Teijin Twaron B.V. (Arnhem, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-556) has introduced a new rubber compound ingredient, tradenamed Sulfron 3000, which leads to a 20% improvement in rolling resistance when used in tires — resulting in a 5% reduction in fuel consumption for vehicles,…
Biotage AB (Uppsala, Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-557) has signed two agreements with Reaxa Ltd. (Manchester, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-558) to develop and market new catalyst packages for development of fine chemicals. The first agreement is to develop an encapsulated palladium catalyst, based on Reaxa’s…
An electronic nose capable of distinguishing between cigarette smoke and smoke from an office or factory fire has been developed by a consortium of nine European companies and research institutions, with funding from the EU’s IST (Information Society Technologies) program.…
Lurgi AG (Frankfurt, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-549) is building the world’s largest biodiesel plant for Neckermann-Renewables GmbH (Würzburg, Germany). When the E64-million facility starts up in December at Piesteritz, Germany, it will produce more than 200,000 m.t./yr of biodiesel from rapeseed. The…
Ultrasound Brewery Co. (Naruto, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-535) has developed a process that separates the water from dilute solutions of alcohol to achieve 99.5%, without using conventional evaporation or distillation. The company has tested the process in a pilot plant that produces…
Du Pont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-550) and the city of Dongying, China, have reached an agreement for constructing a 200,000-m.t./yr plant for producing titanium oxide, a pigment used in coatings, plastics and the paper industry. Pending relevant government approvals, the $1-billion…
Arkema, Inc. (formerly Atofina Chemicals, Inc.; King of Prussia, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-536) has commercialized a patented technology, based on nitroxide compounds, which can be used to control free-radical polymerization reactions. Each alkoxyamine of the BlocBuilder technology contains a functional group for…
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…
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…