A treatment module developed at Fraunhofer IKTS provides a remedy against pharmaceutical residues in waste water and completely eliminates these harmful substances. Apart from water treatment, possible applications of this new technology also include chemical synthesis.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent intelligence, Global Analysis of Battery Materials Market, Forecast to 2023, examines the battery materials used in lead-acid and Li-ion batteries. The study finds that China, Japan and South Korea in Asia-Pacific (Apac) are proving to be lucrative markets for Lithium (Li)-ion battery material suppliers.

Celanese concluded the sale of its atmospheric (vinyl and acrylics) emulsions unit in La Canonja, Spain. The Tarragona-based petrochemical company IQOXE is acquiring the operation The company is specialized in the production of ethylene oxide, glycols and ethylene oxide derivatives. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Specialty chemical producer Clariant believes that it is now on equal footing again with its competitors after a series of painful cutbacks. The Clariant Excellence Initiative, launched in 2009, forms the nucleus of an improvement process which extends to all areas of the corporation starting with production. PROCESS spoke with Dr. Michael Riedel, who is in charge of the Excellence Initiative, about the challenges created by the change process.

More from less — that was the slogan of the More project, whose goal was the definition of real-time indicators for more resource efficiency in the process. But how to monitor the complex production processes of a cracker? The two consortium participants Ineos and S-Pact developed a ready-to-use feed stream analyser based on Raman Spectroscopy. A real success story paid off in cash.

With its pilot plant in Duisburg/Germany ThyssenKrupp builds a bridge between coke plants and Christmas baking. Because the new plant uses a newly developed process, that converts process gases into the baking powder ammonium bicarbonate.

5,600 billion Euros is the ultimate Grand Prix for chemicals. But the winner is by no means identified — The chemical industry experienced above-average growth globally. With this development, chemical companies could pocket 5,600 billion Euros per year till 2035. But the global distribution is not equal: The North American market is growing strongly whereas the market in Europe has stagnated. The consequence: The significance of the old continent could get marginalized for this industry. There is still time to change course.

Construction Kits for LPG production — Liquefied gas could become the fuel of the future — but its handling, storage and liquefaction demands elaborate process plant. Now, gas specialist Linde introduces a modular concept for LNG liquefaction in small and medium size. Their vision: The liquefaction toolbox for plan engineers …

Feige Filling together with Haver & Boecker and Newtec Bag Palletizing will display complete value-added systems and thus play a decisive role in shaping the future of the market. The Feige Integra 84 is a powerful machine that meets all requirements for modern, fully automatic and calibrated high-performance filling.

Akzo Nobel named a group of 10 start-ups and chemical researchers as winners of the 2018 edition of the Specialty Chemicals' Imagine Chemistry challenge. Imagine Chemistry was launched to help solve real-life chemistry-related challenges and uncover sustainable business opportunities. The 2018 edition generated 150 ideas from startups, scale-ups, scientists and others.