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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
On February 26, 2010 Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) acquired the catalyst business of H.C. Starck GmbH (Goslar, Germany). The know-how and technology relating to the production and use of Amperkat catalysts have therefore been transferred to Evonik. Following…