In The News
ExxonMobil invests in new delayed coker unit at Belgium refinery, and more business news
Plant Watch ExxonMobil invests in new delayed coker unit at Belgium refinery July 7, 2014 — An affiliate of ExxonMobil (Irving, Tex., www.exxonmobil.com), Esso Belgium, a division of ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical B.V.B.A., plans to install a new delayed coker…
Microporous vanadosilicate efficiently removes cesium from wastewater
The effective removal of Cs+ ions from contaminated groundwater, seawater, and radioactive nuclear waste is crucial for public health and for the operation of nuclear power plants. Although several methods for the removal of Cs+ ions have been developed, there…
Polyamide-6 plant commissioned for Hangzhou Hangding Nylon Tech.
Hangzhou Hangding Nylon Tech. Co. and Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH (Berlin, Germany; www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com) have successfully commissioned a plant for the production of high-performance polyamide 6 for textile grade applications. The plant is located in the Economic Technical Development Area of Hangzhou…
This production process cuts Pt usage in catalytic converters in half
Chemists from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and technology (AIST; Tsukuba City, Japan; www.aist.go.jp) have developed a procedure for making the catalysts used in catalytic converters for treating the exhaust from diesel engines. The process, developed with support…
Borealis to divest its Biosuper business in France
Borealis AG (Vienna, Aurstia: www.borealisgroup.com) announces the divestment of its Biosuper business in France. The Biosuper brand, a phosphate-based dryer used in animal stables, and the related production equipment will be transferred to the new owner, Eliard SPCP, during the…
Demonstration of methane fermentation to lactic acid
What is said to be the world’s first fermentation pathway from methane to lactic acid has been demonstrated by Calysta, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.calysta.com). The fermentation process begins with an organism that feeds off of methane rather than typical…
Outotec opens office in Denver
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com), a global minerals and metals processing service and technology provider, has openedf its Western U.S. office in Denver, Colorado. Outotec's Canada based North America Market Area president, Marcus Horn, oversees the facilities now located in…
Cobalt: a less-expensive and more efficient catalyst than rhodium
The research group of Shigeki Matsunaga, associate professor at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kanai), in collaboration with Ken Sakata at Hoshi University, has developed a new Co-based catalyst system that outperforms the existing rhodium-based catalyst system for the production…
This chloride leaching process recycles resources
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has developed a new chloride-based leaching process for recovering nickel from nickel matte — a commercial intermediate product of nickel smelting that contains about 65% of nickel. Developed since the 1980s, originally for Cu recovery…
A heavy-metal recovery technique that produces no waste streams or sludge
A new remediation approach for industrial heavy-metal waste has been developed by Lewis Environmental Services, Inc. (LES; Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.lesvc.com). The patented Enviro-Clean process adsorbs heavy metals from liquid waste streams onto a bed of specially treated granular activated carbon.…