Retarded polymerization A latent-acid catalyst that can be added to highly reactive pre-polymer resins enabling them to be stored for at least three months prior to controlled polymerization at 120°C has been commercialized by Bac2 (Southampton, U.K.; http://www.bac2.co.uk). Alternative catalysts…
Veolia Water is awarded new contract for water treatment and reuse in Brazil September 15, 2009 — Under a 50/50 joint venture with Enfil, a Brazilian, water-treatment engineering company, t he Brazilian oil company Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro; http://www.petrobras.com) has…
Lurgi GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany; www.lurgi.com) has delivered, in less that 29 months, a new hydrogen unit to Grupa Lotos S.A.’s (www.lotos.pl) petroleum refinery in Gdansk, Poland. The plant designed and built on an EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) basis, went on stream…
Two sulfur-treatment technologies are being used together for the first time in a facility that is now starting up at Reliance Petroleum’s Jamnagar Export Refinery (Jamnagar, India). Designed by Black & Veatch (B&V, Overland Park, Kan.; www.bv.com), the facility combines…
Süd-Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.sud-chemie.com) is substantially expanding its position in the Brazilian growth market for bentonite-based additives used in the foundry, construction, and paper industries in a joint venture (JV) with the internationally leading and largest Brazilian group in…
A biological wastewater-treatment technology can reduce sludge by 50% or more in some situations compared to the amount generated by a traditional activated-sludge wastewater-treatment process, according to The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; http://www.dow.com). Actual sludge reductions vary based on…
Researchers from the University of Sydney (Australia; http://www.usyd.edu.au) are developing structures, analogous to some sea creatures, for capturing carbon dioxide that is released when producing hydrogen from biomass. The project, funded by German energy company E.ON AG (Düsseldorf), will use…
Both carbon dioxide and sulfur components are removed from fluegas in a reversible process being developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, Richland, Wash.; http://www.pnl.gov). The process uses a solvent that combines liquid organic bases (amidine and guanidine) and alcohols…
An in-situ method that removes mercury from soil, sludge and other industrial waste has been patented (U.S. Patent 7 589 248) by scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL; Upton, N.Y.; http://www.bnl.gov). The method shows promise as a simple and inexpensive…
Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) exits from the solar wafer business and will transfer its shares in its joint venture Wacker Schott Solar GmbH (WSS) to its former partner Schott Solar AG. Wacker and Schott Solar have reached agreement…