Numerous four-legged robot dogs are inspecting different spaces across the industrial plant; facility personnel are wearing head-mounted displays which helps them to get access to detailed information about an equipment or process in real time and diverse physical assets of a system or production process at the plant can be replicated into a virtual system, get ready for the plant of the future!

The Metsä Group in partnership with Andritz has started up a carbon capture pilot plant at Metsä’s Rauma mill to test the capture of pulp mill flue gases. The company is also exploring the idea of setting up a larger-scale demo plant for carbon capture at the site.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has announced that it has achieved the target performance of over 99.5 vol % ethanol purity, which meets domestic fuel standards, at a pilot plant for membrane dehydration systems installed at MHI's Nagasaki Carbon Neutral Park within the Nagasaki District Research & Innovation Center in Japan.

The partnership between Arkema and Catalyxx aims to accelerate the production of low-carbon, bio-based acrylic resins by making use of proprietary technology. Catalyxx intends to develop an innovative industrial facility to produce bio-alcohols while Arkema is assessing the use of these bio-alcohols as feedstocks for the commercial-scale production of bio-based acrylic resins with lower carbon footprint.

With a mega 10-million-euro investment, IFF has expanded its LMR Naturals site in Grasse, France. With this move, the company brings together more than 30 research and development experts under one roof, enhancing the firm’s ability to meet the growing global demand for traceable, sustainable and high-quality naturals.

Developed by CAC Engineering, Bondalti Chemicals’ facility made use of Asahi Kasei’s chlor-alkali electrolysis technology. The new unit will also be utilized for further reducing power consumption and optimizing the use of materials in the chlor-alkali industry.

Air Liquide has plans to develop two large-scale electrolyzer projects which will produce renewable and low-carbon hydrogen in Europe. The first project comprises of an Air Liquide 200 MW electrolyzer and the second project involves the development of a 250 MW electrolyzer.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has approved funding to BASF for developing the world’s largest industrial heat pump for CO2-free steam generation at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany. The heat pump is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98 % at the site.

Roche has recently signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire 89bio, a clinical-stage biopharma firm specializing in the development of innovative therapies for the treatment of liver and cardiometabolic diseases.

Handling powders, particles, and pellets has never been easy. But now, additional factors such as a weakening economy and hesitant investment are making the situation even more difficult for many companies. However, it is precisely this knowledge of how to handle raw materials that also offers new opportunities.