Twelve and LanzaTech have teamed up to develop the world’s first polypropylene from CO2. Twelve’s carbon transformation technology along with LanzaTech’s carbon recycling ‘Pollution to Products’ technology will be used to produce the unique polypropylene.

A quarter of European ethylene production capacity is threatened by refinery cuts in the background of the global pandemic of Covid-19, states ICIS. If the coronavirus restrictions continue, the ethylene crackers may be forced to reduce operating rates or even shut down due to their dependency on LPG feedstocks which are sourced from refineries.

CP Pump Systems has introduced the MSKP centrifugal pump, a seal less, magnetically coupled pump made of plastic. The pump covers a range from 0.2 to 140 m3/h and a head of 90 m and can be used between -20°C and +150°C.

Great joy in Arnstadt: EPC Engineering & Technologies was able to land a major order from the Taiwanese world market leader Chimei. As a technology licensor, the traditional Thuringian company will implement a new 180-KTPA polycarbonate plant in Zhangzhou, China for its subsidiary Zhangzhou Chimei Chemical.

Several of the major international process industry groups will soon have new management personnel. In addition to Dupont, Lyondell Basell and Lonza, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Jubilant Therapeutics have also announced changes at the top levels. PROCESS worldwide summarizes the latest announcements for you.

Wacker has awarded the company’s ‘Alexander Wacker Innovation Award 2021’ to its in-house German-Chinese team for developing a novel process for producing vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) polymer dispersions. The winners were rewarded with almost 12,000 dollars.

VortextRepsol has awarded Tecnimont with an EPC lump sum turn-key contract for the development of two advanced polymer units at the Sines Industrial Complex in Portugal. The new units are expected to have a capacity of 300,000 tons per year each and will be completed by 2025.

Orlen Unipetrol has revealed its development strategy until 2030 which includes the modernization of its chemical facility in Záluží near Litvínov, Czech Republic. In this project, the current boiler plant for the steam cracker’s operations is replaced with a brand-new gas boiler plant and the latest equipment for emission reduction installed at the unit has helped to lower dust emissions by 50 % and NOx emissions by 70 %.

Under a five-year license agreement with Beiyuan, Nouryon will license its Continuous Initiator Dosing (CiD) technology to Beiyuan, and supply its Trigonox 187 proprietary CiD initiator to enhance the Chinese company’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production in the country.

Repsol has plans to expand its Sines Industrial Complex in Portugal with the construction of two polymer materials plants. On completion, the project is expected to be one of the most advanced in Europe.