Professor Kenichiro Itami and coworkers at at Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan; synth.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp) have developed a new, next-generation type of cross-coupling reaction for synthesizing biphenyl compounds — one of the most important backbone structures for pharmaceutical and electronics chemicals. The chemists…
An organosilica material with unique structural properties due to its nanoscale architecture has been used to extract hydrocarbons and other organic contaminants from water. Marketed as Osorb by ABS Materials Inc. (Wooster, Ohio; www.absmaterials.com), the nanostructured glass represents a platform…
Oji Paper Co. (OJI; www.ojipaper.co.jp), in collaboration with Nippon Steel Engineering Co. (www.nsc-eng.co.jp) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; all Tokyo, Japan; www.aist.go.jp), has started pilot testing of a new, integrated process for making cellulose-based…
Solutions for high-purity piping code You ran a most illuminating article based on the new ASME code (July 2011, New Piping Code for High-Purity Processes, pp. 49–53), and I have been examining the welding industry’s response to the new challenges.…
Screw compressors are widely used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) and represent a substantial percentage of all positive-displacement compressors that are now sold and in operation in CPI facilities. In general, screw compressors are efficient, reliable, simple and…
The ecosmart metering pump is now available with a PVC pump head. That means the ecosmart can even be used in applications that require good resistance against highly aggressive chemicals — including industrial water-treatment systems, for example, where sodium hypochloride…
This company’s new generation of check valves features a hydrodynamically optimized valve cone, which minimizes the pressure loss while increasing flow by 25% compared to the previous generation. It is practically impossible for the valve cone to jam anymore since…
DosaSkid is a “plug-and-play” metering device that can be used for a wide variety of applications, including desalination, boiler-water treatment, industrial water treatment, petroleum refining (additive injection), and clean-in-place tasks in the food-and-beverage industry. Two types of DosaSkid are available:…
Rhodia (Paris, France; www.rhodia.com,) member of the Solvay Group, and Avantium (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.avantium.com) have entered into a partnership to jointly develop a range of new bio-based polyamides targeting a variety of applications. This partnership expands and completes the…
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) and NexSteppe (Malibu, Calif.; www.nexsteppe.com) have entered into a collaboration to develop advanced feedstocks for biofuels and other bio-based products. The collaboration will focus on the development of new sweet sorghum and high-biomass sorghum hybrids that…