The automatically cleanable ‘Easy Clean flow’ magnet from Goudsmit Magnetics of Waalre recently underwent a redesign. This magnetic separator removes metal particles and weakly magnetic stainless steel particles from powders as fine as 30 µm in the food, chemical, ceramic and plastic industries.

LANXESS is progressing according to plan with the construction of its world-scale EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) plant in Changzhou (Jiangsu Province), China. The German specialty chemicals company is investing EUR 235 million in the plant - the largest investment the company has made in China to date. Some 45 percent of the investment total will be spent by the end of 2013.

The European Responsible Care Award is a recognition for the chemical industry’s work to enhance safe chemicals management and achieve performance excellence. This year’s winners were announced during Cefic’s annual Chemical Convention in Helsinki. Among the winners was Kemira, for utilizing recycled by-products as a raw material in drinking water and wastewater treatment products.

Under the smart Verbund project, BASF has begun to construct its maiden units which will produce engineering plastics and TPU. The site will comprise the latest technologies as well as highest safety and sustainability standards and falls under the firm’s 10-billion-dollar investment project.

At Formnext, 3M is showcasing the first 3D printed polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This solutions is to open up new possibilities for industrial additive manufacturing.

Nexam Chemical has plans to double the capacity of its Scotland production facility and also intends to make improvements at its Lomma production unit in Sweden. Both the projects are expected to be completed in 2020.

Wacker Chemie's new silicon-metal production plant officially went on stream at the Holla site in Norway, following two and a half years of construction. The new furnace is one of the largest of its kind in the world and increases the Holla site’s total capacity by more than 40 %.

Neste and Remondis have plans to accelerate chemical recycling and aim to process over 200 kilo tonnes of waste plastic every year. Together, both the firms will combine their expertise to build an ecosystem around chemical recycling which will assist other companies in the value chain to follow suit.

This year’s European Responsible Care Awards are dominated by projects promoting digitalisation and circularity in the chemical industry. The 2019 winners are essenscia, Kemira Oyj, Solvay and Neste Oyj.

As part of the European Union's "Horizon 2020" research program, Evonik and nine project partners from five countries have succeeded in developing a novel new reactor for catalysing OXO reactions, which is 70 % more energy efficient.