Ammonia synthesis Last month, Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) introduced a new ammonia-synthesis catalyst. Tradenamed KM 111, the new catalyst is a magnetite-based catalyst developed for optimal performance in the lower beds of NH3 converters. The KM 111 catalyst…
A new kind of highly flexible and non-flammable inorganic paper that can be used for the permanent and safe storage of information has been developed by a team led by professor Ying-Jie Zhu, from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese…
Construction will soon begin at a site in Korea on an anaerobic digester technology that converts organic waste and biomass to methane at high conversion rates, while also producing a fertilizer stream. Technology developer Bioconversions Solutions LLC (Exton, Pa.; www.bioconversionssolutions.com)…
A newly developed proprietary terpolymer from GE Water and Process Technologies (Trevose, Pa.; www.gewater.com) has been shown to provide improved scale control on heat-transfer surfaces in low- to intermediate- (up to 900 psig) pressure-steam boilers. Deposit formation on heat-transfer and…
Shinji Inagaki and colleagues at Toyota Central R&D Labs, Inc. (Nagakute City, Japan; www.tytlabs.com) have synthesized an entirely new immobilization support that can be used to recycle and reuse metalo-organic-complex catalysts, which are widely used for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals…
Production of monoethylene glycol (MEG) from waste carbon dioxide has been validated in a demonstration-scale reaction cell developed by Liquid Light Corp. (Monmouth Junction, N.J.; www.llchemical.com). The company says the catalytic-electrochemistry-technology platform used to make MEG can also produce a…
After extensive pilot- and field-testing, U.S. Water Services (St. Michael, Minn.; www.uswaterservices.com) plans to roll out new “green” corrosion inhibitor products, which have been tested not only for effectiveness against corrosion in cooling-water applications, but also for the inhibitors’ performance…
Construction is underway in France on a pilot plant for what is believed to be the first fermentation process capable of directly producing the light olefin isobutene. Global Bioenergies (Evry, France; www.global-bioenergies.com) expects to begin operations of a 500-L fermentation…
Renewable 5-HMF Last month, commercial-scale production of high-purity 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) started at the Biochem-1 facility operated by AVA Biochem (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.ava-biochem.com). In the first phase, the facility will produce 20 metric tons (m.t.) per year of 5-HMF —…
A new chemical process is set to create bio-based p-xylene from cellulosic waste. Micromidas (West Sacramento, Calif.; www.micromidas.com) opened a pilot plant in December 2013 that converts cellulosic waste materials, such as rice hulls, switchgrass, sawdust and cardboard to bio-based…