March Chementator briefs
A new Kraft pulp Weyerhaeuser Co. (Federal Way, Wash.; www.weyerhaeuser.com) says it has…
In The News
Chementator
Slash energy consumption with this steam reformer reactor
Steam reforming of methane into hydrogen takes place in catalyst-packed alloy tubes that are heated…
A new approach to flexible energy converting material
A research team at Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.; www.princeton.edu) led by Michael McAlpine and Yi…
A next-generation ironmaking process makes its commercial debut
In January, the world’s first commercial plant to use the ITmk3 process began production of…
Nanofiber cartridge filters achieve 0.03-micron rating at high flow and low pressure
A 1.5-mm-thick layer of a new filter material based on nanoscale alumina has shown the…
Combined membrane separation and electrokinetics speeds soil remediation
Toxic heavy metals can be drawn out of soils far more quickly than the traditional…
Ethanol and other chemicals from biomass
The ethanol yield from biomass has been increased by about 50% over conventional yields in…
Furnace tube coatings reduce carbon formation and increase efficiency in olefins plants
Coating technology that essentially eliminates carbon buildup on the interior of steam cracker tubes will…
The cost of producing bioethanol takes a nosedive
Last month at the National Ethanol Conference at Orlando, Fla., Novozymes’ A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark; www.novozymes.com)…
Business News
Lonza: new manufacturing facility for L-Carnitine products
Lonza (Basel, Switzerland; www.lonza.com) announced today its expansion of capacities for Carnipure and Carniking, L-Carnitine products…
Beckhoff acquires Hayes Control Systems
Beckhoff Automation GmbH (Verl, Germany; www.beckhoff.com) has been present in Great Britain since 1994 – represented…
BPCL selects Axens’ Octanizing technology
Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL; www.bharatpetroleum.com) has selected Axens (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net) to provide the technology…
ABB wins $20-million metals order in China
ABB (www.abb.com) has won a $20 million order from Shandong Nanshan Aluminum to deliver electrical…
LyondellBasell to license olefins recover-and-conversion technologies
LyondellBasell Industries (Frankfurt, Germany; www.lyondellbasell.com) has expanded its licensing portfolio of olefin recovery and conversion technologies…
Uhde and Praxair sign global H2 alliance agreement
In December 2009, Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.eu) and its daughter firm Uhde Corporation of…
Outotec to deliver a copper smelter in China
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has been awarded a contract by Tongling Non-Ferrous Metals Group for…
FWC: EPCm contract for Sasol’s Wax Expansion Project
Foster Wheeler AG (FWC; Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) announced today that its Global Engineering and Construction…
Air Liquide to build ASU in China for steel producer
Air Liquide (Paris; www.airliquide.com) has signed another major long-term contract in the steel industry in…
Caloric to build 3rd H2-generation plant for Malaysia
Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH (Gräfelfing, Germany; www.caloric.com) has won the contract for a hydrogen expansion project…
Fluor & B&W to market carbon-capture technology
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) and Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc., an operating…
DOE: $40 million to develop next-generation nuclear plant
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced selections for the award of approximately $40…
BMS acquires Artificial Muscle
Bayer MaterialScience LLC (BMS; www.bayermaterialscience.com), a subsidiary of Bayer AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayer.com) and part…
Lanxess to expand capacity of high-performance rubber
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) has decided to expand the global capacity of its high-performance rubber…
Outotec to supply sinter plant to South Africa
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with South African Kalagadi Manganese Pty. Ltd. on the…
Foster Wheeler lands CFB boiler contract for CO2-capture-development plant in Spain
Foster Wheeler AG (FW; Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) says a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has…
Wacker: new production facility for pharma proteins
Wacker Chemie AG Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) officially opened a new production facility for pharmaceutical proteins…
Uhde’s Prenflo process to be part of joint R&D project BioTfueL in France
BioTfueL is a new joint project launched by five French partners and Uhde GmbH (Dortmund,…
Toyo, Modec and Petrobras cooperate to verify small- and medium-scale GTL plant
Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; www.toyo-eng.co.jp) and Modec, Inc. (both Tokyo, Japan; www.modec.com), which have been…
After 13 years, starchy potatoes approved
Today the European Commission approved Amflora, BASF’s genetically-optimized starch potato, for commercial application in Europe.…
Disposable equipment
Not long ago, single-use bioprocessing equipment, such as disposable bags and tubing, appeared on the…
Outotec to deliver copper plant for Codelco in Chile
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with Codelco for the design and…
Merck KGaA to acquire Millipore
Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany; www.merck.de) Millipore Corp.; Billerica, Mass.; www.millipore.com) have announced that they have entered…
Evonik acquires catalyst business from H.C. Starck
On February 26, 2010 Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) acquired the catalyst business of…
Evonik developing the world’s largest Li-ceramic battery
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) and its partners are developing the world's largest lithium ceramic…
Abbott completes acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals and more business news
KBR to provide licensing of its Purifer Ammonia technology February 19, 2010 — KBR (Houston;…
Technical & Practical
Agglomeration Technology: Mechanisms
Powder agglomeration is used in a wide variety of the chemical process industries (CPI), and…
Purifying Coke-Cooling Wastewater
The delayed coking process is a fundamental part of the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries,…
Solubility of Water in Benzene Derivatives
The solubility of water in the hydrocarbons that comprise crude oil is an increasingly important…
Saving Energy In Regenerative Oxidizers
Oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) is the most common…
Would You Use a Safety PLC for Process Control?
With today’s state-of-the-art digital technology, the sky seems to be the limit for doing everything…
Facts at Your Fingertips
Steam Tracer Lines and Traps
Steam tracer lines are designed to maintain the fluid in a primary pipe at a…