In The News
The mass production of organic-modified metal oxide nanoparticles
A system that continuously produces 10 ton/yr of nanoparticles has been developed by Tadafumi Adschiri, principal investigator at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR) and professor at the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials and New Industry Hatchery…
Cobalt and Rhodia to build biobutanol demonstration plant in Brazil
Cobalt Technologies (Cobalt; Mountain View, Calif.; www.cobalttech.com) and Rhodia, a member of the Solvay Group (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com), today announced they will begin joint development and operation of a biobutanol demonstration facility in Brazil. This is one more step by…
A more-efficient Fischer-Tropsch reactor
The production rate (per amount of catalyst) for generating liquid hydrocarbons from syngas by the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, using a slurry reactor or tubular reactor, is generally limited to about 30% of the maximum rate. The restraining factor is heat…
Microchannel F-T selected for California WTF commercial demonstration plant
Microchannel Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reactor technology developed by Velocys, Inc. (Plain City, Ohio; www.velocys.com),, the U.S.-based subsidiary of the Oxford Catalysts Group (Abingdon, U.K.; www.oxfordcatalysts.com), has been selected for use in a waste-to-liquids (WTL) commercial demonstration plant to be constructed in…
Shaw to be acquired by CB&I
The Shaw Group Inc. (Baton Rouge, La.; www.shawgrp.com) has signed a definitive merger agreement with CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) under which CB&I will acquire Shaw in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $3 billion. Under the terms…
BASF and Sinopec to explore building a world-scale isononanol plant in Maoming
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; www.sinopec.com) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthen their cooperation by jointly exploring the possibility of building a world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming Hi-tech…
First day of the fair – first success
The Achema fair crew of Sommer Maschinen- & Anlagenbau (Düsseldorf, Germany), which now belongs to the HAVER Group (Oelde, Germany; www.haverboecker.com), says it received its first order on the first day of the Achema fair last month. Together with Fuchs…
Metabolix signs LOI with Antibioticos for production of Mirel Biopolymer Resin
Metabolix, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.; www.metabolix.com) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Antibioticos S.A. (www.antibioticos-sa.com) for production of Mirel biopolymer resin at its manufacturing facility in Leon, Spain. Under the terms of the LOI, Metabolix will begin work immediately…
Air Products expands LNG heat-exchanger manufacturing in Florida
In order to stay ahead of the increasing demand for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and equipment, Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) plans to expand its LNG heat exchanger manufacturing capacity by constructing a second manufacturing facility at…
SNC-Lavalin and JV partners acquire engineering division in Saudi Arabia
SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada; www.snclavalin.com) is pleased to announce that SNC-Lavalin Fayez Engineering (SLFE), an engineering consultancy joint venture (JV) between SNC-Lavalin and its local partners, recently acquired the industrial division of Zuhair Fayez Partnership, a well-respected Saudi Arabian…