Germany blast at Evonik plant in Marl injures at least 2

(bloomberg) -- A blast at a chemical plant of Evonik Industries AG in the city of Marl in Germany's Ruhr valley injured at least two people, the city's police department said.

Police were informed at 1:37 p.m. local time about several explosions at the site and a fire, which firefighters brought under control, police spokeswoman Ramona Hoerst said.
The authorities asked local residents to keep windows closed as a precautionary measure, and so far monitoring has not detected alarming concentrations of harmful substances in the atmosphere, she said. About 100 firefighters and police went to the site.

The city's chemical park is among the largest in Europe, with 30 companies employing about 10,000 people producing more than 4,000 products, according to Evonik's website. The park is operated by Infracor GmbH, a subsidiary of Evonik Degussa GmbH, with Evonik employing about 7,000 people at the site.

The blast was at a plant making cyclododecatriene, used in making flame retardants, solvents, flavors and fragrances, Infracor said in a statement. One person remained in the hospital, according to the statement.
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Expandable polystyrene (EPS) market in the Northwest Europe is tight since late Q4 2011 in line with significantly decreased consumption of the product. The market is witnessing low price gains.

Demand for EPS prevails mostly in the construction sector in April-June. However, the consumption is already showing a slight upward shift due to better weather.

There is no significant uptick in the sector at the moment, though the participants on the end markets usually begin purchasing beforehand.
MRC

(canplastics) -- In a deal between two of North America's largest thermoformers, Dart Container Corporation is purchasing Solo Cup Company for USD1 billion.

Both U.S.-based companies are in the consumer and foodservice disposable packaging business.

Illinois-based Solo Cup is being sold for USD315 million along with USD700 million in debt. Dart Container, headquartered in Mason, Mich., said it expects the deal to close by the third quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory approval. Dart expects to continue offering products under the Solo brand.

⌠Our acquisition of Solo will allow us to provide even greater value to our customers in the future, said Dart Container CEO Robert C. Dart. ⌠It will enable customers to purchase a wider range of products, made from a greater variety of materials with varying functional and environmental attributes ≈ all from a single vendor. Both companies have an extensive history in the industry and will bring together valuable experience, traditions and complementary, high-quality products.

MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- W.R. Grace & Co. has entered into an agreement with Dow Chemical to develop new catalysts for polypropylene production, officials said on Thursday.

The catalysts, which use one of Dow's non-phthalate internal donor technologies and Grace proprietary catalyst expertise, will be sold by Grace under the HYAMPP brand.

HYAMPP catalysts are non-phthalate catalysts with industry-leading activity and performance benefits, and represent sixth-generation technology.

They enable producers to make resins that improve the performance of plastics, including better clarity, stiffness and impact strength, providing a pathway to new applications requiring more demanding properties that cannot be met by current generation catalysts.

Customers can use the resins in a broad range of applications such as films, high-performance pipe, automobile parts, household appliances and household containers. Grace expects to begin commercial production of the new catalysts in 2012, it said.

⌠We are continuously looking for ways to better meet the needs of our customers and the end-users of their products, said Tony Dondero, vice president and general manager of Grace's specialty catalysts and process technologies product line.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Pakistan said Thursday it would seek Russian funding for a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline from Iran amid Chinese reluctance to invest in the project over fears it could be hit by sanctions.

The quest for alternative sources of funds began when the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China failed to sign up to a consortium to finance Pakistan's USD1.5 billion share of the project.

"Pakistan's technical delegation will visit Moscow early next month to have discussions on this subject," said foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.

The Pakistan team will hold talks with relevant officials and different companies, including Russian gas giant Gazprom, Basit said.

A petroleum ministry official confirmed that Russia was a possible source of funding, given that there has still been no formal response from ICBC.

The United States wants Islamabad to abandon the project because of sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program, but Pakistan has insisted it is vital in helping to overcome a debilitating energy crisis.

Pakistan and Iran signed a deal in 2010 in which Tehran would supply natural gas to its eastern neighbor from 2014, with sales to reach 750 million cubic feet (21 million cubic meters) to one billion cubic feet per day by mid-2015.

Pakistan, which produces just 80% of its own electricity needs, has presented the USD7.5 billion gas project as a partial answer to the energy crisis, which has led to blackouts and has suffocated industry.
MRC