Mood Of Optimism Reigns At ACHEMA

There may have been a few rain showers in Frankfurt during ACHEMA week in May this year, but the process industry is basking in the sunlight of the chemical industry's economic recovery, according to ACHEMA Committee Chairman Aldo Belloni, a board member of Linde AG, Höllriegelskreuth, Germany.

This year's show surpassed previous shows in a number of areas, Belloni observed. For example, 44% of the exhibitors came from outside Germany. There has never been such a high percentage, he said. "Growth is particularly strong for China, India, and South Korea," he continued. "If you include foreign exhibitors who are represented at the show by their German subsidiaries or agencies and who are included as German companies in the statistics, then the foreign contingent has broken through the 50% barrier for the first time."

ACHEMA, a German acronym for the chemical engineering exhibition and congress that is held every three years in Frankfurt, provides a unique stage for presenting the latest advances in the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical and food industries, energy production, biotechnology, environmental technology, materials technology, and laboratory techniques.

The trade fair, organized by the Frankfurt-based German Society for Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology (DECHEMA), is a mega event in more ways than one. Most of the exhibition halls in the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds have two or three floors, and there are further exhibits in the open spaces between the halls. The one-mile walk from the entrance nearest the city to the Galleria entrance on the far side of the grounds takes about 20 minutes for those who use the crowded moving walkways and even longer for those who don't. The grounds area has its own hotel, and for visitors who are hungry or thirsty there are some dozen restaurants and numerous cafés, bars, and hot dog stands. They were all busy. Some 180,000 visitors from 98 countries passed through the ACHEMA turnstiles this year.

The optimistic mood of the exhibitors and visitors at this year's fair reflected the state of the chemical industry's economy, which is more buoyant than it has been for a long time, according to a DECHEMA report on the event. "The chemical industry, which is a major target group for exhibitors at ACHEMA, had a record year in 2005, and the industry is expected to make significant investment in 2006," the report noted. "Equipment and systems manufacturers have full order books, and demand is particularly strong in the export sector."

ACHEMA represents a creative force for the future, suggested DECHEMA Executive President Gerhard Kreysa in the invitation to the event. "Our world faces unprecedented challenges," he noted. "The chemical industry is one of the foundations of our civilization. Without chemistry, there would be no cars, no houses, no clothes, no energy, no telephones, and no computers. Environmental protection, climate protection, sustainability, and a secure energy supply in the post-oil era would all be inconceivable without chemical know-how."

Alfred Oberholz, chairman of DECHEMA and vice chairman of Degussa, Düsseldorf, Germany, observed that no other show offers such a comprehensive range of process technology applications. "No other event worldwide reflects a similar level of groundbreaking expertise," he added.

The exhibition, an extensive and impressive show of chemical plant equipment, was the main attraction at ACHEMA. There were also exhibits of literature, information systems and databases, teaching and learning aids, and a special show for service providers for the process industries.

The exhibits were arranged into groups around specific topics, for example: laboratory and analytical techniques, mechanical processes, thermal processes, industrial and labor safety, and pharmaceutical packaging and storage techniques.

The largest exhibition group was devoted to pumps, compressors, valves, and fittings. Visitors wanted to know "how plants can pump media and control the flow of media safely and reliably with zero emissions and, above all, how this can be done in the most cost-effective manner," an ACHEMA 2006 trend report on the topic notes.

At a press conference, Belloni observed that the dramatic increase in energy prices has pushed energy efficiency to the forefront. "The efficiency levels of today's pumps seemed completely utopian only a few years ago," he added. "Pump drive systems account for 20% of total industrial energy consumption in the European Union, so it is easy to imagine how great the potential energy savings are."

Watson-Marlow Bredel, a company that manufactures pumps with no valves, seals, or glands, exhibited its 520RE LoadSure peristaltic pumps, which are aimed at the chemical, water, wastewater, print, and food-processing industries. The company, based in Falmouth, England, is part of the Spirax-Sarco Engineering Group. The pumps incorporate low maintenance and operator safety features and can be used at pressures up to 7 atm for transferring sterile fluids, according to the company.

The company also exhibited its new SPX DuCoNite pump, which is designed for challenging chemical applications. A high-tech surface protects the pump from chemical damage, allowing it to pump highly corrosive chemicals for long periods, the company stated.

Flowserve, a company with world headquarters in Irving, Texas, introduced its intelligent pump control system, IPS Tempo, which uses pump-specific optimization software to monitor process variables and pump power. The system also adjusts pump operations for flow, pressure, temperature, and changes in fluid level. "IPS Tempo helps eliminate costly downtime and expensive repairs, blocked lines, pump overloads, closed suction and discharge valves, cavitation, and excessive wear or rubbing," a Flowserve news release notes.

Flowserve also launched its GCX single-cartridge chemical pump seal. Seals prevent fluid leakage between surfaces. They are used in dynamic applications where one or both surfaces are moving or in static applications. The design of the seal and selection of the material from which it is made can be critical, especially when the seal is exposed to different chemicals, solvents, and cleaning agents over a wide range of pH and temperatures.

The GCX seal is designed to operate in multiple chemical environments. It is made of durable metals—to withstand corrosion and harsh chemical conditions—and flexible graphite foil secondary seals. Flowserve says the metals enable the seal to operate over a wider temperature range than can elastomer-based seals.

Elastomer-based seals are widely used in the process industries. A new elastomer seal material on display at ACHEMA has superior chemical resistance to solvents, acids, alkalis, steam, and cleaning agents and provides outstanding high-temperature performance, according to the company that makes it, Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE), in Blackburn, England.

"Elastomer seals are used in pumps, valves, mechanical seals, pipework, dryers, mixers, reactors, and transfer vessels, to name a few examples," PPE Marketing Manager Donna Maskell said. She explained that the company manufactures elastomer seals from 17 different types of rubber, each with individual properties and uses.

"PPE specializes in high-performance seals that are often used in harsh environments, either due to aggressive chemicals or extreme temperatures," Maskell told C&EN. "Typical markets we supply include pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and dairy, semiconductor, marine diesel engine, nuclear, and oil and gas, in addition to the broad range of applications that fall under the 'chemical processing' industry."

The new PPE material, known as Perlast G75S, is a perfluoroelastomer. "It sets a new standard for perfluoroelastomer physical performance in aggressive fine chemicals and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes," Maskell said. "The use of high-performance perfluoroelastomers in manufacturing processes has required a trade-off between high temperature and chemical resistance, and physical performance—until now. With Perlast G75S, there is no performance trade-off."

Seals are also used in compressors and agitators, observed Andreas Goldschmidt, an engineer at Burgmann Industries in Wolfratshausen, Germany. The company has developed a new agitator seal, the AGSZ, for steel and enameled tanks used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries.

"The seal is a complete unit with a solid silicon carbide rotating part," Goldschmidt said. "Agitator seals normally use liquid lubricants. The AGSZ uses nitrogen as a lubricant so there is no possibility of liquid leaking into the tank as the agitator rotates."

The gas seal can be used for tanks operating under vacuum or at high pressure and at temperatures up to 200 ^oC. It allows the agitator to operate in a safer, wear-free, and energy-saving manner, according to the company.

Moving and controlling the movement of fluids around plants requires not just pumps but also valves and actuators. There were many examples on display at the exhibition. For example, AUMA, a German company with headquarters in Müllheim, exhibited electric actuators and valve gearboxes for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

Some applications in the oil and gas industries require fireproof actuators to close valves within a specified time in case of fire. AUMA's range of explosion-proof valve actuators now includes models with fireproof housing. A patented material known as "K-Mass" is used to fireproof these actuators, noted Heinrich Lauinger, head of domestic sales at AUMA. He pointed out that the fireproof actuators remain fully operational for up to 30 minutes when exposed to temperatures up to 1,100 ^oC. Fireproof valves can therefore be operated within this time.

Efficient and safe fluid handling requires appropriate coupling and connection technologies, for example, to rapidly connect flexible tubing to a storage drum and then disconnect it without spillage. Colder Products, which has headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., specializes in the design and manufacture of quick-disconnect couplings. At ACHEMA, the company showcased couplings that make fluid transfers "cleaner, drier, safer, and smarter."

A major safety concern is spillage and the release of fumes when lines carrying fluids such as acids or solvents have to be disconnected, said Thomas A. Braun, Colder business manager of chemical and packaging products. "Our products enable lines to be disconnected instantly without spillage or leakage. They typically include built-in shut-off valves to prevent fluid spills and an easy-to-use, push-button thumb latch for quick connecting and disconnecting."

Braun showed C&EN the company's IdentiQuik Smart Couplings, which integrate radio-frequency identification tagging technology into couplings and package closures. The technology identifies fluids in a fluid-line connection before the final connection is made and enables dispensing equipment to automatically exchange product data at the exact time and location of the connection. Companies can therefore capture fluid and product data from point-of-origin through point-of-use. "The technology can be used in soft-drink or juice-dispensing systems" and other beverage applications, Braun said.

Another exhibition group was focused on materials technology and testing. One of the most eye-catching exhibits involved two actors sheltered from "rain" under a metallic umbrella. The exhibit was part of a display by Schmidt + Clemens, a company based in Lindlar, Germany, that specializes in the casting of high-quality stainless steels.

The umbrella symbolized the properties of an alloyed stainless steel known as Märker Alloy 59, which resists corrosion by chemically aggressive materials. "This nickel-based, high-grade alloy has, until now, been used only as a wrought material to produce sheet metal, band steel, piping, forged parts, or wire," explained Schmidt + Clemens Marketing Director Lars Niemczewski. "Its use as a material for casting is new."

Cast parts of the alloy, and another new alloyed stainless steel, Märker Alloy 31, will primarily be used by Schmidt + Clemens to manufacture components for pumps, valves, piping systems, agitators, protective sleeves for thermometers, and other components for use in chemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries.

Another German company, Düker, based in Laufach, specializes in glass-lining technologies to protect surfaces against aggressive media. At ACHEMA, it displayed glass-lined pipes and fittings that are highly corrosion-resistant to chemicals, are temperature- and wear-resistant, and have long service life.

The company's "email" range of enameled linings for pipe systems and components includes the "email250light" lining for pipework for carrying aggressive exhaust air or water; "email350," a white glass lining that can be used up to 150 ^oC; and "email850P," a light-blue glass lining for the pharmaceutical industry.

A broad spectrum of improved classical separation techniques and new separation technologies were presented at the exhibition.

An example of an improved classical technique was presented by OFRU Recycling of Babenhausen, Germany. The company introduced its COMPACT recycling unit, a small, low-priced flammable solvent recovery system that is housed in an explosion-proof cabinet. "Recovering organic solvents is important because they are becoming increasingly expensive," commented OFRU Recycling Project Manager Jutta Maassen. "The COMPACT machine is fully automatic and can recycle all organic solvents."

During distillation, the solvent level in the distillation tank remains constant because the evaporated solvent is continually replaced by new "soiled" solvent. "The unit has a closed circulation system, which removes the need to handle solvent streams," explained OFRU Recycling general manager Denis Kargol. "The system therefore reduces personnel costs when compared with conventional batch-type machines."

The ACHEMA trend report observes that novel separation technologies are the heartbeat of the chemical process industries. "They make once-infeasible technologies feasible, clean processes even cleaner, and expensive methods more affordable," it notes.

Membranes play a key role in modern separation technology. For example, Membran-Filtrations-Technik (MFT), Cologne, Germany, uses a variety of membrane techniques in its systems that process wastewater, desalinate seawater and brackish water, and produce water fit for drinking. The techniques include microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis, depending on the application.

At the ACHEMA exhibition, MFT Managing Director Andreas Flach explained that the company has developed a patented circular disc module that can be equipped with nanofiltration and reverse-osmosis membranes. The untreated water flows in a circular direction over stacks of membranes cushioned between support plates. The technology is used principally for treating wastewater, seawater, and brackish water.

Biotechnology applied to industrial processes, known as white biotechnology, attracted a lot of interest at ACHEMA. White biotechnology has the potential to produce existing products more cost effectively by lowering raw material consumption, investment costs, energy demand, and hazardous waste disposal costs, notes an ACHEMA trend report on the topic. The technology can provide the basis for complete new products and is a promising tool for replacing classical chemical production processes.

One application is the production of natural food additives for consumers who are averse to synthetic chemicals in their food. At DECHEMA's Karl-Winnacker Institute in Frankfurt, biotechnologist Jens Schrader and colleagues have been developing bioprocesses for the efficient production of natural aroma chemicals with yeast. Their display at ACHEMA included a bioreactor for natural aroma production.

One of the aromatic compounds the Frankfurt group is interested in is 2-phenylethanol. This alcohol has a sweet, roselike taste and odor, Schrader told C&EN, and is used as a flavor compound in soft drinks, for example. "The compound is present in rose oil, but is expensive to extract," he said. "It can be produced chemically very cheaply, but there is an increasing market for natural 2-phenylethanol produced biotechnologically, even though the naturally produced compound is some 15 times more expensive than the synthetic compound."

The biotechnological process uses yeast to convert l-phenylalanine to 2-phenylethanol. Because the product inhibits further product formation, however, it is necessary to remove the compound in situ to obtain economically viable concentrations.

The Karl-Winnacker team has recently developed an aqueous-organic two-phase yeast-based bioprocess for the efficient production of 2-phenylethanol and its more fruitlike ester, 2-phenylethyl acetate (Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., published online Jan. 6, dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00253-005-0281-6). A key feature of the process is the use of polypropylene glycol as an in situ extractant.

Before ACHEMA 2006 closed its doors and tore down its exhibits, DECHEMA announced that it had renewed its contract with Messe Frankfurt until 2015. This ensures that the next three ACHEMA fairs will be held in Frankfurt, which has been the show's sole venue since 1937.