Industrial uses of high-intensity ultrasound have grown tremendously over the past 25 years, says Kenneth Suslick, professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and one of the pioneers in the field. Ultrasonic welding of plastics is universal,…
China’s largest private chemical EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractor, Wison Engineering Ltd. (Wison; Shanghai; www.wison.com) has recently introduced details about its proprietary butadiene technology, which is set for commercialization. The process aims to meet the anticipated growth in annual butadiene…
Oji Holdings Corp. (OJI; www.ojiholdings.co.jp) and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC; both Tokyo, Japan; www.m-kagaku.co.jp) have developed a continuous process for producing transparent sheets made from ultra-thin, wood-based cellulose nanofibers (CNF). Both OJI’s papermaking technology and MCC’s chemical treatment technology contributed…
Calculating the volume of a liquid in a vessel of a complex shape is a common task for chemical engineers. However, there are several difficulties associated with accurately carrying out this calculation. In my own experience as a chemical engineer,…
Seiko PMC Corp. (Tokyo; www.seikopmc.co.jp) has installed a pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) at its Ryugasaki Factory, and will begin shipping samples next spring with the aim of commercial activities in 2015. In collaboration with professor…
What is said to be the world’s first commercial alkylation plant to use a solid acid catalyst is scheduled for startup early next year by Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co. (Zibo, China). The plant, which will produce 100,000 ton/yr of…
A demonstration plant in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, will produce hydrochloric acid and iron pellets from the iron-chloride leach liquor generated by the production of synthetic rutile, the common mineral form of titanium dioxide. The plant will utilize a…
Nippon Paper Industries Co. (Nippon Paper; Tokyo; www.nipponpapergroup.com) is constructing a verification plant for the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) at the Chemical Div. of its Iwakuni Mill. Scheduled to start up in October, the facility will have a production…
The Circa Group (Melbourne, Australia; www.circagroup.com.au) and the Green Chemistry Center of Excellence at the University of York (U.K.; www.york.ac.uk) have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize a novel “green” solvent called Cyrene. Cyrene is a polar aprotic solvent…
Although several antimicrobial hydrogels have been developed in recent years, they all have one or more drawbacks, such as possible toxicity, insufficient stability and biodegradability, and high costs. These and other drawbacks have been overcome with a synthetic hydrogel being…