In The News
Chementator Briefs
Modified yeast Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org) have developed a genetically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is capable of utilizing both glucose (a six-carbon sugar), and xylose (a five-carbon sugar) when presented with plant…
Pilot trials completed for a new substitute-natural-gas process
Last month, Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) said that the pilot plant of a new process for making substitute natural gas (SNG) has been successfully tested, signifying that the technology is ready for commercial application. The process, called Vesta Once-through…
Dow validates recyclable polyethylene packaging that performs as barrier
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) recently announced that it has completed validation of a new plastic film technology that can be recycled in existing processes for flexible polyethylene (PE) packaging, but that also performs well as an oxygen…
Converting PE waste into liquid fuels and waxes
Each year, a large amount of plastic waste is generated, with 60% of the total plastic content of municipal solid waste composed of high-, low- and linear-low density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP). Existing methods for degrading…
Pigments: Going Beyond Black and White
Advanced materials and sustainability efforts are driving the evolution of modern pigment and coloration technologies The complex chemistries that enable pigments to provide bright colors also open up much potential for advances in production and performance. Although pigments from nature…
Feeding and Conveying: Keeping Solids Moving
Updated feeding and conveying products help improve product flow When it comes to feeding and conveying operations, chemical processors struggle to minimize unplanned downtime and maximize throughput. For this reason, they require reliable equipment that is easy to clean in…
Business News
Plant Watch Dow technology selected for new MEGlobal production facility July 11, 2016 — MEGlobal, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equate Petrochemical Co., has selected process technology from the Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) for its monoethylene glycol (MEG)…
H2S scrubbing process regenerates reagent, produces sulfur
An innovative H2S-scrubbing process employs iron particles to catalyze reactions that convert H2S to elemental sulfur. The new approach improves upon traditional H2S-scrubbing processes that constantly consume reagents (like NaOH and bleach) and generate sulfate-laden wastewater that must be treated.…
Janus cube: A new, economical way to synthesize ‘two-faced’ organosilicons
Professor Masafumi Unno and colleagues at Gunma University (Kiryu City, Japan; element.chem-bio.st.gunma-u.ac.jp) have developed a simple method for the synthesis of “Janus cubes,” which are nano-sized organosilicons with two different substituents (diagram). These nanoparticles — named after the two-faced Roman…
Scaleup for a new P-recovery process
Last month, AVA-CO2 AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.ava-co2.com) started up a pilot plant to further develop its AVA cleanphos process. The process recovers valuable phosphorus from “biocoal,” which is being produced from municipal wastewater sewage sludge through the company’s patented hydrothermal…