Conventional cooling systems rely on the properties of gases to cool, but common coolants are either harmful to people or the environment. A different approach is being investigated by researchers at the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Penn State University (University…
Last month, AE Biofuels (Cupertino, Calif.; www.aebiofuels.com) opened an integrated cellulose-and-starch ethanol demonstration facility in Butte, Mont. If operated at full capacity, the plant could produce 150,000 gal/yr of ethanol. The plant uses ambient-temperature cellulose-starch-hydrolysis (ATCSH) enzyme technology to optimize…
A new metal carbide F-T catalyst has been developed by Oxford Catalysts Limited (Oxford, U.K., www.oxfordcatalysts.com) for making second-generation biofuel in small-scale microchannel reactors. The catalyst was produced using the company’s patented organic matrix combustion method, which makes it possible…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen; www.evonik.com) and SolarWorld AG (Bonn, both Germany; www.solarworld.de) have opened a new solar silicon plant in Rheinfelden (Baden, Germany). As part of the joint venture (JV) Joint Solar Silicon (JSSI), the two companies are using a…
Vogelbusch GmbH (Vienna, Austria; www.vogelbusch.com) has developed a patent-pending distributor system that it claims makes possible the adaption of simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to this, SMB use has been limited to the…
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com), through Lummus Technology, has been awarded contracts with an overall value in excess of $45 million by Essar Gujarat Petrochemicals Ltd. for technology licenses and basic engineering related to a major grassroots petrochemicals complex in…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) announces today that its Thai affiliate Vinythai has increased its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production capacity in its plant in Map Ta Phut (Thailand) by 70,000 metric tons (m.t.) to 280,000 m.t./yr, to accompany the growth…
The Linde Group (Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Sinopec Fujian Petrochemical Company Ltd. (FPCL), a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), for the long-term supply of industrial gases to customers in the…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has signed a contract for the sale of its U.S. and Canadian cyanide activities with Oaktree Capital Management. The cyanide business constitutes a part of the CyPlus Group owned by Evonik. The parties have…
SAFC Pharma, a focus area within SAFC (www.safcpharma.com), a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group (St. Louis, Mo.; www.sigma-aldrich.com), today officially announced details of a $30-million expansion plan to its Madison, Wisc., facility, designed to significantly increase its capacity to produce…