Researchers from EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (St. Gallen, Switzerland; www.empa.ch) have developed organic phosphorous-containing compounds, called phosphoramidates, that show promise as non-toxic alternatives to conventional halogenated flame retardants, such as tri(chloropropyl)phosphate (TCPP) or polybrominated…
The petroleum refining sector in India plays a vital role in the country’s industrial development and provides a major source to meet India’s energy requirements. Today, the refining sector satisfies about 30% of the total energy demand of India […
Researchers from the U.S. Dept. of Energys Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org) have reported the first demonstration of a one-pot, wash-free process for the ionic-liquid pretreatment and saccharification of switchgrass — a leading potential biofuel feedstock. By combining…
Modular construction is slowly, but surely becoming a buzzword in the design/build industry because it provides many benefits to project owners. But does that mean it is the right approach for the chemical process industries (CPI), and specifically, for your…
AMT International Inc. (Plano, Texas; www.amtintl.com) and LG Chem, Ltd. (Seoul, Korea; www.lgchem.com) have successfully converted an existing sulfolane liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) unit at LG Chem’s Yeosu plant using a new extractive-distillation (ED) process for aromatics recovery. This technology was…
Plant Watch Chevron Phillips receives key permits for large Gulf Coast project August 14, 2013 — Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (The Woodlands, Tex; www.cpchem.com) has received key permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental…
Cement manufacturing is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions due to two factors: carbon dioxide is released when calcium carbonate calcines to lime (CaO) in the cement manufacturing process; and cement kilns are operated at temperatures of 1,500°C, which…
The selective, one-step biocatalytic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol — at ambient pressure and temperature — has been demonstrated by professors Yoshihito Watanabe and Osamu Shoji at Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan; bioinorg.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp). The achievement was made using a wild-type of…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) will supply the latest flash-smelting technology improvements to the upgrade of Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah copper smelter in the U.S. The contract value is approximately €14 million and will be booked in Outotec's third quarter…
R.C. Costello & Assoc., Inc. (Redondo Beach, Calif.; www.rccostello.com) and Zeton Inc. (Burlington, Ontario, Canada; www.zeton.com) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a customized “end-to-end” solution from feasibility studies, process simulation, front-end engineering through detailed design, procurement,…