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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…