Companies that produce polyolefins, PE, PVC and PET in old plants are under pressure from spiralling costs and the need for modernization to meet environmental and safety standards. ThyssenKrupp Uhde offers solutions.

A growing energy awareness drives the global heat exchanger market. New design features and materials promise higher efficiencies, but raw material scarcity clouds the outlook.

Inter Pipeline announced the construction of a world-scale integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plant. The facilities, collectively referred to as the Heartland Petrochemical Complex, are estimated to cost $ 3.5 billion in aggregate and will be located in Strathcona County, Alberta near Inter Pipeline’s Redwater Olefinic Fractionator.

Sibur has announced the upgrade of their terephthalic acid production at the Polief Blagoveshchensk site to expand its annual capacity to 350,000 tonnes. The project seeks to improve the site’s production efficiency and environmental safety, the company said.

Early in August, the „Longchamps“ biomethane plant in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, went live. Thus, 70 standard m³/h are now continually supplied to the natural gas grid of the French gas distributor GrDF (Gaz réseau Distribution France).

Agility and Schmidt Heilbronn team up once again to provide bulk chemicals solutions and logistics for the rapidly developing chemical industry in the Middle–East.

The Saudi Acrylic Polymer Company (SAPCO), a joint venture which has been established by Evonik Industries and the Saudi Acrylic Acid Company (SAAC), has signed the mechanical completion certificate for the superabsorbents polymer plant in Jubail, which was built under Evonik license.

Speciality chemicals producer Songwon has started production of its Songnox multifunctional phenolic antioxidant at its Panoli plant in Gujarat, India. The Panoli site was acquired from Sequent in 2014. In the last three years, the company has invested in the Panoli site to develop it into a hub for specialty chemicals, including Songnox.

From September 1, 2015, Bayer Material Science will be known as Covestro. Now the Supervisory Board of Bayer Material Science – in future: Covestro – has named the members of the future Board of Management. Known managers will be in on it, like newcomers. Their aim: Stock market launch of the new independent company by midyear 2016.

Arkema plans to increase its capacity of polyamide 12 polymers by 25 %. The product, commercialized under the trademark Rilsamid, is used for processes such as extrusion, injection, and blow-moulding.