In The News
A new process to make olefins from syngas
Light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, are primarily made by the catalytic cracking of crude oil. Alternatively, two other methods were developed during the time of high oil prices, both of which convert synthesis gas (syngas) to olefins: the…
First commercial-scale gas fermenter in U.S. to break ground
The first commercial-scale, natural-gas-fermentation facility in the U.S. will break ground by the end of 2016, according to Alan Shaw, CEO of Calysta Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.calysta.com). In a collaboration with agricultural giant Cargill Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.; www.cargill.com), Calysta…
New Possibilities in Upstream Milk Processing
While thermal treatment remains king, new alternatives for processing milk are promising a number of benefits to the dairy industry The dairy industry faces a daunting challenge. It has to produce — at an affordable price — milk and milk…
Making H2 and graphite from methane
Sydney University’s Laboratory for Sustainable Technology (Sydney, Australia; www.sydney.edu.au) and the technology-commercialization-firm Hazer Group (Perth, Australia; www.hazergroup.com.au) are collaborating to scale up the Hazer Process, which uses an iron-ore catalyst to produce hydrogen and graphite from natural gas. Natural gas…
Advances in Process Gas Analyzers
Advances in technology boost productivity and make today’s analyzers user-friendly Between process-control optimization initiatives and increased environmental monitoring requirements, the number of gas analyzers in chemical-process-industries (CPI) facilities is proliferating at a faster rate than plant analyzer budgets and manpower…
Business News
Plant Watch NET Power breaks ground on clean-power demonstration plant March 10, 2016 — NET Power, LLC (Durham, N.C.; www.netpower.com) has broken ground on a first-of-a-kind 50-MW demonstration power plant in La Porte, Tex. NET Power’s zero-emission Allam Cycle technology burns natural…
Partnership scales up the first ethylene-based metathesis process
A multi-company partnership has achieved the largest-ever use of molybdenum/tungsten (Schrock-type) catalysts for a metathesis process involving ethylene and renewable oils. The reaction run, which produced primarily 1-decene and 9-decenoic acid methyl ester from ethylene and plant oils, represented a…
Optimized version of polymer additive raises PP clarity
Milliken & Co. (Spartanburg, S.C.; www. millikenchemical.com) has optimized its core clarifying technology for polypropylene (PP) resin to raise the clarity level to compete with that of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS) and polycarbonate (PC). The optimized technology allows the…
A new catalyst may reduce costs of catalytic converters
Conventional catalytic converters in automobiles are based on heterogeneous catalyst systems with precious metals (such as Pt and Pd), rare earth elements and Ce (in the form of CeO2). However, the cost and limited resources of such metals is driving…
Recovering rhenium photochemically
Professor Hisao Hori and his research group at Kanagawa University (Hiratsuka City, Japan; www.kanagawa-u.ac.jp) have reported what is said to be the first photo-induced recovery of rhenium from aqueous solutions — an achievement with implications for an inexpensive way to…