Scientists at Kao Corp. (KAO; Tokyo, Japan; chemical.kao.com) have discovered an enzyme that has the potential for producing large quantities of medium-chain (C12) fatty acids (FAs), which are the main components of natural oils, such as palm-kernel and coconut-palm oils.…
Last month in Ovadan-Depe, Turkmenistan, construction began on a plant that will produce gasoline from natural gas. When the plant starts up approximately four years from now, it will produce 15,500 barrels per day (bbl/d) of synthetic gasoline using the…
Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; Tsukuba City, Japan; www.aist.go.jp), with support from New Energy and Industry Technology Development Org. (NEDO; Kawasaki City; Japan; www.nedo.go.jp) have developed a technology to efficiently synthesize tetra-alkoxy-silane —…
A step closer to bio-based acrylic acid Last month, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com), Cargill (Minneapolis, Minn.; www.cargill.com) and Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark; www.novozymes.com) achieved another milestone in the joint development of technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable resources.…
A bioreactor technology for removing organic and inorganic contaminants from industrial wastewater has been commercially launched by developer Honeywell and its subsidiary UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com). The launch is part of a wider initiative by UOP to respond…
A commercial prototype perovskite solar cell that is less expensive than current thin-film solar cells is under development by a team from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), in collaboration with Dyesol Ltd. (Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia; www.dyesol.com) and professor Michael Grätzel…
A philosophical shift in the way universities treat intellectual property (IP) resulting from industry-sponsored research could mean substantial benefits to companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). Specifically, large research universities in the U.S. are adopting, developing or considering policies…
Many applications in the chemical process industries (CPI) require filtration — from cleaning the air of dust, to corrosion prevention, to cleaning up incoming process water, to recovering proteins downstream. No matter the application, filtration providers are working to improve…
Escape and rescue kits protect workers exposed to heights 3M PPE Safety Solutions This company has expanded its personal safety portfolio to include a new controlled descent device for escape and rescue at heights, called the 3M and DEUS Escape…
Emerson Process Management The Fisher P700 series rotary actuators for Fisher C series valves (photo) help to deliver full valve capacity and reduce maintenance in liquid-propane gas (LPG) applications. These actuators offer a reliable method to remotely operate internal…