In this decade Chemical Industry is facing two mega-trends: the collapse in the price of commodities and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The importance of asset performance is a compelling response to the opportunities and threats resulting from this. But how to maximize performance of existing assets?

Technip and DOF Subsea have taken final delivery of the pipe-lay support vessel Skandi Açu.

A paradigm change in solids production is underway in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The trend to increased specialization and higher-potency active ingredients creates the need for hermetically sealed process flows. To an increasing extent, the production process will have to be designed as a containment system.

Evonik Industries is expanding its capacities for refinement fumed silica in Rheinfelden (Germany). The Group will invest an amount in the low double-digit million dollar range to expand its Rheinfelden facility, which further processes hydrophilic silica to a hydrophobic variety.

The race for the competitive advantages through Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and digitalization has begun. Siemens Division Head Dr. Jürgen Brandes gives insights on how Siemens will optimally support the challenges in the process industries with more speed, innovation, shortening of the Time to Market, flexibility and efficiency. This can happen only through more industry expertise, open interfaces and Coopetition. No doubt: The Siemens world is becoming more open.

Vega is sending to the starting line a real “game changer” in radar level measurement — the first 80-GHz sensor for liquids characterized especially by extremely good focusing. This feature will make level measurement more reliable than ever before. Measuring points that were previously considered problematic, such as vessels with internal installations, will benefit most from this “world first”.

The maxim “Time is money” is particularly appropriate for the current situation in the pharmaceutical industry. The companies here are therefore striving to keep the time to market launch of a product as short as possible. An efficient information management system helps them in this and optimizes the design and operation of a plant. Consequently, they achieve considerable competitive advantages.

Evonik is investing a double-digit million dollar amount in the construction of a new multi-purpose facility at its Geesthacht location in Northern Germany, 30 km outside the city of Hamburg.

A story of the replacement of the process control system – Cht R. Beitlich’s decentralized control system with isolated PDA had seen better days. Rather than helping to optimize production, it was tying up valuable resources. Changes to the system were tedious; replacement parts were getting harder and harder to come by. The company began surveying the market for an appropriate replacement. In the end, there was only one system that met all of their requirements.

Fluor and IBM announced the use of artificial intelligence-based systems to predict, monitor and measure the status of engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPC) megaprojects from inception to completion.