Chemists led by Prof. Frank Glorius from the University of Münster have developed a new and practical synthetic method for the formation of fluorinated three-dimensional “saturated” molecular ring structures. This development can have great importance for the efficient production of new molecules and, consequently, new drugs, crop protection agents and functional materials.

Dow and Saudi Aramco announced a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that involves the acquisition of an additional 15 % ownership interest by Dow from Saudi Aramco in Sadara, a joint venture developed by the two companies.

In a refrigerant-based compressed air dryer system, the dew point sensor installed at the dryer outlet helps monitoring the dryer’s performance most accurately.

Following the replacement of Directive 94/9/EC by the Atex Directive 2014/34/EU, the position paper „Atex Directive — Filtering Separators“ serves as the basis for reliable evaluation of filtering separators. The position paper is now available as an online version in English.

Intergraph released a new version of its Standard Database for the company's SmartPlant Reference Data plant design solutions. The new database reduces the effort required to define items, descriptions and dimensions according to legal and technical requirements throughout various project phases.

Biobased chemicals company GF Biochemicals is starting commercialization of its levulinic acid thanks to its proprietary breakthrough technology. Commercial-scale production will start in Summer 2015 in Caserta, Italy plant.

Saipem has been awarded a new contract in the onshore E&C sector worth approximately $ 850 million by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), a subsidiary of the Gulf country’s national oil company, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

BASF New Business has acquired 100 % of the filament producer Innofil 3D, headquartered in Emmen, Netherlands. Approval from antitrust authorities is not required.

Dairy and cheese production is by no means a business of hillbilly herdsmen: To ensure sustained maximum quality and productivity, big dairies regularly invest large sums in the modernization of their production plants — using the latest automation technology and process control systems.

Evonik Industries is building a new production plant for specialty copolyesters at its Witten site in Germany. According to the company, the project is on track to reach mechanical completion by end of November 2017.