In The News
A process for recovering rare-earth metals from magnet scrap
Researchers at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Ames Laboratory (Ames, Iowa; www.ameslab.gov) led by Ryan Ott have developed a process for recovering rare-earth (RE) metals from magnet scraps. The process involves first crushing neodymium-iron-boron magnet scraps and placing the…
Spun carbon-nanotube fibers with unmatched properties of any other material
For the first time, it has become possible to spin carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into a fiber that looks and acts like textile threads, yet has the electrical conductivity and strength of a metal. The breakthrough, which came after more than…
Motors: Taming the CPI’s Energy Beast
Whether for pumping, mixing, compression or ventilation, motors are used everywhere in the chemical process industries (CPI). Unfortunately, they are notoriously energy intensive, accounting for about 65% of the electrical consumption of a chemical production site. However, with the world,…
Outotec to provide a renewable energy solution for a bio-ethanol facility in Iowa
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with a major cellulosic ethanol producer on the design and delivery of a renewable energy solution for a bio-ethanol facility in Iowa. The order has been included in Outotec's Q4 2012 order intake…
Shell and Kinder Morgan plan to export LNG from the U.S.
Shell US Gas & Power LLC (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and Southern Liquefaction Company, LLC, a Kinder Morgan company and unit of El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P., announced their intent to form a limited liability company…
UOP technology selected for petrochemical production in China
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, announced today that its UOP Oleflex process technology has been selected by China’s Longgang Chemical Co. (Qingdao Province, China) to produce key ingredients for fuels and synthetic rubber. The C4 Oleflex…
Fluor to provide engineering services for PDH project in Canada
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) was awarded a contract by Williams to provide preliminary engineering services for a proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) project near Redwater, Alberta, Canada. Fluor booked the contract in the fourth quarter of 2012 for an undisclosed…
Uhde wins another fertilizer contract in Turkey
Bandirma Gübre Fabrikaları A.Åž. (BAGFAS; Bandirma, Turkey) has awarded ThyssenKrupp Uhde (Uhde; Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-uhde.de) a contract to supply a plant for the production of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) fertilizer in 2012. The new plant will be integrated into the existing…
Jacobs receives contract for boron expansion project
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) says it was awarded a contract from Rio Tinto Minerals (RTM) to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for its plant expansion project in Boron, Calif. Officials are currently estimating the…
Technip awarded contracts for ethylene plant expansion in Kentucky
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) was awarded engineering and procurement contracts by Westlake Chemical Corp. for the expansion and modernization of the ethylene cracking furnaces and the recovery section of Westlake’s ethylene plant in Calvert City, Kentucky. The ethylene production capacity…