The market for Isopropylbenzene or Cumene, a main precursor of intermediates for phenol and acetone production, could grow by respectable 4%: Asia-Pacific has rapidly emerged as the largest global consumer of cumene over the last decade, thanks to changes in the petrochemical industry, states a new report by GBI Research.

With an aim to meet strong demand from the aerospace sector, Solvay has undertaken the move to expand its thermoplastic composites capacity at its California facility in the USA. The initiative also aims to improve output, quality, consistency as well as industrial reliability.

BASF and Sinopec will expand the capacity of existing propionic acid production with an additional 30,000 metric tons annually at their state-of-the-art Verbund site in Nanjing.

The Linde Group has been awarded a major contract by PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNK) to supply an olefin plant in the city of Nizhnekamsk, located in the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation.

ThyssenKrupp Uhde has received an order from Bandirma Gübre Fabrikaları A.Ş. (BAGFAS) in Bandirma, Turkey, to supply a plant for the production of calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Under the roughly €141 million contract, the new plant will be integrated into the existing facility on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara, and is scheduled to start operation in early 2015.

Ineos Styrolution, Covestro and many other leading companies as well as associations such as the Circular Plastics Alliance and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste are undertaking massive initiatives to solve the ‘plastic’ issue which is a threat to our environment.

Hamilton Process Analytics released the next generation of its popular Visiferm optical dissolved oxygen sensors, which greatly reduce calibration frequency and the risk of deviation while increasing the overall sensor lifetime at the same time.

New, yes, but based on tried and tested principles yet with improved ergonomics — that was the thinking of the designers at size reduction specialist Frewitt as they developed the OscilloWitt, their latest technology for the gentle milling of heat-sensitive products.

For the fertiliser industry, a golden age could lie ahead–American shale gas, exploding population figures and climate change are driving the demand for artificial fertilisers. Drawing on the GROAB project database, PROCESS summarises for you plant construction projects worldwide in 2014 and looks into the future of the fertiliser industry.

Air Liquide will invest in a new carbon monoxide production unit in the Port of Rotterdam, to be located next to the company’s existing facilities. The plant, which will be commissioned in the first half of 2015, will double Air Liquide’s carbon monoxide production capacity in the basin.