Fluxome Sciences A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-547) has been granted patents in both the U.S.and Europe for a method to improve bioethanol production by engineering the ammonia assimilation in yeast. By modifying the redox metabolism, it is possible to reduce the…
Last month, Clyvia Technology GmbH (Wegberg, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-548), a fully owned subsidiary of Clyvia Inc. (Las Vegas, Nev.), was granted a German patent for its proprietary fractional depolymerization process for converting waste material into heating oil and diesel fuel. The…
ATMI Life Sciences (ATMI; Hoegaarden, Belgium; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-549) and Pierre Guérin SAS (Mauze sur le Mignon, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-550) have formed an alliance to design, manufacture and market disposable fermentors and bioreactors. ATMI’s proprietary mixing system (which features a paddle integrated into…
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-551) have constructed a membrane of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a silicone chip, which has the potential to reduce the energy costs of desalination by up to 75%, compared to conventional…
NexGen Technologies, LLC (Farmington Hills, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-552) has commercialized a next-generation of engineered surface treatments that imparts wear-resistance, anti-galling, anti sieze and reduced friction to a wide range of substrates. The treatment process involves a proprietary plasma-delivery system operating at…
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-553) has demonstrated the ability to print small-molecule OLED (organic light-emitting diode) materials from solution. The printing process is said more scalable to large-display sizes and substantially less expensive than alternative processes, such as vapor deposition. DuPont…
Corrosion has the chemical process industries seeing red in their metal tanks and pipelines — and on the bottom line, too. In the U.S., for example, chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical producers incur direct costs of $1.7 billion/yr for corrosion, or…
In families, organizations or nations, it can happen that when leaders at the top do not lead, those supposedly led take things into their own hands. That seems like an adequate, if imprecise, summary of how the largely regional, state-level…
There are several reasons why composite fiberglass-reinforced-plastic (FRP) pipe has been replacing conventional pipe, and why this still relatively new material (see box, p. 46) should be kept in mind whenever piping is being specified for a new…
Among pilot plants, those in petrochemical or petroleum-refining service pose special risks of fire and/or explosion. The key strategies to minimize those risks are these: properly conducted preconstruction safety reviews; leaktight design and construction; close attention to area…