High-end Android smartphone for hazardous areas Impact X (photo) is the first intrinsically safe smartphone with the same usability, performance and functionality as high-end consumer devices. The product is ready to use right out of the box, just like a…
Plant Watch Momentive to construct two formaldehyde plants in Louisiana November 10, 2014 — Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; www.momentive.com) plans to build two new formaldehyde plants in Geismar and Luling, La., with operations expected to begin in…
A new lithium-ion battery that can be recharged in only two minutes — 20 times faster than with current technology — has been developed by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg). The battery will also have a lifespan of…
Protective-enclosure maker Intertec Inc. (Sarnia, Ont.; www.intertec.info) is building a unique, explosion-proof, pressurized shelter for a granulated urea warehouse at what will be the world’s largest, single-stream, gas-to-urea plant in Nigeria. The three-section enclosure protects personnel and electronics from potentially…
New techniques and equipment for manufacturing cast components made from beryllium-aluminum alloys can reduce the cost significantly, allowing the high-performance materials to be considered for a wide range of applications beyond their initial uses in the aerospace industry. Beryllium-aluminum alloys…
Significant improvements to a process to extract vanadium, titanium and iron from the Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project in the Northern Territory of Australia will be tested in a pilot plant now under construction and nearing completion. Results of the pilot-plant…
The Capitol SkyMine project in San Antonio, Tex. utilizes fluegas from an existing cement plant to manufacture salable chemicals while preventing the CO2 from reaching the atmosphere. Built by Skyonic Corp. (Austin, Tex.; www.skyonic.com), the project is said to be…
Division Radomiro Tomic of Codelco (Codelco Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile; Santiago; www.codelco.www) is adopting a bioleaching process to recover copper from low-grade ores. The process was developed by BioSigma S.A. — a joint venture (JV) of JX Nippon…
Technology continues to change at a rapid pace — particularly when we look at recent advances to our personal computers and mobile devices. As such, we at Chemical Engineering have been working on improving our online presence by taking advantage…
More than 28 member facilities will receive 2014 Performance Improvement Awards for their outstanding commitment to continuous improvement in environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) practices at the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) 93rd Annual Dinner on December…