A new emulsification process, known as Smooth, has been developed by Velocys, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; www.velocys.com) — a member of the Oxford Catalyst Group Plc. (Abingdon, U.K.) — and is now ready for testing at the commercial scale. Smooth technology…
Last month, Brain AG (Zwingenberg; www.brain-biotech.de) and Dechema e.V. (Frankfurt am Main, both Germany; www.dechema.de) began a collaboration in the biotechnological production of perillic acid — a patented natural monoterpene owned by Brain, with promising applications as a bioactive compound…
Ube Industries, Ltd. (UBE; www. ube-ind.co.jp) and HighChem Co. (both Tokyo; www.highchem.co.jp) will license their technologies for transforming coal-derived synthesis gas (syngas) into manufacturing ethylene glycol (MEG) — a polyester feedstock — to Qianxixian Qianxi Coal Chemical Investment Co. (Guizhou,…
A new method for removing hydrogen sulfide from natural gas at ambient temperatures could allow significant energy savings compared to the current technique and increase the range of H2S concentrations in natural gas that are economically viable to extract from…
By the end of this year, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) plans to complete development on two processes that utilize excess C2 and C4 fractions for producing propylene and butadiene, and if all goes smoothly, implement them by March…
Recycling copper Steinert Elektromagnetbau GmbH (Cologne, Germany; www.steinert.de) has recently installed its first XSS-F unit — said to be the worlds first inline system designed to extract copper from shredded ferrous scrap. Installed at a German recycling yard, the…
Engineers at Algaeventure Systems (Marysville, Ohio; www.algaevs.com) have developed a system for separating liquids from solids and semisolids at very low energies. Originally targeted at harvesting and dewatering microalgae where the technology could remove a major cost barrier, the separation…
Electricity generation of 240 kW has been demonstrated in a Brayton-cycle system that uses supercritical carbon dioxide as the working fluid. Developed by researchers at Sandia National Laboratory (Albuquerque, N.M.; www.sandia.gov) and built by Barber Nichols Inc. (Arvada, Colo.; www.barber-nichols.com),…
Last month, at the AIChE Spring Meeting in Chicago, Henry Kister, director of Fractionation Technology at Fluor Corp. (Aliso Viejo, Calif.; www.fluor.com) presented a patent pending process (U.S. Patent Application WO/2011/016797) that promises to cut energy demand and capital costs…
M Technique Co. (M Tech; Osaka, Japan; www.m-technique.co.jp) has commercialized the Ulrea SS-300, a scaled up version of the Ulrea SS-11 — a forced thin-film microreactor. With a production capacity nearly ten times higher than its predecessor, the Ulrea SS-300…