Resource scarcity, mobility, nutrition and climate protection are among the global challenges and megatrends of our time. Mechanical process engineering plays an important role here, because without mixers, separators, extruders, dispersers and the like, many production processes would come to a standstill.

Exxonmobil has successfully completed the first commercial sale of certified circular polymers by making use of its Exxtend technology for advanced recycling of plastic waste. Berry Global has purchased the circular polymers to manufacture containers for high-performance food-grade packaging on a mass balance approach.

The acquisition of Total Energies’ petrochemical assets at Lavera, France is a major step forward for the Ineos French and South European businesses. The deal includes one of Europe’s largest steam crackers with an annual capacity of 720,000 tonnes of ethylene, an aromatics business with an annual capacity of 270,000 tonnes and a polypropylene business with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes.

In a move to enhance the sustainability of chemicals and plastics, Neste Corporation partners with South Korean Lotte Chemical. This strategic collaboration aims to substitute fossil resources with renewable raw materials, leveraging the Finnish company’s renewable RE.

Dow and Procter & Gamble have plans to develop a new recycling technology which mainly focuses on the conversion of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging into recycled polyethylene with near-virgin quality and a low greenhouse gas emissions footprint.

Qatar Energy and Chevron Phillips Chemical recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to develop a 6 billion-dollar integrated polymers complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The project is expected to include the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world.

What do the trend topics of circular economy, battery production and plant proteins have in common? They challenge the creativity of process engineers, and they follow the global megatrends of resource scarcity, mobility, nutrition and climate protection. Where the focus in the past decade was on new chemical processes and digital technologies, now it is the turn of mechanical process engineering.

The Maag Group will be exhibiting its latest innovations in integrated solutions for the plastics industry at the upcoming NPE 2024 event which is scheduled to take place in Florida, USA.

Eastman has plans to develop its second molecular recycling project in the U.S.A. The Longview site in Texas has been selected by the company for developing the project.

Lubrizol Advanced Materials has revealed that three additional Lubrizol Engineered Polymers sites—Lubrizol Advanced Materials’ headquarters in Brecksville and the production plants in Avon Lake, Ohio, U.S., and Oevel, Belgium—have obtained the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus certification.