A team of researchers from Novasep (Pompey, France; www.novasep.com) has discovered and characterized the explosive properties of the so-called Togni reagent II and intermediates at the Novasep Leverkusen site in Germany. Invented by professor Antonio Togni at the Laboratory of…
Plant Watch Neste Jacobs to expand enzyme production plant in Finland April 5, 2013 — Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) has signed a contract to expand an enzyme plant operated by Roal Oy (Rajamäki, Finland; www.roal.fi). Enzymes produced at…
Last month, Krohne Messtechnik GmbH (Duisburg, Germany; www.krohne.com) launched SmartSens, the first family of two-wire, loop-powered analytical sensors with integrated transmitter technology. Prior to this, analytical sensors have required an external proprietary transmitter onsite to deliver the sensor signals to…
Naomi Shibasaki-Kitagawa at Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan; www.che.tohoku.ac.jp/~rpel/) has developed a continuous reactor for making biodiesel fuel from low-quality waste, such as cooking oil. Her production process uses an expanded-bed reactor packed with an anion-exchange resin that has both catalytic…
Two new coating products for sand proppants used in hydraulic fracturing operations in the oil and gas industry overcome the challenges of traditional phenolic coatings, which can leach environmentally hazardous chemicals. The coatings, developed by Preferred Sands LLC (Radnor, Pa.;…
Researchers from the group of Atsushi Fukuoka at the Catalysis Research Center of Hokkaido University (Sapporo; www.cat.hokudai.ac.jp), and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, both Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) have developed a new catalyst that efficiently decomposes biomass into sugars. The activated-carbon-based catalyst…
The research groups of Keiichi Fujishige at Tohoku University (Sendai, www.che.tohoku.ac.jp/~erec) and Daicel Corp. (Osaka, both Japan; www.daicel.com) have developed a process for making 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel-fuel production. The researchers improved a catalyst developed by…
Domtar (Montreal, Québec, Canada; www.domtar.com) has successfully started up a commercial-scale LignoBoost lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill. This is the first commercial installation of a LignoBoost plant in the world and the technology is supplied by…
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract by Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co. to provide the license and processing engineering design for a first-of-a-kind solid-acid alkylation unit to be located in China. The unit will be capable…
Illa International LLC (ILLA; Long Grove, Ill.; www.illallc.com) and Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) have agreed to develop a combined offering in phenol and acetone production technologies, engineering and project services. Together, the companies intend to offer petrochemical companies…