A commercial prototype perovskite solar cell that is less expensive than current thin-film solar cells is under development by a team from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), in collaboration with Dyesol Ltd. (Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia; www.dyesol.com) and professor Michael Grätzel…
Plant Watch Lanxess expands new plant for inorganic pigments in Ningbo September 11, 2014 — Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is adding a mixing and milling plant to the pigment plant already under construction in Ningbo, China. The new pigment…
A philosophical shift in the way universities treat intellectual property (IP) resulting from industry-sponsored research could mean substantial benefits to companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). Specifically, large research universities in the U.S. are adopting, developing or considering policies…
Reed Resources Ltd. (Perth, Western Australia; www.reedresources.com) has advanced its Barrambie Titanium Project — about 600 km northeast of Perth, Western Australia — with the construction (now in its final stages) of a mini-pilot plant in Canada to demonstrate a…
Scientists at Kao Corp. (KAO; Tokyo, Japan; chemical.kao.com) have discovered an enzyme that has the potential for producing large quantities of medium-chain (C12) fatty acids (FAs), which are the main components of natural oils, such as palm-kernel and coconut-palm oils.…
Last month in Ovadan-Depe, Turkmenistan, construction began on a plant that will produce gasoline from natural gas. When the plant starts up approximately four years from now, it will produce 15,500 barrels per day (bbl/d) of synthetic gasoline using the…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) says that its joint venture (JV) with AMEC and Balfour Beatty has been selected by Sellafield Ltd. to deliver its Box Encapsulation Plant (BEP) project in West Cumbria, U.K. Sellafield officials noted that…
After having worked together for years across the globe, GEA Process Engineering (Søborg, Denmark; www.gep.com) announces the acquisition of Scan-Vibro A/S from Svendborg in Denmark. The acquisition is a perfect match and the plan is to further grow and develop…
ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com) is making its Steam Active Reforming (STAR) process available to Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC) for a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Texas. The PDH plant is to be built at the petrochemical complex…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with Norilsk Nickel for the delivery of minerals processing technology and equipment to the Bystrinskoe copper concentrator in the Chita Region in Russia. The parties do not disclose the contract price,…