The 1.7-ton higher alcohols market is witnessing one of the first major challenges of petroleum-based chemical economics under the current regime of $60-plus crude oil, according to a new study, Higher Alcohols – Forecast to 2020, by Colin A. Houston and Associated, Inc., a consulting firm in Brewster, NY. New oleo alcohol plants based on renewable raw materials––coconut and palm kernel oils––are scheduled to add close to a million tons of alcohol capacity to the market during the next two...