Sadara Chemical Company has announced the production of commercial quantities of on-specification liquid PMDI (polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), the largest single train facility of its kind in the world.

On 19 June the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) released a statement opposing the recent proposal by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to designate spray polyurethane foam products containing unreacted methylene diphenyl diisocyanates (MDI) as a listed Priority Product under the department’s controversial Safer Consumer Products Program.

Prepolymer contract manufacturer Third Coast Terminals LLC, announced a full year of successful prepolymer toll manufacturing at its state of the art prepolymer facility in Pearland, TX, USA. The unit was completed as scheduled in 2016 and commissioned flawlessly, the company said in a statement issued on 6 July.

The European Joint Undertaking on Bio-Based Industries (BBI), consisting of representatives from the European Union and the bio-based industry, has granted EUR 25 million to PEFerence, a consortium of eleven companies. The grant supports the establishment of an innovative value chain for bio-based raw materials as well as chemicals and materials based on polyethylenefuranoate (PEF). It includes the intended construction of a 50,000 t/y FDCA reference plant, the main chemical building block for the production of PEF. Synvina, a joint venture of Avantium and BASF, will be coordinating the PEFerence project.

The Lubrizol Corporation recently announced new partnerships with distributors, Al-Shihab Al Thahabi and Al Azzaz, based in UAE and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

BASF and Stahl have agreed to combine BASF’s leather chemicals business with Stahl Group. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and the closing is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Foam Supplies, Inc. (FSI) worked in partnership with the global law firm Dentons to develop a carbon offset methodology which earned Dentons the American Carbon Registry's prestigious 2017 Innovation Award.

BASF Polyurethanes GmbH recently announced a mid-double-digit million euro investment for the construction of a further production line for Elastollan thermoplastic polyurethane as well as a new dispatch and commissioning hall at its Lemförde site in Germany. The new TPU plant will expand the already existing production complex.

The Santa Clara, CA, USA, based company Rennovia Inc. announced that it has successfully commissioned, and is operating, all core pilot plant operations for its sugars to 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HDO) process.