Swiss specialty chemicals firm Clariant, in which Saudi Aramco petchems subsidiary Sabic (MEES, 19 June) owns a leading 31.5% stake, has signed a joint development agreement with France’s TechnipFMP to demonstrate and commercialize Clariant’s proprietary AcryloMax propylene ammoxidation catalyst for the production of acrylonitrile. TechnipFMC announced on 17 June that it will soon be commissioning a large demonstration reactor at its Weymouth, Massachusetts, research center in the US to test the technology. Acrylonitrile is a intermediate chemical used in making plastics and synthetic fibers.
Sabic increased its stake in Clariant from 24.99% as “part of Sabic’s growth strategy in specialties” although the firms have shelved plans for merging their specialties business because of “unfavourable market conditions” (MEES, 1 November 2019). (CONTINUED - 117 WORDS)