Business Roundup

Lyondell Chemical is entering the anhydrous isopropyl alcohol market at the beginning of next year. The company will make the solvent at its plant in Channelview, Texas. Isopropyl alcohol is also used to make methyl isobutyl ketone, isopropyl acetate, and isopropylamines.

Ineos Oligomers has expanded its overall poly α-olefin capacity by 10%. The company says the project is part of an effort to expand capacity by 50,000 metric tons before the end of the decade. Ineos makes the chemicals, used as lubricants, in LaPorte, Texas, and Feluy, Belgium.

Praxair's former CEO, Dennis H. Reilley, has been elected to the board of directors of Dow Chemical. Reilley headed Praxair from 2000 to the end of 2006.

Sensient Technologies, the specialty chemicals maker, has named Robert J. Edmonds as its president and chief operating officer (COO). Separately, titanium dioxide maker Tronox has eliminated its COO position in a cost-cutting move. As a result, Marty Rowland has left the company to pursue other interests.

DuPont has completed an expansion of its nylon resin compounding facility in Ulsan, South Korea. The project adds 20,000 metric tons per year of capacity for Zytel nylon, the firm says.

Celanese has sold the Alberta, Canada-based films business of its AT Plastics subsidiary to British Polythene Industries. Celanese says it will retain AT's specialty polymers business, also based in Alberta.

Alphora Research is building a current Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant pilot plant at its Mississauga, Ontario, facility. Set for completion by the end of the year, the project will add 200- and 400-L glass-lined reactors and supporting process equipment.

Advanced Life Sciences will collaborate with the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases to evaluate ALS's antibiotic cethromycin as a treatment for anthrax and other biological warfare agents. The work will fall under the U.S. government's Project BioShield.

Enigma Diagnostics has entered a 20-year license agreement with the Defense Science & Technology Laboratory, part of the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense. The license covers technologies important to Enigma's real-time polymerase chain reaction systems, used in the rapid detection and identification of infectious organisms.