In collaboration with the U.S. Government, Evonik has plans to develop a new world-scale lipid production facility at the company’s Tippecanoe site in Lafayette, Indiana, USA for Mrna-based therapies.

Evonik has plans to sell off its printable battery technology – Taettooz to Innovation Lab with an aim to commercialize the technology which can be used in the medical field for more convenient monitoring of vital functions.

PROCESS Worldwide brings to you the ‘Top 10 plant engineering projects of May 2022’ from all over the world. Right from developing a world scale ethylene plant in Europe to building one of the world’s largest PDH units in China, find out all the projects making headlines here.

With chemical and chemical processing industries aiming to forge ahead in their automation and digitalization drive to develop their respective ‘Factory of the future’ or ‘Smart factory’, one thing is certain – it can’t be done without the use of robots at least for the time being. The concept of robots is not new but they have been transformed time and again to meet the challenges of today’s industrial plants especially with regard to plant inspection as well as maintenance and it won’t be wrong to term this phase as the ‘return and rise of robots.’

Shorter planning and construction times, more flexible utilization options through rapid modifications, and everything as energy-efficient as possible: The Enpro initiative (Energy Efficiency and Process Acceleration for the Chemical Industry) is opening up interesting options for the process industries with its various development projects. New designs for pumps also offer undreamed-of opportunities, as the first modular concepts and the Hector project show. We explain how tomorrow’s pumps may be both modular and energy-efficient.

Evonik has commenced commercial-scale production of ceramides at its Dossenheim site near Heidelberg in Germany. The move has been undertaken due to the growing demand for ceramides in the personal care market.

The Indian company Calibre Chemicals, which is claimed to be one of the largest manufacturers of potassium persulphate; perchlorates and iodine derivatives in India, has plans to take over Evonik’s Rheinperchemie firm with an aim to expand its business to the European market.

Evonik has revealed that it plans to substitute up to 40 % of natural gas at its German sites with alternative energy sources in the background of a looming Russian gas stop. The firm’s Marl site, which is its largest German site, is currently in the process of using LPG to generate energy.

Evonik and the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (Likat) have discovered a new type of hydroformylation. The research team revealed that the important reaction can also work at low pressures with a stable catalyst. The discovery can also lead to the cost effective and sustainable production of aldehydes and alcohols.

Evonik has plans to increase production capacity of its coating additives business at its manufacturing plant in Taiwan. The move is in line with the growing demand for matting agents in Asia.