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Chexpress - September 24, 2013
24 September 2013
North America
Packaging Center of Excellence
H.B. Fuller Company has decided to invest in a Packaging Center of Excellence in North America to address customers’ packaging adhesives needs across a broad range of applications, substrates and environmental conditions. The center is expected to open in early 2014 and will be the company’s fourth center focused specifically on customer collaboration.
Fire
A recent fire at Danlin Industries’ facility in Thomas, Oklahoma destroyed a chemical plant and caused small explosions, forcing the evacuation of about a dozen people from nearby homes, but resulting in no injuries. The fire started about three hours after the last employees left the facility. The entire facility burned down. The facility had nontoxic but highly flammable chemicals that are used in the oil and gas production industry. Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
Gas-to-methanol project
Fluor Corporation has been awarded an engineering and design services contract by South Louisiana Methanol L.P. for a potential 5,000 metric tons/day methanol project in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Fluor is working to finalize the process design and complete preliminary design for the facility.
World
Isobutylene production unit
UOP LLC’s technology has been selected to produce key ingredients for fuels and synthetic rubber in China. Panjin Heyun New Material Co. will use UOP’s C4 Oleflex process to produce isobutylene. The company will also use UOP’s Butamer process, which converts normal butane to isobutene, thereby maximizing the feedstock utilization of the UOP Oleflex process. The new unit is expected to start up in 2014 and will process approximately 400,000 metric tons/year of isobutene feedstock at its facility in Liaoning Province, China. UOP will provide the engineering design, technology licensing, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, staff training and technical service for the project.
Refinery substations
Siemens has been awarded a turnkey contract by the Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) to supply high-voltage substations at refineries south of the city of Kuwait. The $240 million project will provide reliable power supply to two of KNPC’s biggest refineries. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2015.
Cost cuts
Bayer is stepping up cost cuts at its MaterialScience unit to counter production overcapacity in the industry and high raw material prices. Bayer’s MaterialScience unit makes polycarbonate plastics for panoramic roofs in Daimler’s Smart and Mercedes SLK convertibles and for blu-ray disks. It is also the world’s largest maker of chemicals for insulation and padding foams.
