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Porton opens fermentation lab

Porton Pharma Solutions, a Chinese custom API services firm, has officially put into use its fermentation pilot laboratory at Chongqing, Sichuan province.

Cabot buys CNTs maker

The Chinese subsidiary of Boston-based speciality chemicals and materials firm Cabot has agreed to acquire Shenzhen Sanshun Nano New Materials (SUSN) for about $115 million. The deal expected to close in Q2 of fiscal 2020.

SUSN is claimed to be the world’s second largest producer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and commissioned a new plant in China in November 2018 with enough capacity to support growth over the next several years. It will henceforth be part of Cabot’s Performance Chemicals segment.

Reprieve for Chemours site

Chemours has sold its methylamines business to Belle Chemical, an affiliate of Cornerstone Chemical. This has given a lifeline to the 57 workers at the site in Belle, West Virginia, and exemplified enduring interest in US-based chemical manufacture. Financial details were not disclosed.

MFG upgrade completed

US speciality and custom chemical manufacturer has completed an upgrade of its pilot plant in Dalton, Georgia. In particular, the company has upgraded a 0.38 m3 stainless steel reactor, which produces hot oil and steam reactions up to 288ºC, placing it on a mezzanine off the floor and giving it new insulation. The entire plant has also had a pressure cleaning and general upgrading. Another reactor of the same size will be added as demand grows, according to CEO Keith Arnold.

Consortium to build Cyrene plant

A consortium led by UK biotechnology company Circa Sustainable Chemicals is to develop the first commercial plant to produce levoglucosenone, the raw material for the biobased solvent Cyrene, from renewable feedstocks. It is expected to reach capacity of 1,000 tonnes/year.

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