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BASF opens UK recycling plant
FOCUS Income was up 13% in 3Q 2011, with a 17% increase for Catalysis, 11% for Energy Materials, 0% for Performance Materials, and 22% for Recycling. Original Source: Het Financieele Dagblad, 20 Oct 2011 (Website: http://www.fd.nl) (in Dutch) © Het Financieele Dagblad 2011
UOP selected to provide technology for making petrochemicals in China UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has announced that it has been selected by Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co Ltd (Yantai Wanhua) to provide technology to produce key petrochemicals to meet growing demand in China. Yantai Wanhua will use Honeywell’s UOP process technology, catalysts and adsorbents to produce propylene, a building block for films and packaging, and isobutane, a raw material used in the polyurethane production process, at its plant in Yantai, China. PR Newswire, 13 Oct 2011 (Website: http://www.prnewswire.com)
Verenium announces up to $16 M in new secured financing Verenium Corp, a leading industrial biotechnology company developing and commercializing highperformance enzymes, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Comerica Bank and the ExportImport Bank of the US for two 18month, secured revolving credit facilities totalling up to $13 M. These new credit facilities will allow the company to borrow up to $10 M against its eligible foreign receivables, and up to $3 M against its eligible domestic receivables and inventory. PR Newswire, 20 Oct 2011 (Website: http://www.prnewswire.com)
NEW PLANTS BASF opens UK recycling plant BASF Metals Recycling has opened a plant in Cinderford, UK, for recycling precious metals from used catalytic converters and organic waste. The site will also have an analysis laboratory. Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 3 Oct 2011, (565), 4 (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie) © ETAI Information 2011
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Rhodia ready to serve the automotive pollution control market in China Rhodia, the world leader in rare earthbased formulations, announces the commissioning of a new production unit on its Liyang site in China. This plant, which until now produced formulations dedicated to the electroluminescence market, is now getting ready to produce rare earthbased compounds for the local automotive catalysis market. Among Rhodia’s six industrial sites worldwide producing formulations based on rare earths, only the factories in La Rochelle (France), Anan Kasei (Japan) and Cincinnati (US) manufacture compounds for automotive catalysis. With a rapidly growing automotive market in China and the rapid adoption of new standards governing vehicle emissions, Rhodia is putting itself in a position to service the Chinese market by the end of 2011. Rhodia has been pursuing its production activities in Liyang since 2000. The factory is located in Jiangsu, a coastal province between Shanghai and Nanjin. Employing about 415 people, this site boasts the expertise to purify and separate rare earths before proceeding with their formulation, in full compliance with the Group’s standards of operational excellence. The site currently produces formulations mainly for the international electronics market. Press release from: Rhodia SA, Immeuble Coeur Defense, Tour A, 110 esplanade Charles de Gaulle, 92400 Courbevoie, France, tel: +33 1 5356 6464, fax: +33 1 5356 6459, website: http://www.rhodia.com (3 Oct 2011) © ETAI Information 2011
Evonik to build plant for making biodiesel in Argentina German company Evonik Industries is building a new plant for the manufacture of catalysts for biodiesel production at Puerto General San Martin in Argentina. The company plans to further expand and strengthen its market position in this segment. The new plant is located in an area with a large production of biodiesel and is scheduled to come on-stream by the end of 2012 and will supply ready-to-use alkoxides as catalysts for the production of biodiesel from renewable raw
materials. The new plant will primarily supply the markets in Argentina and Brazil and will operate a production capacity of more than 60,000 tonne/y. Evonik already started operations in a production plant for catalysts used in the production of biodiesel in Mobile, AL, in 2009. The plant in Argentina is operating with the same technology that produces alkoxides in a direct reaction of alcohol and alkali. Evonik also manufactures speciality catalysts for the production of biodiesel at its plant in Niederkassel-Luelsdorf near Cologne in Germany. Original Source: Chemie Plus – Chemische Rundschau, Oct 2011, (10), 12 (in German) (Website: http://www.chemieplus.ch) © AZ Medien 2011
Süd-Chemie to build wheat straw-toethanol demo plant Süd-Chemie AG broke ground on 26 Jul 2011 on a 1000 ton/y cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in Straubing, Germany. The plant will produce cellulosic ethanol from wheat straw using the company’s trademarked sunliquid process. The biotechnological process involves the use of specially developed enzymes to break up the cellulose and hemicellulose in wheat straw into sugar monomers. Specialized yeasts from Süd-Chemie are used to turn the C5 and C6 sugars into ethanol in a single-pot reaction. Original Source: Biorefining Magazine, Sep 2011 (Website: http://www.biorefiningmagazine.com) © BBI International 2011
NEW TECHNOLOGY Catalytic activitity within FCC particles imaged Researchers at Utrecht University and Albemarle Corp at Pasadena, TX, and in Amsterdam have developed a method for imaging individual catalyst particles, which shows the distribution and activity of individual catalytic domains at different life stages of the particles. This is likely to accelerate the development of improved catalysts. Original Source: Nature Chemistry, Nov 2011, 3 (11), 839, 862-867 (Website: http://www.nature.com/naturechemistry) © MacMillan Publishers Ltd 2011
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UOP selected to provide technology for making petrochemicals in China UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has announced that it has been selected by Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co Ltd (Yantai Wanhua) to provide technology to produce key petrochemicals to meet growing demand in China. Yantai Wanhua will use Honeywell’s UOP process technology, catalysts and adsorbents to produce propylene, a building block for films and packaging, and isobutane, a raw material used in the polyurethane production process, at its plant in Yantai, China. PR Newswire, 13 Oct 2011 (Website: http://www.prnewswire.com)
Verenium announces up to $16 M in new secured financing Verenium Corp, a leading industrial biotechnology company developing and commercializing highperformance enzymes, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Comerica Bank and the ExportImport Bank of the US for two 18month, secured revolving credit facilities totalling up to $13 M. These new credit facilities will allow the company to borrow up to $10 M against its eligible foreign receivables, and up to $3 M against its eligible domestic receivables and inventory. PR Newswire, 20 Oct 2011 (Website: http://www.prnewswire.com)
NEW PLANTS BASF opens UK recycling plant BASF Metals Recycling has opened a plant in Cinderford, UK, for recycling precious metals from used catalytic converters and organic waste. The site will also have an analysis laboratory. Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 3 Oct 2011, (565), 4 (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie) © ETAI Information 2011
DECEMBER 2011
ON
C ATA LY S T S
Rhodia ready to serve the automotive pollution control market in China Rhodia, the world leader in rare earthbased formulations, announces the commissioning of a new production unit on its Liyang site in China. This plant, which until now produced formulations dedicated to the electroluminescence market, is now getting ready to produce rare earthbased compounds for the local automotive catalysis market. Among Rhodia’s six industrial sites worldwide producing formulations based on rare earths, only the factories in La Rochelle (France), Anan Kasei (Japan) and Cincinnati (US) manufacture compounds for automotive catalysis. With a rapidly growing automotive market in China and the rapid adoption of new standards governing vehicle emissions, Rhodia is putting itself in a position to service the Chinese market by the end of 2011. Rhodia has been pursuing its production activities in Liyang since 2000. The factory is located in Jiangsu, a coastal province between Shanghai and Nanjin. Employing about 415 people, this site boasts the expertise to purify and separate rare earths before proceeding with their formulation, in full compliance with the Group’s standards of operational excellence. The site currently produces formulations mainly for the international electronics market. Press release from: Rhodia SA, Immeuble Coeur Defense, Tour A, 110 esplanade Charles de Gaulle, 92400 Courbevoie, France, tel: +33 1 5356 6464, fax: +33 1 5356 6459, website: http://www.rhodia.com (3 Oct 2011) © ETAI Information 2011
Evonik to build plant for making biodiesel in Argentina German company Evonik Industries is building a new plant for the manufacture of catalysts for biodiesel production at Puerto General San Martin in Argentina. The company plans to further expand and strengthen its market position in this segment. The new plant is located in an area with a large production of biodiesel and is scheduled to come on-stream by the end of 2012 and will supply ready-to-use alkoxides as catalysts for the production of biodiesel from renewable raw
materials. The new plant will primarily supply the markets in Argentina and Brazil and will operate a production capacity of more than 60,000 tonne/y. Evonik already started operations in a production plant for catalysts used in the production of biodiesel in Mobile, AL, in 2009. The plant in Argentina is operating with the same technology that produces alkoxides in a direct reaction of alcohol and alkali. Evonik also manufactures speciality catalysts for the production of biodiesel at its plant in Niederkassel-Luelsdorf near Cologne in Germany. Original Source: Chemie Plus – Chemische Rundschau, Oct 2011, (10), 12 (in German) (Website: http://www.chemieplus.ch) © AZ Medien 2011
Süd-Chemie to build wheat straw-toethanol demo plant Süd-Chemie AG broke ground on 26 Jul 2011 on a 1000 ton/y cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in Straubing, Germany. The plant will produce cellulosic ethanol from wheat straw using the company’s trademarked sunliquid process. The biotechnological process involves the use of specially developed enzymes to break up the cellulose and hemicellulose in wheat straw into sugar monomers. Specialized yeasts from Süd-Chemie are used to turn the C5 and C6 sugars into ethanol in a single-pot reaction. Original Source: Biorefining Magazine, Sep 2011 (Website: http://www.biorefiningmagazine.com) © BBI International 2011
NEW TECHNOLOGY Catalytic activitity within FCC particles imaged Researchers at Utrecht University and Albemarle Corp at Pasadena, TX, and in Amsterdam have developed a method for imaging individual catalyst particles, which shows the distribution and activity of individual catalytic domains at different life stages of the particles. This is likely to accelerate the development of improved catalysts. Original Source: Nature Chemistry, Nov 2011, 3 (11), 839, 862-867 (Website: http://www.nature.com/naturechemistry) © MacMillan Publishers Ltd 2011
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