Catalysts
SunPower to develop solar panel plant in Mexico
SunPower Corp. plans to build a solar panel manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Mexico, to meet the demand of a growing North American solar market, the firm said on Friday. SunPower plans to lease an existing building, which has up to 320,000 square feet of capacity, it said.
PPG to acquire Colombia coatings business
PPG Industries has agreed to purchase the coatings businesses of Colpisa Colombiana de Pinturas, a privately-owned Colombian coatings company, and its affiliates, including Colpisa Ecuador. The transaction is expected to close no later than the end of the first quarter 2012, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the company said.
Dow to build plants for polyolefin encapsulant films in Thailand, Germany
Dow Chemical will build two new manufacturing plants in 2012 for its ENLIGHT polyolefin encapsulant films, with one in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, and another in Schkopau, Germany. Together, these sites will more than triple capacity for making specialty films used in photovoltaic modules, and will significantly expand Dow’s ability to supply encapsulant films worldwide, the company said.
Eastman buys US specialty chemical firm Dynaloy
Eastman Chemical has acquired the assets of Dynaloy, a specialty chemical business based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Reevaluate the activity of your catalyst system
Selecting optimum conditions for fluid catalytic cracking requires micro activity testing through an improved method
HP Construction: South America
Argentina’s second liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility, a joint development between YPF S.A., ENARSA and Excelerate Energy, GNL Escobar (GNLE), began receiving cargoes on May 24, 2011, an..
HP Construction: Middle East
A grassroots diesel hydrotreater unit (Prime-D), licensed by Axens, was successfully put into production at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery. The 105,000-bpsd unit—reportedly one of the wo..
AkzoNobel to buy China specialty surfactants firm Boxing Oleochemicals
AkzoNobel has agreed to acquire China-based Boxing Oleochemicals, allowing it to strengthen its position in specialty surfactants while enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Asia, company officials said.
FMC to acquire Europe persulfates business of RheinPerChemie
US-based chemicals firm FMC Corp. has agreed to acquire the European persulfates business of RheinPerChemie GmbH from Unionchimica SpA. The acquisition will strengthen FMC Peroxygens' global reach by establishing a market position for persulfates in Europe, company officials said.
Honeywell to expand Louisiana plant to produce low-global-warming blowing agent
Honeywell will invest $33 million in its Baton Rouge, La., manufacturing facility – one of the leading suppliers of refrigerants in the U.S. – to produce a low-global-warming material used in insulation and aerosols.

- Dow Chemical delays construction on multi-billion-dollar Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada 4/25
- Asahi Kasei, Nobian, Furuya Metal and Mastermelt commence joint project to recycle metals, signaling a milestone towards circularity in the chlor-alkali industry 4/25
- India's Delhi plans to curb gasoline car sales, ban gas-guzzling bikes to shed polluter tag 4/25
- Automakers rush to meet surging China demand for long-range hybrids 4/25
- Aster Chemicals to bid for ExxonMobil's Singapore fuel stations 4/25
- Wärtsilä, Höegh Evi and partners complete development of world’s first floating ammonia-to-hydrogen cracker 4/25