The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT; Rajamäki; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-542) has developed a process to make natural paper additives from starch, which can be used for making high-quality paper that is completely recycleable. The starch-based pigments can be used in conventional…
BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-546) has developed a biodegradable plastic that contains 45% polylactic acid, a biodegradable polymer made from corn (CE, November 2003, pp. 42, 43). The remaining component is BASF’s biodegradable plastic, Ecoflex, which is derived from petrochemicals.…
This month, the first field tests will be conducted on a pilot plant, developed by WOW Energy, Inc. (Sugar Land, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-534), to remove mercury, oxides of sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx), particulates, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)…
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…
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…
Total Petrochemicals (Brussels; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-531) and UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5825-532) plan to construct at Total Petrochemicals site in Feluy, Belgium, a demonstration plant consisting of a UOP/Hydro methanol-to-olefin (MTO) process integrated with a Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking process (OCP)…
Using lithium metal as the anode of secondary Li-ion batteries would double the energy density of conventional batteries, which use anodes based on carbon. However, Li-based anodes suffer from the problem of dendrite crystal formation during the charge and discharge…