—Total Goes For Methanol Feedstock “” Total has opened a demonstration plant that it calls the world's first to produce olefins from methanol at its petrochemicals complex in Feluy, Belgium. The $65 million facility will assess, on a quasi-industrial scale, the technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness of two integrated processes.
by Patricia L. Short | October 13, 2008
—Pemex Sues BASF Over Stolen Feedstock “” Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas company, is suing BASF in a Houston federal court for buying natural gas condensate stolen from its Burgos Field in northern Mexico. In its complaint, Pemex says that since 2006, thieves have stolen $300 million worth of condensate, a liquid hydrocarbon by-product of natural gas production.
by Alexander H. Tullo | June 14, 2010
—CO2 As Feedstock “Mitsui will make methanol from the greenhouse gas” Japan's Mitsui Chemicals will build a demonstration plant for a new technology to synthesize methanol from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The company envisages using the methanol as a feedstock for olefins and aromatics. Methanol is typically made from a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are, in turn, created by reforming methane.
by Jean-François Tremblay | September 01, 2008
—Coke Bullish On PlantBottle Despite Feedstock Setback “” Coca-Cola says it is committed to its PlantBottle program despite the decision of a supplier, India’s JBF Industries, to cancel plans for a sugar-based ethylene glycol plant in Brazil. Under the PlantBottle program, Coke sells beverages in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles made with plant-derived, rather than petroleum-derived, ethylene glycol.
by Alexander H. Tullo | April 07, 2014
—Asian Firms Invest In Polyester Feedstock “” The Thai polyester giant Indorama Ventures has agreed to buy Cepsa Química’s 600,000-metric-ton-per-year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Montreal for an undisclosed sum. The plant is one of only three in North America to produce the polyester raw material.
by Jean-François Tremblay | March 30, 2015
—A Perspective On Feedstock “” I can provide some useful perspective on “Chasing Cheap Feedstocks” (C&EN, Aug. 12, page 11). The maps of growth rates for various energy plants can be represented approximately by one number—10 metric tons of dry matter per acre per year. The high heat content of dry matter from all sources is about 15 MJ/kg.
by Robin M. Giroux | September 09, 2013
—Dow, Energy Lab Pen Ethanol Deal “” Waste biomass will be explored as a feedstock for chemical intermediates and biofuels through an agreement announced last week between Dow Chemical and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Corn stover, wood waste, and other nonfood biomass will be used as feedstock for a pilot project conducted by Dow and the Department of Energy lab. The project will test a thermochemical process along with a catalyst technology developed by Dow to convert cellulosic waste to liquid biofuels and chemical production feedstocks. The agreement continues ongoing Dow-NREL biofuels research using cellulosic feedstocks. NREL hopes to have this technology ready for commercialization within three to five years. When announcing the agreement, Dow noted that sources of biomass feedstock are huge. One study by DOE and the Agriculture Department found that enough nonfood biomass is available to produce biofuels in amounts that would offset the nation's annual oil imports. The program is part of a growing emphasis by biofuels producers, government, and private researchers to move beyond dependence on food crops as a source of ethanol and other biofuels.
July 21, 2008
—US petrochemicals to hit a feedstock rut “” The US petrochemical expansion is in full swing because of low-cost feedstocks from shale gas. The past year has seen Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, and Chevron Phillips Chemical ramp up massive new ethylene cracker complexes on the US Gulf Coast. Several more projects will come on line later this year.
by Alex Tullo | January 14, 2019