Business Roundup

Solvay has agreed to purchase an alkoxylation facility that was opened in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, last year by Emery Oleochemicals and Erca Group. Solvay plans to open its own new alkoxylation plants in Singapore and the U.S. in the third quarter.

China Lumena New Materials has been asked by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to begin delisting itself. China-based Lumena, which once claimed to be the world’s largest producer of polyphenylene sulfide, was accused a year ago by Glaucus Research of lying to investors. Trading in Lumena’s stock has been suspended since then.

Sirrus, an adhesives chemistry start-up, will work with Sun Chemical to develop products based on its 1,1-disubstituted alkenes for use in inks and pigments. Ohio-based Sirrus earlier signed a development pact with the glue maker Elmer’s Products.

Celtic Renewables has received close to $750,000 in a new round of investment that values the company at about $15 million. The Scottish company seeks to convert the leftovers of Scotch making into 1-butanol by resurrecting a fermentation process used until the 1960s.

Bio-on and Pizzoli, two Italian firms, will study the potential to use waste from potato processing as a feedstock for a facility that could make up to 4,000 metric tons per year of polyhydroxyalkanoate, a biodegradable plastic. Bio-on is a bioplastics firm. Pizzoli is a large potato processor.

Albemarle will increase capacity for its alumina trihydrate flame-retardants line by the end of 2015 while eliminating certain aluminum hydroxide flame retardants. Separately, the firm is in talks with Ali & Sons Oilfield Supplies & Services about building a catalyst and additives facility in Abu Dhabi.

Calico, the Google-backed life sciences firm, will work with the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard to better understand the biology and genetics of aging. The partners plan to use their findings to develop drug candidates. Other Calico partners include AbbVie and 2M, a spin-off of UT Southwestern Medical Center.