Business Roundup

Arclin, a maker of polymers and engineered products, has acquired West Virginia– based Belle Chemical, a methylamines and derivatives producer, for an undisclosed sum. Belle was once part of Chemours.

Evonik Industries will split its technology and infrastructure division into separate units. As part of the restructuring, the firm will convert infrastructure units at its sites in Marl and Wesseling, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium, into independent companies.

Arkema will spend about $135 million to expand production of dimethyl disulfide, an additive used in the production of renewable aviation fuels, at its site in Beaumont, Texas. The company expects the market for renewable fuels to double by 2040.

Ecovyst plans to expand capacity for silica catalysts at its Kansas City, Kansas, plant by 50% in 2025. The catalysts are used to make high-density and linear low-density polyethylene.

Braskem has idled a polypropylene production line at its complex in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. The company says the move was prompted by a downturn in the polypropylene business cycle.

Alfasigma will acquire Intercept Pharmaceuticals and its expertise in rare and serious liver diseases for about $794 million. The deal comes 3 months after the US Food and Drug Administration rejected Intercept’s drug for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Trillium Renewable Chemicals is planning to build a demonstration-scale facility to convert plant-based glycerol into acrylonitrile, a chemical normally produced from petroleum. The company already operates a pilot-scale plant.

3M says it has idled production of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at its facility in Zwijndrecht, Belgium. The company has stated that it would exit PFAS manufacturing by 2025.