Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.com) announced that it will appoint Daniel Martínez-Valle to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), following the resignation of Antonio Carrillo, who has informed us that he is leaving to pursue other professional…
Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) recently started the world’s largest oxygen production unit for Sasol (Johannesburg, South Africa, www.sasol.com). Air Liquide invested around €200 million for the construction of this Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Secunda, with a total production capacity of 5,000 metric…
Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Milan, Italy; www.mairetecnimont.com) announced that its main subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and KT-Kinetics Technology S.p.A. have signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) as part of the execution…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will start the construction of a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) synthesis unit at the company’s Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, in early Q2 2018. Planning and engineering for the new unit started in 2016…
The chemical process industries (CPI) influence much of what affects our daily lives in areas as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food products, basic chemicals and more. One field where many engineers are focusing their efforts is energy. Efforts toward widening…
Compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) offer significant advantages, such as non-flammability, and a high capacity of the metallic Al anode. However, due to inadequate cathodic performance, especially capacity, high-rate capability and cycle life, AlBs cannot compete with…
Plans are underway for a demonstration-scale facility in France that will convert non-food lignocellulosic biomass into raw materials for bio-based chemicals and animal feed products, such as feed for fish farming. The process, developed by Arbiom (Research Triangle Park, N.C.;…
A process technology that upgrades offgas from petroleum refineries has been commercialized by Siluria Technologies Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.; www.siluria.com) and Wood (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodplc.com). According to Siluria, the new Modus technology’s ability to chemically convert refinery offgases into high-quality…
In a recent paper, published in Nature, the Flytzani-Stephanopoulos group from Tufts University (Medford, Mass.; www.tufts.edu) identified a new method for the direct conversion of methane into methanol or acetic acid under mild conditions using oxygen, carbon monoxide and a…
Although recycled polymers can provide sustainable, low-cost feedstock, their use is challenging in applications that require high-performance characteristics. Vertellus LLC (now Aurorium) has developed additives to improve processors’ ability to incorporate recycled nylons and recycled polyesters into virgin nylon. One…