Chemical Processing Distilled

Chemical industry braces for turbulent year ahead -- November 2025 News

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. 

Flow Measurement Technology Fosters Safer, Efficient Plants

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.

Leadership Potential Isn’t Fixed, It’s Shaped by Who’s Looking

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. 

Halloween Edition of Chemical Industry News Roundup

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.

Solving Corrosive Flow Measurement

In this sponsored Solutions Spotlight, KROHNE experts discuss flow measurement technologies for chlor-alkali processes, covering mag meters, Coriolis meters, entrained gas management and safety integrity levels.

Three Key Takeaways

1. Virtual reference technology eliminates leak paths in mag meters by using a non-wetted grounding methodology, reducing costs and maintenance risks in corrosive applications.
2. Straight-tube Coriolis meters offer advantages over bent-tube designs: easier installation, less pressure drop, reduced abrasion, simpler cleaning and competitive pricing with custody transfer accuracy.
3. Entrained gas management is essential for process reliability — it keeps Coriolis meters measuring during two-phase flow conditions and provides early warning of upstream equipment problems like cavitating pumps or failing seals.

This episode is sponsored by KROHNE

6 Training Myths that Sabotage Operator Performance

In this episode, Traci Purdum and Dave Strohbar explore why traditional training approaches fail operators in chemical processing plants. They examine misconceptions about practice, simulator fidelity, motivation, accuracy versus acceptable performance, early assessment reliability, and the gap between theory and practical skills. 

Crawl, Walk, Run: AI Transforms Materials Discovery

This episode discusses how AI accelerates materials discovery in the chemical industry. While challenges exist—messy data, black box models, and skills gaps—AI enables simulations that once took days on supercomputers to run in seconds on laptops. Young advocates a "crawl, walk, run" approach for implementation, starting with low-stakes trials before full integration. He envisions an "in silico-first" future where materials are screened virtually before physical testing, dramatically reducing R&D timeframes from years to months.

Jungle Fumble - The Ecuador Lawsuit Against Texaco/Chevron

Environmental consultant Dave Russell recounts his involvement in the Ecuador lawsuit against Texaco/Chevron over Amazon rainforest contamination. Hired in 2003 to assess cleanup costs, Russell produced a $6.1 billion estimate based on unverified assumptions—a "SWAG" (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) that helped secure a $9.5 billion judgment. However, his soil samples revealed the primary toxins were missing, and ongoing contamination came from Petro Ecuador, not Chevron. The case unraveled when Chevron exposed massive fraud.

The Lowdown on Electromagnetic, Ultrasonic and Coriolis Flowmeters

In this bonus episode, which was originally recorded for Chemical Processing's sister brand, Processing, KHRONE's Joe Incontri, director of marketing, discusses the company’s flow meter lineup.

This episode is sponsored by KROHNE

 

EPA Targets Dissent, Regulatory Changes, Breaking Research

EPA fires staff over dissent letter while industry groups push for faster chemical reviews before 2026 TSCA reauthorization deadline are among the top news stories in September 2025.

Executive Editor Jonathan Katz reviews all you need to know.