Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-549), Boston College (edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-550) and MIT (both Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-551) have discovered that by heating a single-walled nanotube of carbon to 3,600°F, its strength is increased by 280%. The discovery is expected to…
The Technical University of Denmark (Lyngby; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-552) has received a grant from the A. P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to develop the world’s most powerful miocroscope. The so-called environmental transmission electron miocroscope is said to be five time…
Last month, Aspen Technology, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-553) launched its new generation of applications for the design, rating and simulation of heat exchangers: Aspen Tasc+, for shell-and-tube heat exchangers, and Aspen Acol+, for air-cooled heat exchangers. Used for optimizing heat…
Last month, British Nuclear Fuels Plc. (BNFL; Daresbury, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-554) announced plans to sell Westinghouse Electric Co. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-555), the highest bidder, says BNFL. Others vieing for the U.S. nuclear-power-plant arm of BNFL included GE…
After more than ten years of planning, WMPI Pty, LLC (Gilberton, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-534) is in the final licensing negotiations with contractors for constructing the first major coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant in the U.S. The plant, to be located near Gilberton, will…
Last month, Rentech, Inc. (Denver, Co.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-539) signed its first domestic license agreement with DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-540) for the use of Rentech’s patented F-T CTL technology (CE, May 2004, p. 23). At the same time, DKRW’s…
Last month, TÜV Anlagantechnik GmbH, Automation, Software and Information Technology (Cologne, Germany) granted protocol-type approval for the Fieldbus Foundation (FF; Austin, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-541) safety-instrumented-systems (SIS) specifications. The specifications are in compliance with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508 standard requirements up…
The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT; Rajamäki; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-542) has developed a process to make natural paper additives from starch, which can be used for making high-quality paper that is completely recycleable. The starch-based pigments can be used in conventional…
A single-step process for making phenol from benzene and carbon monoxide has been developed by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-543) with cooperation from Yasutaka Ishii, professor of applied chemistry at Kansai University (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-544). Other attempts to make…
Teijin Twaron B.V. (Arnhem, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-556) has introduced a new rubber compound ingredient, tradenamed Sulfron 3000, which leads to a 20% improvement in rolling resistance when used in tires — resulting in a 5% reduction in fuel consumption for vehicles,…