As it is with all chemical processors, the current economic climate is forcing batch processors to produce more saleable product at a better profit margin from the same assets. Increasing flexibility, reliability and visibility while decreasing batch cycle times via…
Cast parts, such as engine blocks, are typically made by pouring molten metal into so-called cores — sand-based molds that have internal passages for the component to be cast. Such casting cores are typically made by reacting sand with organic…
SynGest, Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.; www.syngest.com) plans to commercialize a process for the production of ammonia from biomass by the fall of 2011. The first plant, to be located in Menlo, Iowa, will convert 150,000 ton/yr of corncobs into 50,000…
A new procedure for making uniform, metallic nanoparticles has been developed by the research group of Kousuke Mori, an associate professor at Osaka University (www.mat.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp), with support from New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, both Japan). The…
The exceptional properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as high tensile strength and high thermal and electrical conductivities, have suggested a number of applications, including lightweight materials for ballistics protection, actuators for muscles or artificial muscles, filaments for light sources,…
Salts of alkaline-earth metals have been shown to catalyze reactions for the selective formation of carbon-carbon bonds, by chemistry professor Shu Kobayashi and colleagues at the University of Tokyo (www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp). The research, supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency…
Arkema (Colomes, France; www.arkema.com) and hte (Heidelberg, Germany; www.hte-company.de) have successfully concluded a research collaboration aimed at identifying new catalysts for the conversion of glycerol — a byproduct of biodiesel production — to acrolein (2-propenal) and acrylic acid. The collaboration,…
Primary amines are made in high yield by a palladium-catalyzed allylic amination reaction developed by Shu Kobayashi, a chemistry professor at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp.). The reaction uses aqueous ammonia as the nitrogen source — the first time…
The Hydraulic Institute (HI; Parsippany, N.J.; www.pumps.org), under the approval of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI; Washington, D.C.; www.ansi.org), is seeking qualified individuals in North America to participate in the review process for the draft of two updated standards:…
In today’s typical process plants, preventing steam loss and improving condensate return are key opportunities to make a process more energy efficient. To be the most effective, steam generally needs to be dry (such as for process usage), or superheated…