In The News
B&W signs contract to begin second phase of FutureGen 2.0 carbon-capture project
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 and Markor plan to establish two JVs for BDO and polyTHF in China
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 invests €80 million in S-SBR production in Brazil
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…
Replacing a pressurization blower with a turbocharger reduces energy use
Reductions in power consumption by over 30% have been observed at a full-scale formaldehyde production plant by introducing a new design in which a pressurization blower is replaced by a turbocharger that is powered by the exhaust gas from the…
A cheaper way to destroy organic contaminants?
An ultraviolet oxidation process for the destruction of water-borne organic contaminants that combines UV with chlorine, rather than hydrogen peroxide, is being developed by MIOX Corp. (Albuquerque, N.M.; www.miox.com). The company’s Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) promises to be less expensive…
March Chementator Briefs
Microelectrode Although antimony electrodes have been used for decades to measure pH, they only allow for measuring pH changes at a certain distance from electrodes or corroding surfaces. Now, researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish…
A continuous process to make graphene
An inexpensive and scalable process that uses supercritical (SC) liquids to make large quantities of graphene is being developed by the group of professor Itaru Honma at the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University (Sendai; db.tagen.tohoku.ac.jp), in…
Trends in polymer processing
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…
A bi-metallic nanocluster catalyst for highly selective asymmetric C–C formation
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…
Bechtel acquires Chevron’s water treatment process and more business news
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…