Enzymes specialist Novozymes want to participate in the US–biofuesl–boom: The company inaugurated an enzyme production in Blair, Nebraska. Creating 100 career positions and 400 construction jobs, the plant will specialize in making world-leading enzymes, a key technology component for both the existing and advanced biofuel markets.

West China’s pharma manufacturing is lagging behind other regions in the country and requires international as well as domestic investment, states Global Data, a leading data and analytics company. However, human rights violations in China’s westernmost provinces have limited major foreign investments in the region.

From process understanding to preventive maintenance: Fluid technology in the Industry 4.0 age — Digitalisation and connectivity open new ways of understanding for fluid processes — but with that come new challenges for those involved. Only if we manage to shift our attention from alarm based punctual attention to constant information, we can create additional value. The chance is there …

Invista’s technology and licensing group and Jiangsu Honggang Petrochemical have reached agreement for the licensing of the company’s latest purified terephthalic acid (PTA) process technology.

Under the agreement, Air Liquide will offer a technology licence as well as basic engineering for a hydrogen production unit which will be installed on the Balikpapan refinery site in Indonesia.

Alternative sources of energy are becoming increasingly important alongside classic resources such as oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. One alternative source of energy is industrial waste heat. The most popular way to employ waste heat is to re-use it directly within the manufacturing process, but another increasingly popular option is to generate electricity.

A subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont, in consortium with Performance Contractors, has been awarded a reimbursable contract by Exxon Mobil for the initial activities related to the front end engineering design, early execution studies and early procurement activities for new process units and the associated offsites and utilities for a Petrochemical complex in the US.

BASF produces two types of styrene with a mass balance approach – renewable feedstock based-styrene and styrene based on chemically recycled feedstock. Trinseo has secured the first supplies of styrene based on the two different kinds of circular feedstock and will use it to produce styrene butadiene rubber and polystyrene products.

Lonza has completed the divestment of two of its sites in Ploermel, France and Edinburgh, UK to Next Pharma. With this move, Next Pharma will be adding the two new centers to its existing manufacturing network.

The 90,000 tonne expansion is only the first phase of the facility’s two phase expansion plan. The second phase is expected to add another 60,000 tonnes to the project.