In The News
UOP’s MTO technology selected in China to produce chemicals
UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, announced today that China’s Wison (Nanjing) Clean Energy Company Ltd. has selected UOP technology to convert methanol into building blocks for chemical products at an existing coal chemical complex in China.…
Ube licenses lithium-ion battery technology to ATL
Ube Industries, Ltd. (Ube; Tokyo, Japan; www.ube-ind.co.jp) has reached agreement with Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL; Hong Kong; www.atlbattery.com) to license several Ube-owned patents on lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and electrolytes to ATL. The agreement will serve to strengthen the business relationship between…
Waelz slag used in commercial ceramic bricks
Researchers from the University of Cantabria (Santander, Spain; www.unican.es) have developed a process for incorporating Waelz slag into ceramic clay construction bricks, offering an alternative for disposal of the industrial byproduct. The engineers replaced between 20 and 30% of clay…
This one-step route to cellulosic ethanol features a multitasking yeast
The research group of professor Akihiko Kondo at Kobe University (Kobe City, www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~akondo/index_English.htm) has developed a one-step, pretreatment process for making bioethanol from cellulose and lignocellulose. The process uses an ionic liquid — which converts cellulose into a gel —…
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…
Process for renewably sourced polyols licensed
A process for making polyols from soybean oil and glycerin has been licensed by its developer, Battelle (Columbus, Ohio; www.battelle.org), to Emery Oleochemicals Americas (Cincinnati, Ohio; www.emeryoleo.com), who intends to produce the renewably sourced polyols at prices similar to those…
A glass flow reactor is now available in ceramic
Last month, Corning SAS (Avon, France), a subsidiary of Corning Inc. (Corning, N.Y.; www.corning.com), introduced the Advanced-Flow G4 Ceramic Reactor — the latest addition to the company’s line of glass flow reactors. The G4 is made of sintered-ceramic fluidic modules…
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,…