Chemical Engineering
First open process automation (OPA) control system at a commercial manufacturing facility
An ExxonMobil Corp. (Spring, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) adhesive-resin finishing facility in Baton Rouge, La. has become the first commercial process-manufacturing facility to be controlled by an open, standards-based process automation system. This is a departure from the closed, proprietary systems currently…
Business News: March 2025
Plant Watch LG Chem set to commence production of bio-based acrylic acid February 13, 2025 — LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea; www.lgchem.com) will commence the production of bio-based acrylic acid in the second quarter of 2025, with plans to…
High-Purity Processing Demands Contamination Control and Containment
Advanced technologies help pharmaceutical and semiconductor producers achieve excellence Chemical processors are under increased pressure to achieve operational excellence, which involves a balance of increasing yield, improving quality and reducing waste, while also cutting operational costs. Processors in high-purity industries…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Mass Transfer: Absorption and Stripping
Absorption and stripping are important mass-transfer operations within the chemical process industries (CPI). This one-page reference provides some basic information on the principles and applications of stripping and absorption in industrial chemistry settings. General operation In absorption, a solute from…
Thermo Fisher Scientific to acquire Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.) announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement with Solventum to acquire Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business for approximately $4.1 billion in cash. Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business is a leading provider…
Evertis announces $100-million investment in new production plant in South Carolina
Evertis Packaging Solutions (Portalegre, Portugal), the world’s largest PET multilayer film supplier for the food industry, unveiled plans to build a new leading edge production plant in Columbia, SC. With a total investment of $100 million, the new facility is…
Ruland celebrates 25 years of process engineering expertise
Ruland Engineering & Consulting GmbH (Neustadt, Germany) has been planning and building process systems for the production of liquid products since 2000. What began with just seven employees has developed into an international company with 320 employees and 5 locations.…
Johnson Matthey launches new catalyst-testing units for FCC additives
Johnson Matthey plc (JM; London) officially unveiled its state-of-the-art Advanced Cracking Evaluation (ACE) units and associated equipment acquired last year from Kayser Technology Inc., a leader in catalyst and additive testing. This multi-million-dollar investment is aimed at enhancing JM’s innovation…
Arkema to expand PVDF production plant in Kentucky
Arkema S.A. (Colombes, France) has decided to increase its polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) capacity by 15% in North America. This capacity expansion of Arkema’s PVDF production site in Calvert City, Kentucky, represents an investment of around $20 million and is aligned…
LG Chem joins forces with HL Mando to develop new adhesive products
LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) announced that it will collaborate with HL Mando, a leading Korean automotive parts maker, to co-develop adhesives for automotive electronic components. This move aims to expand LG Chem's presence in the automotive adhesive market.…