Former Dow scientist convicted of selling trade secrets A former Dow Chemical Co. scientist has been convicted of selling information on production of Tyrin-brand chlorinated polyethylene to Chinese firms. Wen Chyu Liu–also known as David Liou–was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge on Feb, 6 and now faces…
ConocoPhillips splitting in two, fate of plastics operations undecided ConocoPhillips Co. is splitting itself into two independent companies, but just which one will oversee its plastics joint venture may not be decided for “several months.” The Houston-based company announced its plan July 14 to spin off its downstream operations to create one firm…
Asahi Kasei to build S-SBR plant in Singapore Asahi Kasei Chemicals held a groundbreaking ceremony in Jurong Island, Singapore, for the first phase of construction of a new plant to produce solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR). Asahi Kasei Chemicals is expanding S-SBR operations as a world-leading business, with the new plant in Singapore representing…
Shin-Etsu’s PVC Plant in Kashima Starts Operating at Full Capacity Shin-Etsu Chemical says that its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant at Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan has started operating at full capacity since May 31. Operations at the PVC plant, where production was suspended since the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11,…
Shin-Etsu’s PVC Plant in Kashima Starts Operating at Full Capacity Shin-Etsu Chemical says that its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant at Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan has started operating at full capacity since May 31. Operations at the PVC plant, where production was suspended since the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11,…
Polymer-Chemie launches expansion of Russian plant German plastics compounder Polymer-Chemie has formally launched the first expansion phase of the compounding plant of Tula Polymer, its Russian production subsidiary in Russia’s Tula region. Stage one of the project was formally inaugurated in the presence of top company, regional and municipal officials on 8 April.…
ExxonMobil, Sabic choose new JV site Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) and ExxonMobil Chemical Co. have selected Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as the location of a new joint venture plant that will include plastic production. In a March 1 news release, officials with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Sabic and ExxonMobil of Houston said they selected…
DuPont Dow records first sales of new ENGAGE® grades DuPont Dow Elastomers reported the first commercial sales of ENGAGE polyolefin elastomer ethylene butene grades to the automotive TPO, plastics modification, and footwear markets. The company introduced 4 new grades of ENGAGE based on ethylene butene in August for these markets along with the…
Basell to license new Spherizone technology for polypropylene manufacturing Basell announced that the Spherizone process, a new manufacturing technology that significantly and uniquely expands the polypropylene property envelope, is now available for license on a global basis. The Spherizone process is based on MultiZone Circulating Reactor (MZCR) technology that enables the production of…
Dow Chemical Company to acquire Celanese acrylics business The Dow Chemical Company and Celanese AG announced that they have reached an agreement for Dow to purchase the acrylics business of Celanese. Dow will acquire Celanese’s acrylics business product line, including intellectual property, inventory, and technology for crude acrylic acid, glacial acrylic acid, methyl,…