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Fertiliser out of thin air
NEWS
New developments in the Chemical industry
Provence Technologies acquires Synprosis
Provence Technologies Group, a specialist fine chemistry research group, has announced its acquisition of Synprosis, a company specialising in the chemical synthesis of peptides and proteins for therapeutic use. Synprosis is based in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The deal opens up new development opportunities for the Provence Technologies Group in the area of biologically active pharmaceuticals.
Synprosis has a ten-year history of producing active principles in the field of vaccines under development (for malaria, cancer and allergies, etc.) as well as in other therapeutic fields (for neurogenerative diseases and the treatment of pain).
For Provence Technologies Group, the acquisition is consistent with the management team’s strategic objective to strengthen its core business of therapeutic chemistry. www.provetech.com
ADT to provide Borouge with packaging services at Khalifa Port
Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT), the manager and operator of Khalifa Port Container Terminal, has signed a contract with Borouge, a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, through which ADT will design, construct and operate a state-of-the-art packaging facility for Borouge’s export products at Khalifa Port.
Borouge produces 2 million tonnes of polyolefins at its petrochemical plants in Ruwais and is currently expanding its industrial complex that will be resulted in increasing its total production capacity to 4.5 million tonnes in 2014. The new packaging facility set to be built at Khalifa Port is expected to be completed in early 2015 with a total capacity of 385,000 metric tonnes. Visit: www.borouge.com
INEOS Enterprises acquires Sasol Solvents Germany
Following clearance from the European Commission, INEOS Enterprises has successfully completed its agreement to purchase one of Europe’s leading solvent manufacturers, Sasol Solvents Germany. The acquisition includes production facilities at Moers on the Lower Rhine, and Herne in Germany’s industrial Ruhr district.
The addition of Sasol’s German based European Solvents businesses provides a complementary fit with the portfolio and expertise of INEOS and opens up new opportunities within its existing manufacturing sites in Germany. Both sites and their products will now be integrated into the new business to be called INEOS Solvents, itself a part of INEOS Enterprises.
Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are produced at Herne and oxygenated solvents isopropyl alcohol (IPA), secondary butyl alcohol (SBA), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) are produced at Moers. Visit: www.ineosenterprises.com
SABIC and Kringlan developing world’s first thermoplastic carbon composite wheel
SABIC, Kringlan Composites and other industry partners are working to further advance the development of the world’s first thermoplastic composite wheel. This ground breaking innovation leverages SABIC’s proprietary ULTEM™ resin and Kringlan’s proprietary three-dimensional composite design capabilities to create a material solution that can be used to replace traditional materials, such as metal and aluminum alloy, helping reduce weight and emissions, and potentially save manufacturing costs across industries from aerospace to automotive, and consumer goods.
Thierry Materne, vice-president, Technology & Innovation for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business, said, “Combining SABIC’s high-performance ULTEM resin with Kringlan’s proprietary three-dimensional manufacturing technology for carbon composites offers OEMs the opportunity for reduced weight, lower production costs as well as material recyclability. When compared to other thermoplastic materials, the ULTEM resin composite concept offers superior strength at high temperatures, dimensional stability as well as resistance to chemicals.” Visit: www.sabic.com
Clariant and Siemens to introduce New Technology for coal gasification
Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has signed an agreement with Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology to cooperate in the commercialisation of a new, jointly developed sour gas shift (SGS) technology for coal gasification. The agreement appoints Clariant as the exclusive catalyst supplier for all Siemens gasification integrated SGS projects. While the collaboration covers all global projects, commercialisation will focus on China – the region with the highest growth rate of coal-to-chemical projects.
The advanced SGS technology from Clariant and Siemens significantly decreases total capital cost for coal-to-chemical and IGCC applications through optimisation and simplification of total plant concepts. The entrained-flow Siemens Fuel Gasifier (SFG) is able to produce syngas from a wide range of fuels – even for low ranks of coal. Clariant’s new ShiftMax® 821 catalyst enables a simple, once-through process without further adjustment of the exit gas from the gasifier. Visit: www.clariant.com
INDUSTRYNEWS
WACKER Chemie AG is expanding its production capacity for dispersible polymer powders in Germany. The Munich-based chemical company is currently building a new spray dryer with an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons at its Burghausen site, investing an amount of around €20 million. The facility is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2015 and will be one of the largest of its kind worldwide.
“Worldwide, demand for high-quality dispersible polymer powders is rising particularly in residential construction and infrastructure measures,” explains Arno von der Eltz, president of WACKER POLYMERS. “We started to extend our dispersible polymer powder production at our Nanjing site at the end of last year and now want to push ahead with expanding our capacities in Burghausen, too – and thus strengthen our global position as a leading manufacturer of dispersible polymer powders.” Visit: www.wacker.com
LEHNKERING wins order from Bayer MaterialScience AG
LEHNKERING GmbH has won a tender procedure with Bayer MaterialScience AG and will in future handle the operating logistics for a large Bayer facility at the CHEMPARK Dormagen.
Bayer MaterialScience AG is currently investing more than €250 million in a new high-tech facility for producing TDI (toluene diisocyanate) at its Dormagen site. TDI is needed when producing flexible foam, a material that is used in car seats or mattresses, for example.
The tasks, for which LEHNKERING GmbH will be responsible at the major TDI facility in Dormagen, include extensive logistics activities like filling units, warehousing and loading packaged goods, handling bulk consignments in tankers and railway tank wagons and blending activities. Visit: www.lehnkering.com
Kemira completes acquisition
Kemira Oyj has closed the acquisition of BASF’s global AKD emulsion business. AKD is an alkyl ketene dimer based sizing agent, which impacts paper and board hydrophobicity or water resistance. The acquisition strengthens Kemira’s position in offering sizing products for the paper industry especially on the continental European market. Visit: www.kemira.com
Evonik operates a bubble column test plant in Germany
Evonik Industries has been operating a bubble column test facility in Marl (Germany) since May 2014 with the aim of optimising this process technology, which is very important for Evonik. With this facility, the speciality chemicals company is accumulating additional knowledge about hydroformylation, a process used in the company to synthesise aldehydes, a starting product for speciality chemicals.
Bubble columns are one of the most important pieces of production equipment in the chemical industry. As well as aldehydes, Evonik also uses the reactors to produce hydrogen peroxide, an oxidising and bleaching agent. Throughout the world, the chemical industry produces about 50 million metric tons of materials in bubble columns. “Our goal is to speed up the planning of large production plants and facilitate the development of new processes and methods,” says Prof Robert Franke, who is responsible for research into hydroformylation in Evonik’s Advanced Intermediates Business Unit. Visit: www.evonik.com
Dow makes new investment in KSA
The Dow Chemical Company has awarded Fluor Corporation the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its Reverse Osmosis (RO) manufacturing facility in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located in Jubail Industrial City II at the Sadara Chemical Company complex, the facility will locally manufacture high-tech RO elements that purify water for both drinking and industrial uses.
This is Dow’s first facility of its kind built outside the United States with an expected date of completion by the end of 2015. Over 100 jobs will be created at the facility, which will manufacture a range of Dow RO products including Dow FILMTEC™ brackish water RO elements and seawater RO elements. The facility will supply the local Saudi Arabian market as well as the wider Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and markets with similar critical water needs, including eastern Europe, India, China and South East Asia. Visit: www.dowwaterandprocess.com
