Chemical Engineering Economics

Chemical Engineering: Plant/Process Design and Economics

: These resources are available to UT-Austin students, faculty, and staff only.
All print materials listed are in the Chemistry Library unless otherwise noted.
Entries marked with a

(star) are particularly useful.

JUMP TO: Trade Magazines/News/Prices | Chemical Sources | Indexes: Business | Indexes: Technical | Books

Getting Started: General Reference Sources

Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of chemical technology. 5th ed.: Reference TP 9 K54 2004; Core information source presents a wealth of information on preparation, manufacturing processes, uses of materials, properties of chemical substances, and chemistry fundamentals. This should be your first stop when looking for process information for major chemical products. Chapters on important industrial products usually contain a section on economics, pricing, and production. Also available online.
Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. 6th ed.: Reference TP 9 U57 2003, 40 vols.; Comprehensive coverage of industrial chemistry topics. Complements Kirk-Othmer with more of a European focus.
Encyclopedia of chemical processing and design. (McKetta): Reference TP 9 E66, 68 vols., 1976-99; Lengthy articles on chemical products and their processes, economics, equipment, and applications. A brief subject index is found in last volume. The economic data are dated, but figures can be extrapolated to current estimates by using the various cost indices.
Perry's chemical engineers handbook. 8th ed.: Handbook Table; Compendium of data tables and textual information on virtually every aspect of chemical engineering, including mathematics and physical/chemical data. Use the index as a starting point.
Kent & Riegel's handbook of industrial chemistry. 11th ed.: Reference TP 145 R54 2007; Handbook describing the chemistry and engineering principles underlying the chemical process industry; chapters cover specific segments of the industry.

Trade Magazines and Industry News: Chemical Prices, Cost Indexes, and more...

PRICES:

It has never been easy to find current, accurate prices for bulk chemicals. There is no single authoritative source of chemical prices today.
Some prices are volatile and change daily; others may be quite stable over long periods of time.
Prices for a commodity differ according to manufacturer, quantity, grade, delivery mode, time of year, and other variables.
For estimation purposes it is advisable to consider average prices over a period of several months, rather than today's price.
Long term contract prices are often lower than spot prices.
In some cases a direct quote from a manufacturer will be the only source of price information.
You should not use research-quantity prices (such as found in supplier catalogs) for plant estimation purposes.

COST INDEXES:
The principal indexes used to estimate plant costs are published in the magazines listed below. They are: CE Plant Cost Index, Marshall & Swift, Vatavuk Air Pollution Control (in Chemical Engineering); Nelson-Farrar (in Oil & Gas Journal); ENR CCI (in ENR).

The links in this section are to the home pages of these publications; access to most content requires a personal subscription. Some full text can be found via Business Source Complete, where noted in the descriptions. Print issues are shelved by title in the Chemistry Library except where noted. The indicates a title useful for pricing news.

Chemical engineering (New York)

Chemistry Library Journal Stacks

[Catalog Record]

CE is the most important U.S. trade magazine covering the processing industry. Each month CE updates various cost indexes vital for estimation purposes: Marshall & Swift, CE Plant Cost Index, Vatavuk Air Pollution Control Cost Index. CE publishes an annual Buyers' Guide each fall.

Chemical and engineering news. U.T. restricted

Chemistry Library Journal Stacks

Weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society. No regular chemical pricing data, but C&EN publishes occasional profiles of industry segments as well as annual statistical features such as "Facts and Figures for the Chemical Industry" and employment outlooks.

Chemical week.

Chemistry Library Journal Stacks

Full text available online via Business Source Complete. The weekly "CW Price Report" summarizes spot and contract prices of a handful of major bulk chemicals. The "Product Focus" section profiles the current market for a particular chemical. CW also publishes the annual Buyers' Guide.

ENR.

TA 1 E6 Engineering Library

Newsmagazine for the engineering and construction industries. Contains a construction cost index.

Hydrocarbon processing.

Chemistry Library Journal Stacks

News and research from the petroleum processing industry.

ICIS chemical business. (formerly Chemical Market Reporter)

Weekly, 2005-forward print issues in Chemistry Library Journal Stacks; earlier years on microfilm

Some content (text only) is available online via Business Source Complete.

CMR was for many years the main source for current price information on important commercial bulk chemicals and raw materials. Not every issue listed every chemical, so it was usually necessary to scan several recent issues to find a particular product.

CMR stopped printing the Chemical Prices section in 2005. In mid-2006 CMR's title changed to ICIS Chemical Business and the list of tracked chemicals was reduced significantly and now covers commodities such as oils and waxes. Price data are now available only on their pricing web site. Current reports are restricted to registered personal subscribers. Some older sample reports are available free of charge.

ICIS posted the August 28, 2006 price list (the last one before the list was narrowed) on its ICIS Students site. This historical list can be used as a basic guide.

A weekly Chemical Profile presents recent production and demand information for a particular product, including a price history, and these are usually updated every 1-2 years. We have compiled a list of chemical profiles published since the CMR title change. Selected past CMR chemical profiles can be found on the Innovation Group web site.

ICIS also publishes the annual OPD Chemical Buyers Directory, available online as ICIS Search.

Oil & gas journal.

TN 860 O4 Geology Library

Newsmagazine for the petroleum refining and exploration industries. Contains the Nelson-Farrar Cost Index for petroleum refinery construction. Follow the link from the Library Catalog to see options for full-text access.

OTHER RESOURCES

Chemical Economics Handbook: Produced by SRI, the CEH is the most important source of chemical market analysis. Its periodic reports on major commodity chemicals are extensively researched and very reliable. As a result, they are very expensive, and a single report on a pay-per-view basis will cost over $1000. The CEH is included here because of its importance to the chemical industry at large, but the library is unable to provide any access to the reports. The summaries are publicly available.
Chemical Prices Search: A search engine that targets a short list of selected sites, including ICIS.
U.S. Petroleum Prices (DOE): Current and historical prices for crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, and propane, along with analysis and updates.
U.S. Census Current Industrial Reports: Government data on production and shipment of important manufactures, including chemical.

Sources of Chemicals and Manufacturer Information

Chem sources U.S.A.: Reference TP 12 C443 (latest edition); Annual directory of commercially available chemicals and their producers, with company and trade name indexes. Covers both research and industrial/bulk quantities. It does not contain prices.
Chemical suppliers and catalogs

Indexes: Business and Trade Journals, Statistics, and News Sources

Business Source Complete: Indexing and full text to thousands of business and trade journals. The best way to search for price information on a particular chemical is to use an accepted trade/generic name or abbreviation for the chemical with the keyword pric*, and apply a recent date limit:
butadiene and pric*
Factiva: Updated daily. A global information resource, providing full-text access to top national and international newspapers (including full text of the Wall Street Journal), newswires, business journals, market research reports, analysts reports and web sites. Contains over 8000 publications, with some coverage of chemical trade publications.
Investext: Updated daily. Part of the Business & Company Resource Center. Use to locate information on industries and public corporations. Contains reports and forecasts prepared by top Wall Street and international brokerage firms.
Statistical Universe: Updated monthly. Provides indexing and abstracts for federal, state, and international statistical publications as well as selected business and professional publications containing statistics.

Indexes: Scholarly Journals

SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts): Comprehensive indexing of the world's technical literature in all areas of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related disciplines. CA does not cover business/trade publications.
: Coverage of the worldwide journal and conference literature in all fields of engineering.

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