Alfa Laval AB (Lund, Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-531) has developed a new reactor system, called Alfa Laval Plate Reactors (trademarked as ART), which combines the high-heat-transfer capabilities of plate heat exchangers with the efficient mixing and reaction control typical of microreactors into…
Sodium chloride aerosols are widely used as part of bronchial provocation tests to identify people with asthma, and those who wish to enter military or police service. To maximize their effectiveness, salt aerosol crystals should be as small as possible…
At last month’s Achema conference (Frankfurt; May 15–19), Norbert Ullrich, chief engineer at Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-533) announced a first customer for and presented details about a new hydrogen-peroxide-based propylene oxide (HPPO) process, developed by Degussa AG (Düsseldorf, Germany;…
Professor Yasutaka Ishii, and colleagues from the Dept. of Applied Chemistry, Kansai University (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-535), has developed a three-step production process to make epsilon-caprolactam (CPL) from cyclohexane. Compared to alternative methods, the process has a higher CPL yield, generates…
Qatar Petroleum (Doha; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-542) and Norsk Hydro A/S (Oslo, Norway; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-543) have formed a joint venture company, Qatalum, to build and operate what is claimed as the largest, initial-phase greenfield aluminum smelter ever constructed. The smelter will have an annual…
Early next year, Nippoh Chemicals Co. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-532) plans to build a 1,000-m.t./yr plant for producing the pharmaceutical precursor trimethyl orthoacetate (1,1,1-trimethoxyethane). The facility will utilize a continuous-flow, microreactor-based process that Nippoh Chemicals developed in cooperation with professor Jun-ichi Yoshida…
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-547) has acquired the nanoparticle-dispersion production and related dispersion technologies and assets from its joint venture Nanogate Advanced Materials GmbH (Saarbrücken, Germany). Air Products’ initial offerings include nanoparticle dispersions of zinc oxide, silver, and indium…
The Linz, Austria-based VAI Division of Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (Erlangen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-535) is commercializing a smelt-reduction process for recycling metal oxide wastes. The ZEWA (zero waste) process, developed by a consortium of companies in a research project under…
First commercial results for a new reforming catalyst (R-98) of UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-545) were reported last month. Hunt Refining Co. (Tuscolaloosa, Ala.) has improved reformate yield from hydrotreated coker naphtha by about 2 vol.% since 2005, when…
Although citrus peels are rich in pectin, cellulose and hemicellusic polysaccharides, such waste products are currently marketed as low-value cattle feed, despite its relatively high processing cost, according to the ARS Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory (Winter Haven, Fla.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-544).…