Sarnia-Lambton 'Prime Focus' for Billion-dollar plant.

Photo by Sunilshamnur, (Wiki.)

From Melanie Irwin, Blackburn News.



A Nova Chemicals executive says Sarnia-Lambton is the primary focus for a potential new world-class polyethylene facility.

Regional Manufacturing Director Tom Thompson says right now they’re calling the Sarnia-Lambton location their base case but they’re always evaluating other alternatives as well.

Initially, the U.S. Gulf Coast was also said to be in the running.

“We’re on a phased journey to continue to develop our assets in the region,” he says.

“Really it started back in 2011 when we undertook a $250-million conversion of our Corunna cracker that allowed us to crack ethane sourced from the Marcellus Shale Basin. Right now we’re in the process of doing further upgrades, at the Corunna facility, to allow us to crack 100% ethane and bring in an alternate source from the Utica Shale Basin in Ohio.”

He says engineering and study work continues for the proposed polyethlene plant, coupled with the “de-bottlenecking’ work to increase production at its Moore site.

Thompson says the new plant would be an investment in the range of $1-billion to $2-billion dollars.


Link to the rest of the story here.

$400-million Upgrade for Nova Chemicals Corruna Plant.

Photo by Luigi Chiesa, (Wiki.)

(From the Sarnia Observer)




A $400-million upgrade at Nova Chemicals' Corunna plant has received the green light.

The company's board of directors recently gave its final approval for Nova to invest into creating a pipeline connection to a second source of natural gas liquids, originating in the eastern U.S. shale region, and to convert the Corunna site's cracker to use up to 100-per-cent ethane feedstock.
Work is scheduled for 2017 and 2018.

“It's great news for the community, Nova and Nova employees,” said Tom Thompson, regional manufacturing director for the company.

...


The value of the capital work planned for this year hasn't been disclosed by the company.

Nova Chemical's board has also endorsed continued engineering work on a potential new polyethylene plant that could be built in Sarnia-Lambton, and tied to expansion at the Corunna site designed to boost its ethylene output by 50 per cent.


Link to the rest here.

Adobe: In the Service of the Sun.

Karol M from Arizona, USA, (Wiki.)

From Guernica Magazine.



I didn’t hear any sounds coming from inside my neighbor’s house, so I stepped back to set down my gift. As I bent over, the door swung wide, spilling cool air into the afternoon. A statuesque woman filled the dark entrance.

Grey hair, dark and heavy as a thundercloud, swirled around her face. I thrust my flowers at her—I’d bought them for her eighty-fifth birthday—then started to retreat even as she dipped her nose in the blossoms. But my neighbor ordered me back. She propped the screen door open with her hip: “Come in. We’ll have a chat.”

I followed her into her living room. I didn’t really want to talk. Being new to the neighborhood, I’d wanted to be nice, but I’d hoped she wasn’t home so I could just leave the flowers. As I perched on a threadbare chintz sofa, she said, “Do you know how your house was made? How they built adobe homes back in the fifties?”

My house is a traditional adobe, made of the original stuff—a concoction of mud, sand, clay, and straw—used in ancient building to grab energy from the sun. Adobe walls expand as they absorb heat, then contract when temperatures drop, pushing warmth into rooms in a type of convection.

Cultures around the world have used the readily available materials for adobe to heat and cool living spaces for millennia, especially where temperatures fluctuate wildly, as they do here in the high desert of New Mexico.


Link to the rest here. 

Spanish Architecture in Kansas City?

(From Atlas Obscura.)

Most people probably don’t associate Missouri, let alone Kansas City, with Spanish architecture. But one of the city’s most iconic landmarks looks to mimic just that.

Built by local real estate developer JC Nichols, Country Club Plaza opened during the height of the
Roaring Twenties with a distinct theme: Seville, Spain.

Named for the surrounding Country Club neighborhood, most know it simply as The Plaza, and the buildings have remained almost unchanged since opening in 1923. In addition to the architecture, there are more than 30 statues, murals, and tile mosaics that add to the Spanish flavor, and the blocks are anchored by several major architectural reproductions like the Cathedral of Seville, and even San Francisco’s Path of Gold Streetlights.

More on this story here.

Are Micro-Mansions the Next Big Thing?

Architecturist, (Wiki.)

(From Mansion Global.)

First, there were micro-apartments, multifamily units defined by the Urban Land Institute as 400 square feet or less (depending on the market), with functional kitchens and bathrooms. Then came the so-called “tiny houses” — a trend so popular it’s given rise to at least four reality TV shows.

Now, Frank McKinney, a developer based in Delray Beach, Fla., is gambling that ultra-wealthy home-buyers will be interested in purchasing what he’s termed a micro-mansion: a 4,042-square-foot, ultra-luxury home now under construction in Ocean Ridge, Fla., a coastal community about 30 minutes south of Palm Beach.

McKinney’s target market: high-net-worth individuals who can afford a $10 million house, but would prefer their luxury and privacy in a smaller, more manageable space.

Link to the rest here.

BioTechnology Hub in Sarnia-Lambton to create 400 high-value jobs.

Agência Brasil, (Wiki.)

(Blackburn News.)

The province of Ontario is investing $3-million over four years for a BioTechnology Hub in Sarnia-Lambton, creating 400-high value jobs.

The Minister of Research and Innovation, Reza Moridi made the announcement Friday morning at the UWO Research Park on Modeland Rd., Canada’s largest clean-tech incubator.
Moridi says the province is investing to build a Centre of Excellence for the Commercialization of

Sustainable Chemistry Innovations at the Research Park.

The centre will focus on bridging critical gaps and addressing commercialization challenges faced by the biotechnology sector.

More on this story can be found here. 

Here is the website for the Western/Research Park.