Despite challenges brought about by the pandemic, products featuring technology from Profibus & Profinet International (PI) have been very well accepted by users. With the total number of PI products so far installed at plants has exceeded 104 million, an impressive threshold has been crossed.

Metso announced the delivery of the first valves with 3D printed parts from its Helsinki plant. The valves include 3D printed metal components that allow the valves to perform in a particularly demanding application where they need to withstand numerous fast open-close cycles without maintenance.

Trinseo has partnered with ETB for the development of purified bio-based 1,3-butadiene. Both the companies also plan to conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a dedicated bio-based 1,3-butadiene pilot plant in Europe which will aim to achieve a purity target of 99.7 %.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) will use the dual-pressure ammonia process developed by Thyssen Krupp Industrial Solutions in the new “Phosphate 3” ammonia plant of its fertilizer complex.

BASF has plans to invest at the Kundl/Schaftenau Campus in Austria with an aim to further develop its global production set-up for bacterial enzymes and biotechnology products. With this move, the company intends to strengthen its position in the market.

Biomass has a wealth of potential as a resource for bulk products such as lactic acid or ethanol. In practice, however, it is difficult to develop successful production chains. Commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research has developed a method that can help companies and government authorities create biobased chains, from source materials to end products.

Over the last two decades, China has changed its regulatory frameworks in order to reduce drug approval timelines and to make the Chinese market more attractive for international drug manufacturers.

The company aims at increasing silicone rubber production by a total of 40,000 metric tonnes annually by 2021. The move has been undertaken to meet the region’s rising demand in vital industries as well as to further expand its portfolio.

Prayon Technologies, the Prayon Group division specialising in the licensing of phosphoric acid processes, will provide the licence and technical know-how for two new phosphoric acid plants due to be built in Egypt as part of the NCIC Ain Sokhna Fertilizer Complex on the Gulf of Suez.

Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland is expected to implement Climeworks’s DAC technology to deliver the world’s first beverage containing air-captured CO2. The technology will be used for carbonation of the beverages.