BASF Opens Catalysts and Processes Pilot Plant Facility

German chemicals firm BASF opened a new pilot plant facility on Tuesday at its Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany that will enable the firm to test new process catalysts and develop processes under the direction of the firm’s global research unit Process Research & Chemical Engineering. 

Over the next few years, BASF plans to invest “a single-digit million euro sum” into the facility annually to support the facility in becoming a research hub for liquids and gaseous substances. 

“With the increasing importance of the BASF segments Chemicals and Industrial Solutions, there is a growing need for product research and especially process research,” Dr. Detlef Kratz, the leader of BASF’s Process Research & Chemical Engineering research unit, said in a company press release.

Pilot plants within the new facility can be managed and observed using a computer, tablet or smartphone. The BASF facility also uses hteControl software to visually plan experimental programs and then deploy them with a number of distributed control systems. In addition, analysis data and measurements are automatically collected and organized. 

“In our pilot plant facility, we are using state-of-the-art infrastructure to carry out experiments,” Dr. Kratz said. “This enables us to pursue new research approaches and reduce the length of research and development projects, while also continuing to improve the quality of data collected. We are thus systematically pursuing our goal of increasing the likelihood of success of our projects.”

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