Emerson wants to score points with more consultation — The global economy is booming, and after the years of crisis the oil and gas industries also seem to be back in play. This is the time when digital transformation is bringing companies in the process industry to new challenges that should lead to further reductions in costs and complexity — the perfect framework for this year’s Emerson User Exchange Meeting in The Hague, which attracted 1,600 participants this time.

Gas specialist Line will build ethance crackers for shell around the Globe: A corresponding framework agreement for ten years was signed in late March 2014.

Hyundai’s Chemical branch plans to add a xylenes production line to its petrochemicals complex in Daesan Republic, South Korea. This expansion would allow the site to make its own feedstock material to boost profitability.

Linde and Univation Technologies have cooperate on new and more efficient polyethylene resins production processes. The new partnership shall deliver measurable benefits to resin producers and cracker operators worldwide.

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.

At this year’s Achema in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Evonik presented its latest membrane product development Sepuran NG for natural gas processing.

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

Bayer spin-off Covestro plans to shut down its MDI plant in Tarragona, Spain. The remaining assets shall, nevertheless, be retained as a chemical park and center for Polyurethane systems.

Fluid Components International (FCI) presents its ST100 Series Thermal Mass Air/Gas Flow Meter in a remote mountable configuration, well suited for applications in hazardous areas or hard-to-reach locations.