A research team is using clusters of gold atoms at sub-nanometer sizes to enhance the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water. Sustainable H2 production from a non-fossil-fuel source could have significant environmental and energy-efficiency benefits. The scientists, from Stony Brook…
Plans are underway to field-test a process that removes more than 90 % of the carbon dioxide from power-plant flue gas, while reducing both the energy input and operating costs by 50 % compared to conventional amine-based CO2-scrubbing technology. The…
A small-scale ceramic membrane reactor to convert natural gas to transportable liquids in a single step is being developed by Ceramatec, Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah; www.ceramatec.com) under a $1.7-million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Advanced Research Project…
The research group of Masahiro Murakami at Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.sbchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp/murakami-lab) have synthesized a promising pharmaceutical precursor using only sunlight (as energy source) and CO2 (as co-reagent). The solar-driven process involves two consecutive reactions (diagram): first, light transforms an…
In February 2012, KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) signed an agreement with TAIF-NK (www.en.taif.ru) to establish a Veba Combi Cracker (VCC) technology processing unit to be implemented at the Nizhnekamsk petroleum refinery in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia (www.chemengonline.com/only_on_che/latest_news/9005.html). The unit, whose…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has signed a contract with Atlas Copco to sell its Meyco Equipment business providing concrete spraying machines to the tunneling and mining industries. The machinery manufacturer, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, will continue operations…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) plans to increase its annual production capacities for precipitated silica at its site in Chester, Pa. by around 20,000 metric tons. The new facility, which received an investment in lower double-digit euros range, is…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) was awarded a contract by Aura Minerals Inc. to provide a basic engineering package for the expansion of the process plant at its Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine located in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico.…
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi.co.jp) and Sojitz Corp., jointly with Renaissance Construction (RC), have received an order from JSC Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat (GNS) of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation, for a project to construct a new…
The City of Portland, Oregon and Lucid Energy (Portland, Ore.; www.lucidenergy.com), have reached an agreement and are set to begin construction of the city’s first in-pipe hydropower renewable-energy system. The LucidPipe Power System project, which is slated for completion in…