The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W; Charlotte, N.C.; www.babcock.com) announced today that its subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W PGG), has reached an agreement with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance to begin initial engineering and preparation for full…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Xinjiang Markor Chemical Industry Co. (Markor; ) plan to establish two joint ventures (JVs) for the production of butanediol (BDO) and polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF; chemical name: polytetramethylene ether glycol) in Korla, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region,…
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is strengthening its standing as the world’s leading producer of high-performance rubber. Following a feasibility study, the company has decided to convert production of emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (E-SBR) used in standard tires, to solution…
Shu Kobayashi and his research group at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/synorg/index_e.html) have developed a ruthenium-silver nanocluster catalyst for the highly selective 1,4-addition reaction for the formation of asymmetric carbon-carbon bonds. Previously, the group had used its polymeric incarceration…
Because many of their products go directly to the ultimate end user, polymer and plastic processors are being asked to make their final products safer. Both consumers and governments alike are demanding that plastics, especially those that are destined for…
Microwave irradiation of graphite has been shown to produce graphene oxide with 90% yield by the research group of professor Yuta Nishina, Research Core for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Okayama University (Okayama, www.tt.vbl.okayama-u.ac.jp/archives/809). The yield is not only nearly twice that obtained…
Conventional methanation — the reaction of CO and H2 (synthesis gas) to form methane — has recently become important as a way to produce substitute natural gas (SNG) from gasified coal in regions of the world where natural gas is…
A team from Monash University (Melbourne, Australia; www.monash.edu.au) has prepared graphene monoliths with a cork-like hierarchical structure, exhibiting ultra-low density, superelasticity, good electrical conductivity and high efficiency of energy absorption. The ability to maintain structural integrity upon large deformation is…
Plant Watch KBR to provide technology package for ammonia/urea plant in Indonesia February 7, 2013 — KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) has announced that it was selected by PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang, to provide licensing, engineering services and proprietary equipment for a…
Existing metallurgical processes for titanium production from ilmenite — by far the most sought-after titanium ore — are plagued by disadvantages, mainly the generation of large amounts of waste, and improvements are needed to treat ilmenite for the production of…