With plans to double its investment in alternative energy, BP (London; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-551) has formed BP Alternative Energy (Sunbury, U.K.), which will manage an investment program in solar, wind, H2, and IGCC power generation. Click here for a full pdf…
BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-546) has developed a biodegradable plastic that contains 45% polylactic acid, a biodegradable polymer made from corn (CE, November 2003, pp. 42, 43). The remaining component is BASF’s biodegradable plastic, Ecoflex, which is derived from petrochemicals.…
Last month, BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-543) started up its first plant for producing cyclohexane. The $12-million investment, located on the Friesenheimer Island, produces 130,000 m.t./yr cyclohexane from benzene using a new process developed by BASF. Without disclosing details, BASF…
As the chemical process industries (CPI) enter 2006, executives, economists and other observers articulate a host of challenges, along with assorted bright spots and opportunities. All these were brought into sharp focus in New York in December, during the Chemical…
This month, the first field tests will be conducted on a pilot plant, developed by WOW Energy, Inc. (Sugar Land, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-534), to remove mercury, oxides of sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx), particulates, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)…
WOW Energy (see item above) has also developed a patented process that uses commercial, off-the shelf components to reduce the FG temperature to near ambient, while converting the extracted thermal energy into electricity. The cascading closed-loop cycle (CCLC) does this…
Lucite International (Southampton, U.K.; luciteinternational.com), plans to build a 100,000-m.t./yr methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant that will use the company’s patented Alpha MMA technology for the first time. Lucite is currently reviewing site options, with plant startup scheduled for late 2007.…