In The News
Chementator: This CO2 -Recovery Process Set to Enhance EOR
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7368-533) is marketing a new process that captures carbon dioxide from flue gas (FG) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The KM-CDR process uses a proprietary amine-based solvent (KS-1) in a packed column to…
Chementator: Using Living Plants to Synthesize Metallic Nanoparticles
Metallic nanoparticles are usually produced by wet chemical methods, often using toxic and flammable substances, or by physical methods such as evaporation and laser ablation. A group from the Laboratory for Sustainable Technology, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, at…
Chementator: This Solar Reactor Will Recycle Carbon Dioxide
A prototype solar reactor that will break carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen, or split water into hydrogen and oxygen, will be started up this spring by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, N.M.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7368-535). The ultimate goal of…
Chementator: Purification of Single-walled Nanotubes Using Froth Flotation
A method for the purification of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in four sequential steps — oxidative pretreatment, acid treatment, silica dissolution, and froth flotation — has been proposed by a team from the Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok,…
Chementator: Self-powered Sensor
Researchers from the University of Glasgow (U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7368-539) have designed a device that can detect pollutants, then generate its own electricity to power an early warning system. The self-powered sensor consists of a biosensor with genetically engineered microbes. When the…
Chementator: Fine Particles
Last month, the European Parliament (Brussels, Belgium) approved a new air-quality directive, which sets, for the first time, binding standards for fine particles. The directive on air quality is one measure outlined in the 2005 Thematic Strategy on air pollution…
Chementator: Bioethanol
Gulf Ethanol Corp. (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7368-541) recently acquired an exclusive license to the vortex-implosion-disintegrator technology developed by Meridian BioRefining (Dallas, Tex.). This high-velocity, high-pressure process can turn biomass into an easily processable cellulose powder in 5 – 10 s. The…
Honeywell signs main automation contractor agreement with BP
Honeywell (Phoenix, Ariz.; www.honeywell.com/ps) today announced a six-year agreement with BP Exploration to provide Main Automation Contractor (MAC) services at the oil and gas leader’s new and existing facilities. Honeywell will help BP Exploration & Production (E&P) accelerate production schedules…
Fluor wins Marathon Oil’s $1.6-billion U.S. refinery upgrade
Fluor Corp. has been selected to provide integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for expansion and upgrade of Marathon Oil Corp.’s Detroit, Mich., refinery. The $1.6-billion EPC contract includes services, the value of procured materials and the construction contracts under…
World’s largest gas turbine begins trial operation
First firing of the world’s largest and most powerful gas turbine, developed by Siemens (Erlangen, Germany; www.siemens.com), was achieved as scheduled on December 20, 2007. This marks the beginning of a planned 18-month trial operation period at the E.ON Irsching…