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 new free trade zone RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) means new growth, but also more competition in the Asian chemical industry, especially for small and medium-sized companies.

Can hydrogen play out as chlorine chemistry’s trump card? — Safe, clean, and sustainable — Eurochlor’s position paper on its Mid-Century Strategy for the chlorine industry reads like green buzzword bingo. Yet it’s clear that if the European Union wants to become carbon-neutral by 2050, it will have to take chlorine chemistry into account. It’s just as well that electrolysis provides a sought-after co-product.

With the help of Shiftconnector, a software solution from the global software provider eschbach, chemical company Röhm has digitalized its processes and, in so doing, achieved lasting improvements in the areas of safety, quality and productivity.

Albemarle has inaugurated its new plant La Negra III/IV in Antofagasta, Chile which is expected to double its lithium production and reduce the firm’s water consumption by 30 % per metric ton. With an investment of 500 plus million dollars, the facility will include R&D laboratories and facilities for the complex chemical processes.

Salt tablets are used in various home care or chemical applications, like washing machines in households, hotels and restaurants or laundries. It can also be used for softening of drinking water, disinfecting swimming pools and also as nutritional supplements for animal nutrition.

China's fertilizer market and production is currently stable despite the Corona crisis. Total production of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers was 53,958 million tons last year, down only slightly by 0.9 per cent year-on-year, according to the database of trade publication Zhongshang Qingbao Wang.

Hydrogen company HyCC has launched Project H2era to construct a 500-megawatt green hydrogen plant in the Amsterdam port area. The project, launched in cooperation with the Port of Amsterdam, is a major step forward in the development of the regional hydrogen economy to help decarbonize industry and mobility.

A 20 million dollar investment has been announced by Akzo Nobel to increase and improve production at two of its sites in France. Around 30 new jobs will be created.

Is it time to dispel outdated notions surrounding the term “digitization?” —  Speakers at the Smart Process Manufacturing Conference, a virtual event organized by PROCESS, described a whole series of reservations or myths. The fact remains: Digitization is not a sprint, but a marathon — and sometimes even combined with a hurdle race. But it is also a fact that the benefits can be immense if tackled correctly.