Q&A with CISA Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Lead Matt Rogers

Editor's note: The following responses were provided by Matthew Rogers, the Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Lead at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA; www.cisa.gov), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov). The statements were provided in response…

2023 CEPCI updates: October (prelim.) and September (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for October 2023 (most recent available) is lower than the previous month’s value, continuing a trend of lower monthly values that has been observed since May 2023. To arrive at…

Clariant shuts sunliquid bioethanol plant in Romania

Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com), a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, today announced its decision to shut down its sunliquid® bioethanol production in Podari, Romania, and to downsize related activities of the business line Biofuels & Derivatives in Germany (Straubing, Planegg…

Business News: December 2023

Plant Watch Petrobras announces biorefining breakthrough at Riograndense refinery November 9, 2023 — Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) has successfully processed 100% soybean oil in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its Riograndense petroleum refinery…

Applying Location Factors for Conceptual Cost Estimation

A practical overview on how to use location factors, and some tips on when to use — or not use — them Often in the early stages of project development in the chemical process industries (CPI), the development team is…

2023 CEPCI updates: September (prelim.) and August (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for September 2023 (the most recent available) fell compared to the August value, reversing the slight increase that was observed from the cycle prior to that. The CEPCI has been…

Global chemical production up for September; U.S. production flat, ACC says

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) trended higher by 0.6% in September, following a revised 0.6% gain in August. In the U.S., the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index…

Recently Published Books for the CPI: November 2023

The following is a selection of recently published books with relevance to parts of the chemical process industries (CPI) Integrated Process Modeling, Advanced Control and Data Analytics for Optimizing Polyolefin Manufacturing. By Y.A. Liu and Niket Sharma, Wiley-VCH Publishing, 2023,…

Business News: November 2023

Plant Watch BASF to build a new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen October 12, 2023 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is investing in a new fermentation plant for biological crop-protection products, such as fungicides, insecticides and seed treatments, at its…

Commercial Progress on Turquoise Hydrogen

Producing hydrogen via methane pyrolysis – termed ‘turquoise hydrogen’ – has thus far received less attention than ‘blue’ and ‘green’ H2, but it may offer advantages over both While the vast majority of current hydrogen production occurs by steam reforming…