Sunlight might be used in the future to drive organic syntheses for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, Timothy Noël of Eindhoven University of Technology told his audience at yesterday’s plenary lecture.

Chemistry is facing the biggest challenge in its history: To meet the needs of a growing population in a world of scarce resources and growing environmental problems chemistry has to reinvent itself to become a key solution provider for a sustainable future. The emerging concept of Sustainable Chemistry offers a new system thinking based approach to transform the more than 150-year-old chemical industry.

Packaging equipment specialist Marchesini has acquired Schmucker, which builds stick pack machines for food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Traditionally used for products like sauces and instant coffee, stick packs are becoming increasingly popular for single servings of snacks, nutraceuticals and healthcare products.

Swiss pump manufacturer CP Pumpen secured an order from German chemical park operator Infraserv Knapsack for more than 30 pumps. The pumps will be deployed as part of an expansion of Bayer’s crop protection product plant located at the chemical park.

Fluor Corporation announced that it has completed a world-scale Isononanol (INA) plant for BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) in the Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China.

Ineos Phenol is taking the next step to build a world scale Cumene unit in Germany to be completed in 2020. The company has confirmed that it has started a Front End and Engineering study (Feed) with a view to taking a final investment decision by the end of 2018.

Clariant introduced a number of environmentally friendly and hazard label-free products to the North American architectural paints market.

With the new new test laboratory for Flexi-Disc tubular cable conveyors and integrated bulk handling equipment technicians verify system performance prior to final equipment design and fabrication.

With the intention of converting post-consumer polystyrene waste into styrene monomer, Ineos Styrolution has signed a MOU with Agilyx for installing the de-polymerisation technology at its facility.

The die is cast: Shell Chemical finally decided to increase Alpha Olefins (AO) production at its chemical manufacturing site in Geismar, Louisiana, making the site the largest AO producer in the world. Shell will construct a fourth AO unit, adding 425,000 tonnes of capacity.