Worldwide News

A special edition from

Review: ACHEMA 2015 in Figuresand Pictures 6

AchemAsia 2016—Meet the Futureof China’s Process Industry 8

Electrifying Ideas: ChemicalsProduced on Surplus Energy 18

Additive Manufacturing in theProcess Industry 20

2|2015

Beijing, PR ChinaMay 9–12, 2016www.achemasia.de

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EDITOR’S PAGEWorldwide News

A special edition from PROCESS 3

But as trivial as it may sound: The 7% today are a totally differ-ent story than they were 25 years ago. In absolute terms thismeans the Chinese economy is still growing, year after year, bythe volume of amid-sized European country’s overall economy.In other words: The total GDP of a country like for instanceBelgium is adding up to the Chinese economy every single year.

Is this really an indication of economic weakness? I guess notat all. To me it is obvious that the wealth of business oppor-tunities which have inspired Western enterprises since DengXiaoping’s opening policy in the early eighties is still there.Maybe you have to search harder than a couple of years ago,and maybe margins have somewhat declined, too. But thenagain this is normal reality with any economy which hasachieved a certain level of maturity after the gold rush of the

early years is over.

What does this mean for the chem-ical process industry? Nothing elsethan it would be simply very badtiming to turn your back on Chinanow in view of some bad headlines.

The country has just recently become one of the world’s lead-ing economies, which means regular economic patterns arereplacing the development scheme of China’s era as anemerging country.

And, no doubt: The chemical process industry remains one ofthe corner stones of China’s industrial landscape!

It is true—if China makes headlines these days they aremainly bad news. Be it the volatility of the stockmarket, thecurrent slowdown of its growth rate, or, quite recently, the

explosion of a chemical warehouse in Tianjin: All of this ismore suited to raise concerns regarding China’s long-termeconomic and social stability than to enhance the confidenceof investors in the Chinese economy.

But, then again, the decisiveness of the Chinese governmentto cope with these challenges commands respect as well. Thecombat against corruption has led to serious results and to adefinite improvement of the business climate with better ba-sic parameters for doing business in China. The devaluationof the Chinese Renminbi came as a strong signal at the righttime. And the enforcement of strict environmental standardswill lead to an improvement of liv-ing conditions in China on the longterm with first tangible results al-ready now.

So let’s talk about economicgrowth. The growth rate of the Chi-nese GDP indeed has been in the high single-digit range oreven reached double-digit values throughout the last twodecades, and is now down to seven or even six percentonly. To find a growth rate lower than 7% in China’s morerecent history you would have to go back as far as 1990,when the aftermath of the Tiananmen tragedy the year be-fore hit China’s economy quite badly.

THE PR CHINA—STILL A HOTSPOTFOR OUR INDUSTRY?

“It would be simply very bad timing toturn your back on China now in view ofsome bad headlines.”

n DR. THOMASSCHEURINGCEO, DECHEMAAusstellungs-GmbH n

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4 A special edition from PROCESS

3 Editor’s PageThe PR China—still a hotspot for our industry?

6 ACHEMA 2015 in Figures and PicturesImpressions of ACHEMA 2015

8 AchemAsia 2016—Meet the Future of China’sProcess IndustryAchemAsia 2016 is the platform to stay in touchwith the rapid changes China’s process industry isfacing today

10 Underappreciated Competitive FactorAfter sales services create opportunities for usersand manufacturers alike

15 Blooming in the Shale Gas ShadowDespite shale gas boom and low oil prices—the trend is towards bioeconomy

16 Looking beyond the Horizon: EU Bioeconomy2015How has the European bioeconomy developedover the past three years?

18 Electrifying IdeasChemicals produced on surplus energy

20 Additive Manufacturing in the Process IndustryThe vision of the tailor-made plant comes closer

22 Breaking News from Chemtech Foundation23 International Events Organized by DECHEMA23 Imprint

CONTENTS

n AFTER SALESSERVICESCleverly designedservices and B2Cbusinesses createa win-win situationfor suppliers andcustomers. Pumps,valves and controlsare a goodexample. n

n ACHEMASIA 2016AchemAsia has become theprime communication hub forsuppliers of the processindustries to benefit from thechances that China continuesto offer. n

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6 A special edition from PROCESS

ACHEMA 2015 IN FIGURESAND PICTURESPositive event figures, an entire series of published business deals and a lot of work for the exhibitor’ssales departments to process numerous new contacts: Those are the impressions that the organisers ofACHEMA 2015 have taken from the feedbacks.

Distillation equipmentOpening Session Tablet coating machine

46.0%Germany

5.0%America

32.2%Europe

16.8%Africa, Asia, Australia

Exhibitors per Exhibition groupResearch and Innovation 161

Literature, Information, Learningand Teaching Aids

86

Laboratory and Analytical Techniques 669

Engineering 294

Mechanical Processes 428

Thermal Processes 455

Pumps, Compressors, Valves andFittings

950

Pharmaceutical, Packaging and StorageTechniques

387

Industrial and Labour Safety 37

Instrumentation, Control andAutomation

290

Materials Technology and Testing 102

Focal Themes: PAT, Water Management,BiobasedWorld

832*

*Profile Groups

→ Exhibitors

3,813 exhibitors from56 countriesSo

urce:D

ECHE

MA,

Graphic:PROCESS

,fotolia–©chrupka

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Automation pyramid Laboratory autoclave

39.7%Engineers

14.3%Chemists,Physicists

18.7%Foreman,Technicians,Lab Assistants

13%Others

6.5%Students, Trainees

Pictures:JosePoblete,He

lmutStettin

,Jean-LucValentin/DECHE

MA

Tube chain conveyor for bulk solids

See you in 2018

Origin of visitorsGermany 71.4%

Northern Europe 2.0%

Western Europe 12.6%

Southern Europe 1.2%

Central and Eastern Europe 3.8%

America 2.8%

Africa, Asia, Australia 6.2%

→ Participants

166,444 participants from110 countries

Visitors by profession

World largestchemical plas-tic pump withmechanicalseal

7.8%Commercial Staff

Source:D

ECHE

MA,

Graphic:PROCESS

,fotolia–©keepsm

iling4u

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8 A special edition from PROCESS

Irrespective of the recent volatility of itsstock market and a slight slowdown ingrowth rates, there is still no other

economy in the world which comes evenclose to China’smodernization pace andeconomic drive. And the demand for in-novative solutions in the process indus-tries is probably higher than ever. At thesame time, there is no other event inChina for the chemical process industrywhich rivals AchemAsia in terms of na-tionwide visibility, standing and network-ing potential.

What areAchemAsia’s key features?

• most international—and most visible—event for China’s process industry,

• face-to-face communication with ex-perts and decision makers,

• partnering arena among China’s heavy-weights and trendsetters,

ACHEMASIA 2016—MEET THEFUTURE OF CHINA’S PROCESS

• consistent economic growth for morethan two decades,

• foreign investors welcome,• successful reform policy,• steady deregulation and adaptation tomarket economy structures,

• shift from export-driven, commodity-product economy to high-tech innova-tive economy,

• enormous biotech potential with ap-prox. 5,000 biotech companies,

• large market for agrochemicals,• global powerhouse for the productionof industrial goods,

• increasing competitiveness of products“made in China”,

• chemical process industry on pole posi-tion in China’s economy,

• substantial progress in the protectionof intellectual property rights.Through AchemAsia the potential of

this market becomes approachable evenfor Western SMEs which cannot afford apermanent branch office in the PR China.

• stepping stone to investment deci-sions,

• showcase for innovations,• integrated technical solutions for allsectors of the process industries,

• opportunity to recruit new personnel,• synergies through DECHEMA’s globalnetwork.The successful positioning of Achem-

Asia was not achieved over night. In factit is the result of our commitment to theChinese market since the mid eighties,when China’s role as global economicpower was barely visible on the horizon,and the approach of doing business therewas anything but mainstream.These are the top reasons why China

remains a business destination no onecan afford to ignore:• the world’s number one in foreign in-vestments,

• the world’s second largest consum-er—and third largest producer—ofchemical products,

Since its establishment morethan 25 years ago, AchemAsiahas become the prime communi-cation hub for suppliers of theprocess industries to benefitfrom the chances that China con-tinues to offer. With AchemAsia2016 being already the 10thevent in a successful row, this isthe platform to stay in touchwith the rapid changes China’sprocess industry is facing today,and to seize opportunities whichmight be less obvious than inthe early years—but are stillthere.

DR. THOMAS SCHEURING*

The platform for Asia's process in-dustry is firmly established in Chi-na: 418 exhibitors from 23 coun-tries and 12,470 visitors were verysatisfied with AchemAsia 2013.

* T. Scheuring is CEO, DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH.

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INDUSTRY

AchemAsia covers the whole scope ofprocess technology and is structuredalong the lines of technology defined tar-get groups:• Chemical Apparatus and Plant Con-struction

• Process Technology• Petrochemistry• Maintenance and Quality Assurance• Environmental Protection• Industrial Water Treatment• Pharmaceutical Industry• Biotechnology• Food Industry• Agrochemistry• Laboratory and Analytical Techniques• Packaging and Storage Techniques• Resources Development

AchemAsia ConferenceThe exhibition will be accompanied by aconference where an innovative confer-ence layout with satellite symposia onfocal topics, individually organized in co-

Picture:DE

CHEM

A

operation with DECHEMA’s partner asso-ciations, is addressing selected topics ofpractical relevance or special interest.This implies a close involvement of do-mestic partners, and it will offer attend-ees a wealth of inspiration together withthe option to strengthen contacts withexperts and decisionmakers from the re-gion.• International Forum: Applied ProcessIntensification (A)

• China Focus: Smog Prevention andClean Production (B)

• International Forum: Advances in In-dustrial Water Technology (C)

• Euro-Asian Panel: Strategies for imple-menting an Industry 4.0 Approach inChina (D)

• Workshop: Benefitting from Single UseTechnologies (E)Attendees at AchemAsia have the

unique opportunity to:• obtain first-hand information on recenttrends in China’s process industry,

• identify present technological demand,• listen to senior speakers discussingChina’s investment strategy,

• meet our industry’s most importantChinese companies at one venue,

• introduce products and services to po-tential clients,

• learn from the experience of top inves-tors,

• discuss with potential cooperationpartners.All of this will happen in the modern

China National Convention Center (CNCC)which will host the 10th AchemAsia andhas set standards for exhibition facilitiesin China. With its convenient and centrallocation in the immediate vicinity of Bei-jing’s Olympic Park and its smart hall lay-out, combined with all the flexibility oneexpects from a state-of-the-art fair groundtoday, CNCC provides the perfect stagefor AchemAsia. n

→ Further Informationwww.achemasia.dewww.achema.cn

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Every car owner probably receivesmail at least once a year from the cardealership offering a summer check-

up, snow tire service or a reminder for amajor inspection or annual routinemain-tenance. The customer may see this pri-marily as a helpful service, but it hashuge economic significance for the pro-viders. Satisfied service customers arefour times as likely to buy the same brandagain as unsatisfied customers. More-over, the service business is highly lucra-tive for manufacturers and dealers. Spareparts for example generate only 10% ofturnover for car makers but they rake in

UNDERAPPRECIATEDCOMPETITIVE FACTOR

chinery and equipment manufacturingindustry and a German share of €212 bil-lion, there is clearly huge potential outthere, but small andmid-tier suppliers inparticular tend to underestimate the op-portunities. VDMA studies reveal thatcompanieswhich operate after sales ser-vices as an independent business havean average contribution margin of 47%.On average, large suppliers with annualturnover in excess of €1 billion generatea quarter of turnover with services, butsmaller suppliers lag well behind.The consequences of substandard af-

ter sales service are evenmore detrimen-tal. If the services are limited to the both-ersome task of handling warranty claimsand are given low priority, the product

50% of profits. Automotive service cent-ers generate 60% of earnings with spareparts.This consumer productsmodel is read-

ily transferrable to the capital goods in-dustry. Despite the fact that an increasingnumber of machinery and equipmentsuppliers are aware of this, little efforthas beenmade so far to exploit the exist-ing potential. Many systems componentsuppliers take a rather complacent ap-proach to after sales service. Accordingto VDMA (German Engineering Associa-tion) estimates, Germanmachineryman-ufacturers only generate 15% of turnoverwith the after sales and service business.Given an estimated total worldwide turn-over of €2.25 trillion (2012) in the ma-

Picture:KS

B

No more “service wasteland”. In today’s world, service providers and other businesses make a big effortto keep their customers happy. However this derogatory term seems to stubbornly persist in the world ofindustry despite the fact that cleverly designed services and B2C businesses create a win-win situationfor suppliers and customers. Pumps, valves and controls are a good example. Learn how after sales ser-vices create added value for system component manufacturers and process operators alike.

KSB service employees at a chemical plant in Shanghai, China. Services currentlygenerate around a quarter of the company’s corporate earnings.

This article is based on an ACHEMA trend report.More information is available at www.achema.de.

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supplier runs the risk of tarnishing its im-age, and the customer may place its nextorder with a competitor.

Enhancing Customer Loyalty,Benefiting from Field Experience

The provision of services following thesale of a product makes good businesssense for a number of reasons. It givespump, valve and controls suppliers agood sales argument for new products,and the services enhance customerloyalty. Information feedbackfrom the service organizationto the development team alsohelps companies improve theirproducts.In addition, the margins in

the service business are gener-ally much higher compared tothe product business. Not onlythat, the after sales and ser-vice business helps companiesride out economic cycles, par-ticularly when new productsales suffer during slowdowns.The delivery of after sales

services as a separate busi-ness is a very successful busi-ness strategy, but that ap-proach faces amajor hurdle. Ina recent survey of several hun-dred machinery and equip-ment suppliers, managementconsultantsMcKinsey togetherwith VDMA investigated thereasons behind the reluctanceon the part ofmanufacturers toset up an independent servicebusiness. Besides the effort in-volved in setting up the neworganization, the respondentscited customer unwillingnessto pay extra for services whichthey expect to receive free ofcharge as part of the new prod-uct business. Virtually everymanufacturer can point to aninstance where a customer ex-pected an old pump, valve orfitting to be repaired on agoodwill basis even if the itemwas ten or twenty years old.

Chemical Industry Expects24/7 service

Then there is another chal-lenge. Users in and around thechemical industry expect fullservice coverage on a 24/7 ba-sis anywhere in the world,

something which small andmid-tier com-panies may find very difficult to provide.However pump, valve and controls

manufacturer KSB shows how it can bedone. KSB set up its own service compa-ny and is now one of the leaders in theEuropean rotating equipment servicemarket. Services currently generatearound a quarter of KSB’s corporate earn-ings. The company plans to significantlyexpand the business over the next fewyears in the Asian and US markets. “We

have identified significant demand forpump spare parts in the mining industryin Asia and America,” reported BerndGarbe who is the CEO of the KSB servicecompany.At KSB, repair is not the first phase of

the after sales service business. “Com-missioning services are included in ournew pump quotations,” said Garbe. TheKSB repair andmaintenance service port-folio is no longer limited to the compa-ny’s own products. Repair and retrofit of

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12 A special edition from PROCESS

pumps, valves and controls made bycompetitors are also now included. Thework is carried out at repair centers or bymobile units.

Increasing the Flexibility of FixedMaintenance Costs

These after sales services are highly wel-come in the chemical industry. Chemicalmarkets have becomemuchmore volatilein the wake of the financial and econom-ic crisis which struck in 2008 and 2009.Companies want to have greater flexibil-ity as theymanage the fixed costs of theirin-house maintenance teams. To accom-plish that, they are outsourcing repairand maintenance work to an increasingextent.The Frankfurt-based pharmaceutical

company Sanofi-Aventis uses an ap-proach which is common in the industry.It leases the pumps that are used in pro-duction from a pool provided by a systemsupplier which takes responsibility forrepair and maintenance at a fixed price.The user can budget the costs years inadvance even if it does not have its ownin-house maintenance personnel. Thecustomer and the supplier split any sav-ings if the actual costs are less than thefixed price, so they have a common inter-est in minimizing the repair effort. In thisway, the pharmaceutical company hasbeen able to reduce its maintenancecosts while at the same time increasingpump service life.Samson is a Frankfurt-basedmanufac-

turer of valves and controls. At this com-pany, after sales service begins back inthe commissioning phase. Samson con-tinues to gradually expand its worldwidenetwork of service centers. The subsidi-ary in Dubai is assisting with the commis-sioning of 1,000 positioners and butterflyvalves at the new Ruwais petrochemicalcomplex. In addition to supporting thestart-up of new plants, lines and equip-ment, Samson provides reconditioningsupport services.Turnaround of the BASF steam cracker

in Antwerp in the spring of 2013 is oneexample. To handle the task of overhaul-ing or adding roughly 150 positioners andmeasurement points within the space offive weeks, Samson formed a 27-memberinternal team of valve specialists fromeleven different countries at its servicebase in Antwerp. Besides carrying out re-pairs, the team also analyzed failuremodes and process conditions. Based onthe results, theymade recommendations

for increasing product life and extendingproduct service intervals.

Repair Service Enters the Realm ofProcess Optimization

This example is representative of a cur-rent trendwhich is evident in the processindustry. Users increasingly expect com-ponent suppliers to make process opti-mization recommendations. Manufactur-ers which are willing to engage with cus-tomers by offering this type of servicehave the opportunity to accumulate ap-plications experience which can thenhelp them position themselves as indis-pensable strategic partners over the longterm.The Austrian compressor supplier

Hoerbiger has decided to take this ap-proach. The worldwide reciprocatingcompressor service business is highlycompetitive. The company’s strategy is tooffer an expanded range of serviceswhich can, for example, significantly in-crease the service life of reciprocatingcompressors. The services include de-tailed reliability, efficiency and environ-mental soundness (REE) audits on com-pressors for the purpose of achievingsustained process improvement. The au-dit team carries out an evaluation on siteto determine the cost and effort neededto optimize a compressor. It then makesspecific recommendations and imple-ments them if requested. “Process condi-tions are changing at a faster rate thanever before, but compressor systems areoften designed to run for 20 or 30 years.We help users to continually improve themachines in order to remain competi-tive,” explained Nikolaus Lubega, Busi-ness Development Manager and REE Au-

ditor at Hoerbiger. In a highly competitivemarket environment, expertise-intensiveservice can help companies differentiatethemselves from the competition.

Avoiding the PitfallsThe sales team sells the first machine,after sales service sells the second. Thecapital goods industry is no exception tothis rule. However, success based on ser-vice delivery is not automatic. Manufac-turers must come up with answers to thefollowing key questions:• How can we efficiently build and ex-pand a sales and service networkwhichmeets the needs of our customers?

• What service portfolio is actually need-ed to generate real value-add for thesupplier and the customer?

• What is the requirements profile forspare parts logistics and how dowe ful-fill those requirements?

• What qualifications do the members ofour service team need?The final point refers not only to techni-

cal qualifications but also to personaland sales skills. The service team has amajor impact on the company and brandimage and it holds the key to customerloyalty. A strong service team with appli-cations experience is a valuable asset forproduct development and a useful re-source for the sales organization.Summary: These examples show that

after sales services create added valuefor system component manufacturersand process operators alike. They giveusers greater flexibility to manage main-tenance costs and they help improve sys-tem availability. On the supplier side, theservices can improve the bottom line andalso enhance customer loyalty. n

Picture:Martin

Jopp

en/Sanofi

The Frankfurt-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis uses an approach which is com-mon in the industry: It leases the pumps that are used in production from a pool provided by asystem supplier which takes responsibility for repair and maintenance at a fixed price.

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After initial euphoria about the bio-economy which seemed to prom-ise to solve several global prob-

lems—CO2 emissions, shortage of fossilfuels, sustainability—all at once, theshale gas boom in the United States andthe low oil price threatened to crush thebudding biobased industry before its firstbloom. Especially for small molecules,the abundance of cheap ethane posed ahurdle that stopped a couple of projectssuch as an announced Green-ethyleneplant by Dow, a bio-ethanol PVC plant bySolvay or a 500,000 t/a ethylene glycolplant by Indian JBF Industries.

A Silver Lining on the HorizonIn recent weeks, however, there seems toappear a silver lining on the horizon. InOctober, Covestro (formerly Bayer Mate-rial Science) and Reverdia announcedtheir intent to jointly develop and pro-mote thermoplastic polyurethanes basedon renewablematerials. Target industriesare, among others, the footwear and con-sumer electronics industries. These “life-style industries” are currently increasingtheir efforts to re-invent their products,emphasizing sustainability and environ-mentally friendly products—and theircustomers are prepared to pay if theydeem features such as biobased materi-als worth a prize premium.

BLOOMING IN THE SHALEGAS SHADOW

published a study on the diversificationof the country’s chemical industry. Chem-icals production from biomass featuresstrongly in the report as it could createsynergies between the agricultural andthe chemical sector and contribute sig-nificantly to the Brazilian GDP. Malaysiais very active in searching cooperationsin R&D and attracting investment to cap-italize on the country’s rich resources inpalm oil and residues from palm oil pro-duction.And there is, of course, China—not so

rich in available biomass, but eager toexplore technological opportunities andthe potential of feedstock such as ricestraw or other residues. While focusingon biofuels (both 2nd generation ethanoland algae diesel), plants such as thecommercial demonstration plant for theproduction of cellulosic sugars in the JilinProvince (run by Edeniq and Global Bio-chem Group Limited) are intended to befirst steps in a value chain that eventu-ally is intended to extend from the rawmaterial to a broad range of biochemicalsand biofuels. n

Despite some recent setbacks due tothe overall economic situation in itshome country, Brazilian Braskem alsocontinues its commitment to the shiftfrom fossil to biobased resources and co-operates closely with companies likeAmyris or Genomatica who develop cus-tomized microorganisms. Similar to thechemist’s “dream reaction” convertingCO2 to valuable products, the biotech-nologist’s “dreammicrobe” performs thedirect fermentation of sugar to whateverdesired product. Routes researched atthe moment include, amongst others,sugar to acrylic acid, propene, isobutene,isoprene, and butadiene. A 1,4-butanedi-ol plant with direct fermentation is al-ready in place; BASF operates it underlicense to Genomatica. First charges ofTHF produced from this butanediol havealready been delivered to customers fortesting.In the meantime, countries rich in bio-

mass such as Malaysia or Brazil are ex-panding their efforts to establish and ex-pand their renewable chemicals industry.In 2014, the Brazilian Development Bank

Picture:

Fotolia

-©Ba

stos,rukaw

ajung

Over the last months, the out-look for biobased chemicals hasbeen somewhat of a rollercoast-er ride. But despite shale gasboom and low oil prices—ex-perts agree: the trend is towardsbioeconomy, it’s just a questionof speed. And lately there aresome promising projects.

DR. KATHRIN RÜBBERDT*

→ Save the DateBiobased World, February 15–16, 2017, Cologne/Germany… is a place to cooperate, to discuss, to find synergies.There is a lot of space to exhibit products, technologiesand concepts and make the bioeconomy visible and tangible. There is also lot oftime to exchange ideas within the congress program. www.biobasedworld.de

* K. Rübberdt is Head of Biotechnology, DECHEMA e.V.

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ing fruit” has already been harvest-ed—high-value specialties have madetheir way to market. For the high-volumecommodities that face direct fossil com-petition, the road ahead is still bumpy.Tomake it a road to success, the follow-

ing topics need to be addressed:Nomenclature as a basis for stand-ardization, procurement and—not

least—communication. Currently, forsome products such as biolubricants andbio-plastics there are already definitions,while in other areas there is no commonagreement or standard what “bio”

LOOKING BEYONDTHE HORIZON:EU BIOECONOMY 2015

* K. Rübberdt is Head of Biotechnology, DECHEMA e.V.

Picture:

Fotolia

-©minzpeter

What can be achieved in three years? Three years after birth, a child goes to kindergarten; depending onthe planetary configuration, a spaceship could travel from earth to Jupiter; and a poplar in short rotationforestry can be harvested every three years. How has the European bioeconomy developed over the pastthree years?

An important part of the bioeconomy:renewable resources

DR. KATHRIN RÜBBERDT*

Is the European bioeconomy still in itsinfancy, has it already covered a longdistance? Or is it even ripe for harvest?

ACHEMA 2015 provided the chance totake a closer lookand compare the statusquo on the conclusions of “The FrankfurtACHEMA-Manifesto on the PPPs withinthe bioeconomy” from 2012. The 2015conference came to the clear conclusionthat a lot of progress has beenmade: ThePPPs for sustainable process industries(SPIRE) and the Biobased Industries have

been realized and are working, the over-all interest in bioeconomy and the publicperception have increased. The full reali-zation, however, will need patience—weare not talking aboutmonths or years butrather decades.The transformation to a bio-based

economy is a complex undertaking. Suc-cess stories such as biolubricants, bio-plastics and biosurfactants show that thetransformation is possible. But they alsoprove that the way there is not easy andneeds political and societal support.Thus, it could be said that the “low-hang-

1.

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means—biobased (and if so, what pro-portion of a product has to come frombiomass), biodegradable or bioderived.Clear definitions are needed to set goalsfor public procurement, but also toinform the general public and consumersabout the benefits of the respectiveproducts.

Logistics for fossil resources havebeen long established and are fa-

cilitated by the fact thatmost fossil sourc-es are punctiform whereas biomass isgrown on large areas. A bal-ance will have to be found be-tween the economically feasi-ble size of a biorefinery and thenecessary effort to ship rawmaterial there and decentral-ized processing plants close tothe agricultural sites.

The current value chainsin the bioeconomy need

to be intensified and moreclosely interlinked. Playersthat haven’t cooperated beforeneed to be brought together,creating new business modelsadapted to the specific charac-teristics of the bioeconomy.

Necessary measures in-clude the creation of sus-

tainability criteria for biomassuse for chemicals and energy,standards and norms definingbiobased products and servic-es.

The availability of sus-tainable biomass has to

be ensured. This requires ade-quate agricultural structurestaking into account a broadrange of potential biomasssources and trade agreementsenabling the import from re-gions with abundant biomass.

Sustainability criteriahave to be extended to

topics such as soil fertility, wa-ter management and the long-term economic feasibility ofthe process.

Recently, the EU bioec-onomy has been joined

by a larger sibling, the circulareconomy. The bioeconomy isseen by many as an integralpart of the circular economy,when it deals with waste, recy-cling, multiuse in form of cas-cades, and when closing valuechains. Others insist on the

dles need yet to be overcome. Politics,industry and science should thereforenot relax in their efforts to promote thebioeconomy and create favourable condi-tions for the transformation. In the con-text of a circular economy, it is still es-sential to have an explicit focus on thebioeconomy. We have come a long wayover the last three years; but transform-ing a whole economy is a marathon rath-er than a sprint. Let’s not stop at mid-distance. n

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

complementarity of both forms of aneconomy because of the unique featuresof the bioeconomy like carbonneutrality,renewability and potentials for new prop-erties of materials, which are found inrenewable biological resources—the pri-mary resources of the bioeconomy. Botheconomies should therefore join forcesand potentials.Conclusion: The bioeconomy in Europe

is on the verge of success, but to ensurethe final breakthrough, a couple of hur-

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As the share of renewable energygrows, the volatility of the energysupply increases aswell. Germany

with its “Energiewende” (energy turn­around) is at the vanguard of this chal­lenge, but other countries globally arepushing forward the installation of solarparks or wind power plants, and they willface the same issues. In the past, storagetechnologies have been in the focus, andthey are still being developed at highpace. But recently, some other ideas havebeen put forward that address the de­mand side of the energy equation.The chemical industry has a number of

processes that can be driven either byelectricity or by other means; therefore,it seems predestined to play an impor­tant role in “demand­sidemanagement”.Electrolysis ranks high among them; forexample, the capacity for chlor­alkali­electrolysis in Germany alone is five mil­lion tons per year, corresponding to aconnected wattage of 1,450 MW, and isalready partly used to level peaks in elec­tricity generation.Compared to batteries or physical stor­

age, there is an efficiency gain if the elec­trolysis is performed at low current den­

ELECTRIFYING IDEAS

• The part of the plant that is run withflexible load should have the lowest in­vestment cost (usually the reactor).

• All following steps (especially productpurification) should be designed forcontinuous loads according to themax­imum sales volume expected.

• This means that raw product needs tobe stored. The investment is compara­bly low, but for dangerous chemicalslegal permits will set limits.

• The downstream process should be lo­cated close by to avoid additionaltransport cost.

• The whole process chain has to be de­signed so that even if all raw product istransferred to storage, storage capacityis not exhausted.

• Fluctuating operation may not be di­mensioned for 100 % product sales asstorage capacity for the raw productcannot be adjusted freely to all situa­tions on the electricity market.This list shows that in order to decide

on the viability of a flexible process, thewhole system has to be analyzed. The se­lected processes have to be highly dy­namic.

The Role of Electrochemistry“Classical” water electrolysis is the basicelement ofmany power­to­x­concepts forthe production of hydrogen, methane

sity, and the chemical product has ahigher energy density. But as for all largechemical plants, the primary goal is tomaximize capacity utilization. If plantsare made more flexible, however, theyhave to be dimensioned above their aver­age sales volume, and interim storagehas to be installed. Due to the currentsmall prize spread on the energy market,this is usually not economically viable ifthere is no additional compensation. Thesame is true for the flexibilization ofmostcontinuous processes.Usually batch processes offer more

flexibility as the starting point can bechosen without changing other processparameters. This applies universally andis not restricted to electrochemical pro­cesses as electricity is used for heatingand cooling, compacting and pumping aswell.The generation of steam (power­to­

heat) is also an option that can be rela­tively easily implemented and is in use ata couple of locations in Germany.

New Processes—Input ofThermal Energy

In addition to existing plants and pro­cesses, a number of other options arecurrently discussed, preferably for large­scale operations. The aspects to be con­sidered include:

Could “surplus” electricity be put to work in flexible chemicals production capacities that areswitched on and off according to energy availability?

This article is based on the “Diskussionspapier ElektrifizierungChemischer Prozesse” published by DECHEMA in March 2015.It is available for download at (German language only):http://dechema.de/studien.html

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A special edition from PROCESS 19

or—if chemical production is the tar-get—methanol. A number of productionconcepts combine hydrogen generationwith other steps to achieve a competitiveproduction process; TU Clausthal has de-veloped a scheme that combines waterelectrolysis with air rectification to pro-vide the resources for the production ofammonia that is then oxidized to nitricacid with the oxygen from the electroly-sis. The use of oxygen on site without ad-ditional transport is the key to competi-tive processes.Organic electrochemistry is also expe-

riencing a revival. The development ofnew electrodes has opened possibilitiesfor many selective reactions; however,these are often not needed on the neces-sary scale. An interesting process couldbe the production of adipic acid; the cur-rent process generates N2O that has to becatalytically decomposed.

What Is to Consider?The following conditions have to be con-sidered when analyzing potential pro-cesses:• Oxidation reactions are more simplyimplemented than reduction reactions.

• The product has to be protected againstsecondary reactions; one way to dothis it to design reactors where theproduct is removed fast from the reac-tion zone.

• In general, protic solvents are moresuitable than aprotic solvents becausethey allow for a much larger electricitydensity, leading to higher space-time-yields.

• There is a need for new, ionic conduct-ing membranes with higher conductiv-ity and longer endurance.

Picture:Fotolia

-©Aania,Na

tis,okinawakasaw

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With prices of 6 €ct/Mol for one elec-tricity equivalent the electrochemicaloxidation is not competitive to catalyticoxidation with oxygen from air.Options for anorganic processes in-

clude the switch between oxygen depo-larized cathodes—requiring less—andhydrogen electrodes—requiring moreenergy. The flexibility of aluminum pro-duction is limited by a shorter lifetime ofthe electrodes. But electrolytic processesfor the generation of zinc or copper andgalvanic processes are candidates aswell as certain process steps in metal re-cycling.

Act Big—Think Small (and Modular)

A significant electricity surpluswill mate-rialize only when the share of renewableenergy is large and back-up capacitiesare no longer in place.The German government predicts

2.3 TWh of “dumped energy” in 2032; thiscorresponds to 500 million m³ hydrogenor 275,000 tons per year methanol.This volume would have to be produceddecentralized—according to the locationof the energy generation plants—withthe corresponding negative impact oneconomics. Therefore, new catalyticmethods and plant concepts are requiredto develop efficient, small productionplants.In the end, there won’t be just one spe-

cific process but a large variety of basi-cally new chemistry-based concepts inorder to claim the existing potential. Aninterdisciplinary approach and, not least,reliable political frameworks are neces-sary to make the most efficient use ofgenerated energy. n

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Worldwide News

20 A special edition from PROCESS

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURINGIN THE PROCESS INDUSTRY

The range of available technologiesis broad: Polymers, silicone, alu-minum or steel can be printed de-

pending on thematerial and the applica-tion with different techniques such aslaser sintering or melting. The combina-tion of materials and methods leads to astunning variety of available technolo-gies to meet a wide range of require-ments.In contrast to what is often suggested,

additive manufacturing and 3D printingare not novelties. Charles Hull, the found-

Imagine what you can do with 3D printing … for example print an action figure of yourself,create a (yet rather rudimental) artificial hand or produce eatable works of art from goat’scheese. There are almost no limits to imagination. That’s true for the fantasy of apparatusand plant engineers as well—the vision of the tailor-made plant comes closer.

DR. BJÖRN MATHES*

* B. Mathes is Head of PRAXISforen at DECHEMA e.V.

to a printer that spits out the requiredpiece in a wink. And if the equipment withthe wanted specification does not existin the market, it can be calculated andproduced on site. Custom parts and smallbatch sizes are irrelevant, tools andmoulds become redundant, and all thiswhile saving on material.Consequently, many experts predict

that additive manufacturing will becomea standard element of process and reac-tion technology. The German Siemensgroup regards additive manufacturing asan integral part of future production tech-nology and is already printing spare parts

er of 3D Systems, developed the first 3Dprinter as early as 1984. In Germany,some pioneers have been producingcomponents for more than 25 years usingadditive manufacturing. But today as thedemand for ever more complex customparts is increasing, this technology is ex-periencing a boom.

Firing the ImaginationIn the process industries, the new meth-ods fire the imagination: Instead of pro-ducing spare parts and sending them viacontainer or plane around the globe, inthe future the data could simply be sent

Picture:lculig–Fotolia

document2968861036583819923.indd 20 06.11.2015 11:07:08

for burner tops of gas turbines. The devel-opment of the 3D printing market is im-pressive: Roland Berger estimates theglobal market volume to reach US$7.7billion by 2023. In 2014, it amounted al-ready to more than US$3 billion.Many players in the process industries

are currently exploring the opportunitiesadditive manufacturing offers to them.Chemical companies like BASF and Evon-ik develop new materials for 3D printing.Pump manufacturer KSB is testing lasermelting for the production of parts. Theengineers in KSB’s development lab seenot only the advantage for their servicebusiness. There are also additional fea-tures: With 3D printing, parts with cavi-ties or open-pore structures are accessi-ble, creating light-weight componentswhilemaintaining themechanical param-eters. Festo has even printed a completebionic grappler that weighs 80% lessthan its conventional metal counterpart.

Open QuestionsNonetheless, additivemanufacturing willnot replace conventional productiontechnology, at least not in the foresee-able future. Even though the technologyis highly innovative, for a true mass pro-duction it is too expensive and not fastenough. Economies of scale cannot berealized with 3D printing. Its strength liesin the production of highly complex cus-tom solutions. And the degrees of free-dom it offers have to be used right fromthe start through the concept phase to

capitalize on the potential for complicat-ed geometries.This is also a prerequisite for an eco-

nomic use of 3D printing. Even thoughmuch less material is required then formilled or cast parts, the material is 50 to100 timesmore expensive than that usedin conventional manufacturing. As forspeed, today about 10–20 cm³ per hourcan be printed—meaning that it may takeseveral days to print a large part. Theprinters are becoming faster; by the be-ginning of the next decade, productionrates of up to 80 cm³ are expected. Butthis is still a far way from the require-ments of mass production. Furthermore,some questions regarding standards andquality management in safety-relevantcomponents are still open. To answerthem, a new generation of engineers isrequired: Additive design needs to be in-troduced in the educational curriculae.

Despite these limitations, experts areconvinced that additive manufacturingwill change the face of the industry in thelong term. They see it as a complemen-tary technology to today’s mass produc-tion methods. Rather than waiting for arevolution by the one “killer application”,they recommend an evolutionary ap-proach, identifying examples where truevalue can be created for products, pro-jects or whole industries. The inherentinterdisciplinarity stimulates additionalideas: The requirements of the userslead to innovations not only in printingtechnology, but also inmaterial develop-ment.On the other hand, 3D printing allows

for the processing of materials in smallseries, opening the way to completelynew applications. In any case a play-ground for creative minds whose limitswait to be explored. n

Picture:J.M

.–Fotolia

(Still) dreams of the future: 3D printing of a chemical plant

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22 A special edition from PROCESS

As per the IMF, India will moveto the 7th position from the 8thposition in the year 2016—andwith the GDP growth, India willbe ranked 6th globally. Brightprospects for business interac-tions and strategic alliances!Chemtech Foundation is India’sleading industry associationsince 1975 creating platformsfor this.Especially Chemtech World Ex-po series of international exhi-bitions and conferences haveevolved as the innovative plat-form for business interactionsand technology exchange forthe stakeholders from acrossthe entire value chain of indus-try in India. What will be thenext highlights?

28th Edition ofChemtech World Expo

The 28th edition of flagshipevent, Chemtech World Expo2017 scheduled from February14–17, 2017 in Mumbai willbring together the stakeholdersfrom the refining & petrochem-icals as well as specialty chem-icals—along with the alliedservices providing sectors ofEPC, industry automation andcontrol, water management,and corrosion control to com-mon point during the four dayinternational exhibitions andconferences. The Ministry ofChemicals & Fertilizers, Govern-ment of India has already con-firmed support for ChemtechWorld Expo 2017.During Chemtech World Expo2015, chaired by Vipul Shah,COO Petrochemicals, RelianceIndustries, Chemtech organisedthe first “Specialty Chemicals”forum, which received a strong,positive response from theequipment and services provid-ers as well as the end users ofspecialty chemicals. Dr RamanRamachandran, Chairman &Managing Director, BASF Indiawill be leading the next editionof specialty chemicals forum

BREAKING NEWS FROMCHEMTECH FOUNDATION

planned to be organised in Feb-ruary 2017.

WaterEXWorld Expo 2017

In a recent development, Aus-tria has extended support to theWaterEX World Expo 2017 asthe Partner Country and willbring an industry delegationduring the event. Water & wastewater treatment is one of thekey areas for the Indian govern-ment and the industry which isover USD 100 billion. Addition-ally, the municipal sewagewaste treatmentmarket is grow-ing fast in India which will offerample opportunities to thetechnology providers. Indiacontinues to set strict targets ofimproving CO2 emissions andgiving impetus to the alterna-tive energy sector such as solarand wind power, environmentand coal gasification technolo-gies which will create substan-tial demand for energy efficientand environmentally complianttechnologies. The Governmentis taking concrete steps in CO2

sequestration and encouraginginvestments in this field.

Regional Showsin 2015 and 2016

Currently Chemtech is gearingup for two regional shows:• Chemtech South Expo 2015,scheduled from December10–12, 2015 in Chennai TradeCentre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu/India;

• Chemtech Gujarat Expo 2016,scheduled from February10–12, 2016 in UniversityGrounds, Ahmedabad, Guja-rat/India.

Both shows aim to create great-er engagement between theend user and services providingsectors with the regional mar-kets in India.

→ More information,you will find at:http://chemtech-online.com

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A special edition from PROCESS 23

→ International Events Organized by Dechema

• January 19–20, 2016: 11th Status Seminar “Chemical Biology”– Frankfurt/Germany

• April 18–21, 2016: 3D Cell Culture 2016: How close to “in vivo”can we get? – Freiburg/Germany

• May 2–4, 2016:New Frontiers for Biotech Processes (“Himmel-fahrtstagung”) – Koblenz/Germany

• May 17–20, 2016: 12th InternationalWorkshop on PolymerReaction Engineering – Hamburg/Germany

• May 29– June 3, 2016: 12th International Conference on theFundamentals of Adsorption – Friedrichshafen/Germany

• June 1–3, 2016:Single Cell Technologies 2016 – Kloster Irsee/Germany

• June 5–8, 2016: 15th InternationalSymposium on Loss Prevention andSafety Promotion in the ProcessIndustries – Freiburg/Germany

→ Further Information:DECHEMA e.V., CongressOfficeTheodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt amMain/GermanyPhone +49 (0)69 7564-129/-333/-249; Fax +49 (0)69 7564-176E-mail: tagungen@dechema.de Internet: www.dechema.de

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