Saudi Aramco has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire the majority share in Sabic from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The deal is anticipated to prove beneficial for the development of the petrochemicals industry in the country.

Evonik strengthens its position in the growing Resource Efficiency market with the acquisition of the silica business of US company J.M. Huber. This US $ 630 million deal shall expand the product portfolio of the German specialty chemicals with customer specific solutions as well as contributing to their presence in overseas key markets.

One industry sector is responsible for more than one half of construction spending by manufacturing in the United States: American chemistry is going strong and stronger. Despite uncertainties and contractions, the sector grows steadily. And the best might be yet to come…

United Chemical Company Shchekinoazot has selected Haldor Topsoe as licensor of ammonia technology for the construction of a new ammonia and urea plant. Located in the Tula region of Russia, the plant will have a capacity of 1,500 tonnes of ammonia per day and 2,000 tonnes of urea per day.

LyondellBasell restarts its methanol plant at Channelview, Texas, on schedule to take advantage of the low cost feedstock from US shale gas. The unit had been out of service since 2004 due to the rising cost of natural gas, the key feedstock for methanol production.

More and more sealless canned motor pumps are being employed for the conveying of liquefied gases. They are distinguished by operational safety, an extremely low level of noise, low life cycle costs and in particular by the high degree of environmental friendliness, alongside their compactness and easy installation. They are a safe alternative to conventional centrifugal pumps and magnetic drive pumps.

A plant revamp is much more than just a scheduled shutdown: Done right, it can become the perfect solution to re-establish competitiveness and comply with regulations and market demands — As good as new or even better: Plant revamping to achieve capacity increase, modernization to conform to ever changing regulations or product diversification can put an established production site back on top of the competition. But such delicate rejuvenation projects require dedicated specialists. With the right partners, a production plant can stay forever feasible …

Process and plant engineers will find that the FLT93 switch from Fluid Components International (FCI) provides a ruggedised, ultra-reliable liquid level and flow sensor that detects and switches to help them comply with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code 30 safety requirements in challenging hazardous environments.

Besides other applications, the challenges concerning medium pressure ball valves apply to oil & gas and hydraulic power units. Mostly, in all these applications, leakage is a serious issue, as the substances under pressure are often flammable. One of the principal challenges in designing a ball valve is determining how to generate sufficient force to create this contact pressure.

Verdezyne has reached an agreement with Bio-Xcell Malaysia to construct Verdezyne’s first commercial-scale renewable chemicals manufacturing facility in Bio-Xcell’s premier biotechnology and ecosystem park in Nusajaya, Iskandar, in southern Malaysia. It will be the world´s first bio-based plant for the production of Dodecanedioic Acid (DDDA).