In The News
Chementator: This biodiesel reactor is made of duplex
Although many new biodiesel plants are sprouting up around the world, Perstorp Oxo AB’s (Stenungsund Sweden) 160,000 m.t./yr rapeseed-methyl-esters (RME) facility, now under construction at Stenungsund, will be the first to have a reactor made from duplex stainless steel. The…
Chementator: Nanotube membranes
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-551) have constructed a membrane of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a silicone chip, which has the potential to reduce the energy costs of desalination by up to 75%, compared to conventional…
Chementator: New TDI process
Bayer MaterialScience AG (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-546) has developed a new process for producing toluene diisocyanate (TDI), a precursor for making flexible polyurethane foam. Without disclosing details, BMS says the process reduces investment costs by 20–30%, and energy consumption by…
Chementator: Surface treatment
NexGen Technologies, LLC (Farmington Hills, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-552) has commercialized a next-generation of engineered surface treatments that imparts wear-resistance, anti-galling, anti sieze and reduced friction to a wide range of substrates. The treatment process involves a proprietary plasma-delivery system operating at…
Chementator: Disposable bioreactors
ATMI Life Sciences (ATMI; Hoegaarden, Belgium; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-549) and Pierre Guérin SAS (Mauze sur le Mignon, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-550) have formed an alliance to design, manufacture and market disposable fermentors and bioreactors. ATMI’s proprietary mixing system (which features a paddle integrated into…
Chementator: OLED breakthrough
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-553) has demonstrated the ability to print small-molecule OLED (organic light-emitting diode) materials from solution. The printing process is said more scalable to large-display sizes and substantially less expensive than alternative processes, such as vapor deposition. DuPont…
Chementator: Nanodispersions
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…
A new Al plant
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…
Chementator: A new process to recycle metal oxide and mineral residues
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…
Chementator: A commercial breakthrough for microreactors
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…