Reliance Industries (RIL) has announced the successful commissioning of its new Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) plant at Dahej, Gujarat. The plant with a capacity of 1150 KTA is built with Invista technology.

During a recent retrofitting of a shrimp processing plant, the application of Danfoss ICF valve station and PMLX (Two step solenoid valve) for a hot gas defrost system led to a reduction in defrost time per batch of up to 45 minutes. It was estimated that approximately 75 per cent improvement was realized in overall productivity compared to the traditional water defrost systems.

Sasol's plant for highly purified tri-ethyl aluminium (TEAL) products at Brunsbuettel takes the next step: The 6000 tons/year facility, which celebrates its first successful service year, has proven both viability and full functionality of the supply chain, the company states.

BASF expects growth of polyamide industry in Asia Pacific and has inaugurated its new Ultramid (polyamide 6 and 6/6.6) polymerization plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai/China.

Powder coatings technology dates back to the 1960s, when pure epoxy systems were first used. These had very slow curing times, due to the raw materials in use at the time, and this restricted their areas of application considerably. Nowadays, however, a much wider variety of suitable raw materials is available. This makes it possible to vary the optical and mechanical properties of the coatings. Proven modern materials handling systems improve the economics of coating powders, both in production and in application.

On October 31, a fire occurred during the startup of the Citral plant in Ludwigshafen. Consequently, BASF had to shut down the plant and had to declare Force Majeure for its Citral and Isoprenol based aroma ingredients.

The freeze drying method is a process used in the production of pharmaceutical products, medication, as well as in food, and has proved itself to be very successful. This process is the most expensive and is thus used in the production of valuable substances, sometimes products which are sensitive to temperature. They may be stored at room temperature and may be used immediately if needed. Within the process the shut-off-valves have to be particularly effective.

Braskem and Haldor Topsoe team up to validate the 'Mosaik' sugar-to-biochemicals solution for the production of MEG (monoethylene glycol) in a demonstration plant. The new partnership accelerates the development of this solution that forms the basis for a growing portfolio of bio-based chemicals produced through patented processes.

In 2010 the annual emission of mercury into the atmosphere amounted to around 1,960 t, with the sources being mainly anthropogenic in origin. Despite efforts to reduce the emissions further large quantities of mercury have found their way into the food chain. The analytical investigation of the heavy metal with a robust digestion has thus gained increased importance.

As an emergency measure during the coronavirus pandemic in France, Arkema will be manufacturing the alcohol-based solution per week and supplying it to hospitals in the European country for free.