Business Roundup

Evonik Industries has expanded sodium methylate capacity at its plant in Argentina’s Sante Fe Province to 90,000 metric tons per year. The chemical is a catalyst used to make biodiesel from triglycerides.

Yara International, the Norway-based fertilizer giant, and the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras are in negotiations for a potential business partnership. Petrobras recently announced that it would restart an ammonia plant in Brazil that has been idle since 2020.

BASF will stop making the herbicide glufosinate ammonium at two sites in Germany, citing competition from generic brands as well as high costs for energy and raw materials in the region. The firm says it will buy the ingredient from third parties as needed.

Incitec Pivot has backed out of negotiations to sell its phosphate fertilizer business to the Indonesian firm PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur. The business has about $1.5 billion in sales.

Air Products and Chemicals plans to sell a 50% stake in a blue hydrogen subsidiary in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to Saudi Aramco. The subsidiary, Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases, is developing hydrogen production projects in the region that will use carbon capture to lower their net greenhouse gas emissions.

BASF is selling its mining flocculant business to the water chemical maker Solenis for an undisclosed sum. In 2019, Solenis merged with BASF’s operations in pulp and paper water treatment.

Tokai Carbon plans to cut capacity for graphite electrodes in Europe and Japan by about 40%. The company blames sluggish steel production and imports from China and India.

American Vanguard CEO Eric G. Wintemute has stepped down after 47 years with the company but will remain as chairman. The agricultural chemical company says it has created an office of the CEO to improve financial performance.