NEWS
New developments in the Chemicals & Petrochemicals industry
Shell opens solar park at Shell Moerdijk chemicals site in the Netherlands
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hell has opened one of the largest solar parks in the Netherlands at the Shell Moerdijk Chemical Plant. With 76,000 panels, the solar park has a peak capacity of 27 megawatts. The generated solar energy will be used to help power operations at Shell Moerdijk. “Developing this solar power plant in Moerdijk fits within Shell’s ambition to play an active role in the Dutch energy transition,” says Marjan van Loon, president-director Shell Nederland. “We are eager to limit emissions through energy efficiency improvements of our processes and investments in new energy activities. To accelerate energy transition, it is important that we align our activities to the ideas and initiatives in society. We know dialogue and collaboration is the key to success.” Robin Mooldijk, Executive Vice President for Manufacturing at Shell said: “At all Shell’s oil refineries and chemicals plants we are working to improve utilisation, energy efficiency and carbon intensity. Alongside process improvements and equipment upgrades, we also need vision and imagination. This solar park, now operational and helping to power our Moerdijk chemicals plant, is part of that.” Visit: www.shell.com
Solvay cuts emissions
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olvay is investing in a new biomass boiler at its soda ash plant in Rheinberg, Germany, a decision that will cut the site’s CO2 emissions by more than 30% while at the same time improving its competitiveness. The new biomass boiler technology – which burns recycled wood chips – will
10 Industry Europe
WACKER opens new lab for food applications in shanghai
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acker Chemie AG opened a new laboratory for food applications in Shanghai. This specialized lab will enable WACKER to provide its customers in Asia with even better support in developing innovative, customized products in the fast-growing food market. The focus is on food ingredients, for example for egg-free baked goods, whipped toppings or functional beverages, on dietary supplement ingredients such as highly bioavailable curcumin and on chewing-gum applications, for instance moldable sugar-free gum. Asia’s food market is flourishing. China’s food industry, in particular, is profiting from the strong purchasing power of its middle class. At the same time, the sector must face new challenges. Consumers are attaching ever-greater importance to healthy and sustainable nutrition, as well as products that are quick and easy to prepare. “We offer solutions to challenges currently facing the food industry,” says Dr Gerhard Schmid, president of WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS. “With our new range of services in Shanghai, we are strengthening our
position as an innovative partner to the food sector on the Chinese market.” The new laboratory, which covers an area of some 150 square meters, focuses primarily on applications involving cyclodextrins, cyclodextrin complexes and cysteine, as well as chewinggum applications. Visit: www.wacker.com
A revolutionary change in vehicle panel production
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ABIC has announced a new, cutting-edge technology for producing lightweight, costeffective and recyclable vehicle panels using its UDMAX™ tape, a unidirectional, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite. This innovative technology, which is designed to replace traditional panels made of metal and thermoset materials for interior and exterior automotive applications, will soon be commercialized in the bulkhead of a light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced in large scale for the global automotive market. The bulkhead was developed through an international collaboration among SABIC; RLE
International, an engineering services provider headquartered in the United Kingdom; AMA Composites, an Italian toolmaker; and Setex Textil GmbH, a weaver based in Germany. Vehicle panels made with UDMAX tape combine strength and impact resistance with light weight, which can result in mass reduction of interior panels of up to 35 percent in comparison to metal parts. In case of exterior panels, the composite material can help reduce mass up to 50%. They are produced using a highly efficient, one-shot process of lamination and low-pressure molding. Visit: www.sabic.com
lower CO2 emissions by 190 kt/year as the Group is committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1 million tons over 2017-2025, regardless of its growth. “Solvay with this key project marks a critical step in achieving its new greenhouse gas target as part of our strategy to produce and serve our customers in a more sustainable and competitive way.
This biomass project follows earlier energy transition initiatives we launched at our soda ash sites in Bernburg and Rosignano and shows how we shape our future and reinforce our global leadership in soda ash,” said Christophe Clemente, President of Solvay Soda Ash & Derivatives Global Business Unit. Visit: www.solvay.com
