A new chemical process is set to create bio-based p-xylene from cellulosic waste. Micromidas (West Sacramento, Calif.; www.micromidas.com) opened a pilot plant in December 2013 that converts cellulosic waste materials, such as rice hulls, switchgrass, sawdust and cardboard to bio-based…
A new process-intensification technology to accelerate the rate of enzymatic reactions has been developed by researchers from the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath (U.K.; www.bath.ac.uk). The so-called spinning cloth disc reactor (SCDR) is based on, but extends the…
A novel battery chemistry that uses a water-based electrolyte has allowed developer Aquion Energy Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.aquionenergy.com) to achieve a low-cost and safe battery with long cycle life for stationary energy-storage applications. The Aquion battery technology, now entering its…
Geo-Cleanse International, Inc. (Mata- wan, N.J.; www.geo-cleanse.com) has developed a new method for ridding soil and groundwater of chloromethanes, Freon and other difficult-to-treat contaminants without the need for digging and offsite soil treatment. The Geo-Cleanse process was inspired by research…
Researchers from Curtin University’s Fuels and Energy Technology Institute (Perth, Western Australia; www.curtin.edu.au), led by professors Gordon Parkinson and Chun-Zhu Li, have won the Mitsubishi Corp. Western Australia Innovator of the Year award for creating a new membrane that speeds…
GlyEco Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz.; www.glyeco.com) has developed a process for recovering and purifying ethylene glycol from a number of industrial byproduct and waste streams so that it meets an ASTM International (West Conshohocken, Pa.; www.astm.org; formerly American Society for Testing…
The chemical process industries (CPI) are, by their very nature, global in scope. While chemical process operators share many common aspects (in terms of the use of chemical engineering unit operations), the location of their operation brings about different requirements…
JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan; www.jgc.co.jp) has signed a license agreement for its proprietary hydrogen sulfide and sodium sulfide production-process technology with Zhejiang Engineering Design Co. (ZED) in China, to serve as a proxy for licensing the technology to Chinese clients.…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Kemira Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; www.kemira.com) announced today that Kemira will acquire BASF’s global alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) emulsion business. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2014. “Kemira is a…
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; www.abb.com) officially inaugurated its fifth factory in Brazil in the presence of the Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Mauro Borges, and the Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin. The new plant is part of a…