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)…
Battelle (Columbus, Ohio; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-544) has licensed the Samms technology, developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.), to Steward Environmental Solutions (Chattanooga, Tenn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-545). Samms (self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports) is a technology that can be tailored to selectively…
Fluxome Sciences A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-547) has been granted patents in both the U.S.and Europe for a method to improve bioethanol production by engineering the ammonia assimilation in yeast. By modifying the redox metabolism, it is possible to reduce the…
Last month, Clyvia Technology GmbH (Wegberg, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-548), a fully owned subsidiary of Clyvia Inc. (Las Vegas, Nev.), was granted a German patent for its proprietary fractional depolymerization process for converting waste material into heating oil and diesel fuel. The…
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…