Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Global potash market digests news of surprise Russia/China import contract
LONDON (ICIS)--An annual import contract settlement agreed between Russian MOP major Uralkali and China’s buying consortium took the global muriate of potash (MOP) fertilizer market by surprise...
South Korea petrochemical restructuring could cut production by up to W6.7 trillion – BoK
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring will put downward pressure on economic growth in the short term, but will also allow companies to become more competitive via research...
Asia epoxy resins producers remain under cost pressure from feedstock ECH
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia's epoxy resins market will likely find support from relatively firm prices for feedstock epichlorohydrin (ECH). Epoxy resins producers under cost pressure despite slight...
Europe oxo-alcohols prices stable to soft amid subdued demand
LONDON (ICIS)--European oxo-alcohol spot prices fell for n-butanol (NBA) and isobutanol (IBA), while 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) held steady. Softer prices reflect subdued buying interest ahead of year-end...
Plant status: China’s Sinopec Maoming shuts No 2 PP plant for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Location: Guangdong, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 300,000 (No 2) Event start: 24...
Five key ICIS LNG stories, 21-28 November
LONDON (ICIS)--Here are five key ICIS LNG stories for the week 21-28 November, as delivered by AskICIS. ICIS publishes its 2026 European energy outlook, covering carbon prices and gas and LNG market...
Plant status: China’s Fund Energy Ningbo to shut PP unit
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Fund Energy Ningbo Location: Ningbo, Zhejiang, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 440,000 Event start: 8 December 2025...
Plant status: S Korea’s YNCC to delay restart of SM line from maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Yeochun NCC (YNCC) Location: Yeosu, South Korea Product: Styrene monomer (SM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 365,000 Event start: 17 October Event...
China EPDM imports to stay weighed down by supply length
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Spot prices for China-bound ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer (EPDM) imports may continue to hover at multi-year low points, if supply increases, in the form of sustained Middle East...
Plant status: China’s Fujian Refining and Petrochemical to shut PP Line 1
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Location: Fujian, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 120,000 (No 1) Event start: Around...
Asia MDI faces upward pressure following price hike announcements
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia methyl diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) prices are expected to face upward pressure after Wanhua Chemical Group and BASF announced price hikes of $200/tonne, effective 1 December...
The wide-ranging influence of the Bohr effect
While not a Nobel prize-winning discovery in itself, this challenge to the reductionist view of physiology has links to several other winners
Plant status: China’s Sinochem Quanzhou to shut No 2 PP unit
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Sinochem Quanzhou Location: Fujian, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 350,000 (No 2) Event start: 29-30 November 2025...
Mideast base oils outlook clouded by heavy grade surplus, light grades hold firm
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The Middle East base oils market will continue to grapple with a pronounced supply glut of heavy-grade material, in contrast with relatively limited light-grade base oils across...
Chemistry meets biology: controlling artificial cell membranes through catalysis
Using catalytic chemistry, researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo have achieved dynamic control of artificial membranes, enabling life-like membrane behavior. By employing an artificial metalloenzyme that performs a ring-closing metathesis reaction, the team induced the
Beverage industry relies on enzymatic PET recycling from CARBIOS
CARBIOS has announced the signing of two further multi-year commercial agreements for the supply of recycled PET (r-PET) with leading companies in the beverage industry. The signing of these two commercial agreements gives CARBIOS access
Balance sheet after 5 years of the single-use plastic bag ban
Five years ago, on November 26, the German parliament passed a ban on thin single-use plastic bags. In doing so, Germany implemented an EU directive aimed at reducing the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags
Proposal takes aim at risk posed by ‘chemical cocktails’
Mixture allocation factor would weigh toxicity of chemicals as a whole
The chemist using curry to understand indoor air pollution
Ashish Kumar’s research reveals how cooking shapes the air we breathe indoors
‘Plumbyne’ compound featuring multiple carbon–lead bonds synthesised
Relatively weak π bonding in the structure opens up possibility for various chemical reactions