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Chemical Engineering

DuPont to acquire Spectrum Plastics Group

DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Spectrum Plastics Group from AEA Investors. The purchase price will be paid from existing cash balances. The transaction is expected to close by the end of…

Petrofac secures EPC contract for refinery upgrade in Lithuania

Petrofac Ltd. (St. Helier, U.K.) has secured an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) lump sum contract from ORLEN Lietuva, as it continues to support a comprehensive modernisation, environmental upgrade, and expansion Programme at the Mažeikiai Refinery in North-West Lithuania. The…

Grace starts up three PP reactor lines in China, signs new license with PetroChina

W.R. Grace & Co (Grace; Columbia, Md.) announced the successful start-up of several polypropylene (PP) reactor lines in China. Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Dongguan Grand Resource) started up its second plant (consisting of two reactor lines)…

LyondellBasell takes full ownership of QCP joint venture with acquisition of Veolia’s stake

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) and Veolia Belgium have signed an agreement to restructure the ownership of Quality Circular Polymers (QCP) BV recycling facilities, with locations in Belgium and the Netherlands. Veolia will sell its 50% share to LyondellBasell…

Suncor to acquire TotalEnergies EP Canada for around $4 billion

Suncor Energy Inc. (Calgary, Alta. Canada) has agreed to acquire the entirety of the shares of TotalEnergies EP Canada Ltd for a consideration including a C$5.5 billion cash payment at closing (about US$4.1 billion) and additional payments that could reach…

AnoxKaldnes to deliver world’s largest MBBR wastewater-treatment system in Sweden

AnoxKaldnes, a subsidiary of Veolia focused on moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) based solutions, will supply its space-saving and capacity-increasing solution to support the upgrade of Käppalaverket (Käppala wastewater treatment plant) in Lidingö in Sweden, owned by Käppalaförbundet (Käppala Association). The…

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Bio-inspired synthesis leads to new hydrogen-reaction mechanism

In synthesizing a new molecule that mimics the nickel-iron (NiFe) hydrogenase enzyme, a team of researchers from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (www.illinois.edu) may have uncovered a promising alternative to the platinum-based catalysts typically used in the electrolysis of water to…

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Optimizing CIP for membrane filtration plants

Membrane filtration plants are often used in the food and dairy industry to separate or concentrate substances without thermal stress. Until now, cleaning-in-place (CIP) operations for this equipment was energy- and water-intensive, requiring three or four individual cleaning steps with…

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New compressor design for H2 is leak-proof and improves efficiency

A newly developed hydrogen compressor has a linear motor design and is hermetically sealed to increase the efficiency of H2 compression while avoiding potential problems associated with H2, such as leaks and embrittlement. The linear motor-driven reciprocating compressor (LMRC), developed…

Combining photo- and mechanochemistry for ‘greener’ synthesis

Solvents are commonly used for performing photochemical reactions. Many of these solvents are toxic, and require additional downstream processing to purify the product and treat waste. Now, by combining light with mechanical energy in ball mills, researchers at Ruhr University…