China’s influence

The battle for resources is now in full swing. As violent as that metaphor may sound, there is no denying that the redistribution of fuel and other raw materials will not only leave its stamp on the lives of coming generations, but will also necessitate some radical changes in both chemical and process engineering.
The availability and prices of fossil fuels have long been critical factors for the chemical industry and for producers of petrochemicals in particular. Although only seven percent of fossil fuels are used as raw materials, compared with the 93 percent that is simply burned up as fuel, alternative sources of raw materials for the chemical industry are attracting more and more attention these days.

Even now, eight percent of the raw materials used by Degussa, for example, are so-called renewables and Degussa board member Dr. Alfred Oberholz would like to see this figure doubled over the next ten years. This is more than just a vision: The next generation of chemists and engineers will have to rely not on oil, but on raw materials from biological sources. As there is a long way to go before then, however, the most important task facing engineers in the meantime is how best to intensify heating and material cycles and to enhance energy efficiency. In the biodiesel business, meanwhile, cereals and rapeseed et al. can already be converted into hard cash, as our title story on page 20 explains.
That there have already been some major engineering advances even in the chemical industry is evident from the example of chloroelectrolysis. In just less than two years’ time, Bayer MaterialScience will commission what by then will be the world’s largest hydrochloric acid recycling plant using a new oxygen-depleting cathode technology developed in collaboration with Bayer Technology Services and other partners. This new method of electrolysis uses up to 30 percent less energy, which of course is a huge advantage in terms of costs. The only fly in the ointment: The first plant to use this new technology will be at Bayer in Shanghai. So there can no longer be any talk of the West having the edge over the East—at least not when there are global players involved. You can read more about the extent to which developments in China are influencing the corporate strategies of Western corporations in what follows (on pages 16 and 18/19 and in the supplement Achema Worldwide News on page 51 ff.).
In view of the investment volumes, overheads and variable costs involved, however, only high-grade automated world-scale plant are genuinely competitive at present. This is the key not only to lower personnel costs, but also to improved process and product quality and plant safety—and hence the maximization of added value.

-Gerd Kielburger-