News in Brief
lcalcium silicate
After completing a 4 000 m3/a production  line  of  calcium
silicate insulation  products  in  1996,   Hebei  Zhuozhou
Chemical Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. has constructed a  2
million m2/a production line of fiber- reinforced  calcium
silicate boards this year.
lanhydrous sodium sulfate
The fourth phase anhydrous sodium sulfate  project  started
construction on Oct. 28 in Hongze. The project has a total
investment of 30 million yuan and a capacity of 100 000 t/a.
It will be completed and put into operation in  June  next
year. The capacity of anhydrous sodium sulfate  in  Hongze
will reach 400 000 t/a at that time.
lacetaldehyde
The expansion project of the acetaldehyde unit  in  Calcium
Carbide Plant of  Jilin  Chemical  Industrial  Corporation
completed wet  commissioning  on  Oct.   20  and  produced
qualified product. All technical indexes have reached  the
design value. The capacity of the original unit was 60 000
t/a.
lfertilizer
Hunan Jinye Fertilizer Co., Ltd. opened business on Nov. 18
. The company was a compound fertilizer branch  factory  of
Hunan Linxiang Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant  before.   The
100 000 t/a tobacco compound  fertilizer  project  jointly
funded by China Tobacco Corporation, Hunan Tobacco Co. and
Linxiang Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant will be completed in
September next year. The project has an investment  of  65
million yuan.
lSBS
The 50 000 t/a SBS production line, the biggest  in  China,
was completed and put on stream on Nov.   3  in  Synthetic
Rubber Plant of Yueyang Petrochemical Corporation in Hunan
.
lethoxyl  benflurether
The preliminary designs for the construction of a  250  t/a
ethoxyl benflurether project and the technical  renovation
of a 48 000 t/a methane chloride project in Zhejiang Juhua
Co., Ltd. passed  the  ministerial  appraisal  of  experts
organized by  the  Petrochemical  Department  of  Zhejiang
Province. The first project has a total investment of 49.5
million yuan and will be completed and put on stream  next
year. The second project uses the advanced technology from
Japan and has a total investment of 144.6 million yuan.
lmelamine
The 12 000 t/a melamine unit in  Henan  Zhongyuan  Chemical
Industrial Group Corporation has started construction. The
project will use the technology from  Italy  and  will  be
completed and put into operation at the end of 1999.
lspherical tanks
Three 2 000 m3 spherical tanks starting construction in the
second quarter this year have passed appraisal in  Zhenhai
Refining &  Chemical  Industrial  Co. ,   Ltd.   They  are
associated to the 8 million t/a refining expansion project
in the company.
lrare earth compound fertilizer
The 15 000  t/a  rare  earth  ammonium  carbonate  compound
fertilizer production line has started production in Hebei
Shexian Chemical Fertilizer Plant. The complete technology
and production equipment  are  provided  by  the  Compound
Fertilizer Unit of Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical
Industry
lpentaerythritol
Renovation  and  expansion  project  of  the  4   000   t/a
pentaerythritol  unit  is  completed  in  Guizhou  Organic
Chemical Plant. The project has an investment  of  over  6
million yuan and uses the low-temperature process.
lion membrane caustic soda
The 20 000 t/a ion membrane caustic soda unit has been  put
on stream in Anhui Wuhu Shanjiang   Chemical Co., Ltd. The
project started construction in August  1996  and  has  an
investment of 130 million yuan.
lpropylene
The 180 000 t/a propylene gas recovery  unit  is  put  into
  operation  in  Nanjing   Industrial   Co.     of   Yangzi
  Petrochemical  Corporation.   The  project  has  a  total
investment of  140  million  yuan.   It  uses  by- product
liquefied gas produced in Yangzi Petrochemical Corporation
as raw material to produce propylene with a purity of over
99.6%.
lPVC shaped materials
The agreement for introducing  complete  equipment  of  PVC
shaped  materials  from  an  Austrian  company  by  Ningbo
Zhedong Cement Products Co., Ltd. has been signed.
  PVC shaped materials are major raw materials for  plastic
doors and windows. After the completion of a 100 000  m2/a
production line for assembly of plastic doors and  windows
last year, Ningbo Zhedong Cement Products Co. has invested
another 100 million yuan in  establishing  a  12  000  t/a
production base of plastic shaped materials. The  standard
factory buildings of the renovation project  have  already
started construction. The project will be completed in May
next year.
lbutene
The 10 000 t/a butene-1 unit in Organic Synthesis Plant  of
Jilin Chemical Industrial Corporation has produced 10  005
tons of qualified product butene-1,  reaching  the  design
capacity two  months  ahead  of  schedule.   The  unit  is
associated to the 300 000 t/a ethylene project of the plant.

lnylon
     Sanlong   nylon   project   undertaken   by   Liaoyang
Petrochemical Corporation, Du Pont of  the  United  States
and Rhone-Poulenc of France is already in full swing in No
. 4 Chemical Plant of Liaoyang  Petrochemical  Corporation.
More than 10% of the work load has  been  fulfilled.   The
civil work will be completed at the end of this  year  and
the equipment installation will be completed at the end of
next year. The project uses the technology of Du Pont. The
capacity of the nylon unit in No. 4 Chemical Plant will be
expanded from 45 000 t/a to 97 500 t/a.
llow density polyethylene
The 140 000 t/a low density polyp