Mitsui Chemicals has begun demonstration testing for a material recycling project aimed at cutting down on plastic waste. The company is focusing these efforts on flexible packaging materials, which are commonly used in food packaging.

Dream Production is a new approach to making stuff that dreams are made of (at least if you are a chemist): Industry and scientists are working together on a project to produce chemical feedstock from CO2 which is extracted from power station flue gas emissions. The underlying reaction is revolutionary, but there is uncertainty surrounding the economic viability of the process. It remains to be seen whether this time the vision is more than just a dream.

Wacker Chemie's new silicon-metal production plant officially went on stream at the Holla site in Norway, following two and a half years of construction. The new furnace is one of the largest of its kind in the world and increases the Holla site’s total capacity by more than 40 %.

Praj Industries and Gevo jointly announced that Gevo’s proprietary isobutanol technology will now be available for licensing to processors of sugar cane juice and molasses.

Mitsui Chemicals and Prime Polymer announced that the expansion of production capacities has been completed and started up.

Fine chemicals specialist Cabb announced that the group will be strategically realigning its production in Southeast Asia.

KBR has been awarded a contract by Dorogobuzh JSC to provide licensing and basic engineering design (LBED) to revamp an ammonia plant — originally built by KBR — located in the Dorogobuzh, Smolensk region of Russia.

Russian investors have started construction of a € 10.5 billion refinery in the Angolan province of Namibe, the Portugues Newspaper Diário de Notícias reports.

Ingersoll Rand has launched a full range of Peristaltic Hose pumps in India. The new product line expands Ingersoll Rand’s existing Arotm positive displacement pump portfolio that includes air-operated diaphragm and piston pumps enabling high levels of reliability, efficiency and productivity.

With the budget round the corner, we asked industry veterans their expectations from it. Here are a few recommendations, suggestions that they would like to see materialize in this year’s budget…