After nearly a decade of preparation and debate, the European Commission's REACH legislation - a system for the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals - was adopted by the Parliament last December, and enters into force on June…
Last month, Total S.A. (Paris, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6893-531) launched what is claimed to be the world's first integrated carbon-dioxide-capture and geological-sequestration project. From the end of 2008, up to 150,000 m.t. of CO2 will be injected into a depleted natural gas…
Why do governmental bodies regulate VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions? Because these compounds react with nitrogen oxides to produce ground-level ozone. VOC emissions have many names: hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), non-condensable gases (NCGs), or just plain “organic vapors.”…
Mascoma Corp. (Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6892-541) has received a $14.8-million award from the New York State Dept. of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to build and operate a biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant in Rochester,…
Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6892-546) has commercialized a biodegradable chelating agent, Dissolvine GL, as a cost-effective, green alternative to the two most frequently used agents, ethylenediamineetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and nitrotriacetic acid (NTA). The product contains L-glutamic acid (from sugar, molasses, corn…
Chemicals, plastics, pharmaceutical, food, agricultural chemicals, coal and bio-chemical industries have a wide array of processes where the raw materials, intermediates and products are in particulate form. Hazards associated with particulate solids are unique, and in most cases…
Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) are commonly used for controlling volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from a broad spectrum of industries. An RTO is basically a thermal oxidizer that uses ceramic media as the heat exchanger medium, providing high…
Security is on everyone’s mind. Heightened awareness and concerns have affected the way we live and the way we work. Those of us who are part of the chemical process industries (CPI) and have a great respect for…
With the aim to commercialize a new process for making solar-cell grade (SOG) silicon, Chisso Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6891-534) is negotiating the possibility of establishing a joint-venture company with Nippon Mining Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo) and Toho Titanium Co., Ltd. (Chigasaki,…
November 17 was the deadline for states to submit their plans for the control of mercury emissions from power plants to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Washington D.C.; epa.gov), but mercury-control processes are already being commercialized. The…