In The News
Evonik starts up new monosilane plant in Japan
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) and its partner Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC; www.tn-sanso.co.jp/en) today officially started up the new integrated-production facility for monosilane and Aerosil in Yokkaichi, 400 km south of Tokyo. Evonik has thus realized a future-oriented project…
Dow solar manufacturing construction under way
The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) confirmed today that construction of its new manufacturing facility for production of the Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle is underway at the Company’s Michigan Operations site in Midland. The new, large scale manufacturing facility…
KBR awarded contract for Australian coal-seam gas pipelines
KBR (Houston; www.hbr.com) has been selected to execute engineering design services for three coal-seam gas (CSG) pipelines designed to carry CSG from gasfields in central Queensland, Australia to an export facility on Curtis Island. The project will be executed for…
Lightweight diamond aerogel
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov) have created a nanocrystalline diamond aerogel. The new aerogel was produced by compressing a standard carbon-based aerogel precursor in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, which consists of two opposing diamonds.…
Rubber manufacturing process allows in-mold curing
Along with an innovative elastomeric compound, scientists at Federal Mogul Corp. (Southfield, Mich; www.federalmogul.com) have developed a rubber manufacturing process that eliminates the need for curing in a batch oven after molding. The proprietary compound, known as K16, is intended…
A platinum-free fuel-cell catalyst
A research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, N.M.; www.lanl.gov) has developed a novel catalyst for the cathode of a fuel cell that avoids using expensive ($1,800/oz.) platinum metal. The cathode catalyst is on based carbon, partially derived…
Improved solvent extraction for nuclear-waste-contaminated water
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA; Ibaraki, www.jaea.go.jp) has enhanced the efficiency of a solvent-extraction process to separate organic solvents from water contaminated by radioactive waste. JAEA was able to reduce the toluene concentration from 5,000 parts per million (ppm) to…
World’s first cellulosic biobutanol refinery to be built in Michigan, and more business news
Plant Watch Strategic partnership for acrylonitrile and sodium cyanide in the Middle East April 29, 2011 — Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com), Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) and Mitsubishi Corp. (Tokyo; www.mitsubishicorp.com) have signed…
Biodegradation system for VOCs poised for expansion
A system that utilizes existing biological wastewater-treatment facilities for destruction of biodegradable volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) has been demonstrated at three U.S. petroleum-refining and chemical facilities, and the developer has plans to extend…
Low-cost process for bioethanol fuel demonstrated in Japan
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, www.mhi.co.jp) says it has established technology to produce bioethanol for automobile use by using soft-cellulose, such as wheat straw and rice straw, as raw materials. MHI estimates the fuel cost for a full-scale production…