Last May, Axens (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net) started up the first ethanol-to-ethylene pilot plant based on Axen’s Atol technology with Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp). The pilot plant, located at Sumitomo Chemical’s Chiba Works, will produce ethylene from ethanol.…
This company has recently received FCC, FM and IC certification for its NEON brand of temperature transmitters (photo) and vibration sensors. The NEON vibration sensor sends alerts to maintenance engineers as soon as assets, such as engines, conveyor belts and…
Quantm is a new electric-operated double diaphragm pump (photo) that features an advanced electric-motor design that is said to be significantly more efficient than a standard pneumatic pump. The pumps’ FluxCore motors and drives deliver up to eight times more…
Magnet Metals Bilfinger SE (Mannheim, Germany; www.bilfinger.com) is supporting REEtec AS (Oslo, Norway; www.reetec.no) with engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) services for a new processing plant for neodymium and praseodymium — two rare earth elements (REE) used in the…
Filtech 2023 Filtech 2023, which takes place on February 14–16 at the Cologne, Germany fairgrounds, will feature more than 440 exhibitors and a major international conference. There are also two short courses being offered on February 13: A one-day course…
Measuring and monitoring tools simplify steam-system management and increase efficiency Although widely used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), steam systems are often neglected until there is an issue with safety, reliability or steam quality. However, as processors become more…
A routes-by-exception reliability strategy helps improve safety and efficiency, while preserving competitive advantage in a changing marketplace In recent years, maintenance and reliability experts have often talked about the massive wave of retirements leaving chemical plants, creating a shortage of…
Blue Planet Systems (Los Gatos, Calif.; www.blueplanetsystems.com) and Sulzer Chemtech Ltd. (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.sulzer.com) have announced a partnership to accelerate development of Blue Planet’s process for mineralizing carbon dioxide gas into construction aggregate for concrete. By sequestering CO2 into the…
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) have developed a hydrothermal-synthesis method for high-voltage lithium-ion battery cathodes that avoids several key issues with traditional battery processing. Key…
Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS; Ibaraki, Japan; www.nims.go.jp), along with Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; www.harvard.edu) and the University of Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.; www.uconn.edu), have designed a new imaging device that uses structural colors — visible colors that change…