Chemical Processing Distilled

Cautiously Optimistic Despite Near-Term Headwinds

U.S. chemical sector shows resilience with long-term growth potential amid trade uncertainties and uneven recovery.

Martha Gilchrist Moore, chief economist for the American Chemistry Council, offers her predictions for the coming year. 

Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum reads the column.

You can read the article here.

Alexandra Savino explains why new data showing recycled plastics contain more hazardous substances than virgin materials is driving Extended Producer Responsibility reforms that link compliance to chemical performance.

Key Highlights

Upstream accountability is growing, with regulators and brand owners requiring chemical producers to verify product safety and recyclability data.

Proactive compliance creates opportunity, as processors that audit, reformulate and improve traceability can gain an advantage in chemically safe recycling.

Read the column here.

Welcome to the year-end edition of Distilled News. To wrap up 2025, we will review some of the top stories coming from the chemical industry over the past 12 months.

This episode of Distilled features the final 2025 Vaaler Award winner: Flowserve's INNOMAG TB-MAG Dual Drive. This sealless pump technology provides secondary containment through the pump itself rather than the motor, unlike canned motor pumps. The system prevents catastrophic leaks of toxic and corrosive fluids while handling up to 30% solids. Nick Rentzelos, the technology's inventor and Flowserve's director, explains how the maintenance-free design addresses the skilled workforce shortage and stringent safety regulations. The pump features hydrodynamic silicon carbide bearings that don't wear, requires no seal replacement or shaft alignment, and easily retrofits into existing facilities. Energy-efficient carbon fiber containment shells replace traditional metal cans, reducing friction and motor drag while keeping hazardous fluids completely isolated from electrical components.

Yokogawa's Vaaler Award-winning reinforcement learning algorithm reduces implementation time, balances plant objectives and achieves rapid learning in trials.

Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming, or FKDPP, a reinforcement learning AI developed by Yokogawa and the NARA Institute of Science and Technology and applied by Yokogawa to process industries is the first reinforcement learning AI to autonomously control complex chemical processes, FKDPP complements manual and conventional control methods like PID and advanced process control.

Karthik Gopalakrishnan, part of the digital transformation, smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and industrial automation team at Yokogawa, discusses the award-winning tech with EIC Traci Purdum

Vaaler Award winning technology allows operators to forgo traditional insulation systems and all the associated labor, materials, inspection, and maintenance expenses in favor of a spray-applied coating that retains process heat, protects personnel, and eliminates corrosion under insulation.

Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum chats with Neil Wilds, global product director, Corrosion Under Insulation Testing, to learn how this innovation earned a Vaaler Award. Neil is affiliated with the Sherwin-Williams Protective and Marine Products line. 

Deloitte forecasts 0.2% production decline as industry faces "confused sea state," German sentiment plummets, and environmental groups challenge Trump's chemical plant exemptions.

Welcome to Distilled News, where Jonathan Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing,  looks back at the top stories each month on Chemicalprocessing.com. 

There are many things to consider with flow measurement technology, including prioritizing safety features for hazardous processes and remote locations. Additionally, the proper instrumentation prevents leaks and environmental incidents while supporting efficiency and operations. To help us better understand all things involved, Chemical Processing spoke with David Wright, global product manager at Emerson. In his role, he supports flow measurement products in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, chemical, refining and food and beverage.

This episode is sponsored by Emerson.

Two years ago, an operator was told she wasn’t “management material.” But only six months later – new manager, new opportunity – she was leading a cross-site safety improvement project.

Her potential didn’t change. The lens did.

In chemical facilities, we monitor pressure to the decimal. We track every deviation in flow, temperature and system response. But when it comes to people — especially how we judge their potential — we’re often running on hunches, habit and hierarchy.

Editor Traci Purdum reads the column "Leadership Potential Isn’t Fixed, It’s Shaped by Who’s Looking" from Workforce Matters. 

Executive Editor Jonathan Katz gets all spooky with this month's news. Major chemical companies accelerate development using artificial intelligence and robotics, even as economic pressures force European plant shutdowns and project delays.