The efforts of both the specialised companies will enable the diversion of polystyrene waste from landfills by converting it back into valuable polymers and monomer building blocks. In addition to this, Green Mantra’s secondary product from the polystyrene depolymerisation process is expected to be evaluated for use as a raw material by Ineos Styrolution for its polystyrene resin production.

In order for containers such as bags, cardboard boxes, crates, canisters or trays to be stacked stably and efficiently, a palletising system must meet high standards. The intralogistics specialist BEUMER rises to the challenge with the BEUMER robotpac, a space-saving, fully automatic articulated robot, which is able to perform even complex palletising and de-palletising tasks reliably and efficiently. For every packaged good, the supplier has developed a suitable gripping system that can be exchanged flexibly. An additional tool changer allows the fully automatic use of multiple gripping systems that can be operated from a single robot working area.

Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, announced that it has reached an agreement regarding the sale of the remaining part of DSM Elastomers to Lanxess for € 310 million on a cash and debt-free basis. The intended sale is expected to close in the first months of 2011, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals and notifications.

BASF plans to sell major parts of its fertilizers activities. This comprises production plants in Antwerp/Belgium and BASF’s 50 percent share of the joint venture PECRhin in Ottmarsheim/France.

American chemical company Momentive Performance Materials invests in Chempark Leverkusen/Germany. The company started to build a new Silane Production which is expected to begin production in late 2017.

Low-shear pumping action, responsive control and reliability were critical considerations for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) systems specialist Nalco FabTech when designing and installing a 21-pump polymer injection facility for a Wyoming oilfield. Looking beyond the established plunger-type pumps in general use for polymer injection, the company turned to an alternative.

Bayer MaterialScience has inaugurated a manufacturing facility for polyisocyanates at Ankleshwar, in the state of Gujarat, India. With the investment of approximately €20 million, the company wants to expand its business in India and to participate in the strong growth of this local market for coatings and adhesives.

Changchun/PR China, Essen/Germany – Evonik Industries is significantly expanding its polyether ether ketone (PEEK) capacity in response to growing global demand. Along with a number of optimization measures, the company is modernizing an existing plant. The project at the Changchun site in China is scheduled to be completed by 3rd quarter 2011.

The Dow Chemical Company plans to build a propylene glycol (PG) plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, with a production capacity of up to 150 KTA.

Big bags are gaining more visibility as an environment-friendly method for shipping and handling food ingredients. However, several challenges make the handling process difficult. Here are some solutions that can offer a helping hand to users dealing with big bags.