Making a ring of eight benzenes
Professor Shigeru Yamago and colleagues at the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University (Japan; www.scl.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~yasuyuki/)…
In The News
Chementator
Microbubble generator enhances performance of airlift bioreactor
A patented (WO 2008/053174), fluidic-oscillator-driven device that generates microbubbles has been shown by researchers from…
Vitrification makes a product from rice husk waste
In Malaysia, about 2-million metric tons (m.t.) of rice husk are produced each year, and…
Seal selection for handling and storage of biofuels
Results of 12-mo immersion tests in biodiesel and bioethanol of a range of elastomer polymers…
Hydrogen from a can
A newly marketed portable reactor system for generating hydrogen is capable of generating 1,000 L…
Oxygen separation membranes made in China
Researchers from the Center for Membrane Technology, Beijing University of Technology (China; www.bjut.edu.cn) have developed…
February Chementator briefs
Water reclamation Last month, a new water-reclamation process for the oil-and-gas industry was launched…
Tryout set for biomass- to-gasoline process
A demonstration plant that will produce transportation fuels from cellulosic biomass will be built at…
Lignite-fired power plant uses activated carbon to capture mercury
What is said to be the first grassroots lignite-fueled power plant to use powdered activated…
Scaleup slated for a ‘greener’ cement
This summer, Celitement GmbH (Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany; www.celitement.de) will begin construction on a pilot plant to…
Printed electronics made possible by this carbon-nanotube-production process
A recently commercialized method for growing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNs) in large quantities enables their…
Business News
Study highlights sustainable footprint of chemical companies
Global chemical companies could release at least €1 billion in cash flow if they increase…
Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik BTS to exclusively manufacture and market Lonza microreactors
Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik BTS (EMB; Wendelsheim; www.ehrfeld.com), a Bayer Technology Services company (BTS; Leverkusen, both Germany;…
KBR to provide licensing of its Purifer Ammonia technology
KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a contract by Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (MFCL) —…
Kobe Steel opens large compressor-test facility
Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.kobelco.com) announces that its new large-capacity compressor test facility has…
BASF & Niro: cGMP spray drying for custom synthesis
BASF’s Business Unit Pharma Ingredients & Services (Evionnaz, Switzerland; www.pharma-ingredients.basf.com ) has entered into a cooperation…
Solvay launches three RD&T centers in Asia
The Solvay Group (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) announces today it is progressively creating a cluster of…
Air Liquide: two contracts for China steel
Air Liquide (Paris; www.airliquide.com) has signed long-term contracts with two steel producers in China, and will…
Solvay to build 1-MW fuel cell at Antwerp site
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) says it will invest over €5 million in the construction of…
M+W acquires Global Automation Partners
The global engineering and construction company M+W Group (formerly M+W Zander; Stuttgart, Germany; www.mwgroup.net) strengthens…
GTL: Smaller hardware brings big benefits
The gas-to-liquids (GTL) process offers a promising option for producing valuable liquid fuels from gas…
DuPont Opens PV-application facility in Geneva
To address the needs for the fast-growing photovoltaic (PV) market, DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) opened…
Pöyry awarded board-mill engineering for SAICA
Pöyry Plc. (Helsinki; www.poyry.com) has been awarded an engineering contract by SAICA Containerboard UK Ltd.…
Brain and Bayer Schering Pharma cooperation
Brain AG (Zwingenberg; www.brain-biotech.de) Bayer Schering Pharma AG (Bergkamen, both Germany; www.bayerscheringpharma.de) are cooperating in…
Lanxess builds a new membrane-filtration-technology plant in Germany; and more plant and business news...
Plant Watch Outotec to deliver precious-metals plant in China January 25, 2010 — Outotec Oy…
BMS opens world’s largest CNT pilot facility
Bayer MaterialScience (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayermaterialscience.com) has opened a new pilot facility for the manufacture…
Technical & Practical
Variable Frequency Drives: An Algorithm for Selecting VFDs for Centrifugal Pumps
This article describes an algorithm that end users can use to develop a program on…
Kettle Troubleshooting
A survey of tower failures [ 1 ] ranks kettle reboilers as the most troublesome…
Doing an Energy Audit
Today’s high costs of energy make an energy audit evaluation of process facilities a must.…
The ‘BIST’ In Electronic Valve Actuators
For valves operating in hazardous environments, certification testing is critical to ensure the reliability and…
Facts at Your Fingertips
Positive Displacement Pumps
Pumps are essential equipment in the chemical process industries (CPI). Given the imperatives to reduce…