The basic sealing task in mixing applications is to seal the rotating shaft as it passes through the vessel wall. Depending on the operating conditions — pressure, temperature, agitator speed, etc. — different types of seals are used. As this article shows, mechanical seals offer many advantages over other types of seals. Particularly if hazardous or explosive substances are being mixed, a mechanical seal is mandatory.

The specialised technology from Lyondell Basell will be used for Lianyungang Petrochemical Co.’s 400 KT per year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant which is expected to be constructed in the Jiangsu Province, China.

With an intention to grow strongly in the Asian market, Lubrizol Corporation has installed a new TPU line in its China plant. This is the company’s second such expansion in a single year which aims to support Lubrizol’s Engineered Polymers business.

Since 2003 when Bayer Technology Services has set up an independent legal entity evolving from the Bayer Group, the company was growing fast in the China market. Seven years later, on the occasion of this year’s AchemAsia, PROCESS spoke with Dr. Martin Franke, the new Managing Director of Bayer Technology and Engineering (Shanghai) — BTES in short — about the latest strategy.

1-Hexene is an important element that is used to produce high-strength polyethylene. The addition of the 1-Hexene unit is expected to expand alpha olefins production which is marketed under the brand name Alpha Plus.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has revealed that the Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB) rose 0.5 % in July on a three-month moving average basis after a 0.8 % gain in June.

BASF and Sinopec have plans to expand production capacities for numerous downstream chemical plants at its Verbund site in Nanjing, China. This includes the construction of a new tert-butyl acrylate plant to meet the growing demand for specialty chemicals in the country.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Dickinson renewable diesel facility in North Dakota, USA has completed a successful test run of Haldor Topsoe’s Hydroflex technology to produce 100 % renewable diesel. The technology helps to convert low-carbon renewable feedstocks into cleaner fuel alternatives.

FDT (Field Device Tool) is an established standard for device integration in both process as well as factory automation. For process automation the unification of FDT and EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) to FDI (Field Device Integration) is under development. This article explains the concepts of FDT and FDI and presents a bridging solution.

On a major part of the pump breakdowns in the Chemical Process Industry, the causes are NPSH problems, gas admixtures in the transported fluids, dry running or operating a pump outside the permitted range.