Industry News
Chemical Industry News
S Korea’s YNCC cuts November BD contracts
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korea’s Yeochun NCC (YNCC) has settled its November butadiene (BD) contracts at $790/tonne, $190/tonne below October, a company source said. YNCC’s contracts for October...
Plant status: China’s Anhui Haoyuan Chemical lowers adipic acid operations
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Anhui Haoyuan Chemical Location: Fuyang, Anhui, China Product: Adipic acid (ADA) Capacity (tonnes/year): 160,000 Event start: 1 December 2025...
Water molecules in motion: Surprising dynamics on 2D materials
In a study published in Nature Communications , researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and the University of Surrey tested two ultra-thin, sheet-like materials with a honeycomb structure – graphene and hexagonal boron
Toxic metals in wheat grain: do they come from the soil or the fertilizer?
Plants not only absorb nutrients through their roots, but also toxic metals. It was previously unclear whether they came from the soil or the fertilizers applied. Under the leadership of the UFZ and Duke University
Clean biogas – universally measurable
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new analysis method that detects even the smallest amounts of critical impurities in biogas. Even small biogas plants can use the method without major investment
China’s Wankai New Materials plans oxalic acid project
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s Wankai New Materials is planning to construct a 100,000 tonne/year oxalic acid plant at Dazhou, Sichuan province, in southwest China, the company announced. The project is...
Exquisite stereochemical control will allow creation of millions of unique polymers
New method take inspiration from established techniques like those used to synthesise DNA
AkzoNobel-Axalta merger gives coatings firm extra layers
Pursuit of scale drives continued consolidation across coatings sector
China’s domestic spot sulphur prices continue to surge on higher Qatar price
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s domestic spot sulphur prices continued to surge, supported by the hike in Qatar December monthly price. Deals for spot granular sulphur were done at yuan (CNY)...
German caustic soda ECU contract margins rise in week ending 28 December, despite higher electricity prices
LONDON (ICIS)--Average German membrane electrochemical unit (ECU) contract margins rose slightly in the week ending 28 November, based on fluctuations in the value of related products, although this...
Europe MA spot prices soften as downtrend continues, flake prices steady
LONDON (ICIS)--European maleic anhydride (MA) liquid spot prices declined slightly in the week ending 28 November, as the downtrend due to poor demand and import competition continued. Flake MA spot...
WEEKLY CRUDE OUTLOOK: Volatile geopolitics to provide support for prices
LONDON (ICIS)--Crude market sentiment is being guided by bullish geopolitical sentiment this week edging out economic factors, at least until the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision on 10...
Eurozone inflation edges up to 2.2% in November
LONDON (ICIS)--Inflation in the eurozone edged up to 2.2% in November, according to flash data released by Eurostat on Tuesday. This tracked an incremental rise from October, when inflation was...
Carbios, China’s Wankai agree on PET bio-recycling plant in China
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--France’s Carbios and China’s Wankai New Materials have signed an agreement to set up their first joint venture polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bio-recycling plant in Haining,...
MARGINS: Europe PE margins rise amid lower upstream costs, higher product pricing
LONDON (ICIS)--Margins at polyethylene (PE) plants in Europe rose week on week amid lower feedstock costs and slightly higher product pricing, ICIS Margin Analysis showed on Tuesday. Weaker...
MARGINS: Lower naphtha, LPG costs drive Europe MEG margins up
LONDON (ICIS)--Margins at monoethylene glycol (MEG) plants in Europe firmed week on week amid lower feedstock costs, ICIS Margin Analysis showed on Tuesday. Weaker co-product credits moderated the...
Why are the first papers of some online-only journals cited significantly more?
Issue may originate from an algorithm of the DOI registry Crossref, leading to 150,000 faulty citation links
MARGINS: Europe cracker contract margins up on softer feedstock costs
LONDON (ICIS)--Cracker contract margins in Europe rose week on week on the back of lower feedstock costs, ICIS Margin Analysis showed on Tuesday. The increase was mitigated by weaker co-product...
Asia Nov factory activity mixed, with weak demand in focus
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia’s November manufacturing activity remained mixed, with several large economies still in contraction amid weak domestic demand. Japan, South Korea and China in contraction...
Lotte Chemical mulls “strategic measures” for Indonesia assets
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korean producer Lotte Chemical said on Tuesday that “various strategic measures” are being considered for its assets in Indonesia. "We are reviewing various strategic...