Since 2002, the need for electronics-grade phosphoric acid as an etching agent for semiconductors in flat screens (liquid-crystal displays) has increased five fold, according to Thierry Vassalo, general manager at Febex S.A. (Box, Switzerland; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6519-545). In order to reduce manufacturing…
Reinforced PVC makes a kink-free hose Kink- and crush-resistant Vardex hose (photo) for both pressure and vacuum applications is now available from this manufacturer. Made of clear PVC with steel wire reinforcement, Vardex is suitable for either fluid…
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6519-549) has launched its next-generation PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin, tradenamed ParaStar, which is made using the company’s proprietary IntegRex technology (CE, October 2004, p. 15). ParaStar is a drop-in replacement for standard PET on bottle-manufacturing…
Surfaces treated with Top on Top — a new surface refinement technology developed by Degussa AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6519-552) — are easy to clean and remain clean for months, according to Degussa. The product consists of two components that when…
When Estee Lauder begin stirring up recipes for facial creams recipes in her kitchen some 70 years ago — the start of a $6.5-billion cosmetics empire that still bears her name — making high-purity emulsions was…
By repetitive dividing and merging of laminar flows within complex patterns of narrow (25–40 µm) channels, static micromixers are very efficient at making homogeneous mixtures. However, the narrow channels are susceptible to clogging, and the cost to precisely manufacture the…
Cellulose accounts for about 40% of the planet’s total photosynthesis yield (about 1.8 trillion m.t./yr), but the material has not been fully utilized as a chemical resource so far. That’s because the methods currently available for converting cellulose into useful…
ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing LLC (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-541) has commercialized its new Olgone technology, a catalyst-based process for removing olefins from aromatic streams. If not removed, such olefinic materials interfere with downstream equipment, adsorbents, sieves and catalysts, says the company.…
Last September, construction commenced on the world's first commercial-scale hydrogen peroxide, propylene oxide (HPPO) plant at the Antwerp, Belgium, site of BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-542). The 300,000 m.t./yr facility is a joint venture of BASF and Dow Chemical Co.…
The fortunes of many an industrial sector have risen and fallen in the face of fluctuating oil and gas prices. Today, the industrial gas industry’s fortunes are being buoyed — in a roundabout way — by the…