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…
With funding from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.), Ramgen Power Systems (Bellevue, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-536) is developing a compact supersonic compressor that combines aspects of the shock-compression systems used in supersonic flight inlets with proven turbomachinery design practices…
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-537) have developed a ceramic-based coating for steel and superalloys that prevents corrosion, oxidation, carburization and sulfidization, which commonly occur in gas, liquid, steam and other environments. The low-cost, easy-to-apply material…
Warwick Effect Polymers (WEP; Coventry, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-540) has licensed patented technology from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburg, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-541) to exploit the commercial potential of atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). ATRP is a controlled “living” polymerization involving radicals that can grow, but…
An industrial group, composed of Honeywell, Adaptive Instruments, Endress + Hauser, Flowserve, Omnex Control Systems, 3e Technologies International, and Yokogawa, have joined the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA; Research Triangle Park, N.C.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-542) SP100 working group (chartered last year)…
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…
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…
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).…