The Chemical World This Week INDUSTRY & BUSINESS
OCTOBER
3 1,
1960
CONCENTRATES
^ Shell Chemical will plunge deeper into thermoplastics with an 80 million pound-a-year polypropylene plant near Woodbury, N J . The company holds options on the property. Construction should start by mid-1961 with completion slated for some time in 1962. Also planned for the site are new research and technical service centers. Shell will use its own process developed by Shell Development. The plastics and resins division of Shell Chemical will build and operate the plant. Earlier, the company moved into polystyrene at Wallingford, Conn. (C&EN, June 13, page 29), and has made epoxy resins for many years. ^ The race to market smog-control devices for California automobiles quickens. Universal Oil Products has just set up a new subsidiary (Universal Oxidation Processes) in Los Angeles to manufacture and market Purzaust if the device is approved by California's Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. Purzaust, UOP's catalytic muffler to aid smog control, is one of a number of devices now under study by the California board. Just a few weeks ago Oxy-Catalyst, Berwyn, Pa., formed a new subsidiary (E. J. Houdry Muffler Co.) to make and install catalytic exhaust purifiers for car mufflers (C&EN, O c t 17, page 40). ^ Rohm & Haas reduced acrylate monomer prices last week. Methyl acrylate monomer was cut 4V4 cents per pound and ethyl acrylate monomer 1V 4 cents in tank car quantities. New tank car price for both monomers is 32 1 / 4 cents. The company also reduced the monomers in truckload quantities to 34 8 / 4 cents per pound and in l.c.l. quantities to 35 3 / 4 cents. Previous truckload price of ethyl acrylate monomer was 36 cents; methyl acrylate was 39 cents. In l.c.l. shipments, methyl acrylate monomer formerly sold for 40 cents per pound, ethyl acrylate monomer for 37 cents. Dow, Union Carbide (which makes only the ethyl monomer), and Celanese, the nation's other major acrylate monomer producers, said they would meet Rohm & Haas's new prices. • Another entrant in packaged antifreeze is General Aniline & Film, whose Antara Chemicals division is introducing "ramp," an ethylene
glycol product. This "test introduction" is aimed chiefly at the industrial field this year. Next year, Antara expects to expand its efforts in the private label consumer field. Present sales are planned for "ramp" in drums and cans at "competitive prices," according to Antara, which says it has been selling blended and dyed nonbranded antifreeze in bulk for three years. • Dow Chemical is building a new polystyrene plant at Lavrion, Greece, a suburb of Athens. Completion is set for late November 19Q1. The plant is for Dow Hellenic Chemical Industry, Ltd., a Dow subsidiary formed earlier this year. Building contracts for the plant, which will include technical service facilities, have been awarded to Foster Wheeler Italiana of Milan. • Cause of the explosion and fire at Dow's glycerol plant in Freeport, Tex., last week is believed to have been a leak in a vapor feed line carrying a mixture of allyl chloride and propylene chloride to a distillation column, according to Dow. Four workers were killed, another died of injuries the next morning, and fourteen were injured, some seriously. Dow's preliminary estimate of damage is $100,000 for this second explosion at the plant this year. Meantime, Tennessee Eastman puts the bill for damage in the* O c t 4 Kingsport accident (C&EN, Oct. 10, page 17) at $4.5 million, says cause of the blast still hasn't been determined. The aniline plant there was totally destroyed, but production in other departments is near normal. • American Cyanamid maintains it has not monopolized the melamine business. The Justice Department recently charged that Cyanamid conspired to restrain and monopolize trade in melamine and melamine products through agreements with other companies and through acquisition of Formica (C&EN, Oct. 17, page 37). But Cyanamid says the Formica acquisition, in the opinion of qualified legal counsel, was not in violation of antitrust laws. Furthermore, says Cyanamid, melamine is available to any customer who wants to buy it, and melamine prices, instead of being artificially high or rigid as charged, have actually declined substantially over the years. According to the company, its Formica subsidiary consumes less than 6% of Cyanamid's total melamine production. OCT.
31,
1960
C&EN
19
