JV between Versalis and Genomatica
Versalis and Genomatica haveagreed to a jv for production ofbutadiene from renewable non-foodsources. The new company will bethe sole owner of the technology inEurope, Asia and Africa. Futurelicensees, including Versalis, will berequired to provide the necessarycapital to build and operate theirfacilities and for selling the butadieneproduced. Versalis will invest $20 Min development of the new processtechnology and will be the first touse the rights to build commercialplants. The jv will make use ofGenomatica’s expertise inbiotechnologies especially in themodification of microorganisms andfermentation of sugar. Versalis hasexpertise in catalysis, processdevelopment, and engineering.Versalis new strategy involvesinvolvement in innovation and theelastomer business.
Original Source: macplas e-news, 17 Apr 2013, (146)(Website: http://www.macplas.it/) © Promaplast srl2013. Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 22 Apr2013, (631), (Website:http://www.industrie.com/chimie) (in French) © ETAIInformation 2013
VTT to develop technology forOdebrecht’s cellulose-based ethanolproduction plant
VTT Technical Research Centre ofFinland exports its expertise as adeveloper of biomass processingtechnology to Brazil. Odebrecht ismaking preparations for secondgeneration ethanol production andplans to construct a demonstrationplant. VTT acts as Odebrecht’sresearch partner, tasked withdeveloping the technology used in thecompany’s processes. VTT makesuse of its experience in thedevelopment of biomass processingtechnology, applying it to the Braziliansugar cane biomass processingindustry. VTT’s research centre inBrazil has been granted R$ 10 M(about €3.8 M) in funding by thePAISS program, which supports theBrazilian sugar-energy industryreform, for the development ofproduction technology for Odebrecht’snew demonstration plant. Thedevelopment project is aimed atcombining cellulose-based secondgeneration ethanol production with
first generation ethanol productionand integrating these with electricityproduction.
Original Source: VTT Technical Research Centre, 2013.Found on SpecialChem Adhesives and SealantsFormulation, 1 May 2013 (Website:http://www.specialchem4adhesives.com)
WR Grace 1Q 2013: Grace announcespreliminary 1Q 2013 earnings; updates2013 earnings outlook
W R Grace & Co has announcedpreliminary 1Q 2013 net income of$52 M to $53 M, or $0.68 to $0.69 perdiluted share. Preliminary AdjustedEBIT is $104 M to $105 M andpreliminary Adjusted EPS is $0.80 to$0.81 per diluted share. Preliminarysegment operating income of theGrace Catalysts Technologiesbusiness segment is approximately$77 M. Preliminary sales for CatalystsTechnologies are approximately $266M. Preliminary segment gross marginis approximately 40% and preliminarysegment operating margin isapproximately 29%. CatalystsTechnologies’ preliminary sales andearnings are below companyexpectations primarily due to the lossof expected sales at four largecustomers from customer operationalissues and customer inventoryreductions (approximately $7 M inearnings) and the delay of expectedsales at five large customers,primarily of the company’s ART jointventure (approximately $5 M inearnings). As of 10 Apr 2013, Graceexpects 2013 Adjusted EBIT to be inthe range of $540 M to $560 M, anincrease of 4% to 8% compared with2012 Adjusted EBIT of $517.4 M. Thecompany expects 2013 AdjustedEBITDA to be in the range of $665 Mto $685 M.
Original Source: WR Grace & Co, website:http://www.grace.com (10 Apr 2013 ) © WR Grace &Co – Conn 2013
NEW PLANTSBASF erecting €150 M catalyst plantin Poland
BASF is to erect Europe’s largestautomotive catalysts plant west ofWroclaw, Poland. SCR catalysts and
particle filters for diesel engines willbe manufactured. A researchlaboratory and a plant for Premairozone destruction catalysts will alsobe erected at Sroda Slaska.Production is due to start in 1Q 2014with an initial 400 employees. By2016 there will be 10 productionlines at the site. Investment will total€150 M.
Original Source: Nachrichten für Aussenhandel, 18Mar 2013 (Website: http://www.maerkte-weltweit.de)(in German) © MBM Martin Brueckner Medien GmbH2013
Jiangsu Sailboat to build giant MTOunit in China
The Shenghong group’s subsidiaryJiangsu Sailboat Petrochemicals hasbegun construction work on theworld’s largest single train methanol-to-olefins unit. This will have833,000 tonne/y ethylene andpropylene capacity. Downstream, theunit will supply units makingpetrochemicals compounds with acombined capacity of 4 M tonne/y.The complex will be built inLianyungang, in Jiangsu province,China. The methanol-to-olefins unitwill open in 2015. Jiangsu SailboatPetrochemicals will use UOP’smethanol-to-olefins process(developed by Honeywell and Ineosand which combines UOP’smethanol-to-olefins process witholefins cracking processesdeveloped by YOP and Total). Thistechnology converts coal or naturalgas into olefins. This represents thefourth licence of this type granted byUOP. As part of the contract signedwith Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical,UOP will provide engineering work,training, technical services, catalystsand equipment. The size of theinvestment involved has not beendisclosed. A table gives details of 4methanol-to-olefins projects in Chinausing Honeywell’s process.
Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 29 Apr 2013,(632) (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie/) (in French) © ETAI Information 2013
BASF starts up DeNOx unit in TheNetherlands
BASF has commissioned a DeNOxinstallation in De Meern, TheNetherlands, for the production of
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F O C U S O N C A T A LY S T S
