The ethanol yield from biomass has been increased by about 50% over conventional yields in a process developed by ZeaChem Inc. (Lakewood, Colo.; www.zeachem.com). ZeaChem has tested the process (diagram) in a 3,500-gal fermenter and will activate a demonstration plant…
KBR to provide licensing of its Purifer Ammonia technology February 19, 2010 — KBR (Houston; http://www.kbr.com) has been awarded a contract by Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. (MFCL) — a Matix Group Co. owned by the Kanoria family in India…
Coating technology that essentially eliminates carbon buildup on the interior of steam cracker tubes will be commercialized by Quantiam Technologies Inc. (Edmonton, Alta; www.quantiam.com). Commercial-scale tests in five ethylene crackers indicate that the coating can extend the time between furnace…
Last month at the National Ethanol Conference at Orlando, Fla., Novozymes’ A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark; www.novozymes.com) president and CEO, Steen Riisgaard, launched Cellic CTec2, a new enzyme product enabling the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price below $2/gal…
A new Kraft pulp Weyerhaeuser Co. (Federal Way, Wash.; www.weyerhaeuser.com) says it has begun commercial production of a new grade of Kraft pulp for the cellulose derivatives market. Cellulose derivatives are used in various products, including lacquers, paints,…
Not long ago, single-use bioprocessing equipment, such as disposable bags and tubing, appeared on the scene as an alternative to stainless-steel components for high-purity processing applications. Due to a fistful of benefits — including reduced costs, lower cross-contamination risk and…
Steam reforming of methane into hydrogen takes place in catalyst-packed alloy tubes that are heated in a furnace. Up to now, this energy-intensive reaction has used catalyst-impregnated ceramic pellets, which are poured into the tubes. However, these ceramic pellets do…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with Codelco for the design and delivery of a copper-concentrate-roasting plant, gas-cleaning system and sulfuric-acid plant for Codelco’s new Mina Ministro Hales mine near Calama, Northern Chile. The contract price is…
A research team at Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.; www.princeton.edu) led by Michael McAlpine and Yi Qi has devised a process for integrating nanoscale piezoelectric ribbons into flexible rubbers, enabling development of flexible, energy-harvesting materials. Efficient, flexible energy-conversion materials could be…
Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany; www.merck.de) Millipore Corp.; Billerica, Mass.; www.millipore.com) have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck KGaA will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Millipore, for $107 per share in cash, or…