Flixborough 50 Years On: Stirring Memories and Sharing Memories
Paul Okey visits the Flixborough 1974 Exhibition with his dad to discover the stories behind the ...
Features
Flixborough 50 Years On: Application of Inherent Safety Principles to Plant Design
Steven Murphy and Graham Ackroyd look at how applying Trevor Kletz’s concept of inherent safety a...
Flixborough 50 Years On: Remembering Flixborough by Someone Who Wasn’t Alive in 1974
In the engineering industry, it is often asked if major incidents could ever happen again. Early-...
The Loch Ness Monster and Plant Safety
Martin Pitt recalls his time spotting monsters, and warns that just because they are hard to spot...
Flixborough 50 Years On: How Management of Change Failures Contributed to the Disaster
Richard Mundy reflects on the Court of Inquiry’s findings relating to what we now call management...
Flixborough 50 Years On: Safety is a Team Sport
A massive gap that wasn’t filled, key players in the wrong positions and no one taking overall re...
Polarised Positions Cast Shadow Over Global Plastics Treaty
Adam Duckett speaks to lobbyists about what they want from a global agreement to end plastic poll...
Flixborough 50 Years On: Legislation has been Transformed, Organisations not so much
Trish Kerin speaks to safety consultant Andrew Hopkins to find out how the safety culture at Flix...
Flixborough 50 Years On: Lessons for Managers and Engineers Today
Robin Turney says the lessons learned from the disaster are still as relevant now as they were in...
Why we Need to Engage with Primary School Children – and How to do it Effectively
Joy Parvin has 32 years of working in primary schools’ outreach under her belt. She reflects on w...
Microplastics Explainer
MICROPLASTICS are being found across the world and even in our bodies. Want to know what they are...
Let’s Go Round Again: Closing the Loop on Problem Plastics
With today’s Earth Day campaign calling for action on plastic production, Adam Duckett talks to J...
Our Research Focus: Going with the Flow Chemistry
Christian Holtze and Klaus Hellgardt on how the newly established IConIC consortium is aiming to ...
Oil Change: Using Microbes to Produce Edible Oils
With the food system threatening to crumble under the weight of a growing population, Chris Chuck...
Palm Oil in Numbers
Palm oil's impact and benefits in numbers
Become Natech Savvy
Aimee Russell highlights the issues you probably haven’t thought about when it comes to extreme w...
Better Safe Than Sorry (Whatever Safe Is)
Trevor J Hughes on why reducing risk will only come from engineers challenging cringeworthy ‘ma...
Sharing the Secrets of Greener Palm Oil
Adam Duckett interviews researchers working to optimise the palm oil sector
Making the Palm Oil Industry Greener
Environmental concerns regarding the palm oil industry are well documented. However, IOIEO’s Sust...
Rules of Thumb: Distillation
Henry Kister, senior Fellow and director of fractionation technology at Fluor USA, presents 13 ru...
Liquid Metal: a Catalyst for Change?
Requiring temperatures into the hundreds of degrees to work, solid catalysts prove incredibly ene...
Imagining What Chemical Engineering Will Look Like in 50 Years
Duncan Barker got in touch to share a prize-winning essay that he discovered his late father Andy...
Christmas Presents: Give them the Gift of ChemEng Knowledge
Paul Okey looks at present ideas to inspire budding chemical engineers (and maybe one or two to h...
Cleaner Cleaners: Creating More Sustainable Surfactants
Widely recognised for the part they play in keeping things clean, surfactants act as a key compon...
Current thinking: PFAS alternatives for semiconductors
The semiconductor industry has long been reliant on PFAS but that could be set to change thanks t...
Rules of Thumb: Scale-up
In the latest instalment of this practical series, Jamie Cleaver looks at the principles of scale...
Life as an Early Career Engineer
The National Early Careers Committee (UK & Ireland and Malaysia) sheds some light on the challeng...
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 6: Safety Implications from New Technologies
Roger Stokes and Michael Moosemiller outline the safety issues associated with conventional disti...
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 5: Optimisation and Control – An Industrial View
Doug White reviews the control and optimisation issues affecting typical existing distillation ...
Boksburg Blast Victims Deserve Investigation Report That is Not Buried
Forty-one people died when a road tanker exploded in the Boksburg suburb of Johannesburg in 2022....
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 4: Hybrid Schemes and Analysis
Izak Nieuwoudt reviews the hybrid schemes that can help process engineers reduce the energy use o...
Plastic Recycling: A Crosslinking Approach for Managing Mixed Waste
Amanda Jasi talks to Eugene Chen, Sanat Kumar, and Tomislav Rovis about the crosslinking solution...
Plastic Feedstocks: From Plants and Emissions
Kerry Hebden speaks to researchers exploring novel routes to greener plastics
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 3: Improvements Through the Use of Novel Mass Transfer Internals
The push for fewer emissions and greater profitability are driving the development of more effici...
How Digitalisation Drives Resource Efficiency for the Chemicals Industry
Anahita Khanlari says digitalisation can help boost efficiencies with minimal investment
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 2: Improvements Through the Use of Dividing Wall Columns
Dividing wall columns promise significant energy and cost savings compared to multiple binary dis...
Distillation Improvement Opportunities Part 1: Introduction - Your Greener Prospects
Daniel Summers introduces a new series calling on chemical engineers to take advantage of opportu...
Brewing Up a Storm: The Origins of Biotechnology Part 2
In this two-part contribution to his series about chemical engineering history, Martin Pitt focus...
Chemical Looping Diversity: Biofuels, Power, CCS and Chemicals
Adam Duckett and Amanda Jasi speak to engineers who are developing a variety of chemical looping ...
Brewing Up a Storm: The Origins of Biotechnology Part 1
In this contribution to his series about chemical engineering history, Martin Pitt turns his focu...
A Virtuous Circle: Chemical Looping has Solid Potential for Optimising Processes
Ben Anthony and Paul Fennell explore the advantages of chemical looping and call on governments t...
Our Research Focus: Converting batch production to continuous processing
Nikolay Cherkasov explains how complex compounds for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals can be pro...
Our Research Focus: Spinning out, going green
Jason Hallett on why forming spin-out companies became routine, and how he hopes to help others c...
A Short History of Unintended Consequences
In his ongoing series looking at the history of chemical engineering, Martin Pitt considers the h...
Troubled Waters and Systems Thinking
Adam Duckett on low-water marks and engineering highly-complex systems
Bidding Farewell to the Forever Chemicals
Paul Stevenson discusses options for remediation of PFAS contamination
The Explosive Foundation of IChemE
With IChemE’s Centenary celebrations under way, Martin Pitt explores the chemical engineers who i...
Sustainable Business Decisions
Paul Hodges discusses the challenges that companies should consider on the path to a sustainabl...
100 Centuries of Chemical Engineering
In a prelude to IChemE’s centenary celebrations, IChemE Fellow Martin Pitt charts the influence o...
Careers in Chemical Engineering: Chris Jansen
Yasmin Ali speaks to Worley's Chris Jansen about his work in robotics strategies development, hel...
Separation Anxiety
Darren Broom discusses the need for new developments to address the challenges around multicompon...
Webinar: Improve the Accuracy of Your Final Analysis
ON 10 November, The Chemical Engineer hosted a free webinar to discuss techniques to improve the ...
Towards a Circular Chemical Economy: Stakeholders’ Perspectives
Bing Xu, Umit Bititci, Melissa Marques, Mengfei Jiang, and Jin Xuan discuss challenges and motiva...
Time for Change
Adam Duckett on the UK energy crisis and opportunities for change
A Life in Lithium
The future of energy needs chemical engineers, and lots of them, say Jacob Brown, Titi Oliyide, L...
The Middlewich Job (the Pump Preservation Society)
In the fourth in a series about chemical engineers who volunteer their skills to contribute to so...
Warm Up Acts
Tom Baxter examines the challenges and opportunities of electrifying process heating
The Chemical Industry’s Balancing Act
Lars Krause and Michael Carus discuss crediting the value of bio- and CO2-based and recycled mate...
Action Plans
Adam Duckett on the US President’s climate push and jobs plan
Transforming Supply Chains
Industry will be forced to adapt, says Paul Hodges
Taking Aim
Malcolm Wilkinson and members of IChemE’s Sustainability Special Interest Group discuss the futur...
Making Every Molecule Matter: The Technology Journey
Nick Flinn describes the technologies that may play a crucial role as the energy transition develops
Brexit: Thomas Swan urges businesses to get ready for 1 January
CHEMICALS manufacturer Thomas Swan is urging businesses to act now to be ready for new trading ru...
Design Fire Fighting
What do you do when you unexpectedly lose a crucial piece of your refinery complex? Shahidan Lail...
A Circular Economy for Plastics
What’s standing in the way of us closing the loop on plastics? Mark Vester discusses
Six Keys to Recovery for the Chemicals Industry
Six digital technologies that can be implemented now to achieve greater visibility and insights f...
Decarbonisation Versus Profits
Mercedes Maroto-Valer discusses how the chemical industry can contribute to post-pandemic net zero
How Chemicals Companies Can Drive Operational Resilience with the Digital Twin
Paige Marie Morse explains how companies have been using digital technologies to adapt to the cor...
Chemical Plants: Surviving the Coronavirus Storm
Joan Cordiner looks at how operations have adapted to the pandemic
Book Review: Databook of Green Solvents 2nd Edition
Anna Wypych and George Wypych ; ISBN: 978-1-927885-43-7; ChemTec Publishing; 2019; US$285
On the Road to Digital
Chemicals businesses must not delay on digitalisation if they want to transform their operations,...
Curbing Carbon Emissions with Green Methanol
Carbon Recycling International (CRI) has pioneered a process to transform CO2 emissions into meth...
Delta HAZOP: Revalidation and Focus on Major Accident Hazards
Paul Kenny shares insights on a new HAZOP technique trialled at ExxonMobil’s Fawley site in the U...
Keep it All In: How to Bund with Confidence
Kevin Wheeler explains bunding’s vital role and offers a practical summary of issues to consider ...
12 Steps to a Green Chemicals Score
Merck's free-to-all method for product sustainability scoring
Book review: The Dyes – Scotland’s dyestuff pioneers and a century of chemical manufacturing in Grangemouth
John Blackie; ISBN: 978-1-9993700-0-8; Dyes Publishing; 2019; £15
AM: Keeping it Clean
How atmospheric gases will be key to future additive manufacturing.
Uses of Hydrogen in Industry
Hydrogen is recognised as a high purity premium product. Andy Brown describes some of its many ...
Back to the Future
Andrew Coe and James Paterson explain developments on part of the solution to the dual energy cha...
Two become one
ON 25–26 June the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology ...
Webinar: discover how BASF is analysing data to improve yield
ON 18 June, The Chemical Engineer will host a webinar looking at how chemicals major BASF has use...
Snapshot: Royal Mail stamp of approval for engineering excellence
The UK’s Royal Mail has revealed ten new special stamps which feature “marvels” of British engine...
Answering the Call of Nature
Dyllon Randall explains how bio-bricks can be grown from human urine
Breaking the Mould
Michaël Kolk explains why chemical firms should unleash the power of convergence
UN report calls for urgent action to tackle chemical pollution
INDUSTRY will not achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste by 2020 without...
Little Wonder
Adam Duckett speaks to chemical engineer Bill Grieco, CEO of the RAPID Manufacturing Institute, a...
Worth its Weight
It is increasingly important for companies to maximise the sustainability of their manufacturing ...
118 elements in 200,000 knots
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev’s periodic table, biochemistry graduate Jane Stew...
Deal or No Deal?
No deal is now the base case – are you ready for Brexit?
From Slime to Sublime
The potential of algae to recover valuable resources from waste could transform the traditional w...
Developing Policies: What Can We Do?
Increasing chemical engineering contributions to sustainable policy development: an Australian ...
Bioprocessing insights on getting the most from your data
Ahead of our coming webinar on 9 October, the presenters from JMP and GSK discuss using data to i...
Nereda: Redefining Effluent Treatment
There is a new player in the wastewater process sector, re-writing the rules of the game
Add It Up!
How 3D printing of reactors can help chemical engineers with process intensification
Diverter Valves: No Longer Just for Special Applications
Why we should give more thought to these versatile, durable valves
Pump Action
Tips for selecting a pumping system for chemical treatment and comparing different dosing systems
Sadara: Lessons Learned
How to stay on budget with large, complex projects
Industrial Aftermath: Project Ends Toxic Pesticide Legacy
Mag Sim of Pure Earth takes us inside the collaborative effort that cleaned up a polluted industr...
Get more from your data, increase yields and reduce costs
Ahead of our coming webinar on 19 June, Stan Higgins says we are not getting the value from our d...
How to Build a Retina
Chemical synthesis of a retina, and how it can ‘see’ the world around it
Friendly Foams
Building the UK’s first captured-carbon polymerisation plant
The Privilege of Being First
An insider’s view of the technical challenges overcome at the pioneering Boundary Dam CCS project...
Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry – In Search Of An Application
Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry: the chemist and the tinkerer who created the Post-it Note
Rubbish Roads
A solution to the world’s plastic problem could be right under our feet. Toby McCartney, MacRebur...
Applying Chemistry
How chemical engineering developed in Nigeria
Securing a Safe Future for Gas
Hydrogen: a way to provide safe, sustainable and clean energy to satisfy rising demand and meet ...
Tomio Wada – My Grandad the Pocket Calculator
Claudia Flavell-While explores the surprising ancestry of modern electronic gadgets, and how a ch...
Cosmetics Industry: Making More of Ancient Methodologies
Ancient methodologies, such as fermentation and cold pressing, are finding new uses in natural co...
A Greener Future for IChemE
The BioFutures Programme will address the opportunities and challenges faced by the chemical engi...
Buses Full of Beans
The route from coffee waste to biofuel: Dickon Posnett, Argent Energy Director of Corporate Affai...
Solar-Powered Water Purification Wins Top Prize
Helen Tunnicliffe reviews the winners of IChemE’s annual awards programme
How to Limit Amine Systems Failures
A review of incident trends reveals ways to reduce risks to production
A Beacon for Biotech
Neil Clark ventures inside University of Nottingham’s new green chemicals hub
Surviving the storm
Joan Cordiner, Technical and Change Manager, Syngenta Houston speaks to Helen Tunnicliffe
Technology Sharing
Why we must harness the power of horizontal innovation in the formulation sector
Usher in a New Age
Adam Duckett on ushering in a new era
Nicolas Leblanc – Revolutionary discoveries
One of the first chemicals to be produced at industrial scale, a product that laid the foundation...
Waldo Semon – Rubber, PVC and... bubblegum?
Waldo Semon has a lot to answer for, finds Claudia Flavell-While
Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch – Feed the World
No chemical engineering feat better illustrates the double-edged nature of many inventions than t...
News
HSE fines Scottish solvents manufacturer for Walkerburn explosion
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined solvents manufacturer Rathburn Chemicals £40,000 ...
Adnoc to acquire German chemicals giant Covestro for €15.9bn
THE Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is set for a €15.9bn (US$18bn) takeover of German chem...
Australian researchers use liquid metal catalysts to develop low-carbon ammonia
RESEARCHERS from a Melbourne university have developed a low-carbon method of making ammonia usin...
Evonik targets €1.5bn sales boost with sustainable research strategy
GERMAN specialty chemicals firm Evonik expects to generate an additional €1.5bn (US$1.7bn) in sal...
Lego building for a greener future as it increases sustainable feedstocks
THOSE LEGO bricks you buy for your children (or sometimes yourself) are on their way to becoming ...
German DAC startup opens lab to develop ‘high quality’ carbon capture sorbents
GERMAN-BASED startup NeoCarbon has opened a chemical laboratory at its Berlin site to test out th...
UK government must do more to avert worrying outlook for UK chemicals sector, think tank warns
TENS of thousands of jobs in the UK chemical sector are at risk due to lagging decarbonisation po...
Mitsubishi to invest £250m doubling plastic output at Saltend site
MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL is investing £250m (US$328m) to double production of packaging plastic at its...
A shot of whisky and some chemical feedstocks please
WHISKY waste could provide high-value feedstocks such as lactic acid for the pharmaceuticals and ...
Saudi Aramco agrees US$702m deal with Sumitomo Chemical for majority stake in Petro Rabigh
OIL AND GAS giant Saudi Aramco will become the majority stakeholder of Petro Rabigh in a deal wor...
Woodside agrees US$2.35bn deal for OCI clean ammonia plant
WOODSIDE is buying a low-carbon ammonia plant in the US for US$2.35bn as it looks to expand into ...
Veolia sells sulfuric acid regen business for US$620m
VEOLIA has sold its North American sulfuric acid regeneration business to private equity group Am...
US industry risking lives due to lack of remote isolation equipment, CSB warns
US CHEMICAL facilities are putting lives at risk by failing to heed lessons learned from loss of ...
Frances Arnold awarded ACS ‘highest honour’
NOBEL prize-winning chemical engineer Frances Arnold has been handed the American Chemistry Socie...
Jonathan Vincent awarded Young Ambassador award by CIA
JONATHAN VINCENT has been awarded the Young Ambassador of the Year Award by the UK’s Chemical Ind...
Shell adds CCS projects to Canada energy and chemicals complex
SHELL is expanding CCS capabilities at its refinery and chemicals complex in Alberta, Canada with...
Adnoc enters ‘concrete negotiations’ with Covestro for €14.4bn buyout
AFTER more than a year of courting, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has entered “concr...
US Department of Energy commits US$213m for construction of organic acids facility
THE US Department of Energy (DOE) has made a conditional commitment of US$213.6m to sustainable c...
Royal Society of Chemistry calls for a chemicals agency to overhaul ‘broken’ UK regulatory system
AHEAD of the UK’s 4 July general election, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is urging the nex...
Novel Honeywell technology reduces emissions from light olefins production
HONEYWELL is promising to reduce emissions intensity from olefin production by up to 50% with its...
DuPont to cleave off electronics and water businesses
CHEMICALS and science-based product company DuPont has announced plans to split from its electron...
Government calls for stakeholder views on changes to UK REACH
CHEMICAL businesses, downstream chemical users, and other stakeholders are being called to consul...
TPC Group slapped with US$30m fine for Texas chemical blast
THE Texas Petrochemical Company (TPC) Group has been ordered to pay US$30m in criminal and civil ...
Sumitomo Chemical cutting 10% of workforce to stem bleeding from record US$2bn losses
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL will slash 4,000 jobs and restructure its business to “stop the bleeding” of it...
US polluters will pay for PFAS contamination cleanup following EPA ruling
PFAS polluters have been targeted by new legislation introduced by the US labelling two widely us...
Australia invests A$400m in alumina amid global critical minerals race
AUSTRALIAN aluminum manufacturer Alpha HPA is set to benefit from a A$400m (US$258m) government c...
World-first electric steam cracker demo starts operations in push to slash emissions by 90%
BASF, SABIC and Linde have started operating a demonstration plant to prove that electrically hea...
ExxonMobil to shut down French steam cracker and cut 677 jobs
ENERGY costs continue to pummel the European oil and gas market, with ExxonMobil announcing plans...
East Palestine train derailment: Norfolk Southern agrees to $600m payout
FREIGHT train operator Norfolk Southern (NS) has agreed to pay a settlement of US$600m to residen...
Mura and Ghent Uni join forces to extend recycling process to other problem plastics
MURA TECHNOLOGY, the firm behind a plastics recycling demonstration plant that’s under constructi...
US environmentalists call for ‘total ban’ on PFAS usage in response to new standard
THE LONG-AWAITED US standard for PFAS in drinking water has been met with a lukewarm response fro...
X-energy and Cavendish given £3m to assess Hartlepool ‘gumball’ nuclear reactor
X-ENERGY and Cavendish Nuclear have been awarded £3.34m (US$4.24m) by the UK government to assess...
3M to pay water companies up to US$12.5bn over PFAS contamination
3M will pay US public water companies up to US$12.5bn to tackle PFAS, after a district court gave...
UK’s Hynet carbon capture pipeline given the greenlight
A PIPELINE that will transport industrial CO2 for storage beneath Liverpool Bay has been approved...
UK ammonia cracking plant takes first steps in push towards hydrogen economy
AN AMMONIA cracking system has started operations at the Tyseley Energy Park in the UK, as develo...
Ineos proposes closure of Grangemouth ethanol plant
INEOS is looking to close its ethanol plant at the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex in the UK a...
Scottish biotech firms to benefit from £847,000 investment
BIO-BASED manufacturing companies in Scotland are set to reap the benefits of an £847,000 (US$1.1...
Sarawak signs deal with Gentari to build hydrogen production hub
MALAYSIA’S Sarawak state is gearing up to develop a world-scale hydrogen production hub following...
Evonik to slash 2,000 jobs in cost-cutting overhaul
GERMAN chemical company Evonik plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide after it reported a net loss of ...
Industry and skills groups react coolly to government budget
THE UK’s spring budget has received a mixed reaction from engineering and manufacturing groups, a...
Further job losses expected as BASF announces more cost cutting at its Ludwigshafen site
BASF has announced further measures to cut costs at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany. It aims to ...
Electric avenue: researchers use electric fields to catalyse chemical reactions
WHAT if you could one day catalyse your industrial reactions with electric fields rather than the...
Covestro turns to nature to divert aniline production away from fossil feedstocks
A PROCESS that uses genetically modified microorganisms to make a chemical used in insulating foa...
QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical break ground on US$6bn Ras Laffan petrochemical complex
OWNERS QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) have started construction on a US$6bn p...
New Zealand bans PFAS in cosmetics
NEW ZEALAND has banned the use of PFAS in cosmetic products from the end of 2026 to protect consu...
BASF to exit Chinese venture following human rights abuse reports
BASF is accelerating its exit from two joint ventures in China following allegations that its par...
Small nuclear reactors could power Teesside chemicals industry
A DEAL has been struck to build a fleet of four small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Teesside...
Imperial College and Liverpool Uni to lead AI chemistry hub
A NEW UK research hub has received £12m (US$15m) in funding to investigate how AI can accelerate ...
Training and materials choices blamed for fatal Texas blast
POOR materials selection and staff training failures contributed to an explosion and fire at a KM...
Sumitomo Chemical CO2-to-methanol pilot plant now operational
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL has completed the construction of a pilot facility which uses CO2 generated fro...
Coolbrook successfully cracks naphtha in its electric steam cracking pilot plant
COOLBROOK has successfully demonstrated electric steam cracking of naphtha in its large-scale pil...
UK government lays out national vision for engineering biology industry
THE UK government has said it will invest £2bn (US$2.5bn) over the next ten years in engineering ...
OSHA says worker death at factory in Massachusetts, US, could have been prevented
AN EXPLOSION that killed a worker at a pharmaceutical plant in Newburyport, Massachusetts, US, co...
Grangemouth set to cease refining operations as ‘major questions’ asked
GRANGEMOUTH refinery in Scotland could cease operations in 2025 and become a fuel import terminal...
UK government’s targeted approach proposal for UK REACH, ‘a step in the right direction’
THE UK government is planning to introduce an alternative transitional registration model (ATRm) ...
Chemical spill injures five at Western Australian alumina refinery
TWO PEOPLE were hospitalised, and three others also injured, after a spill of caustic solution at...
TfS white paper explores new approaches to counting carbon in chemical sector
A WHITE paper released by global chemical initiative Together for Sustainability (TfS) has i...
Two workers at Fukushima nuclear site hospitalised after being splashed with contaminated fluid
TWO contractors are under observation in hospital after they were exposed to contaminated liquid ...
Petronas Chemicals Group to build Asia’s 'largest advanced chemical recycling plant'
PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP (PCG) has unveiled plans to build what it claims to be Asia’s largest ad...
Lanxess to cut 870 jobs amid German chemical industry downturn
GERMAN speciality chemicals group Lanxess plans to cut 870 jobs worldwide. The firm has blamed a ...
New novel use of glycerol helps make renewable hydrogen and propane fuel gases
GLYCEROL, a naturally occurring alcohol made from the hydrolysis of fats and oils, is being used ...
Worker dies in Melbourne chemicals plant blast
A MAN has died in an explosion at a chemical plant in Melbourne, Australia.
US ammonia tanker spill kills five, injures seven
ANHYDROUS ammonia released from a tanker during a traffic incident in Teutopolis, US, is believed...
Prince William unveils third class of Earthshot Prize finalists leading the way in climate change solutions
A GREENER and more easily recycled lithium-ion battery, a microbial fuel cell for cleaning water ...
Low-carbon industries must inspire young recruits and support worker transitions to fill the UK green skills gap
LOW-CARBON industries such as hydrogen, carbon capture, and nuclear, need to promote careers outr...
CSB releases final report on fatal 2020 explosion at Optima Belle
THE US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has released its final report on the ...
UK dye recycling startup recognised by the fashion industry while a demonstrator launches for textile circularity
DYERECYCLE, a startup of Imperial College London, UK working to recover and reuse dyes in the fas...
Johnson Matthey licenses technology for largest-of-its-kind biodegradable plastics plant
JOHNSON MATTHEY is licensing its butanediol (BDO) process technology for a new plastics plant in ...
LyondellBasell, Technip Energies, and Chevron Philips Chemical to demo electric steam cracking furnace technology
LYONDELLBASELL, Technip Energies, and Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) have signed a memorandum...
Jupiter Ionics announced as a finalist for the Spinoff Prize 2023
JUPITER Ionics, a spinoff from Monash University, Australia that aims to produce ammonia in a zer...
BASF strengthens R&D capabilities with a more powerful supercomputer
BASF has started up a new supercomputer at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany, which it says is the...
Peak Cluster: UK lime and cement producers join forces to capture 3m t/y of emissions
CEMENT and lime producers in the UK have formed a carbon capture and storage cluster – the Peak C...
Recovering heat, capturing carbon and switching fuels: UK industry awarded funds to engineer out emissions
CHEMICAL companies and food manufacturers are among the latest firms to receive millions in UK go...
OCI Global and Petrofac partner to accelerate delivery of important green transport fuels
OCI Global, which produces and distributes ammonia, fertiliser, and methanol, has partnered with ...
IChemE and AIChE form hydrogen alliance
ICHEME and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) have agreed to work together to s...
Five killed in chemical plant explosion in China
FIVE people have been killed, one is missing, and another is being treated for injuries in hospit...
Ineos steps into Asia phenol with purchase of Mitsui’s Singapore plants
INEOS has bought Mitsui Chemicals’ phenol production plants in Singapore for US$330m.
Australia sets new limits on heavy industry in push for decarbonisation
AUSTRALIA has passed legal reforms that set a hard cap on industrial emissions and require new ga...
A century of chemical engineering at UCL
ICHEME president David Bogle has given a speech to UCL students in which he traced the history of...
Birmingham Uni and Innospec join forces to develop safe and responsible chemicals
THE University of Birmingham has teamed up with chemical company Innospec to accelerate research ...
Sabic to assess Coolbrook’s greener cracking technology
SABIC has agreed to assess Coolbrook’s turbomachine technology which is being piloted as a greene...
EU launches net zero plan to rival US greentech incentives
THE EU has outlined its plans for scaling-up the manufacturing of crucial clean technologies as i...
IChemE joins bid to create Australian hydrogen research centre
ICHEME is joining a proposed Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Australia that would work to ex...
Linde joins Coolbrook in push to turbocharge greener cracking
LINDE has formed a strategic partnership with Coolbrook to develop and deploy a turbomachine desi...
BASF announces 2,600 jobs losses as it cuts costs in Europe
BASF has announced that it is taking additional cost cutting measures in Europe, primarily at its...
Ineos secures €3.5bn for its huge European chemicals investment
INEOS has raised €3.5bn (US$3.7bn) for the construction of a world-scale ethylene plant in Belgiu...
Emerson wins automation contract for Ras Laffan petchem complex
EMERSON has won the contract to supply automation and analytics technology for the US$6bn Ras Laf...
Solvay will use rice husks for greener tyre chemicals
SOLVAY said it will open a new unit at a chemicals plant in Italy that will halve the carbon foot...
Ineos buys former BASF concrete chemicals business
INEOS is buying MBCC’s admixture business from Sika, acquiring manufacturing sites in the US, Can...
CSB identifies six key safety issues that led to 2018 Superior refinery explosion
FAILURE to learn from a similar incident investigation released less than a year prior is among s...
New integrated, net-negative system captures carbon and produces ethylene
FOCUSED on integrating technologies that capture and use CO2 in a closed loop carbon cycle, engin...
3M pledges to stop making and using “forever chemicals” by 2025
US manufacturing firm 3M has said it will stop making and using PFAS, a group of over 4700 indust...
Partners take FID on major Saudi petrochemical facility
SAUDI Aramco and TotalEnergies have taken a final investment decision (FID) to construct a huge p...
Company fined £800,000 for near-fatal 2020 explosion
COATINGS company International Paint has been fined £800,000 (US$976,512) for a near-fatal 2020 e...
TerraPower and SCS install test facility to advance molten chloride fast reactor
NUCLEAR reactor developer TerraPower, and US utility Southern Company have completed the installa...
LanzaTech produces ethylene directly from CO2
PROCESS technology company LanzaTech has successfully engineered biocatalysts to directly produce...
BASF to downsize in Europe as chemicals trade group warns the sector is at breaking point
BASF has said it must “permanently” cut costs at its European sites to protect the company from w...
Final report into 2019 PES fire released
THE FINAL report into a massive fire and subsequent explosions that took place in June 2019 at th...
Electrification of steam cracking: BASF demo set to operate in 2023
BASF, SABIC and Linde have begun electrifying a steam cracker at the huge Ludwigshafen chemicals ...
Large fire breaks out at UK chemical storage unit
FIREFIGHTERS have responded to a large fire at a chemical storage unit in Staffordshire, UK after...
Short on sulfur: Is a potential resource crisis about to threaten food security and stifle green technology?
A NEW study by researchers at UCL suggests that supplies of sulfuric acid, a vital ingredient use...
New ‘forever chemical’ elimination method ‘might be the start of something practically interesting’
A TEAM of multinational researchers has developed a novel method for breaking down environmentall...
UK set to host rare earths processing hub in push for cleantech security
THE UK is set to host a new US$195m rare earth processing hub that Pensana is building at the Sal...
Dow goes nuclear: chemical firm will install reactors at US chemicals complex
DOW will install advanced nuclear reactors at one of its Gulf Coast sites to provide low carbon p...
Wood wins contract to engineer Ineos’ huge European chemicals project
WOOD has won a contract worth more than US$100m to help engineer a chemicals facility in Belgium ...
UK gas storage capacity set to double amid concerns that supply shortages could force industry closures
CENTRICA has been given the green light to seek approval to resume gas storage operations at its ...
Ineos signs major petchem deals with Sinopec
GLOBAL chemicals firm Ineos has signed three back-to-back deals with Chinese chemical giant Sinop...
Johnson Matthey will invest £80m in hydrogen fuel cell factory
JOHNSON Matthey (JM) will invest £80m (US$96m) in expanding its site in Royston, UK to manufactur...
BASF approves investment in €10bn world-scale Chinese chemicals complex
BASF has approved the construction of the core of its €10bn (US$10bn) integrated chemicals site i...
Imperial College and BASF strengthen partnership that seeks innovative chemicals development
IMPERIAL College London and BASF have strengthened their partnership to advance chemicals develop...
Chemical campaigners warn against lagging UK restrictions
CONCERNS of a widening gap between the EU and UK on hazardous chemical regulation have emerged fo...
UK sets up centre to advise on critical minerals, amid warnings of supply risks
THE UK has established a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre in Nottingham to help the country ...
Plant-based alternative to plastic microbeads set for scaleup
ENGINEERS have received funding to scale up a technology that produces sustainable alternatives t...
Toxic gas leak kills 13 in Jordan
A LEAK of toxic chlorine gas at Aqaba’s Red Sea port has killed 13 people and injured more than 3...
One killed in Chinese petrochemical plant fire
ONE person was killed by a fire which broke out at an ethylene glycol facility belonging to the s...
Six people missing following blast at Chinese pesticide site
At least eight people are injured, and six others are missing after an explosion at a chemical fa...
Chemical blasts in Bangladesh kill at least 41 people, say reports
A CHEMICAL blaze and explosions at a container depot in Bangladesh have killed at least 41 people...
News reports fatal chemical blasts in India
NEWS sites have reported fatal chemical incidents in India’s Hapur district, in the state of Utta...
Drax to trial innovative carbon capture technology
RENEWABLE energy firm Drax is working with the University of Nottingham, UK and Promethean Partic...
Teesside picked for first green fuels plant
TEESSIDE is set to host the first plant in the UK to produce a drop-in fuel called rDME that is p...
Australian universities join forces to commercialise clean tech
AUSTRALIA’S University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) and University of Newcastle have received...
Six dead after ‘worst industrial fire in Slovenia’s recent history’
SIX people are dead following an explosion and fire yesterday at the Melamin chemical plant in Ko...
Ineos awards Técnicas Reunidas contract for massive European chemicals investment
INEOS has awarded Técnicas Reunidas a contract to engineer a world-scale ethylene plant in Belgiu...
AI discovers routes for recycling chemical waste
RESEARCHERS have used artificial intelligence (AI) to discover routes for recycling waste into us...
Mixed reaction as Government moves to shield heavy industry from spiralling energy costs
THE UK Government is extending a compensation scheme to help shield heavy industry from rising en...
AkzoNobel and Microsoft work to fast-track development of new paints and coatings
AKZONOBEL has entered a collaboration with Microsoft to explore how quantum computing can fast-tr...
Veolia to produce biomethanol using pulp mill feedstock
VEOLIA has announced plans for a biorefinery in Finland that will produce biomethanol using feeds...
BP supports green skills hub to train Teessiders
BP is developing educational programmes with Redcar & Cleveland College that will train people fo...
Green investor partners with spinout for novel fluid flow characterisation technology
UNIVERSITY of Birmingham spinout Rheality and investment company Clean Engineering have partnered...
Fluor will engineer Itero’s chemicals recycling process
FLUOR has won the contract to engineer a chemical recycling demonstration plant for Itero in the ...
Petronas to become Southeast Asia’s sole melamine provider
PETRONAS Chemicals claims it will become Southeast Asia’s sole melamine producer after awarding a...
Converting methane directly into useful chemicals
RESEARCHERS have demonstrated that a gold catalyst can be used to convert methane directly into m...
Turbocharging towards CO2-free cracking
ENGINEERS at Coolbrook and ABB have set their sights on replacing steam cracking technology with ...
CO2 supply agreement reached as chemicals sector suffers climbing costs
UK industry has reached an updated agreement to ensure supplies of CO2 keep flowing as a trade gr...
ExxonMobil developing roadmaps towards net zero
EXXONMOBIL is developing emission-reduction roadmaps for its major facilities and assets, which w...
Johnson Matthey targets greener aviation demand with new reverse water gas shift technology
JOHNSON Matthey (JM) has launched a new reverse water gas shift technology called HyCOgen to prod...
RSC calls for action to reuse huge volumes of leftover paint
THE UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is calling for the Government to support a national rem...
UK to launch consultation on chemicals policy
THE UK Government has said that it will launch a consultation next year on the UK REACH chemicals...
Sugar beet could kickstart Scottish bioeconomy
GROWING sugar beet in Scotland and processing it at a new biorefinery could help the country beco...
Shell invests in upgrader as it pivots towards circular chemicals at Singapore site
SHELL will build a new pyrolysis oil upgrader unit at its Pulau Bukom site in Singapore as part o...
Plastic Energy and Axens join forces to license circular plastics processes
PLASTIC ENERGY has partnered with engineering services firm Axens to license its plastics recycli...
Students awarded first US$5m from Elon Musk’s carbon removal prize
23 student-led teams have won the first US$5m portion of the US$100m carbon removal prize launche...
CRI will build second Chinese plant to produce methanol from industrial emissions
CARBON Recycling International (CRI) has agreed to design a plant to produce methanol from captur...
Biotech demonstrator will produce acetone from captured industrial emissions
NORWAY is set to host a demonstration plant that will use biotechnology to convert 10,000 t/y of ...
HyNet secures new hydrogen customers
MAJOR producers of food, ceramics, glass, paper and cars – including PepsiCo and Jaguar Land Rove...
Dow plans zero emissions ethylene complex
DOW plans to create the world’s first net-zero emissions ethylene and derivatives complex, throug...
New partners join industrial initiative to electrify EU crackers
REPSOL and Versalis have joined the Cracker of the Future consortium, which is working to develop...
North-west industry calls for UK Government action to support green growth
INDUSTRY in north-west England has published a manifesto, calling on the UK Government to impleme...
UK CO2 users agree short-term price fix to keep gas flowing
INDUSTRIAL gas users in the UK have struck a short-term deal on the prices they pay for CO2 to ke...
UK Government props up industry to prevent CO2 shortage
THE UK Government has been forced to step in and pay for industry to keep producing CO2 after a r...
Partners share open-source PFAS-free packaging technique
FOLLOWING nine months of collaboration, partners Solenis and Zume have open-sourced a recipe and ...
UK regulator relaxes effluent rules as water treatment firms begin running out of chemicals
A SHORTAGE of chemicals used to treat wastewater in the UK has led the Environment Agency to rela...
Partners launch digitally-forward plant project
METHACRYLATE manufacturer Rӧhm has partnered with engineering consultant Wood to launch a signifi...
Four more industry players sign up for BP’s Teesside hydrogen plans
BP has signed MoUs with four customers interested in using hydrogen produced at its proposed prod...
Engineered yeast strain could revive interest in non-food bio-feedstocks
CHEMICAL engineers at MIT have genetically engineered yeast that are tolerant to toxic biorefinin...
UK seeks input on plans to use high temperature nuclear reactors to produce heat for industry
HIGH temperature gas nuclear reactors (HTGRs) could provide low-carbon process heat to help decar...
Two workers killed in acetic acid leak
TWO workers have been killed by an acetic acid leak at a LyondellBasell plant in Texas, US.
At least two killed in explosion at German chemical disposal site
AN EXPLOSION at a hazardous chemical disposal site in Germany has killed at least two people, wit...
Johnson Matthey set targets to lower waste and improve safety on journey to net zero
JOHNSON MATTHEY has announced targets to heavily focus its sales and R&D spend in line with UN Su...
IChemE Fellow joins international carbon emissions panel
DATUK Sazali Hamzah, IChemE Fellow and CEO of Petronas Chemical Group, has been appointed to the ...
Sarawak set for first methanol plant in 2023
MALAYSIA’s state of Sarawak is pressing ahead with the construction of its first methanol plant, ...
Oil spill preparations underway for stricken ship off Sri Lanka
EXPERTS have begun modelling how oil might spill from a cargo ship that caught fire off the coast...
ADNOC awards ‘blue’ ammonia contract to Wood
ABU Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded a contract for Wood to design a 'blue' ammonia...
Sustainable chemical technologies to accelerate net-zero
LED by the University of Bath, UK, a major new collaboration between academia and industry seeks ...
Grace expands manufacturing facility in Malaysia
SPECIALITY chemicals company Grace has completed the expansion of its manufacturing plant in Kuan...
Hydrogen Valley planned for Aussie coal country
A CONSORTIUM has outlined proposals to create a ‘hydrogen valley’ in the Hunter Valley region of ...
Biorefining company gets funding boost for scaleup
LIXEA has received a grant of €2m (US$2.4m) from the European Innovation Council Fund to support ...
Industry joins RSC taskforce to chart a greener path for PLFs
UNILEVER, Croda and Crown Paints have joined a taskforce convened by the Royal Society of Chemist...
Solvay switches soda ash plant from coal to biomass
SOLVAY says its soda ash plant in Rheinberg, Germany will become the first in the world to use 10...
Aker Solutions wins contract to design E-fuel plant
AKER SOLUTIONS has won a contract to design a plant in Norway that will use renewable power, wate...
Lanxess enters battery electrolyte sector
LANXESS is taking its first step into the battery chemistry market through a deal to manufacture ...
Pilot plant will convert soybean waste into bioplastic
A FINNISH consortium is building a pilot plant to convert waste from soybean processing into comp...
BASF sets target for net zero emissions by 2050
BASF has raised its climate goals and now aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Covestro pilots chemicals recycling process to close loop on used mattress foam
COVESTRO has begun to pilot a chemical process to recycle the foam from used mattresses. If succe...
Greener chemicals: steam cracking could go electric by 2023
BASF, SABIC and Linde aim to construct a multi-megawatt plant to demonstrate that steam crackers ...
Partners move closer to first-of-its-kind CO2-to-methanol plant
CIVIL engineering is now underway for a first-of-its-kind 110,000 t/y carbon dioxide (CO2)-to-met...
Closure of Altona refinery fuels concerns about Australian manufacturing
EXXONMOBIL is closing its Altona refinery in Victoria, Australia. The decision comes hot on the h...
Brexit: relief rapidly gives way to fresh concerns
Businesses and industry groups warn of costly administrative burdens and the impacts on supply ch...
CPI launches programme to support SMEs
CPI, an independent technology centre, has announced the launch of a programme aiming to support ...
Shell buys into waste-to-fuels plant in Québec
SHELL is taking a 40% stake in a Canadian plant that will use Enerkem’s processing technology to ...
Solvay sells amphoteric surfactant business to private equity firm
SOLVAY has sold its amphoteric surfactant manufacturing business, including production plants in ...
BASF starts up new MDI unit in push to double Geismar production
BASF has completed the first phase of its push to double production of MDI at its integrated chem...
Worker dies in US chemical plant explosion
AN explosion at a chemical facility in Belle, West Virginia, US has killed one worker and injured...
Chemical JV to close BDO plant in Malaysia
BASF Petronas Chemical (BPC), a Malaysian-based joint-venture (JV) between BASF and Petronas Chem...
Linde and Siemens partner to help decarbonise the petrochemicals sector
LINDE Engineering and Siemens Energy have entered a strategic partnership with the aim of acceler...
Two killed in Indian reactor explosion
ON 5 November, in the early hours of the morning, two people were killed as a result of a reactor...
CSB releases update on TPC explosion
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released its factual update on the explosion that took pla...
UK government will host Brexit webinars to advise chemicals industry
CHEMICALS companies are being urged to get going on key actions as the UK counts down to its new ...
Shell and Linde collaborate on low-carbon ethylene
SHELL and Linde have agreed to collaborate to commercialise low-carbon technology for the product...
Solvay opens second plant for bio-based solvent in Brazil
SOLVAY has started up its second dedicated plant for manufacture of sustainable bio-based solvent...
EU introduces new chemicals strategy
THE European Commission has unveiled its new chemicals strategy which aims to make chemicals prod...
Evonik and Siemens test plant to produce chemicals from carbon dioxide
EVONIK and Siemens have commissioned a pilot plant that uses microorganisms to convert water and ...
Sasol forms polyethylene JV with LyondellBasell
SASOL has sold half its stake in its Lake Charles petrochemicals complex in the US to LyondellBas...
Dow will close chemicals plants on top of job cuts
DOW has announced it will close manufacturing sites in Europe and North America as it seeks to cu...
New cracker furnaces to reduce Shell’s emissions in the Netherlands
SEEKING to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, Shell has announced that it will install new stat...
Cefic calls for Covid-19 recovery plans to drive chemicals sustainability
EUROPE’S chemicals industry trade body, Cefic, has called for the EU to use its rescue funding to...
Malaysia speciality chemicals deal
PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) and German chemicals and energy company PCC have signed a shares s...
UK REACH chemicals registration deadline extended
THE UK Government has extended the deadline for UK chemicals companies to register their products...
BASF will publish carbon footprints for 45,000 products
BASF will release data on the carbon footprints of its entire portfolio of approximately 45,000 p...
Air Liquide buys world’s largest oxygen operation
AIR LIQUIDE is buying the world’s largest oxygen production site – from Sasol in South Africa – a...
SABIC chemical plant will be 100% solar-powered
SABIC’S polycarbonate facility in Cartagena, Spain, is set to become the world’s first large-scal...
Nouryon doubles organic peroxides capacity at Brazil site
NOURYON has completed a project to double the capacity for organic peroxides at a plant in Itupev...
Partnership to further develop chemical safety database
THE Pistoia Alliance and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical So...
EPA takes a step to exempt ‘forever chemical’ release
THE US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which aims to protect human health and the environm...
Dow aims to be carbon neutral by 2050
DOW has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2050 and that all the packaging its chemicals produc...
BASF lends supercomputer to fight against Covid-19
BASF has been using its supercomputer to help identify molecules that might help in the fight aga...
BP exits petrochemicals, sells plants to Ineos
BP is selling its petrochemicals business, including interests in 14 production sites, to Ineos f...
UK confirms it will not align with EU chemicals agency
THE UK Government has said that it will not align with EU chemicals policy, instead bringing in i...
BASF to close US catalyst manufacturing facility
BASF has announced that in 2021 it will close its manufacturing facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, w...
Solenis closes on acquisition of paper specialty chemicals business
SPECIALTY chemicals producer Solenis has closed on its acquisition of ChemSystems’ paper business...
Air Products invests US$2bn in world-scale coal-to-methanol facility
AIR Products is to invest US$2bn as part of a long-term agreement for a world-scale coal-to-metha...
10 dead after chemicals factory explosion in India
10 workers have now died following an explosion on 3 June, at a chemicals factory in India, repor...
Italian blast seriously injures two workers
ON 15 May, an explosion at a chemicals plant in an industrial zone in Venice, Italy seriously bur...
Sasol cuts production to mitigate coronavirus impacts
SOUTH African integrated energy and chemicals company Sasol has announced production cuts to help...
Synthetic biology touted for specialty chemicals production
SYNTHETIC biology will develop over the next decade from creating niche, environmentally friendly...
Liveris joins Australia’s business response group
CHEMICAL engineer Andrew Liveris, former CEO of Dow Chemical, has joined a commission established...
Anim-Somuah recognised by Forbes
THADDEUS Anim-Somuah has been recognised by media outlet Forbes as one of its 30 people under the...
Arkema to focus on specialty materials business
ARKEMA is to exit the intermediate chemicals business as it seeks to realise its ambition of beco...
Exxon cuts spending in response to coronavirus
EXXONMOBIL is cutting capital spending this year by 30% and operating expenses by 15% in response...
Nouryon to acquire metal alkyl business
SPECIALTY chemicals company Nouryon is to acquire the merchant triethyl aluminium (TEAL) business...
UK relaxes rules to speed up sanitiser production
THE UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have relaxed rules over the manufactu...
Ineos completes construction of two sanitiser plants
INEOS has completed construction of two new hand sanitiser production plants in the UK and German...
Industry pushes to keep staff safe and plants running
Industry reacts to keep staff and plants running during pandemic
Companies repurpose to produce hand sanitiser
IN the fight against the spread of coronavirus, chemical companies and distilleries are stepping ...
Replacing petroleum with wood in chemicals production
AN interdisciplinary team of researchers has calculated how wood could replace petroleum in the c...
Teesside industry evolves its CCS pitch and pushes plans to host net zero cluster
A CONSORTIUM operated by BP is pitching for the UK Government to support the development of a net...
One dead in Spain chemical plant explosion
AN explosion at a small chemicals plant in Barcelona, Spain has killed one and injured 13 others,...
Manchester Uni students win IChemE prize for designing greener process
A TEAM of students from University of Manchester, UK, has won IChemE’s Macnab-Lacey Prize for the...
Fluor wins contract for Chinese adiponitrile plant
FLUOR has been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction for INVIST...
CPI and Oxford partner to scale up biocatalysis technology
TECHNOLOGY innovation centre CPI and the University of Oxford, UK have partnered to scale up tech...
INEOS to produce plastics from wood-derived oil
INEOS has signed an agreement to use naphtha derived from wood pulp processing to manufacture bio...
Shell signs MoU for first commercial-scale polycarbonate unit
SHELL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese petrochemicals manufacturing co...
CPI partners with RSC to tackle chemical science challenges
TECHNOLOGY innovation centre CPI has partnered with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) as part ...
Evonik and LIKAT achieve carbonylation breakthrough
SPECIALTY chemicals company Evonik and catalysis research institute Leibniz Institute for Catalys...
Uncertainty remains over UK chemicals regulations after Brexit
UNCERTAINTY remains over the future of chemicals regulations in the UK as the UK will only remain...
MOF captures and converts NO2 into useful product
A METAL-organic framework (MOF) developed at the University of Manchester, UK is capable of selec...
JV will proceed with world-scale anhydrous ammonia plant
GULF Coast Ammonia (GCA), owned by a joint venture (JV) of Starwood Energy and Mabanaft, has reac...
BASF sells Construction Chemicals to Lone Star
GLOBAL private equity firm Lone Star has signed a purchase agreement to acquire BASF’s Constructi...
Repsol outlines net zero 2050 target
SPAIN’S oil and gas firm Repsol has outlined plans to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Communication troubles are holding back UK biotech
ENGINEERING biology must learn to communicate better if the breakout discipline is to achieve its...
Upcycling plastic bottles for the chemical industry
RESEARCHERS at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia have ...
Nouryon demonstrates new process for ethylene amine production
NOURYON has produced the first ethylene amines products at its demonstration plant in Stenungsund...
Using CO2 and “green” energy to produce specialty chemicals
EVONIK and Siemens have launched the second phase of their joint research project Rheticus, in wh...
100+ partners commit to the Circular Plastics Alliance
MORE than 100 public and private partners, including from the chemical sector, have signed the De...
US CSB release update on Texas chemicals plant explosion
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a factual update on the explosion and fire which ...
Fire breaks out at a French chemicals plant
A FIRE broke out at a Lubrizol chemicals factory in Rouen, France, in the early hours of 26 Septe...
Cracker consortium aims to reduce carbon emissions
SIX companies with European petrochemical operations have established a consortium that will join...
Exxon commits £140m investment in Fife plant
EXXONMOBIL will invest £140m (US$173m) in its ethylene plant in Fife, UK, over the next two years...
Food, fuel and drug supplies at no-deal Brexit risk, Government warns
THE UK Government has warned in a document it has been forced to disclose that a no-deal Brexit c...
Santos and Perdaman sign HoA for an ammonium plant
OIL and gas company Santos and diversified company Perdaman have signed a heads of agreement to f...
BASF to sell pigments business for US$1.3bn
BASF is to sell its global pigments business to fine chemicals company DIC for €1.15bn (US$1.3bn)...
Clariant and SABIC suspend JV negotiations
SPECIALTY chemical company Clariant and diversified petrochemicals company SABIC have “temporaril...
Neste expands Singapore biofuels refinery
NESTE is investing US$1.4bn in an expansion to its Singapore renewable fuels refinery.
ExxonMobil plant explosion injures 37
ON 31 July an explosion and subsequent fire broke out at an ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, Harris C...
Nouryon acquires Chinese triethyl aluminium business
NOURYON has acquired Zhejiang Friend Chemical (Friend), the largest Chinese producer of triethyl ...
Jaguar Land Rover and BASF trial recycled plastic in cars
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has partnered with BASF in a pilot research project to trial plastic recy...
Green Biologics closes biochemicals plant in US
GREEN Biologics (GBL), a biobased chemical firm headquartered in the UK, has announced that it wi...
Advancing low-carbon technologies together
LED by the World Economic Forum (WEF), chemical companies are to collaborate to reduce the chemic...
DuPont wins alkylation licence for grassroots China refinery
DUPONT Clean Technologies is licensing its alkylation technology to Shenghong Petrochemical for a...
Perstorp investigates sustainable methanol production
LEADING specialty chemicals company Perstorp is investigating the potential production of recycle...
Chevron Phillips and Qatar Petroleum to build world’s largest ethane cracker
Qatar Petrochemical and Chevron Phillips Chemical have signed agreements to jointly develop petro...
Linde to invest US$1.4bn in Exxon Singapore supply deal
LINDE is investing US$1.4bn to expand its gasification complex at Jurong Island in Singapore as p...
Petronas agrees partnership to develop oil industry chemicals
PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) and Scomi Energy Services have agreed to work together to research...
Petronas Chemicals looks to convert waste plastic into feedstock
PETRONAS Chemicals is investigating building a plant to turn plastic waste into virgin feedstock ...
BASF develops climate-friendly methanol production process
BASF has developed a climate-friendly process for methanol production, which if implemented could...
Ineos makes first investment in Saudi Arabia
INEOS is making its first investment in Saudi Arabia, committing to build three new chemicals pla...
Reducing the energy required to produce greener chemicals
PRODUCING useful chemicals from carbon dioxide via electrolysis typically has a high energy consu...
Petronas Chemicals buys Da Vinci
PETRONAS Chemicals (PCG) has agreed to buy Dutch specialty chemicals firm Da Vinci Group for a re...
Novel epoxide synthesis
RESEARCHERS at MIT have developed a novel method for epoxide synthesis which could offer a safer ...
Agfa-Gevaert wins Process Intensification Award
THE 2019 Process Intensification Award for Industrial Innovation has been awarded by the European...
US CSB calls for review to improve HF safety
THE US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), has released a letter calling on the...
ExxonMobil to invest US$2bn in Texas plant expansion
EXXONMOBIL is to invest US$2bn to expand its chemical plant in Baytown, Texas, US, to maximise th...
Update: Criminal measures taken against 26 following fatal Chinese chemicals explosion
LOCAL authorities in China have taken “criminal coercive measures” against 26 people following a ...
Carbon-negative concrete wins inaugural CCUS prize
A CARBON-NEGATIVE form of concrete has won an inaugural prize that recognises the potential of us...
BP joins effort to make paraxylene from biological sources
BP has formed a partnership with Virent and Johnson Matthey to commercialise a process that produ...
Solvay increases hydroquinone production
SOLVAY will raise its hydroquinone production capacity by 20% at its plant in Saint-Fons, France.
Nouryon plans to double organic peroxides capacity in Mexico
NOURYON has announced that it intends to double it production capacity for solvent-based organic ...
Update: Three employees had “significant responsibility” for Chinese chemicals plant explosion
THREE employees of Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Company are said to have “significant responsibilit...
Worker killed in Texas chemicals plant fire
ONE worker has been killed and two seriously injured in a chemicals plant fire in Texas, US.
Saudi Aramco set to take 70% stake in SABIC
SAUDI Aramco has agreed to buy a 70% stake in SABIC for US$69.1bn. It is part of national plans t...
INEOS to acquire US titanium dioxide business
INEOS has signed an agreement to acquire titanium dioxide (TiO2) business Cristal from Tronox for...
Update: 78 confirmed dead after Chinese chemicals plant explosion
ON 25 March the death toll following an explosion at a Chinese chemicals plant rose to 78, report...
Update: 47 dead after Chinese chemicals plant explosion
THE death toll following an explosion at a Chinese chemicals plant has now reached 47, reports st...
Six killed in Chinese chemicals plant explosion
FOLLOWING an explosion at a Tianjiayi chemicals plant in Yancheng, eastern China, six people are ...
Fire extinguished at US chemicals depot
AFTER three days fighting a fire that was spreading through a chemicals storage depot in Texas, U...
US storage depot ablaze
EIGHT chemicals storage tanks are ablaze at a major petrochemicals depot on the US Gulf Coast.
ECHA publishes comprehensive plastic additive inventory
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published a comprehensive inventory of all of the high-v...
Shell joins W2C Rotterdam project
SHELL has partnered with world-leading companies to build Europe’s first advanced waste-to-chemic...
Catalyst firm Haldor Topsøe sells 30% stake to Temasek
DANISH engineering firm Haldor Topsøe is selling a 30% stake in its business to Singapore state i...
Chemical engineer briefs UK politicians on chemical weapons
CHEMICAL engineering postgraduate Jeni Spragg has produced a report to help UK parliamentarians m...
DowDuPont cleaves off safety consultancy
DOWDUPONT is spinning off its safety and sustainability consultancy DuPont Sustainable Solutions ...
ExxonMobil awards contract for new PP unit in Baton Rouge
EXXONMOBIL is investing in a new polypropylene production unit at its Baton Rouge complex in Loui...
Evonik sells methacrylates business for €3bn
EVONIK is selling its methacrylates business to private equity firm Advent International for €3bn...
Ineos commits £1bn for UK oil pipeline and new chemicals plant
INEOS will invest £1bn (US$1.3bn) in the UK, modernising the Forties pipeline system, building a ...
UK-Japan venture seeks to build small nuclear reactor in North East England
THE UK’s Penultimate Power has agreed to form a joint venture with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency...
Producing ammonia with plasma
CHEMICAL engineers have produced ammonia from nitrogen and water using plasma, in a process that ...
UK Government warned that no-deal Brexit REACH plans are ‘vague and insufficient’
THE UK Government has published draft legislation for chemical registration in the event of a no-...
ADNOC sells refining stake to European partners
THE Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold off a 35% stake in its refining business to I...
INEOS picks Antwerp for €3bn cracker and PDH unit
INEOS has selected Antwerp in Belgium as the site for its €3bn (US$3.4bn) investment in the first...
BASF selects Zhanjiang for new integrated chemicals complex
BASF has picked Zhanjiang as the site for its new US$10bn chemicals complex in China.
BASF announces four research projects for reducing CO2 emissions
BASF has outlined four R&D activities that will allow the company to achieve CO2-neutral growth u...
Explosion at Chinese chemicals facility kills three
AN explosion at a chemicals facility in the Xinjiang region in China has killed three people and ...
BP and SOCAR sign HoA for petrochemicals JV
BP and SOCAR Turkey have signed a heads of agreement (HoA) to evaluate the creation of a joint ve...
Neste to invest €1.4bn in renewable products
THE oil company Neste is to invest €1.4bn (US$1.6bn) to enable the production of additional renew...
UK government publishes additional REACH guidance in case of no-deal Brexit
THE UK government has published additional documentation on how the UK will manage chemical regul...
Chemical gas leak causes deadly explosive chain reaction
CHEMCHINA has released a statement stating that a blast which killed 23 and injured 22 was caused...
Engineers publish £22bn blueprint for UK to take global lead on hydrogen heating
ENGINEERS have called on the UK government to immediately spend £125m (US$159m) designing a hydro...
BASF announces strategy to boost growth but keep emissions flat
BASF has outlined a strategy to outpace average global chemical sales while stagnating emissions.
INEOS buys Ashland’s Composites business for US$1.1bn
INEOS has announced that it will buy the Composites business from Ashland Global Holdings, includ...
Neste and Clariant sign deal for sustainable chemicals production
RENEWABLE fuels and chemicals producer Neste has signed an agreement to provide sustainable raw m...
House of Lords calls on government to take urgent action to clarify chemical regulations
THE House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee has published a report expressing conc...
New MOF makes plastic manufacturing more energy efficient
RESEARCHERS have developed a metal-organic framework (MOF) containing iron-peroxo (Fe2(O2)) sites...
BASF and Sinopec sign MoU for China steam cracker
BASF and Sinopec have signed a memorandum of understanding that will further strengthen their par...
Demonstration plant for ground-breaking chemicals technology
PHOTANOL, a platform renewable chemicals company, is building a demonstration plant for what it c...
More than US$50bn worth of deals for Saudi Arabia
SAUDI Arabia has announced more than US$50bn worth of deals in oil, gas, infrastructure and other...
Chemicals coalition calls on EU leaders to allow UK to remain within REACH
A COALTION of European chemicals NGOs has called on politicians negotiating the terms of Brexit t...
Covestro to build world-scale MDI plant
COVESTRO, a leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, is to invest €1.5bn (US$1.73bn) to b...
Ineos picks McDermott for new PDH unit
INEOS has awarded McDermott a contract for the licence and engineering of a new propane dehydroge...
AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals renamed Nouryon
AKZONOBEL Specialty Chemicals has been renamed Nouryon following its sale to the Carlyle Croup an...
UN climate experts warn society must make unparalleled shift
LIMITING global warming to 1.5°C requires rapid and unprecedented changes to society, UN climate ...
Caltech chemical engineer Frances Arnold wins Nobel Prize
CHEMICAL engineer Frances Arnold has been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her pione...
UK government releases document on chemical regulation in case of no-deal Brexit
THE UK government has outlined a framework for regulating chemicals if a no-deal Brexit occurs, s...
New coal-to-chemistry plant in Inner Mongolia will use novel ethylene glycol technology
DOWNSTREAM producer Jiutai is planning a coal-to-chemistry plant in Inner Mongolia that will prod...
UK’s largest bioethanol facility set to close
VIVERGO FUELS has said it is looking to close the UK’s largest bioethanol plant by the end of Sep...
Joint report calls for immediate action to remove greenhouse gases
The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) have released a joint report outli...
Nuvia wins contract for Dounreay Site Restoration Limited
NUVIA (UK) has won a multi-million-pound contract with Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) t...
Exxon mulls new multi-billion-dollar chemicals complex in China
EXXONMOBIL is considering building a multi-billion-dollar chemicals complex in China’s Guangdong ...
Big little droplets
RESEARCHERS at MIT have discovered a method that makes sprayed droplets hit and stick to their ta...
Green amino acid production incorporates carbon dioxide
L-METHIONINE is an amino acid that is typically produced using toxic hydrogen cyanide. Researcher...
Alliance seeks partner to boost lab safety
PISTOIA ALLIANCE, a global-not-for-profit life sciences organisation, is seeking a strategic part...
No deal Brexit will hit chemicals sector hard, government warns
THE UK Chancellor has warned that the chemicals sector will be one of the hardest hit by a ‘no de...
Air Products to build a coal-to-syngas facility for Jiutai New Material
AIR Products, a world-leading industrial gases company, headquartered in Pennsylvania, US, has be...
‘Green’ high-tech dye synthesis
RESEARCHERS at TU Wien, Austria, have discovered a novel, highly efficient, ‘green’ method of syn...
Cabot Microelectronics to acquire KMG Chemicals
CABOT Microelectronics, the world’s leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) p...
Invista brings latest ADN technology to China
INVISTA Intermediates is to build a 300,000 t/y, world-scale adiponitrile (ADN) plant in China, a...
Lanxess to sell JV stake to Saudi Aramco
SPECIALTY chemicals group, Lanxess plans to sell its 50% share of Arlanxeo to its joint venture p...
Johnson Matthey picks Clitheroe for next-gen battery plant
JOHNSON MATTHEY is building a demonstration- plant for production of next-generation lithium ion ...
Arkema and employees indicted for toxic cloud
ARKEMA, its CEO and the manager of the plant in Texas that caught fire after Hurricane Harvey bat...
AkzoNobel signs deal with Renmatix to develop bio-based paint additives
AKZONOBEL and Renmatix, a specialist in plant-based technology, have formed a partnership to make...
AkzoNobel plans upgrade to chlor-alkali plant
AkzoNobel will upgrade its Rotterdam chlor-alkali plant to include a new production line for chlo...
US$11bn petrochemicals complex to be built in Egypt
A MULTI-BILLION dollar petchems complex is to be built in Egypt, and is expected to create thousa...
Explosion at chemical plant in Ohio
AN explosion and fire occurred at the Emerald Performance Materials chemical plant in Akron, Ohio...
12 injured in Cairo chemicals blast
TWELVE people have been injured in an explosion at a chemicals storage site in Egypt.
19 killed in blast at Chinese chemicals plant
AN explosion at a Chinese chemicals plant has killed 19 people and injured 12 others.
ABB warns chemical firms must invest in digitalisation
ABB has warned that unless the leaders of chemical companies embrace the Industrial Internet of T...
BASF signs MoU for a US$10bn Verbund chemicals site in China
BASF is considering building a new highly-integrated – or ‘Verbund’ – chemicals site in Guangdong...
Chinese insulation production thought to be source of rise in ozone-damaging chemical
A REPORT by the Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA) has discovered widespread use of the ba...
Shift at the top signals mega-merger between Chinese chemicals giants
THE head of Sinochem will also take over at ChemChina in a move expected to signal the long-rumou...
Ineos will build Europe’s first new cracker for 20 years
INEOS will invest €2.7bn (US$3.1bn) to build a new ethane cracker and propane dehydrogenation uni...
Chemicals blast kills one in Japan
AN EXPLOSION at a chemicals plant in Japan on 2 July has killed one worker and injured at least a...
EPA limiting evaluation of chemical risks
THE US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised how it determines risks associated with ...
Green ammonia project set for launch in UK today
SIEMENS will launch a demonstration project in the UK today to showcase the potential of using ‘g...
Top ten bio-based chemicals for UK economic growth
A REPORT from the Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Network (LBNet) has identified ten biochemicals whe...
Abu Dhabi outlines US$45bn plan to become key downstream chemicals player
IN a bid to diversify its economy away from oil production, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (A...
DuPont and ADM launch bioplastic pilot plant
DUPONT and ADM have announced the opening of a pilot plant in that will be the world’s first prod...
BASF and Solenis combine paper and water chemicals businesses
BASF has announced that it will combine its paper wet-end and water chemicals business with Solen...
Continuous crystallisation workflow enables high precision manufacturing of pharmaceuticals
A WORKFLOW has been developed that allows for high precision manufacturing of active pharmaceutic...
Fire at US speciality chemicals plant
A CHEMICAL plant in Louisiana, US, has caught fire, with no injuries reported.
KBR wins contract for Saudi Arabia’s crude-oil-to-chemicals complex
KBR has been named the second project management contractor for the design of Saudi Aramco and SA...
Caffeine used as a catalyst to make gels for drug delivery
RESEARCHERS looking for a safe catalyst to use when creating gels for drug delivery have found th...
Clouds defeated: real-time control system boosts solar chemicals production
CHEMICAL engineers have developed a control system costing less than €50 (US$61) that overcomes o...
Water purification using sunlight and hydrogel
A WATER purification method has been developed that uses sunlight along with an inexpensive gel, ...
Printing all-liquid 3D structures
A TEAM of scientists has developed a method to 3D print all-liquid structures which could have ap...
Light-controlled yeast produces biofuel
MODIFIED yeast that use light as a switch to change metabolic pathways have been used to produce ...
Motiva joins forces with UOP and TechnipFMC to fuel push into petrochemicals
MOTIVA ENTERPRISES has signed MoUs with UOP and TechnipFMC worth as much as US$10bn to explore us...
Unilever joins forces with Ioniqa to scale up breakthrough plastic waste recycling process
UNILEVER has formed a partnership with processing pioneer Ioniqa and Indorama, the world’s larges...
Formic acid-based fuel cell developed for hydrogen storage
A FUEL cell has been developed that can store and transport hydrogen using formic acid so that th...
Saudi Aramco and Petronas reach deal on Rapid complex
SAUDI ARAMCO has agreed a deal to take joint ownership of Petronas’ refinery currently under cons...
AkzoNobel announces buyer for specialty chemicals business
AKZONOBEL is selling its specialty chemicals business to The Carlyle Group and Singapore’s sovere...
AkzoNobel joins Swedish green hydrogen partnership
AKZONOBEL has joined a partnership in Sweden that seeks to use excess renewable power to produce ...
Keeping proteins active outside of the cell
A METHOD has been developed for keeping proteins functional in non-native environments, which cou...
Explosion at Unipetrol chemical plant in Czech Republic
AN EXPLOSION at a Unipetrol refinery is reported to have killed six people and injured others.
New MOF membrane cuts energy use for petrochemical industry
AN ENERGY efficient separation method for propylene and propane has been developed using metal-or...
Two injured, one feared dead in Texas chemicals blast
TWO workers have been injured and one remains missing following an explosion at a chemicals plant...
Carbon nanotubes could make carbon-zero fuels cheaper than fossil fuels
A BREAKTHROUGH has been made in the manufacturing of carbon nanotube membranes which will lead to...
Graphene as a carrier for fertiliser micronutrients
A GRAPHENE-BASED carrier system for delivering micronutrients to crops increases the efficiency o...
Metal-free catalyst for ester synthesis
A METAL-FREE and recyclable catalyst has been developed for synthesising complex esters which cou...
Liveris to step down as chair of DowDuPont in April
CHEMICAL engineer Andrew Liveris will step down in April as executive chair of DowDuPont, the hol...
Three killed in chemicals blast at Indian industrial site
AT least three people are dead after an explosion in a chemical factory in the Maharashtra Indust...
UK must remain within REACH as it exits EU
ICHEME has backed calls for the UK to remain within the EU’s chemicals regulation (REACH) despite...
BASF in exclusive talks to buy Bayer’s vegetable seeds business
BAYER is in talks to sell its entire vegetable seeds business to BASF as it seeks to address anti...
ABB signs deal with Yitai Group
ABB has signed an agreement with Chinese coal production company Yitai to apply ABB’s technologie...
Exxon’s algae biofuel venture enters new phase, targeting 10,000 bbl/d
EXXONMOBIL and biotech pioneer Synthetic Genomics are starting field trails for their joint algae...
Shell shows scale of work underway at Geismar expansion
SHELL has released photos showing its progress building the world’s largest alpha olefins product...
DowDuPont announces names for three companies after split
DowDuPont intends to divide into three separate companies in 2019, named Corteva Agriscience, Dow...
Europe's first waste-to-chemistry facility provides solution for non-recyclable plastics
A FACILITY that will convert non-recyclable wastes into biofuels and chemicals for industrial use...
Highly efficient ammonia synthesis with new catalyst
A CATALYST has been developed for synthesising ammonia that is around 100 times more efficient th...
Green glycidol pilot plant in the UK
Green Lizard Technologies (GLT) will use dimethyl carbonate and unpurified waste glycerol for env...
CB&I to design world’s largest methanol plant
CB&I has been awarded a contract for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the world’s l...
3D printing of living cells using in-air microfluidics
A TECHNIQUE has been developed that allows two fluids to be combined mid-air by using two jets of...
ExxonMobil expects to pump out majority of its oil, even in a low-carbon future
EXXONMOBIL says there is little risk that climate change policies will force it to leave its prov...
Emerson to keep an eye on Covestro plants to boost operations
EMERSON will install industrial internet of things (IIoT) technologies at Covestro production pla...
New catalyst for hydrogen production
A CATALYST composed of nickel and iron has been developed that will make the production of hydrog...
Using LEGO bricks for microfluidics
RESEARCHERS at MIT have simplified the process of creating microfluidics prototypes by building t...
Australia must act now to own big downstream battery opportunity
AUSTRALIA’S government has been urged to act now if it wants domestic industry to push downstream...
Genomatica and Aquafil join forces to make bio-based nylon
GENOMATICA is working with nylon-maker Aquafil to produce one of its key feedstocks – caprolactam...
SABIC becomes largest shareholder in Clariant
SABIC has become the largest shareholder in specialty chemicals company Clariant. The Saudi chemi...
Saudi Aramco, CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global in new JDA
SAUDI ARAMCO, CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) have signed a joint development agreement (JDA...
Evonik and Siemens announce two-year plan to create 'technical photosynthesis'
EVONIK and Siemens are working together on a process to produce specialty chemicals from carbon d...
Nexen charged after oil sands explosion deaths
CANADA’s Alberta province has brought eight charges against Nexen Energy after an on-site explosi...
Evonik sets up first Asia research hub
EVONIK is to build its first Asian research hub in Singapore, with a specific focus on functional...
UK’s largest bioethanol facility shuts down in face of political instability
THE UK’s largest bioethanol producer has halted production at its plant in East Yorkshire, blamin...
Saudi giants agree to develop largest oil-to-chemicals complex
SAUDI ARAMCO and SABIC have agreed to develop plans for the world’s largest crude oil-to-chemical...
One-step metabolic engineering
A NEW model in the production of biofuels and chemicals by metabolic engineering could be enabled...
World’s largest dynamic hydrogen electrolysis plant inaugurated
THE WORLD’S largest dynamic hydrogen electrolysis plant has been inaugurated in Germany, and has ...
Government outlines plan to make UK world’s most innovative nation
THE UK government has published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy as it seeks to boost industr...
ExxonMobil to revamp refining and chemical operations
EXXONMOBIL will reorganise its refining and chemical operations in an attempt to boost profits am...
Ethylene from artificial photosynthesis
ETHYLENE has been produced from an integrated artificial photosynthetic device for the first time...
Video: CSB releases detailed animation of Arkema incident
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a detailed animation of the events leading to the...
Keeping oil and water mixed for months
EMULSIONS that can stay stable for months have been created using a low-cost, low-energy process ...
Saudi Aramco signs ‘diversification’ deals worth US$4.5bn
SAUDI ARAMCO has signed eight agreements, worth around US$4.5bn, with oil and gas service contrac...
3D printing of catalysts
CHEMICALLY active catalysts have been 3D printed in a single step, which researchers say could al...
IChemE Singapore joins unique alliance on skills certification
ICHEME SINGAPORE has joined a unique alliance with the country’s government and industrial trade ...
ENGIE Fabricom selected to design and build novel Saltend chemical plant
ENGIE Fabricom has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for ...
Clariant and Huntsman merger dissolves under investor pressure
CLARIANT and Huntsman have cancelled their proposed US$20bn merger following pressure from activi...
Singapore will use advanced manufacturing to cement chemicals future
SINGAPORE has put innovation and building skills at the heart of a new strategy to boost its ener...
Functionalising waste methane in remote locations
A NOVEL electrochemical process to convert methane into methanol precursors could reduce the need...
14 partners join CO2-to-plastic consortium
COVESTRO is leading a consortium of 14 European partners from seven countries in a new project to...
First liquid MOF described, retains porosity
NOVEL research has demonstrated that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), commonly produced as fine p...
Liveris to leave Dow for battery firm Novonix
ANDREW Liveris will take a board position at an Australian battery company when he steps down fro...
Evonik develops new process for MMA
EVONIK has developed a more efficient process to produce methyl methacrylate (MMA), a widely-used...
Plasma synthesis turns CO2 and CH4 into fuels and chemicals
RESEARCHERS have reported a “major breakthrough” in reforming CO2 and CH4 into liquid fuels and c...
Petronas Chemicals, Saudi Aramco in polymers JV
PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP has sold a 50% stake in its PRPC Polymers subsidiary to Saudi Aramco for...
Malaysia’s Sabah to set up first oleochemical plant
THE Malaysian state of Sabah is to set up its first oleochemical plant, which will process indust...
Open-access reaction optimisation
FREELY-available software which is hoped will provide an easy-to-use tool for automated reaction ...
Major hydrochloric acid leak in Hull
A VAPOUR cloud formed over the Port of Hull, UK, after a leak of hydrochloric acid from a tank, a...
Process integration across sectors
THREE Humberside process industry giants are participating on a European industrial efficiency pr...
DowDuPont revises split plans following merger
DOWDUPONT has revised its plans to split into three divisions following its merger and will chang...
Arkema sets fire to remaining chemicals stocks at flooded site
All nine chemical containers have ignited at the flooded Arkema plant in Crosby, outside Houston,...
Safety concerns raised about Arkema Crosby
ARKEMA’S organic peroxide plant in Crosby, which has already suffered reported explosions and a s...
Chemical fire reported at Arkema Texas plant
ARKEMA has reported a chemical fire at its organic peroxide (OP) plant in Crosby, Texas, amid flo...
Chemical fire expected at flooded Texas plant
A CHEMICAL fire or explosion is expected within days at Arkema’s organic peroxide plant in Crosby...
US CSB safety warning after Hurricane Harvey
A SAFETY alert has been issued by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), ur...
Spraying electric rainbows
A SAFER, easier process to apply colour-changing conjugated polymer films to consumer goods such ...
Cyborg bacteria make chemicals from sunlight
“CYBORG” bacteria covered in tiny solar panels have been demonstrated to produce acetic acid from...
Sadara JV commissions last plant
SAUDI-based Sadara Chemical Company has commissioned the last of 26 plants at its US$20bn petroch...
Record-breaking column erected by PETRONAS
PETRONAS has released photos showing the installation of a record-breaking crude distillation col...
Merck unsure of cyberattack impact
MERCK & Co has said that it still does not yet know the full impact of the NotPetya cyberattack, ...
Light-activated catalyst turns CO2 to CO
RESEARCHERS at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US have developed a “spongy” nickel-b...
Making polysulfates and polysulfonates
RESEARCHERS using so-called “click chemistry” say they have developed a fast, easy way to make su...
New asymmetric synthesis method
A HIGHLY enantioselective method for the decarboxylative halogenation of carboxylic acids has bee...
First global plastics analysis
A WORLD-first study of the production, use and fate of all plastics ever made has shown that 8.3 ...
Chemistry Australia's gas price warning
CHEMISTRY Australia has said that manufacturing and jobs are still being affected by rising gas p...
Evonik plans €100m digital investment
EVONIK has earmarked €100m (US$114m) for investment in digitalisation by 2020 and formed strategi...
Evonik and Sinopec partner on OSN
EVONIK and the SINOPEC Beijing Research Institute of the Chemical Industry (BRICI) have agreed to...
Industry 4.0 in R&D
BASF has described how digitalisation is affecting all areas of its business, from product develo...
Method makes olefins under mild conditions
CHEMISTS in the US and South Korea have developed a technique to produce olefins, a vital chemica...
Dichloromethane may slow ozone recovery
DICHLOROMETHANE, an unregulated chemical known to deplete the ozone layer, could delay the recove...
Funding to extract rare earths from coal
THE US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded US$1m in funding to Penn State University and its i...
Shell partners SBI for drop-in biofuels
SBI BIOENERGY has granted exclusive development and licensing rights for its drop-in biofuels tec...
GTI will demo R-GAS gasification in China
GAS TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE (GTI) in the US will be partnering with China’s Yangquan Coal Industry G...
New MOF turns CO2 into methane
A NEW metal-organic framework developed at the University of Adelaide, Australia, can convert CO2...
Making polycarbonate from sugar and CO2
CHEMISTS at the University of Bath, UK, have developed a process to create polycarbonate plastic ...
Notts Uni to reprogramme chemicals production
GREEN chemicals are a focus of a new £200m (US$253m) investment announced by the UK’s University ...
Industry supports US carbon tax
EXXONMOBIL is among a number of industry giants that have backed plans for a US carbon tax design...
Solar paint turns wall into a fuel station
ONE day, fuel stations could become little more than a wall coated with a special catalytic paint...
