An economical method for producing glucaric acid from glucose was successfully scaled up three-fold to a 6-L reactor by its developer, Rivertop Renewables (Missoula, Mont.; www.rivertop.com). The company is planning to assemble a pilot-scale process capable of producing 3-million lb/yr.…
A device for the mass production of lactic acid oligomers, polylactic acid (PLA) and other polymers has been developed by Japanese researchers from the Renewable Plastics Group of the Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced…
Haldor Topsøe (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) will demonstrate a new technology that converts wood to liquid fuels, as part of a $25-million project funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov). Among the partners in the project are…
Aiding crystal growth Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL; Upton, N.Y.; www.bnl.gov) have patented a method for absorbing hydrogen fluoride gas to enhance crystal growth. HF is commonly added to precursors to transfer crystalline order from a substrate to…
Alcoa of Australia (www.alcoa.com.au) has developed a process to recover sensible and latent heat from the fluegas (FG) produced by Bayer alumina calciners, and use the heat to evaporate Bayer spent liquor. Peter Hay, of Alcoa’s Technology Delivery Group, at…
Koch Membrane Systems Inc. (KMS; Wilmington, Mass.; www.kochmembrane.com) recently unveiled large-diameter reverse osmosis (RO) elements and pressure vessels for seawater desalination that offer cost savings and reduced footprints. The new RO element and pressure vessel combinations have an 18-in. dia.…
An advanced heat recovery system (AHRS) that boosts the fuel-to-steam efficiency of firetube boilers by as much as 15% will be produced by Cannon Boiler Works Inc. (New Kensington, Pa.; www.cannonboilerworks.com) through a license agreement with the Gas Technology Institute…
A multi-stage wet scrubber that combines the removal of sulfur, hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid mist (SAM) and particulate matter (PM) in a single unit has reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by an average of 99.7% in its first large-scale commercial installation…
Changes in the rate of corrosion in water tubes have been detected within minutes by an externally mounted monitor developed by the Center for Nuclear Energy Research (CNER, Fredericton, NB, Canada; www.unb.ca/cner). The data were obtained in online tests over…
A process that produces 75–85 gal of ethanol per dry ton of mixed cellulosic waste feed will be commercialized by BlueFire Ethanol (Irvine, Calif.; www.bluefireethanol.com). The plant, to be built in Lancaster, Calif., will convert 130 dry ton/d of feed…