Numaligarh Refinery and Finnish firm to build biorefinery in Assam

F O C U S catalysts manufacturing operation in Shanghai, China, further strengthening the company’s regional presence and its position as a leading supplier to the automotive industry. The inauguration event culminates a three-year expansion project which doubles the company’s production capacity for mobile emissions catalysts in China, adding new light duty emissions catalysts production lines, a new heavy duty diesel catalysts plant and a state-of-the-art automated warehousing facility. The project increases the site’s employee base by 120 positions. Catalysts technologies such as the Three-Way Catalyst (TWC), Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC), and the advanced Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology system for heavy duty diesel applications will be locally manufactured in Shanghai. Original Source: BASF, website: http://www.basf.com (16 Oct 2014) © BASF 2014

Clariant’s new catalyst facility to come on line in 2015 Operations at Clariant’s Ziegler-Natta polypropylene catalyst manufacturing facility in Louisville, KY, US, will start in 2015. The facility has been developed as part of a long-term cooperation deal between Clariant’s catalysts unit and energy infrastructure specialist CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business. Original Source: Chemistry and Industry (London), Sep 2014, 78 (3), 19 (Website: http://www.soci.org/) © Society of Chemical Industry 2014

GranBio begins cellulosic production in Brazil GranBio started producing cellulosic ethanol at its Bioflex 1 unit in Sao Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, Brazil, in Sep 2014. The new facility is the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol production unit to be brought online in the Southern Hemisphere. Using Beta Renewable’s Proesa pretreatment technology, along with yeast from DSM and enzymes from Novozymes, it will generate up to 21.66 M gal/y of bioethanol with a carbon intensity rating of 7.55 grams/megajoule of CO2. Construction of the project, which was completed in 20 months, was made possible by GranBio’s $190 M

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investment. GranBio, along with Carlos Lyra Group’s Caete unit, also invested $75 M in developing a cogeneration system adjacent to the plant to produce steam and electricity. Original Source: Ethanol Producer Magazine, Nov 2014, 20 (11), 25 (Website: http://www.ethanolproducer.com/) © BBI International 2014

Nizhnekamskneftekhim to start producing alkane dehydrogenation catalysts Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh), Kazan Federal University, and LLC Kataliz-Prom are jointly constructing a unit for the production of isoparaffin dehydrogenation catalysts at NKNKh. The line will have a maximum capacity of 2000 tonne/y, with subsequent expansion plan. The line’s output is planned to be used in NKNKh’s manufacture of synthetic rubber monomers. The unit is expected to reduce the company’s reliance on speciality chemicals imports. Around 20% of its approximately 100,000 tonnes total speciality chemicals consumption is supplied from foreign sources. Original Source: RCCnews, 24 Oct 2014, (Website: http://www.rccnews.ru/Eng) © RCCnews.ru 2014

Cellulosic ethanol advances Spain-based Abengoa has launched a 25 M gal/y cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, KS. The plant, which was built using a $97 M grant from the Department of Energy and a $132 M government loan guarantee, converts corn stover and other agricultural waste into ethanol using enzymatic hydrolysis. Meanwhile, DuPont has agreed with Macedonian officials to license its technology for a facility. Original Source: Chemical and Engineering News, 27 Oct 2014, 92 (43), 15 (Website: http://www.cenonline.org) © American Chemical Society 2014

Summit Group to construct corn ethanol plant in Brazil Iowa-headquartered Summit Group aims to build a 50 M gal/y corn ethanol unit near Lucas do Rio Verde in Mato Grosso, the leading agricultural state in west central Brazil and the largest producer of soybeans and corn in the country. The $140 M project, which will utilize an ICM Inc technology, will be brought online in

early 2016. It will be developed by Summit Group with the help of Fiagril. Original Source: Ethanol Producer Magazine, Nov 2014, 20 (11), 25 (Website: http://www.ethanolproducer.com/) © BBI International 2014

Numaligarh Refinery and Finnish firm to build biorefinery in Assam Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and Finland-based biorefining technology major Chempolis Ltd have agreed to jointly construct a cellulosic ethanol and chemical manufacturing plant in Assam, India. The proposed facility, which is expected to be completed in 2.5 years, will use bamboo feedstock to generate cellulosic ethanol, as well as bio-based furfural and acetic acid. It will employ Chempolis’ formicobio technology that involves selective fractionation of biomass and coproduction of various products. Original Source: Chemical Weekly, 28 Oct 2014, 136 (Website: http://www.chemicalweekly.com) © Sevak Publications & Chemical Weekly Database P Ltd 2014

NEW TECHNOLOGY Doing it differently: MTO technology opens new routes to light olefins Wison (Nanjing) Clean Energy Co Ltd has produced over 360 M lbs of light olefins at its plant in Nanjing, China, utilizing UOP’s breakthrough methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process technology. The plant is the first commercial-scale facility to use the UOP/Hydro MTO process technology and has been operational since Sep 2013. UOP’s innovative MTO process also paves the way for producing ethylene and propylene from methanol. There are four MTO licensees to date, all of which are located in China and are either based on commercial methanol or coal. By 2015, it is anticipated that over 10 M tonne/y of combined ethylene and propylene production capacity from MTO process will come on-stream in China. Shandong Yangmei Hengtong Chemicals Co Ltd is scheduled to kick off its 295,000 tonne/y of ethylene and propylene capacity using the MTO technology later in 2014. In 2015, Jiutai Energy (Zhungeer) Co is DECEMBER 2014