Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Coblentz’s infrared spectrometer and the overlooked power of vibrations
Vibrational spectroscopy’s intuitive insight into molecular structure was initially shunned by chemists
INEOS to close two Rheinberg plants as Europe’s chemical industry hits breaking point
INEOS has confirmed its intention to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs. The proposed closures are the direct result of crippling energy and carbon costs, and a lack
S Korea trade commission investigates butyl acrylate dumping from China
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--On 29 September, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) pushed out a notice of initiation of dumping and injury investigation into butyl acrylate (butyl-A) originating from China. Injury...
China September PP output falls on plants shutdown
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s polypropylene (PP) output in September fell by 5.8% month on month to around 3.19 million tonnes, due to plants shutdown, ICIS data showed. On a year-on-year basis,...
Plant status: Qatar’s Mesaieed LDPE production lines to shut for maintenance
DUBAI (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Qatar Petrochemical Location: Mesaieed, Qatar Product: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year): Three lines to be shut (230,000 +...
S Korea 1-10 Oct PX exports up 33.6% month on month due to plant restart
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korea exported a total of around 141,302 tonnes of paraxylene (PX) during the period 1-10 October, up by 33.6% compared with the same period in the previous month, according...
Plant status: Qatar’s Q-Chem I & Q-Chem II to shut HDPE units for maintenance
DUBAI (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Qatar Chemical (Q-Chem), Qatar Chemical II (Q-Chem II) Location: Mesaieed, Qatar Product: High-density polyethylene (HDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year):...
Plant status: Qatar’s Qatofin to shut LLDPE unit for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Qatofin Company Limited Location: Mesaieed, Qatar Product: Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year): 670,000 Event start:...
China petrochemical futures fall on renewed trade tensions
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Most of China’s petrochemical futures dropped on Monday following reescalation of trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies. However, the loss was capped by...
NE Asian rPET producers resume exports to the US
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Some producers of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) pellets in northeast Asia resumed exports to the US since last week after halting for almost a month due to the US...
Novel Metal Alloy Withstands Extreme Conditions
A new material might contribute to a reduction of the fossil fuels consumed by aircraft engines and gas turbines in the future. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a refractory
From frying oil to coupling relays
Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched a new series of coupling relays, with housing made from plastic that consists of 70 percent bio-based material - derived from biomass waste. The Akulon® K225-KS B-MB plastic was developed
Splitting water: How order and disorder direct chemical reactivity
Hydrogen is an important energy source for the future. Therefore, understanding the electrolysis process is essential. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University
Asia petrochemical shares fall amid renewed US-China trade war tensions
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asian petrochemical shares were lower on Monday as the trade war between the US and China intensified over the weekend with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose 100%...
China’s Jan-Aug caustic exports up on lukewarm consumption, capacity expansion
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China's caustic soda exports from January to August totaled 1,558,547 tonnes, up 46.4% compared to the same period in 2024, according to the ICIS Supply & Demand Database. Some...
China’s Jan-Aug EDC imports surge year on year on improved import parity
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China's ethylene dichloride (EDC) imports from January to August totaled 231,309 tonnes, surging 231.3% compared to the same time period in 2024, according to the ICIS Supply &...
Plant status: China’s Lianyungang Petchem restarts HDPE Line 2, Line 1 still shut
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Lianyungang Petrochemical Location: Xuwei, China Product: High density polyethylene (HDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year): 800,000 Event start: 15...
China’s average PX plants’ run rate stable
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s para-xylene (PX) plants posted an unchanged average operating rate, due to minor changes in plant operations. In the week ended 10 October, the plants’ average run rate...
China’s average PTA plants’ run rate drops on maintenance, operation cuts
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants posted a lower average operating rate, because Hengli Petrochemical’s No 1 unit in Dalian city entered scheduled maintenance and...
China’s average MTBE plant run rate down to 56.8% on maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The average run rate of China’s methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) plants decreased to 56.8% in the week ended 10 October, down by 1.6 percentage points from the level before the...