In The News
Cut O2-production costs in half with this PSA technology
A high-temperature pressure-swing-absorption (HT-PSA) process that reduces energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional PSA technology is being developed by Tokyo Gas Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.tokyo-gas.co.jp), with support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).…
Partnership targets bio-based building blocks from CO2
AkzoNobel N.V. (www.akzonobel.com) has partnered with Dutch start-up company Photanol (both Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.photanol.com) to manufacture specialty chemicals using a photosynthesis-like process that combines sugar production with fermentation in a single organism. Photanol has developed genetically engineered cyanobacteria that…
A waterless hydraulic-fracturing technique gets field-tested
A method for using liquid CO2, rather than water, as a hydraulic fracturing fluid has been field-tested in a mid-continent oil well, and has benefited well productivity, according to developer Praxair Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com). Aside from enhanced well performance,…
A new carrier for MBBR technology
Last month, Veolia Water Technologies (Birmingham, England; www.veoliawaterst.co.uk) introduced a new generation of biofilm carriers for moving-bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs). Trade-named AnoxKaldness Z-MBBR, the new carrier is the result of two decades of development work, says the company. Unlike conventional…
Corbion Purac plans to construct a large PLA production plant in Thailand
Corbion Purac (Amsterdam, the Netherlands www.corbion.com) will accelerate its thrust into the biotechnology arena, making the next step in the bioplastics value chain by becoming a PLA producer. With entry into PLA, Corbion Purac intends to bring new biodegradable solutions…
Messer to build third ASU in Vietnam
Messer Group (Bad Soden/Frankfurt, Germany; www.messergroup.com) is building its third gasses production plant in Vietnam. The new contract for oxygen and nitrogen that Hoa Phat Steel, the largest steel producer in Vietnam, signed in October with Messer, will run for…
BASF and Toda Kogyo form JV for cathode-active materials
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Toda Kogyo Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.todakogyo.co.jp), an industry leader in the development and manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) for cathode active materials (CAM) in…
Clariant divests its Energy Storage Business to Johnson Matthey
Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has agreed to divest its Business Line Energy Storage to Johnson Matthey Plc. (London; www.matthey.com). The total consideration of the sale amounts to $75 million at closing which is expected early 2015. The Energy Storage business…
Cristal to acquire TiO2 assets of Jiangxi Tikon
The National Titanium Dioxide Co. (Cristal; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; www.cristal.com) has entered into an agreement to acquire the titanium dioxide assets of Jiangxi Tikon Titanium Co. The Jiangxi Tikon manufacturing facility is located in the city of Fuzhou in Jiangxi…
BASF to increase production capacity for t-butylamine plant in Nanjing
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will expand the production capacity of its existing world-scale production plant for t-butylamine (tBA) at the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in China. The company plans to increase the existing production capacity by 60%, from 10,000…