PROCESS Worldwide brings to you the ‘Top 10 plant engineering projects of December 2023’ from all over the world. Right from Ørsted starting work on Denmark’s first carbon capture project to Fluor securing two contracts for the world’s first net-zero ethylene cracker and derivatives complex, find out all the projects making headlines here

Industries looking to adopt advanced digital technologies for their production plants will find augmented reality to be a real gamechanger. Plant maintenance with the help of remote offsite-experts as well as training activities for newly joined engineers or technical maintenance staff can be carried out without any difficulty with the help of this technology. The biggest plus points of using augmented reality: Reduced costs, reduced plant downtime, access to remote offsite-experts in real time and saving valuable time.

Vynova Group has plans to develop a new plant complex for the production of sodium and potassium alcoholates at its Lülsdorf site in Germany. For this, the company intends to invest a high double-digit million-euro amount.

BASF has partnered with 3Helix for its proprietary CHP technology. Under the terms of the agreement, BASF will be given the exclusive rights to commercialize CHP solutions for the personal care field.

Hydrogen is the solution to all promises of defossilization – but handling the light gas is surprisingly difficult due to its low density. It would be easier to store the substance in a liquid, as promised by so-called Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs)...

Industrial plants have to be monitored closely as they are extremely dangerous since it deals with highly flammable liquids and gases. This is why there is always a pressing need for more advanced and developed explosion-proof solutions which can help plant operators to carry out numerous tasks such as monitoring and collecting data safely all in real-time without being a source of ignition in hazardous zones. PROCESS Worldwide offers an insight into three such explosion proof solutions—mobile robots, drones and mixed reality glasses—for industrial units.

Metso has expanded capabilities for lithium hydroxide and other battery chemicals process testing at its pilot facility in Pori, Finland. The firm has also launched a battery materials precursor pilot plant which is available for customer trials.

Aramco has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a strategic minority stake in Midocean Energy for 500 million dollars. With this move, Aramco aims to enter the global LNG business.

Shorter planning and construction times, more flexible utilization options through rapid modifications, and everything as energy-efficient as possible: The Enpro initiative (Energy Efficiency and Process Acceleration for the Chemical Industry) is opening up interesting options for the process industries with its various development projects. New designs for pumps also offer undreamed-of opportunities, as the first modular concepts and the Hector project show. We explain how tomorrow’s pumps may be both modular and energy-efficient.

Haldia Petrochemicals has selected numerous Lummus technologies including its olefins conversion technology for developing India’s first on-purpose propylene plant and the country’s largest cumene and phenol plant. The move is expected to boost the country’s petrochemical market.