Last June, Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) started commercial operation of its new 100,000-ton/yr ethyl acetate plant at Oita Complex. The new plant is the first commercial facility in Japan to use the company’s proprietary production-process technology. The…
A sludge-optimization technology for municipal water-treatment facilities is poised for rapid growth after the exclusive worldwide patent-licensing rights for the technology were acquired by CNP Technology Water and Biosolids Corp. (Kenosha, Wisc.; www.cnp-tec.com). The technology, known as AirPrex, was initially…
The first commercial contract delivery was recently made for an emissions control product that removes mercury from fluegas without the use of activated carbon. The product, known as AS-HgX, is made by Novinda Corp. (Denver, Colo.; www.novinda.com), and will be…
The presence of scale depositions in pipelines can restrict flow, limit heat transfer and decrease efficiency. The ability to monitor pipelines for depositions helps avoid issues and optimize costs. The Deposition Watch system from Flowrox Inc. (Linthicum, Md; www.flowrox.us) presents…
Water and wastewater treatment are extremely important at liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and other industries that are blossoming due to the shale-gas boom. Engineering concerns are similar to those of other industrial water-treatment and power-generation systems, but with the…
Crystal Solar Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.; www.xstalsolar.com) is preparing for high-volume production of silicon wafers using a process that forms the wafers directly from trichlorosilane (TCS) gas using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) epitaxy process that can significantly lower the…
Whether the application is reactive extrusion, pharmaceutical manufacturing, compounding or plastics processing, finding the sweet spot where increased efficiency, flexibility and lower capital expenditures are well balanced is the holy grail of today’s extruder operations. Most industries that employ extrusion…
Edeniq Inc. (Visalia, Calif.; www.edeniq.com) announced progress in building demonstration facilities in Brazil and China that feature the company’s proprietary process for converting cellulosic biomass into industrial sugar for fermentation or catalytic conversion (diagram). In Brazil’s São Paulo state, Edeniq…
Kemira Oyj (Helsinki; www.kemira.com) has awarded Pöyry Oyj (Vantaa, both Finland; www.poyry.fi) with assignments for EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) services for a sodium chlorate plant in Brazil. The EPCM assignments relate to the new sodium-chlorate plant that Kemira…
KBR Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a contract from Gemini HDPE LLC, a manufacturing joint venture between INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA (Ineos) and Sasol, to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE)…