Because parts made from boron carbide have a higher rigidity and lower weight compared with those made from silicon carbide and alumina, boron carbide parts are important components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and other components requiring high-temperature and abrasion resistance,…
Photovoltaics manufacturer Konarka Technologies, Inc. (Lowell, Mass; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-546) has successfully performed the first use of drop-on-demand inkjet printheads for the fabrication of organic solar cells. Using a Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP) provided by Fujifilm Dimatix (edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-547), Konarka’s process suggests an…
Last month, Henkel KgaA (Düsseldorf, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-552) introduced a new conversion coating process called TecTalis, which replaces zinc phosphate, thereby offering "significantly" reduced cost and environmental footprint, says the firm. The new technology is easily applicable in existing lines. The…
IQTex (Hamburg; Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-553) has developed a ventilation element — integrated into the soles of shoes — that functions like a flower, which closes up in the rain and reopens when dry. As a result, stepping in a puddle causes…
BASF S.E. (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has started operating a new plant for the production of nitric acid at its Antwerp Verbund site. Nitric acid is one of the most important inorganic intermediates, and the plant's output will be used mainly…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) announces today that its subsidiary Solvay Chemicals, Inc. is expanding its portfolio with a new product named SOLVAir Select 300, which is designed for air-pollution control applications, in particular, the treatment of sulfur dioxide (SO2)…
BASF Coatings (Münster, Germany; www.basf-coatings.com) has started up its new production site for paints in Russia. The new facility at Pavlovski Posad, 60 km east of Moscow, has a production capacity of 6,000 m.t./yr of paints (basecoats and clearcoats). The…
Hägglunds Drives AB (Mellansel, Sweden; www.hagglunds.com) has signed an agreement to acquire the operations of the U.S. company Rineer Hydraulics Inc. for approx. $23 million. The acquisition will strengthen Hägglunds Drives’ product offering and position on the North American market.…
Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Hamilton, Bermuda; www.fwc.com) announced today that its Finnish subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energia Oy, part of its Global Power Group, has been awarded a contract by NSE Biofuels Oy Ltd. for a circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) biomass gasifier to…
Technip (Paris, Framce; www.technip.com) has been awarded by Rominserv and Rompetrol Rafinare (both members of The Rompetrol Group), a lumpsum contract, worth approximately 40 million euros, for a hydrogen plant to be constructed at the Petromidia Refinery in Constana, Romania.…