http://www.chemweek.com Chemical Week en-us 2008 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 4:14:48 EDT SKC Chemicals Group (Seoul) says it has begun production of propylene oxide (PO) at its Ulsan, Korea complex. The 100,000 m.t./year facility is the world's first commercial scale plant to use... http://www.chemweek.com/home/projects/13191.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Cognis says it has agreed to sell its 50% stake in Cognis Oleochemicals, an equally owned joint venture with Sime Darby Plantation (Kuala Lumpur), to PTT Chemical International (Singapore), a... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13175.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Industrial gases producers reported a strong second quarter. Praxair’s net income increased 20%, to $342 million ($1.08)/share, on sales up 23%, to $2.9 billion. The consensus of analysts'... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13177.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Air Products says it plans to sell its $271-million/year U.S. healthcare business, and will report the business as a discontinued operation beginning in its fiscal fourth quarter. The company... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13181.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Net income grew 38% from the prior year, to $68.9 million, as sales increased 22%, to $1.1 billion.... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13189.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Gelest (Morrisville, PA), a producer and supplier of specialty organosilicon, says it has doubled capacity at its... http://www.chemweek.com/home/projects/13179.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Ineos says within two years it plans to begin the commercial production of ethanol, which could be used to fuel vehicles, derived from biodegradable household waste. Generating ethanol... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13162.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT DuPont reported second-quarter net income up 11%, to about $1.1 billion ($1.18/share), including a 3-cts/share gain from a favorable tax settlement, on sales up 12%, to $8.8 billion. Local... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13163.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Rising gasoline prices and green-conscious consumers have forced the global automotive industry to rethink its power train, setting the stage for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to emerge as the enabling technology for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). From the current base of nearly zero, sales of lithium for HEV batteries are expected to exceed $500 million by 2015, analysts say. Rockwood Holdings, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), and FMC, the largest lithium producers worldwide, are poised to benefit from this new high-volume application.... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13115.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT Albemarle reported second-quarter net income up 8%, to $61.7 million (67 cts/share), excluding a $3.2-million charge in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 10%, to $621 million. Operating profit... http://www.chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news/13147.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT