Clariant has completed the acquisition of BASF’s US-based attapulgite business assets for $60 million (€60.5 million). The finalised deal also includes an agreement for the long-term supply of attapulgite-based products to BASF. Adsorbent clays, such as attapulgite, are an important enabler for growth in the purification of edible oils and renewable fuels. In... [Read More]

INEOS Olefins and Polymers Europe and Plastic Energy have announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to produce 100,000 tonnes per annum of recycled raw materials from plastic waste. This will be the largest use of Plastic Energy technology on the market. These new raw materials will enable a circular approach to produce essential plastic items that meet the requirements... [Read More]

Perstorp has been acquired by PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) - Malaysia´s leading integrated chemicals provider. In May, PCG signed a securities purchase agreement to acquire the entire equity interest in Perstorp - a leading sustainability-driven global speciality chemicals’ company based in Sweden. With the completion of the acquisition, Perstorp is now PCG’s... [Read More]

INEOS Europe has announced a €30 million investment in the conversion of its plant in Lillo at the Port of Antwerp. This is to enable its existing capacity to produce either monomodal or bi-modal grades of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This will allow INEOS to meet the strong demand for durable high-end applications such as cable ducts and pipes used to transport... [Read More]

Neste, Idemitsu Kosan, CHIMEI and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to build a renewable plastics supply chain utilising Neste RE™ bio-based hydrocarbons. This will be used for the production of styrene monomer (i.e. bio-SM), and its mass balanced renewable plastics derivatives including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The bio-SM production in Japan and the renewable... [Read More]

Sulzer Chemtech is helping Energy Absolute (EA) expand its manufacturing plant in Thailand. The collaboration in Map Ta Phut, Rayong, is key to drive the competitiveness of EA, as the technology provided will enable the producer to deliver winterised renewable fuels. This will expand its market reach and support the wider adoption of cleaner energy in Europe and North... [Read More]

Technology pioneer Topsoe and green ammonia firm First Ammonia have entered into a new agreement to boost the global market for green ammonia. Topsoe’s energy efficient solid oxide electrolyser cells (SOEC) will be installed in First Ammonia’s green ammonia plants around the world in the coming years. The agreement provides for an initial purchase of 500MW of SOEC... [Read More]

Baker Hughes is increasing its presence in Asia by opening a new oilfield services chemicals manufacturing facility in Singapore. The 40,000 m2 facility will manufacture, store and distribute chemical solutions for upstream, midstream, downstream and adjacent industries to support regional customers. The new facility builds on Baker Hughes’ recent strategy to source... [Read More]

CropEnergies has acquired a stake in the Dutch start-up biobased chemicals firm Syclus - based in Maastricht. CropEnergies, from Mannheim, Germany, purchased 50% of the company's share capital. The total investment amounted to €1.8 million. Syclus will work out the technical and economic viability of producing renewable ethylene at Chemelot Industrial Park, Geleen,... [Read More]

INEOS Phenol has agreed to acquire the entire asset base of Mitsui Phenols Singapore from Mitsui Chemicals - a leading Japanese chemicals manufacturer - for $330 million (€329 million). The business has a turnover of $750 million (€749 million) and produces over 1 million tonnes of product each year, including cumene (410 ktpa), phenol (310 ktpa), acetone (185 ktpa)... [Read More]

Mining giant Rio Tinto has been fined $57,000 after a chemical spill near a central Queensland alumina refinery, ABC reported. The company's subsidiary RTA Yarwun pleaded guilty to two charges of contravening a condition of its environmental authority in the Gladstone Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon. The court heard about 20 litres of sodium hydroxide, also... [Read More]

BG International, an affiliate of Shell, has taken the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Jackdaw gas field in the UK North Sea. Jackdaw will comprise a wellhead platform that is not permanently attended, along with subsea infrastructure which will tie back to Shell’s existing Shearwater gas hub. The project is expected to come online in the mid-2020s,... [Read More]

BASF has given the final approval for the construction of the planned Verbund site in Zhanjiang in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The project is said to be on schedule. The focus will now be on building the core of the Verbund, which includes a steam cracker and several downstream plants, for the production of petrochemicals and intermediates among others. BASF... [Read More]

NextChem, a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont, has been awarded a Front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by a market leader in plastics and chemicals for an advanced mechanical recycling plant for municipal plastic waste in Europe. The aim of the project is to establish an advanced mechanical recycling plant for polyolefins, which shall manufacture products containing... [Read More]

A joint venture between TotalEnergies and Borealis will result in the start-up of commercial operations of a new ethane cracker. Bayport Polymers LLC will have an annual production capacity of 1 million tonnes of ethylene. The $2 billion (€1.98 billion) project built on the site of and operated by the TotalEnergies Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, represents 14 million... [Read More]

Clariant catalyst chosen for anhydride plant Clariant has been awarded a major contract by Wanhua Chemical Group to supply catalysts for its new maleic anhydride plant - one of the largest in the world. Designed to produce 200 kilotons of maleic anhydride annually, the plant will rely on Clariant’s SynDane catalyst for the production process. The facility will be... [Read More]