In The News
‘Super Boiler’ achieves higher efficiency through the recovery of waste heat
An advanced heat recovery system (AHRS) that boosts the fuel-to-steam efficiency of firetube boilers by as much as 15% will be produced by Cannon Boiler Works Inc. (New Kensington, Pa.; www.cannonboilerworks.com) through a license agreement with the Gas Technology Institute…
A new electrochemical process for making K2FeO4
A new process for producing the oxidizing agent potassium ferrate (VI) (K2FeO4) can routinely generate multi-kilogram quantities per day, say scientists. Ferratec (St. Louis, Mo.; www.theincubationfactory.com) and partner Electrosynthesis (Lancaster, N.Y.; www.electrosynthesis.com) have licensed the process technology from Battelle (Columbus,…
Sound water treatment delivers environmental and economic benefits
A two-year collaboration between Ashland Hercules Water Technologies (AHWT; Wilmington, Del.), a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.; www.ashland.com), and BASF Nederland B.V. (Nijehaske, the Netherlands) has demonstrated that a combination of ultrasonic microbial control and corrosion inhibitors not…
Commercialization is set for a new distillation technology
A new distillation device developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) will make its commercial debut in an ethylene separation column at LG Chem, Ltd.’s petrochemical plant in Yeosu, South Korea. Scheduled for startup in the near future, the…
Launch of a 2nd-generation biofuel project in France
In light of the growing scarcity of oil resources, biofuels constitute an alternative solution, since they can serve as a complement to fossil fuels. As part of its policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union is requiring…
AkzoNobel’s Ningbo plant starts production
This week, production will start at AkzoNobel’s (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) chelates facility located at the company’s new €275 million multi-site in Ningbo, China. The startup of the first activities in Ningbo means that AkzoNobel is now the only major…
Süd-Chemie and GTC Technology form strategic alliance
Süd-Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.sud-chemie.com) and GTC Technology Inc. (Houston, Tex.; www.gtchouston.com) have reached agreement on a strategic alliance. As part of this alliance agreement, Süd-Chemie has acquired a 25% share in GTC. The partnership significantly strengthens Süd-Chemie‘s position in…
An integrated processes to produce nanostructured functional materials
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; Karlsruhe, Germany; www.kit.edu) and BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) have founded “IP3” (innovative products, intelligent particles, integrated processes), a joint laboratory for process technology in Karlsruhe (www.ip3.de). JointLab is run by the two partners on…
New MTP process modeled dynamically
Bayer Technology Services (BTS; Leverkusen; www.bayertechnology.com) collaborated with Lurgi GmbH (Frankfurt, both Germany; www.lurgi.com) to implement an operator training simulator (OTS) for a Lurgi’s new methanol-to-propylene (MTP) process. At the core of the MTP process is a complex, heterogeneously catalyzed reaction…
GEA supplies Air Cooled Condenser to Israel
GEA Group AG (Bochum, Germany; www.geagroup.com) received the order to design, manufacture and supply the Air Cooled Condenser — worth €10 million — for the extension of the 250-MW, gas-fired power plant Tzafit in Israel. The extension will increase the capacity…