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Russian petrochemical companies SIBUR and TAIF merge

SIBUR International GmbH (Moscow, Russia; www.sibur-int.com) and TAIF Group (Kazan, Tartarstan, Russia; www.taif.ru) have entered into an agreement finalizing the creation of a combined entity that will leverage the facilities of PJSC SIBUR Holding and create the largest petrochemical company…

An integrated thermochemical process makes advanced biofuels from biomass

Bionext and its partners β€” a consortium of six industrial companies β€” have successfully completed the test program on BioTfueL demonstration units, setting the stage for commercialization of the thermochemical process that makes low-carbon-footprint sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other…

Chementator briefs [September 2021]

Automated synthesis One of the most modern infrastructures for automated process control in chemistry is being built by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; www.kit.edu) together with BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com). The facility will initially produce new substances in…

Electrochemistry Spreads its Wings

New electrochemical processes are being developed to help CPI companies reduce their carbon footprint For over a century, electrochemistry has played a crucial role in the chemical process industries (CPI), and many chemicals are still produced using traditional electrochemical processes,…

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High-pressure fermentation for optimizing CO2 utilization

Biological processes can be used for the conversion of greenhouse gases into added-value chemicals. With a new, unique high-pressure (up to 10 bars) fermenter, the Flemish Institute for Technology Research (VITO; Mol, Belgium; www.vito.be) is researching how these processes can…

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Cost-efficient, on-purpose 1,5-PDO from bio-based starting material

Construction is underway on a demonstration plant for manufacturing 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) from bio-based furfural, a platform chemical that can be derived from plant-based hemicellulose sugars. The process under construction by the company Pyran Inc. (Madison, Wis.; www.pyranco.com) offers a lower-cost…

Fibrous catalyst support boosts yields and reduces coke buildup

A new fibrous catalyst-support material can enhance a wide range of industrial catalytic reactions, allowing higher yields and reduced coke buildup compared to pellet supports. Unifrax (Tonawanda, N.Y.; www.unifrax.com) leveraged its expertise in ceramic materials to develop the high-alumina fiber…

Solar-powered water extraction from atmospheric air

A first-of-its-kind pilot project in Abu Dhabi is integrating large-scale atmospheric water generation (AWG) with solar-thermal energy storage to enable carbon-free production of water. Led by partners AQUOVUM LLC (Dover, Del.; www.aqvglobal.com), Masdar Clean Energy (www.masdar.ae) and Khalifa University of…

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Plant Watch: September 2021

Plant Watch PPG starts up sealants manufacturing plant in Morocco August 13, 2021 β€” PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) started up a facility in Tangier, Morocco that will produce automotive sealants for local vehicle production. The plant marks the…

Increasing recovery of metals from refractory mine tailings

EnviroGold Global Ltd. (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.envirogoldglobal.com) has filed a patent application for a proprietary electrochemical process designed to achieve advanced metal recoveries from refractory ores with reduced capital expenditures (capex) compared to industry standard solutions. β€œThe residual metals contained…