Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-552) plans to build the first commercial-scale plant for the production of granular polysilicon for the solar industry at its Berghausen, Germany, site. The 650-m.t./yr facility is expected to start up by the end of…
Hydrogen is produced directly from biomass and other carbonaceous materials, with simultaneous capture of carbon dioxide, in a process being developed by Energy Quest, Inc. (Edmonton, Alta., Canada; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-533). In the PyStR (pyrolytic steam reforming) process, crushed or shredded feedstock…
Plant Watch BP, ABF and DuPont unveil $400-million investment in U.K. biofuels June 26, 2007 — BP, Associated British Foods (ABF) and DuPont announced investment plans of about $400 million, for the construction of a bioethanol plant alongside a demonstration…
Global Resource Corp. (GRC; West Berlin, N.J.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-534) is commercializing a technology that converts auto shredder residue (ASR) into combustible gases, liquid fuels and scrap metal using microwaves. The use of microwaves to achieve this goal has been attempted in…
Basell (Hoofddorp, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-541), a global leader in polyolefins’ technology, production and marketing, and Huntsman Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-542), one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of differentiated chemicals and pigments, announced last month that they have…
At the end of May, Teijin Twaron B.V. (Arnhem, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-543) opened a new pilot-production plant for producing a new generation of Twaron para-aramides pulp using a new jet-spinning process. The company did not disclose process details except to say…
Today, nearly all car tires in Europe are equipped with treads consisting of silica-silane technology. Such so-called green tires are made with the help of bifunctional organic silicon compounds (organosilanes) to chemically couple rubber and silica. Up to now, however,…
Last month, Rautaruukki Raahe Mills (Finland) started constructing a new pilot-scale acid-regeneration plant, which will regenerate hydrochloric acid used in pickeling hot-rolled steel at the mill. The plant marks the first commercial application of a recycling process developed by Kemira…
Last Month, Bayer Innovation GmbH (Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6896-551) started a pilot plant for producing a bioresorbable wound dressing in sufficient quantities to enable clinical trials to be carried out. Once the clinical phase of development is sucessfully completed, regulatory approval…
The Shenhau Group (China) and the Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6896-552) signed a cooperative agreement last month and plan to study the feasibility for building a world-scale coal-to-chemicals complex in Shaanxi Provence, China. The study is expected to take…