Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Ball-milled sodium provides easy access to organometallic reagent
Solvent-free organosodium is a promising alternative to lithium reagents
China average BDO plants’ run rate up on plant resumption
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The average run rate of butanediol (BDO) plants in China rose as Sichuan Tianhua and Shaanxi Heimao resumed normal operation. Meanwhile, Chongqing Jianfeng restarted BDO plant in...
ICIS TTF Early Day assessments: 7 January 2026
- Heavy snow in northwestern Europe hinders land and air traffic; shipping yet to be affected - Power outage in Berlin due to attack on city's power cable over weekend will end on Wednesday -
Plant status: Kuwait Aromatics shuts PX unit for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Kuwait Aromatics Location: Shuaiba, Kuwait Product: Paraxylene (PX) Capacity (tonnes/year): 870,000 Event start: Early January 2026 Event...
Asia’s plasticizers demand crimped by sluggish construction
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The Asian plasticizers markets will continue to see weak demand in 2026 as economic data suggests subdued construction activity, where plasticizers are primarily applied in. While...
No major South Korea SM plant maintenance planned in 2026, supply to be stable
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The major styrene monomer (SM) makers in South Korea are not planning for any scheduled plant maintenance in 2026. Major active SM plants in South Korea: Producer Location Capacity...
ICIS starts tracking India’s growing imports of glacial acrylic acid
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--India’s imports of glacial acrylic acid (GAA) are projected to see a strong and steady growth, prompting ICIS to track the market on a weekly basis starting December 2025. ICIS...
Plant status: S Korea’s Hanwha shuts two TDI lines; third line at 50%
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Hanwha Solutions/Chemical Location: Yeosu, South Korea Product: Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) Capacity (tonnes/year): 150,000 (combined nameplate...
East China’s SM inventory drops 8.2% with fewer arrivals
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Styrene monomer (SM) inventory level in east China decreased by 8.2% from last reporting week with fewer arrivals, ICIS data showed on Wednesday. The total stock was at 121,900...
Rapid On-Site Detection of Food Fraud
Counterfeit or low-quality products – such as olive oil made from dyed rape-seed oil – are often difficult or impossible to identify at a glance. A mobile gas chromatography sensor system is now being developed
Huge opportunity for the recovery of technology metals
A team of six researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) has reached the first round of the current SPRIND Tech Metal Transformation Challenge. This secures the HIF team, which is part
How a persistent chemical enters our surface waters
In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the University of Bern, Empa researchers have investigated how trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), the smallest of the PFAS molecules, is formed in the atmosphere
Germany CPI inflation slows to 1.8% pace in December
LONDON (ICIS)--Inflation in Germany, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), ran at a 1.8% year-on-year pace in December (November: 2.3%), according to preliminary data by the country’s...
MOVES: Former Olin CEO Sutton takes helm at Rayonier
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Former Olin CEO Scott Sutton has been appointed as the new CEO and president of cellulose specialties and natural polymers producer Rayonier Advanced Materials, effective 5 January....
Samsung E&A breaks ground on US Wabash ammonia project
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Samsung E&A has broken ground on the previously announced Wabash Low-Carbon Ammonia Project at Terre Haute, Indiana, the South Korean engineering company said on Tuesday. The...
WEEKLY CRUDE OUTLOOK: Prices to rally as US targets more sovereign territories
LONDON (ICIS)--The crude sector, while inevitably boosted by the US 'takeover' of Venezuela, does not appear overly troubled by the loss of Venezuelan barrels as curtailed exports will ease an...
INSIGHT: Venezuela crisis puts China energy deals at risk
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The political turmoil in Venezuela in the wake of the US operation in the country and the capture of its President Nicolas Maduro could stand to impact energy deals between Beijing...
EU gas stocks second-lowest in a decade on 1 January but withdrawals down on year
EU stocks on 1 January second-lowest since 2016 Record LNG sendout caps what would have been larger withdrawals TTF prices nonetheless continue to fall as bearish outlook solidifies LONDON...
Syensqo and Axens launch new company for solid-state batteries
BARCELONA (ICIS)--Belgian specialty group Syensqo and French technology group Axens have created a new company, Argylium, which aims to accelerate the development of solid-state batteries in Europe....
Plant status: China’s Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon shuts VAM plant for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Location: Chongqing, China Products: Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 500,000 Event start: 24...