QuantumSphere, Inc. (Santa Ana, Calif.; www.qsinano.com) has commercialized electrodes coated with the firm’s Nano NiFe catalysts for making hydrogen in water electrolyzers. Available in production quantities, the electrodes effectively increase the surface area used in commercial electrolysis by about 1,000…
Time consuming and prone to error, microscopy — the manual counting of yeast cells with a hemocytometer — has long been the primary method for determining the progress of ethanol fermentation. However, a new joint development agreement between Fluid Imaging…
Flowserve Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.flowserve.com) has introduced the Valtek Valdisk high-cycle seat, claimed to be a "breakthrough" seat design for Valtek butterfly valves. The new seat design is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, and offers an ANSI/FCI 7-0-2 class…
Researchers at the University of Surrey (U.K., www.surrey.ac.uk) have discovered a method to make ultra-small, pure crystals of buckminsterfullerene (C60). Lozenge-shaped crystals can be made with widths of 80 nm — much smaller than the 400 nm minimum size predicted…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is investing in the production of its sustainable complexing agent Trilon M, thereby consolidating its position as one of the world’s leading producers of complexing agents. The construction of a new world-scale plant at Ludwigshafen…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen; www.evonik.com) and SolarWorld AG (Bonn, both Germany; www.solarworld.de) have officially opened their new solar silicon plant in Rheinfelden (Baden, Germany). As part of the joint venture Joint Solar Silicon (JSSI), the two companies are using an…
Süd-Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.sud-chemie.com) is to significantly expand its leading position on the European market for bentonite-based speciality chemicals for the foundry and construction industries, and will establish Süd-Chemie IMIC Italia S.r.l., Silvano Pietra/Italien. Süd-Chemie will take over a…
Arabian Industrial Fibres company, an affiliate of SABIC, has selected LyondellBasell Industries (Rotterdam, Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) Spheripol process technology for a new 525,000 ton/yr polypropylene (PP) plant in Yanbu, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Startup of this largest single Spheripol line ever…
The French chemical group Arkema plans an expansion of its hydrogen peroxide factory in Leuna, Germany. By 2010, the production capacity of the plant will be expanded to 80,000 ton/yr. Arkema Deutschland GmbH has awarded Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz GmbH (CAC; Chemnitz,…
PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (PetroChina Sichuan) has selected Unipol Polypropylene Process Technology from Dow Technology Licensing (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com/licensing) for its new 450,000 ton/yr polypropylene (PP) facility in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and Aker Solutions ASA (Oslo, Norway; www.akersolutions.com) will…