Plastics are indispensable nowadays, but all too often plastic products become waste at the end of their lives and end up as huge carpets in the world’s oceans. This is something that has to change. One way out of this dilemma is the so-called circular economy. Circular economy is defined as a model for production and consumption which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. This will become increasingly important in the future, as natural resources such as crude oil or certain minerals are limited on our planet. Reusing plastic waste will therefore be an essential building block for a sustainable economy. The article
“New life for old plastics” starting on page 38 deals with the topic of plastics recycling. It provides an overview of the various methods that exist and shows what new approaches are currently in place at Covestro, one of Germany’s leading polymer manufacturers.
In our cover story on page 24 we take a look at explosion protection. One measure for constructional explosion protection is explosion suppression. The Q-Bic extinguishing barrier for this purpose takes particular account of the hygienic requirements of spray drying systems. A practical example shows how Q-Bic can be used to create economical concepts for demanding applications.
Furthermore, you will find a selection of pumps and compressors for daily work in the chemical industry in our focus topic starting on page 27. I hope you enjoy reading this issue.
Daniela Held, Editor
