The mega-merger between Sinochem and Chemchina is now official, the move will create the largest chemical company in the world. The new chemical giant in China will have estimated sales of more than 144 billion dollars, thus, making it larger than BASF and Dow combined.

BASF is working with authorities in China to use more electricity from renewable sources at its chemical plants. The company has just announced a particularly ambitious goal for the new Verbund site in Zhanjiang, in the southern province of Guangdong: The first plants at the Verbund site, which is currently under construction, are to be operated entirely with renewable energies.

China wants to reduce its ‘import dependence’ on engineering plastics. This is stated in the new 14th five-year plan of the communist leadership in Beijing, which has its eye on the strategic value of these special chemicals used across a number of domestic industries. Recently, concrete targets for ‘self-sufficiency’ in these materials were published, reports the chemical newspaper Zhongguo Huagong Xinxi Zhoukan.

With a new MDI technology, Covestro aims to improve efficiency and environmental protection. Everyone is talking about sustainability — including the chemical industry. With the quartet of regenerative energies, alternative raw materials, recycling solutions and CO2-saving technologies, Covestro wants to become a front runner. A completely new MDI technology should also help.

Following the final approval for the construction of its Zhanjiang Verbund site, BASF will start the next phase — the construction of a steam cracker and several downstream plants.

The chemical company BASF is continuing with the final phase of the expansion of the production plant for methylene diphenyl isocyanates (MDI) at its Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana. The investment of around 780 million dollars will increase capacities to 600,000 metric tons per year.

China wants to accelerate the concentration of its petrochemical industry into five industrial clusters. The ‘big five’ are listed in the People's Republic's just published new five-year plan. The China Market Insider Report presents them in detail.

The future of process plant communication will be triggered by one key technology: Ethernet-APL. This end-to-end Ethernet solution will enable the free flow of information to and from the field and finally unleash the full potential of the visions behind Industry 4.0.

What does the future handling of field devices look like? Why has digitalization in the process industry not yet progressed as far as users and manufacturers would like? The discussions around device management provide an insight into the challenges. Thanks to Profinet and APL, solutions for this are already starting to emerge.

Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases, a subsidiary of Air Liquide, will invest more than 204 million dollars to build two hydrogen production units and related infrastructure in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park.