Research Guides: Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering: Find Chemical, Plant, and Other Prices

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by Brian Gray Last Updated Jan 28, 2022 134 views this year

Finding Chemical Prices

Current bulk chemical prices are very hard to locate. Many of the price lists are designed for industry access and not specifically academic usage. Below are some suggestions on approaches to get a chemical price or at least an "estimate" that you can document in your projects.

Students, please confirm with you faculty member on if they will provide you prices, if you can use an estimate, or if you can use older data as long as the source is documented.

Chemical Week

Available online through Nexis Uni database.

ICIS Chemical Business

Available online through Nexis Uni and Factiva databases.

Chemical Engineering Progress

Available in Factiva database.

Chemical & Engineering News by ACS
Call Number: online

Several databases may contain chemical or material prices.

You are searching for the name of the chemical in various articles, newspaper, and government resources. Search for the name of the chemical AND add in other terms that limit the results for you. You may try "price", "market", "commodity", or other related terms to narrow the results.

SciFinderⁿ This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Register for a SciFinderⁿ account (required)
Platform provides articles, patents, books, conference proceedings, and dissertations in chemistry and related disciplines. Search by substance name, structure, substructure, reaction, CAS registry number, molecular formula, organization, research topic, and author.

No guest access to this database is allowed. Access is limited to current CWRU affiliates only.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A broad multi-disciplinary database encompassing areas in art, science, and humanities. Includes full-text, plus indexing and abstracts for monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and other publications.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Go-to database for articles (academic, peer-reviewed, magazines, trade literature, newspapers), case studies, interviews, SWOT reports, and more. Controlled language hyperlinks generate excellent results. Save time & organize your work with features (save to folders, cite, share, export, create notes, and links). 80+ other database subjects on same platform for depth andease of cross-research areas. Create “My Research” account to save documents.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Aggregates news content from newspapers, journals, magazines, television and radio transcripts and provides organizations with search, alerting, dissemination, and other information management capabilities. Major newspapers include the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post. Please LOG-OFF Factiva when finished. Select a specific newspaper by clicking the NEWS PAGES tab on the left top menu bar. Or, use the search box at the top of any page. This searches all 17,000 Pro sources for the past 12 months. Try also searching within an industry or topic using the drop down menu within the search form. This will modify the sources searched to focus on those that may be most relevant to your selection.

No guest access to this database is allowed. Access is limited to current CWRU affiliates only.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Features more than 15,000 news, business, and legal sources - including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.

Registration is not required for campus and VPN access, but to take full advantage of personalized features, you must create a profile.

Training resources:

Several journals may contain chemical or industry profiles, including chemical prices.

Estimated Cost Data for Facilities & Construction

Chemical Engineering journal

Available online through Nexis Uni database.

ENR: Enginering News-Record

Available online through Nexis Uni database.

Handbook of Chemical Engineering Calculations by Hicks, Tyler G
Call Number: online
ISBN: 9780071768030
Publication Date: 2012

KSL has provided a series of books that offer price estimate data or methods of calculating price estimates for a variety of purposes, such construction, mechanical, electrical, etc.

R. S. Means provides man of these types of guides and can be viewed in the catalog. Author search for "R.S. Means Company" finds all of them.

R. S. Means Cost Data Books
See the catalog entries for the various R. S. Means Cost Data books available through KSL or online.

Building Construction Cost with RSMeans Data by Rsmeans (Editor)
ISBN: 1943215480
Publication Date: 2017 (75th annual edition)
You will find: cCty Cost Indexes and Location factors for more than 930 U.S. and Canadian locations, complete sample estimate (including markups and location adjustments to help guide customization and accuracy), more than 24,000 unit costs for building components, equipment rental costs, crew sizes, labor hours, labor rates, and square foot costs.
Electrical Costs with RSMeans Data by Rsmeans (Editor)
ISBN: 9781943215522
Publication Date: 2017 (40th annual edition)
You will find: Resources for all types of estimators, including contractors, designers and engineers; latest costs for green building materials, including LED light fixtures, wind turbines, electrical meters, car charging stations and more; City Cost Indexes and Location Factors for more than 930 U.S. and Canadian locations; Cost recommendations for both designing and performing electrical work; Comprehensive cost information on everything from high-voltage transmission lines to residential wiring ; Completely updated prices for more than 13,800 unit costs and 1,300 assemblies costs, covering the latest products, materials and electrical construction method; Complete sample estimates in both print and electronic format to guide customization and improve accuracy; and Square foot costs for quick budget estimates.
Electrical Estimating Methods by Wayne J. Del Pico
ISBN: 1118766849
Publication Date: 2014-10-22
comprehensive guide to estimating electrical costs, with data provided by leading construction database RS Means.
Graphic Construction Standards by Means, R. S., Staff
ISBN: 0911950796
Publication Date: 1986-03-01
Means Graphic Construction Standards bridges the gap between rough construction concepts and actual construction methods. With masterful illustrations of individual assemblies, systems, and components, you can see quickly which construction methods work best to meet design, budget and time objectives.
How to Estimate with RSMeans Data by Saleh A. Mubarak; R. S. Means Company Staff
ISBN: 9781118025284
Publication Date: 2012-04-17
Learn how to estimate building costs using the leading source of construction cost data This step-by-step guide takes you through all the major construction items with extensive coverage of site work, concrete and masonry, wood and metal framing, doors and windows, and other divisions.
Mechanical Cost Data by Rsmeans (Created by)
ISBN: 1943215138
Publication Date: 2015-11-02
Means Mechanical Cost Data 2016 This expert reference guide gives you materials, equipment, and labor costs to develop reliable cost estimates for even the most complex mechanical construction projects.
RSMeans Assemblies Cost Data by Rsmeans (Created by)
ISBN: 9781943215003
Publication Date: 2015-11-02
This Assemblies Cost Data 2016 Want to improve project planning and budgeting? This easy-to-use guide gives you the building components required to develop accurate assemblies-level cost estimates, evaluate trade-off costs, and verify unit price estimates. Be prepared to estimate any job with this indispensable cost reference.
RSMeans Electrical Change Order Cost Data by R. S. Means
ISBN: 9781943215058
Publication Date: 2016
Means Electrical Change Order Cost Data 2016 This well-organized reference provides over 20,000 unit cost entries for estimating change orders. With comprehensive, updated pricing, this is a great tool for both pre- and post-installation change orders, and includes cost-saving ideas and estimating recommendations. You'll also receive FREE quarterly updates via emaila comprehensive quarterly report on market indicators and construction price trends.
RSMeans Facilities Construction Cost Data by R. S. Means
ISBN: 9781943215065
Publication Date: 2016
The Means Facilities Construction Cost Data 2016 Book is devoted specifically to the needs of professionals responsible for the maintenance, construction and renovation of commercial, industrial, municipal, and institutional properties. This reference provides immediate access to every imaginable cost associated with facilities construction and renovation, plus many common maintenance items-with more than 48,000 unit price line items and thousands of assemblies.
RS Means Square foot costs by RS Means
ISBN: 9781940238678
Publication Date: 2015
Gives you the building components required to develop accurate assemblies-level cost estimates, evaluate trade-off costs and verify unit price estimates. Be prepared to estimate any job with this indispensable cost reference. An accurate estimate of costs to build your particular project depends on location, project scope, specific components used and current market conditions.
Structural Steel Estimating by S. Paul Bunea
ISBN: 0876290691
Publication Date: 1987-05-01
Written by one of the nation's most highly regarded steel fabrication and erection specialists, this comprehensive reference on estimating structural steel, miscellaneous iron, steel stairs and ornamental metal includes: -- setting up a steel fabrication plant -- steel erection techniques and quality control -- evaluating the bid package -- structural steel takeoff and estimating -- contracts, bonds, insurance
Unit Price Estimating Methods by Phillip R. Waier (Editor); John H. Chiang (Editor)
ISBN: 0876290160
Publication Date: 2007-05-22
This comprehensive reference explains everything you need to know about taking off and pricing detailed, unit price construction estimates. The book takes you through every step of the estimating process from receipt of the plans, to detailed quantity takeoffs and pricing, to bidding strategies, and finally, cost control. Also includes electronic estimating forms you can access to download and customize from the book s own website. Organized for quick reference, the book features: <ul type="disc"> Estimating guidance for every segment of construction by CSI MasterFormat division the most recognized industry standard for organizing construction projects and costs Checklists and forms to streamline the estimating process What to watch out for common errors and omissions How to calculate and apply direct and indirect costs, including overhead and profit A complete, fully updated sample cost estimate An appendix with labor hours for common construction operations

CWRU Libraries Discovery

Other Chemical Pricing Resources

Some companies list their prices on their websites, so a Google search should be used to supplement your article search. To get better results with Google, Yahoo, or other search engines, put the name of the chemical in quotation marks (example: "hydrogen peroxide") and include terms related to pricing.

Example search strategies:

"hydrogen peroxide" bulk price
"hydrogen peroxide" commodity price

Recommended website

ICIS
Website covers chemical industry news. a Lot requires payment to access, but they do issue free reports that include information on pricing, chemical industry, and companies.