In The News
Clariant achieves a further milestone in the manufacture of second-generation bioethanol
Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) is demonstrating the international potential of its process for manufacturing sustainable biofuel through the expansion of Sunliquid technology to further agricultural residues. Following the opening of Germany’s largest demonstration plant for manufacturing ethanol from agricultural residues…
Air Products acquires EPCO
Expanding its portfolio of industrial gases offerings in North America, Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) has has acquired EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, Inc. (EPCO; Monroe, La.), a privately-held producer and marketer of liquid carbon dioxide. The acquisition also includes…
A production plant for CNFs
Nippon Paper Industries Co. (Nippon Paper; Tokyo; www.nipponpapergroup.com) is constructing a verification plant for the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) at the Chemical Div. of its Iwakuni Mill. Scheduled to start up in October, the facility will have a production…
A safer, cleaner way to obtain tantalum and niobium
Tantalum and niobium, which are often found in complex ores, are essentially chemically inert metals whose recovery involves some harsh measures: typically dissolution of the metals concentrate in a mixture of concentrated hydrofluoric and sulfuric acids, followed by solvent extraction…
An improved H2SO4 alkylation process gains acceptance
An improved H2SO4 process developed by CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has now been licensed to three companies, all in China. The first licensee was Ningbo Haiyue New Material Co. Ltd., which is building a 600,000-m.t./yr plant near Ningbo City,…
A new butadiene process is set for commercialization
China’s largest private chemical EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractor, Wison Engineering Ltd. (Wison; Shanghai; www.wison.com) has recently introduced details about its proprietary butadiene technology, which is set for commercialization. The process aims to meet the anticipated growth in annual butadiene…
Continuous production of transparent sheets of cellulose nanofibers
Oji Holdings Corp. (OJI; www.ojiholdings.co.jp) and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC; both Tokyo, Japan; www.m-kagaku.co.jp) have developed a continuous process for producing transparent sheets made from ultra-thin, wood-based cellulose nanofibers (CNF). Both OJI’s papermaking technology and MCC’s chemical treatment technology contributed…
A pilot plant for making CNFs
Seiko PMC Corp. (Tokyo; www.seikopmc.co.jp) has installed a pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) at its Ryugasaki Factory, and will begin shipping samples next spring with the aim of commercial activities in 2015. In collaboration with professor…
Sonochemistry makes its mark
Industrial uses of high-intensity ultrasound have grown tremendously over the past 25 years, says Kenneth Suslick, professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and one of the pioneers in the field. Ultrasonic welding of plastics is universal,…
June Chementator Briefs
Ceramic paper A paper-like material made from vanadium-pentoxide ceramic that is as hard as copper and can be folded or rolled up has been produced by scientists at Stuttgart University (www.uni-stuttgart.de), the Max-Planck Institute (MPI) for Intelligent Systems (www.is.mpg.de)…