Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company’s new plants include a 280 KTA polypropylene plant and a 480 KTA high-density polyethylene plant which will utilise Lyondell Basell’s Spheripol PP and Hostalen ACP process technology respectively.

Syngenta Group has acquired the plant from Novartis and is the company’s first major manufacturing facility since its establishment. With this investment, the firm aims to strengthen its crop protection strategy and offer innovative solutions to farmers across the globe.

Elkem’s new investment aims to pilot an industrial biocarbon process for silicon and ferrosilicon production by making use of renewable biocarbon instead of fossil coal. The move is in line with the firm’s sustainable production strategy.

Volkmann has developed solutions to convey many different materials from a variety of containers. All this can be achieved safely, with low dust emissions, gentle on the product, efficient and, if necessary, fully automated.

With the acquisition of the two Italian companies, Ascend Performance Materials has expanded its portfolio into other engineered plastics, recycled resins and masterbatches. The firm has also acquired Poliblend Deutschland, a German-based distribution facility as part of the deal.

With an aim to accelerate the growth of Evonik’s catalysts business, the company has taken over the US firm. The move will enable the company to obtain access to Porocel’s catalyst rejuvenation technology.

Lyondell Basell and Bora have started up the new JV facility in China to meet the growing demand for polyolefins in the country. The complex includes a 1.1 million metric tonne per annum flexible LPG cracker, associated polyethylene production capacity of 800,000 metric tonnes per annum and 600,000 metric tonnes per annum of polypropylene.

Lyondell Basell’s pilot plant will be using the company’s proprietary Moretec advanced recycling technology to convert used plastic waste into feedstock for new plastic materials. The new unit is capable of processing between 5 and 10 kg of household plastic waste per hour.

Phillips 66 has plans to transform its San Francisco Refinery in the USA into a renewable fuels facility which is expected to produce 680 million gallons of renewable diesel, renewable gasoline, and sustainable jet fuel every year.

The Industry 4.0 platform or the Industrial Internet Consortium? RAMI or IIRA? Observe the standards meticulously or just do it? In the matter of procedures to be followed for manufacturing in the future and the Internet of Things, the differences between Germany and the USA may not be unbridgeable, but they are definitely conspicuous.