In The News
July Chementator Briefs
Waste-to-biofuels Valero Energy Corp. (San Antonio, Tex.; www.valero.com) is one of five companies that have invested a total of $60 million in new financing in Enerkem Inc. (Montreal, Que.; www.enerkem.com), which has developed a process to produce liquid fuels…
A new urea process slated for its commercial debut
Stamicarbon B.V. (Sittard, the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.com), the licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (www.mairetecnimont.it), has recently signed a license agreement with Tierra del Fuego Energia Y Quimica S.A., an Argentina based company controlled by shareholders from China. The…
Finland becomes the home of a large biogasification plant
Metso (Helsinki, Finland; www.metso.com) is supplying a 140-MWth biogasification plant to Vaskiluodon Voima Oy in Vaasa, Finland. When it starts up in December 2012, the €40-million gasification plant, which will be located next to the existing 565-MW coal-fired power plant,…
A continuous process that promises to slash the cost of making bioethanol
A compact, inexpensive and energy-saving continuous process to make bioethanol is being developed by professor Yoshio Katakura at Kansai University (Osaka; microbial.life-bio.kansai-u.ac.jp), in collaboration with the Kinki Bio-industry Development Organization (Osaka), Kansai Chemical Engineering Co. (Amagasaki), and Akita National College…
Magnetic-shape-memory alloy offers alternative to traditional actuators
A novel nickel-manganese-gallium alloy, introduced by Goodfellow Corp. (Oakdale, Pa.; www.goodfellowusa.com), elongates in a magnetic field, allowing the conversion of magnetic field energy into kinetic energy. The material offers an alternative to conventional actuators, and could find other uses in…
New solutions in hydrometallurgy
As demand for basic metals grows, engineers and scientists are looking for new ways to extract these elements from ores. “The easy stuff has already been found and processed. One of the main challenges of mining and minerals processing companies…
BASF to build world’s largest single-train TDI plant in Europe, and more business news
Put content here. Plant Watch BASF to build world’s largest single-train TDI plant in Europe May 26, 2011 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will build the world’s largest single-train toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant in Europe. The plant will…
A catalyst line with low or zero rare-earth metals
Grace Davison (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com) has commercialized a set of catalysts and additives for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) that contain either zero or low rare-earth metal content. The new product family, known as Replacer, includes new catalysts for processing both…
Eaton to acquire E. Begerow
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation (Cleveland, Ohio; www.eaton.com) today announced it has agreed to acquire E. Begerow GmbH & Co. KG (Langenlonsheim, Germany; www.begerow.com), a leading system provider for advanced liquid-filtration solutions. E. Begerow develops and produces technologically innovative filter…
An innovative way to recover elemental sulfur from SO2 emissions
Sulfur dioxide emissions from metals smelters and other process plants are typically treated by converting the SO2 to sulfuric acid, but this may not be convenient, because of the shipping cost for plants located far from an acid market. WorleyParsons…