Chemical Engineering September 2010 - 71

Economic Indicators
BUSINESS NEWS
PLANT WATCH
Dow Corning considers biomass plant to
produce steam and electricity
August 20, 2010 - Dow Corning's (Midland,
Mich.; www.dowcorning.com) Midland
manufacturing site is considering the installation
of a biomass-powered energy facility
to provide a renewable, reliable and costeffective
supply of steam and electricity
necessary for the site's operations. Cirque
Energy, LLC, which would build, own and
operate the plant for Dow Corning, recently
filed for appropriate environmental permits.
Biomass energy from the plant would be
produced by gasification of plant-derived
organic matter. The biomass energy facility
at the Midland site would initially use waste
wood chips, as well as dead trees or old
growth harvested as part of sustainable forestry
initiatives.
SNC-Lavalin receives a contract in
Alberta's oil sands
August 19, 2010 - SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal,
Quebec, Canada; www.snclavalin.com)
has been awarded an engineering and
procurement contract by Grizzly Oil Sands
ULC for its new Algar Lake steam assistedgravity
drainage (SAGD) facility located
near Fort McMurray in Alberta. The project
consists of an initial 5,000 bbl/d SAGD
central-processing facility with associated
well pads, flow lines, tank farm and 8-MW
cogeneration facility. The detailed design
of the project is expected to be completed
in April 2011. This is a unique project in the
fact that the execution plan is based on
engineering and constructing a completely
modularized processing facility capable of
being trucked to site.
SGL Group expands its isostatic
graphite capacity
August 19, 2010 - SGL Group (Wiesbaden,
Germany; www.sglcarbon.com) will invest
approximately €75 million into the capacity
expansion of isostatic graphite within the
next three years. This expansion supports
the global growth of its customers in the
solar energy, light emitting diode (LED) and
semiconductor industries. A significant part
of the investment will involve the construction
of a new, fully automated Iso Graphite
Green Production Center at the Bonn, Germany,
site. Commissioning is scheduled for
2012. In this context SGL Group will increase
its global, annual isostatic-graphite capacity
from 5,000 metric tons (m.t.) to 15,000 m.t.
BASF plans to build dispersions plant
in Huizhou, China
August 16, 2010 - BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany; www.basf.com) will invest in a
dispersions plant in Daya Bay Petrochemical
Industrial Park in Huizhou, China. With a
capacity of 100,000 ton/yr, the new plant will
produce XSB dispersions for the paper industry
and acrylic dispersions for industries
that include coatings, construction, printingand-packaging
and adhesives. Production
is scheduled to begin in the 1st Q of 2012,
subject to government approval.
Outotec to design and deliver filtration
technology to iron-ore project in Australia
August 5, 2010 - Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland;
www.outotec.com) has been awarded
orders for Australia's Karara Iron Ore Project,
worth more than €28 million. Outotec will
design, deliver and install the complete flotation
circuit along with all filtration technology
for the project. The Karara Iron Ore Project
located in Western Australia is a 50-50 joint
venture between Gindalbie Metals Ltd. and
Chinese steel producer AnSteel. It is part of
the development of the Karara magnetite
deposit, which has the potential for more
than 30-million-m.t./yr processing of magnetite
over its estimated 30-year life. The first
phase of operation is scheduled for 2011.
... and will deliver chromite sintering
technology to South Africa
August 3, 2010 - Outotec Oyj has signed
a contract with RB Met Engineering (Pty)
Ltd. and Xstrata Merafe PSV for the delivery
of chromite sintering technology to Xstrata
Merafe's ferrochrome plant located in Rustenburg,
South Africa. The contract value
is approximately €17 million. The plant
will treat 600,000 m.t. /yr of chromite ore.
Xstrata Merafe's project is subject to an
environmental permit by local authorities in
Rustenburg, and the plant is expected to be
operational in 2012.
BASF begins upgrade of North American
catalyst manufacturing operations
August 3, 2010 - BASF Corp.'s catalyst division
(Iselin, N.J.; www.catalysts.basf.com)
has initiated several capital investment
projects to enhance the company's manufacturing
operations for copper-chrome catalysts
at its production sites in Erie, Pa. and
Elyria, Ohio. The multimillion-dollar investments
are aimed at re-engineering, retrofitting
and further automating catalyst manufacturing
at both sites. BASF says the capital
improvement projects will be completed in
phases through the early part of 2011.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Teijin to develop silicon inks with the
acquisition of NanoGram
August 8, 2010 - Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo; www.teijin.
co.jp) has acquired NanoGram Corp. (Milpitas,
Calif.; www.nanogram.com) to function
as a U.S. base for the development of silicon
inks with semiconductor properties and the
processes to manufacture such inks. As a
wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin, NanoGram
will pursue its interest in expanding into development
of silicon-based nanoparticles,
working closely with the Teijin Group's Integrative
Technology Research Institute.
Air Liquide acquires a German
syngas plant
August 6, 2010 - Air Liquide (Paris, France;
www.airliquide.com) has signed an agreement
with OXEA GmbH for the acquisition of
its syngas plant based in Oberhausen, Germany.
Anti-trust authorities have given their
approval. This large plant has a production
capacity of approximately 83,000 Nm3/h of
syngas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon
monoxide - used in the production of oxointermediates
and oxo-derivatives, which are
used in high-quality coatings, lubricants and
cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
Axens signs agreement for
activated alumina business
August 4, 2010 - Axens (Rueil Malmaison,
France; www.axens.net) has signed an
asset sale agreement (ASA) with Canadabased
Rio Tinto Alcan regarding the sale
by Rio Tinto Alcan of its activated alumina
business in Brockville, Ontario. The terms of
the ASA are confidential. The transaction is
expected to close by end-September 2010.
Bilcare enters agreement to acquire
Ineos' Global Films business
August 2, 2010 - Ineos Group (Lausanne,
Switzerland; www.ineos.com) has entered
into a binding agreement for the sale of its
Global Films business to Bilcare AG for approximately
€100 million. The deal comprises
the business, assets and personnel related
to Ineos' Films operations located in North
America, Europe and Asia. The transaction
was expected to be completed at the end
of August, subject to necessary regulatory
filings and approvals.
Dorothy Lozowski
FOR ADDITIONAL NEWS AS IT DEVELOPS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHE.COM
September 2010; VOL. 117; NO. 9
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Chemical Engineering September 2010

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