Verenium Corp. (formerly Celunol; Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-537) is starting up a 1.4-million gal/yr demonstration-scale facility at Jennings, La., which will produce ethanol from regional feedstocks (including sugarcane bagasse and specially bred "energy cane") via proprietary cellulosic-ethanol technology. The technology was…
This month, the newly released Foundation for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) was demonstrated at Shell Global Solutions (Amsterdam, Netherlands) — one of several demonstrations planned by the Fieldbus Foundation (FF; Austin, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-545). In Amsterdam, engineers constructed a DCS-controlled demo…
Although theoretically promising 80% more energy than is required to grow and convert to cellulosic ethanol, switchgrass has proven to be a difficult fuel source to break down cost effectively. With $1 million from the U.S. Depts. of Agriculture (USDA)…
Sugar-beet processors in the U.S. generate approximately 40 million tons of fiber-rich sugar-beet pulp every year as a byproduct of sucrose extraction. Most of it is used as livestock feed or in pet food. Researchers with the U.S. Agricultural Research…
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (BEPC; Bismarck, N.D.) has selected the CO2-capture technology of Powerspan Corp. (Portsmouth, N.H.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-546) for a commercial demonstration at BEPC’s Antelope Station coal-fired power plant, located near Beulah, North Dakota. Approximately 1 million ton/yr of CO2…
CSIRO (Melbourne, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-547) and China’s Thermal Power Research Institute (Xi’an) plan to install a pilot plant at the Huaneng Beijing Co-generation Power Plant that will capture 3,000 m.t./yr of CO2 using an amine-based process. Click here for a full…
As spring approaches, the woods around Frankfurt are beginning to get green again. Taking in this annual transformation, it seems like a good time to reflect on how the meaning of the word "green" has changed — through misuse or…
Investment, production and consumption of biofuels are booming, thanks mainly to American and European governments’ subsidy and promotion. In part this is driven by fear of environmental enemy number one — global warming. The simple, conventional wisdom is that biofuels…
While it may be one of the oldest chemical processes known to mankind, fermentation is getting a high-tech face lift as industrial biotech firms put a fresh spin on the age-old technology in an effort to develop advanced products…
A good understanding of the reaction chemistry is needed for a safe process design It is a fact that safety-related incidents do occur in the chemical process industries (CPI). These incidents have, in part, led to increased attention to reactive-chemical…