BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; Beijing, China; www.sinopec.com.cn) have submitted the technical and commercial feasibility study for the approval of the planned $900-million expansion of their joint chemical Verbund site in Nanjing to…
The International Petroleum Investment Company (Abu Dhabi, U.A.E) and Borealis AG (www.borealisgroup.com) have signed a memorandum of understanding along with Abu Dhabi Investment Council to prepare jointly for the first phase of the development of a planned new Chemicals Industrial…
KBR (Houston, Tex.; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a contract by Ningbo Wanhua Polyurethanes Co. to provide the technology and basic engineering for a 360,000-m.t./yr aniline plant. Once complete, Wanhua's aniline plant will be the largest in China and the largest…
Synfuels International, Inc. (Dallas, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-561) plans to commercialize its patented gas-to-liquids (GTL) process in Kuwait through a newly formed partnership with Kuwait’s Aref Energy Holding (edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-562). In contrast with Fischer-Tropsch technology, the process produces a high-octane gasoline blend, rather…
The standard way to test for toxicity in individuals who have been exposed to heavy metals is to take a blood sample and analyze it in the laboratory by plasma mass spectrometry, an expensive and time-consuming procedure. Now, a portable…
Next month, Taiyo Kagaku Co. (Yokkaichi, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-563) will start up a 20-m.t./yr plant — said to be the world’s first — for the production of mesoporous silica. Taiyo Kagaku developed the new production process based on technology first introduced…
Although nanoporous silica membranes are promising systems for the molecular separation of gases and liquids, they lack microstructural stability in the presence of water at temperatures as low as 60°C. Prolonged exposure to water causes hydrolysis, resulting in the formation…
Alstom Power, Inc. (Windsor, Conn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-571) and The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-572) have established a joint development and commercialization agreement for advanced amine scrubbing technology for the removal of carbon dioxide from low-pressure fluegases of fossil-fuel-fired power plants…
Ateam of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL, Argonne, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-568) has developed a membrane capable of producing olefins from alkanes, and reducing wasted energy and pollutants while improving selectivity and yield. Steam cracking, or…
Rohm and Haas Co. (Philadelphia, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-578)and Novasep (Nancy, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-579) are forming an exclusive alliance to market and sell new technology for purfying crude glycerol byproduct from biodiesel processing. The new technology is based on Rohm and Hass’ Ambersep…