane reformer plant with a total
investment of approximately €30 million. The
new hydrogen facility is scheduled to go onstream
in the fourth quarter of 2015 with a
capacity of 400,000 m³/d of hydrogen.
Mitsui Chemicals will build plant for
xylylene diisocyanate in Japan
February 6, 2014 - Mitsui Chemicals (Tokyo;
www.mitsuichem.com) is constructing the
world's first large-scale plant for xylylene diisocyanate
(XDI) within its Omuta Works facility
in Kyushu, Japan. The plant's capacity will
be 5,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) and
is scheduled for startup in October 2015.
Evonik increases structural foam
production with opening of new facility
February 6, 2014 - Evonik Industries AG
(Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has begun
operation at its new production facility
for Rohacell polymethacrylimide structural
foam in Darmstadt, Germany, following an
investment of approximately €6 million. The
new facility will increase the polymerization
capacity at the site by 50%.
Solvay to increase its natural soda ash
production capacity in the U.S.
February 4, 2014 -Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium;
www.solvay.com) plans to increase
its annual production capacity of natural
soda ash at its Green River plant in Wyoming
by 150,000 m.t. Construction has already
begun to expand production capacity from
its current level of around 2 million m.t./yr.
BASF to manufacture chelating agent at
new plant in Alabama
January 28, 2014 - BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany; www.basf.com) will build a new
plant for its chelating agent Trilon M (methylglycinediacetic
acid) at Evonik's Theodore,
Ala. site. With an investment of about $90 million,
the new production facility is planned
to start up in the second half of 2015.
Asahi Glass to build new refrigerants
plant in Japan
January 23, 2014 - Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.
(Tokyo; www.agc.com) plans to build a new
manufacturing facility using proprietary fluorochemical
technology at its Chiba Plant
in Japan, and start supplying the new refrigerant
HFO-1234yf beginning in mid-2015.
The refrigerant will be supplied to Honeywell
(Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) for
a previously announced refrigerants facility
in Louisiana.
Huntsman expands global capacity for
polyetheramines at three sites
January 23, 2014 -The Performance
Products Division of Huntsman Corp.
(The Woodlands, Tex.; www.huntsman.
com) will expand its global capacity for
polyetheramines (PEA) by a minimum of
15% after debottlenecking three of its PEA
manufacturing plants. With construction
currently underway, the company expects
the expansion projects at its Conroe, Tex.,
Llanelli, Wales and Singapore sites to be fully
operational by May 2014.
Praxair will construct oxygen-supply
facility at steel mill in South Korea
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.
com) has signed a longterm contract with
Taewoong Steel Co. to supply high-purity
oxygen to the company's steel mill facility in
the Mieum Foreign Industrial Zone in Busan,
South Korea. Praxair will construct a new
air-separation plant and pipeline, which are
expected to start operations in 2016.
Ineos to license polypropylene
technology to new plant in Vietnam
January 22, 2014 - Ineos Technologies
(Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) has
licensed its Innovene polypropylene process
technology to Vung Ro Petroleum Ltd.
at its refinery complex located in Phu Yen
Province, Vietnam. The plant will produce
various polypropylene grades with a total
capacity of 900,000 m.t./yr.
Mergers and acquisitions
Sika acquires Brazilian waterproofing
company Lwart Química
February 4, 2014 - Sika AG (Baar, Switzerland;
www.sika.com) has agreed to acquire
Lwart Química Ltda., a supplier of waterproofing
products in Brazil. Last year Lwart Química
generated net sales of around $36.5 million.
Eastman to acquire BP's aviation turbine
oil business
January 29, 2014 - Eastman Chemical Co.
(Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com) will
acquire the assets of BP's aviation turbine
engine oil business. The acquisition includes
a production facility in Linden, N.J., laboratory
equipment located in Naperville, Ill., and a
longterm supply agreement. The acquisition
is expected to be completed in the second
quarter of 2014.
Balchem and Taminco announce
production JV for choline chloride
January 27, 2014 - Taminco Corp. (Allentown,
Pa.; www.taminco.com) and Balchem
Corp. (New Hampton, N.Y.; www.balchem.
com) will form a joint venture (JV) to build
and operate a choline-chloride production
facility in St. Gabriel, La. The plant is expected
to come onstream in 2015.
Arkema acquires acrylic acid plant,
forms JV in China
January 23, 2014 - Arkema (Colombes,
France; www.arkema.com) and Jurong
Chemical have created a JV called Sunke,
in which Arkema will have a majority interest,
comprising the assets of Jurong's acrylicacid
production site in Taixing, China. Production
capacity initially will be 160,000 m.t./yr
for an investment of $240 million, with the option
to expand to 320,000 m.t./yr for a further
investment of $235 million.
Alpek and United Petrochemical form JV
for new plant in Russia
January 17, 2014 - Alpek S.A.B. de C.V. (San
Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico; www.alpek.
com) has announced that its subsidiary,
Grupo Petrotemex, S.A. de C.V., signed a JV
agreement with United Petrochemical Co.
for the construction of an integrated purified
terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) plant in Ufa, Bashkortostan,
Russia. The facility is planned to have a
maximum installed capacity of 600,000 m.t./
yr each for PTA and PET.
Mary Page Bailey
For additional news as it develops, please visit www.che.com
March 2014; VOL. 121; NO. 3
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http://www.basf.com http://www.snclavalin.com http://www.sika.com http://www.eastman.com http://www.agc.com http://www.linde.com http://www.honeywell.com http://www.taminco.com http://www.balchem http://www.huntsman http://www.mitsuichem.com http://www.arkema.com http://www.praxair http://www.evonik.com http://www.alpek http://www.ineos.com http://www.solvay.com http://www.che.com http://www.Che.Com

Chemical Engineering March 2014

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