A simple, fast and clean process to make esters without a catalyst is being developed by Chemicrea Inc. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-539) with the support of New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization (Kawasaki), and Gifu University (Gifu, all Japan). The process…
A method for manufacturing porous-wall, hollow-glass microspheres (PWHGMs) over an adjustable range of pore sizes promises to substitute the doped-ceramic packing material employed in various processes, by delivering improved kinetics and a denser, more uniform arrangement of active materials. The…
The use of palladium on carbon powder supports (Pd-CP) has traditionally been a commercially viable means of catalyzing deprotection reactions, despite also requiring substantive quantities of precious metal and limiting the selection of solvents due to low hydrogenation activity. However,…
Kadant AES (Queensbury, N.Y.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-543) has introduced a patented control technology for high-pressure positive-displacement (HPPD) pumps, which is said to be capable of reducing energy usage by up to 60%. The so-called UniGY PhD (Pump-modeling hydraulic drive) uses pump-modeling software…
Researchers from the Organic Chemistry Dept. at Newcastle University (U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-544) have developed aluminium (salen) complexes that exhibit "exceptional" activity for catalyzing the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from CO2 and epoxides. Cyclic carbonates are widely used for the production of…
Researchers at the Faculty of Engineering, Lund University (Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-545) have used nanotechnology to develop a transistor that is said to be 50 times more energy efficient that conventional models. The prototype transistor is made of indium arsenide, where the…
Honeywell Specialty Materials (Morristown, N.J.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-546) has launched PowerShield PV325, a material that protects photovoltaic (PV) modules — including the critical components that convert sunlight into electricity — in all types of environments. The material is ultraviolet, moisture and weather…
TubeMaster, Inc. (Louisville, Ky.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-547) has filed U.S. and foreign patents for Dog-leg — claimed to be the world’s first articulating catalyst-loading device that permits loading of single and multi-layer catalyst to any height or outage, regardless of reactor vertical-head…
A system for controlling oxides-of-nitrogen (NOx) emissions from catalyst regenerators in fluid catalytic crackers (FCCs) has cut NOx output to below 40 ppm (and as low as 25 ppm under certain conditions) in its first commercial installation, according to its…
This summer, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (AKCC; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-532) plans to begin construction on a plant for producing 200,000 m.t./yr of acrylonitrile (AN) and a plant for making 70,000 m.t./yr of methyl methacrylate (MMA), at Map Ta Phut, Rayong,…