Latest News: Technologies
Chementator: Reforming catalyst
First commercial results for a new reforming catalyst (R-98) of UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-545) were reported last month. Hunt Refining Co. (Tuscolaloosa, Ala.) has improved reformate yield from hydrotreated coker naphtha by about 2 vol.% since 2005, when…
Chementator: Ethanol from peels
Although citrus peels are rich in pectin, cellulose and hemicellusic polysaccharides, such waste products are currently marketed as low-value cattle feed, despite its relatively high processing cost, according to the ARS Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory (Winter Haven, Fla.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-544).…
Chementator: Pd catalyst
Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-550) has commercialized an air- and water-stable palladium catalyst for performing intermolecular cross-coupling reactions, aminations and intermolecular Heck transformations. The catalyst, developed by Professor Michael Organ at York University (Toronto, Canada), is based on a Pd-NHC…
Chementator: Jet fuel
Researchers at Penn State University’s (University Park, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-551) Energy Institute are developing a jet fuel that is composed of at least 50% bituminous coal. The fuel, provisionally designated JP900, is comparable to Jet A or military JP 8, and…
Chementator: Plant security
BroadWare Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-548) and Intergraph Corp. (Huntsville, Ala.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-549) have created an integrated solution that feeds high-quality video from remote locations to a central command center to speed decisionmaking and response time when a security event…
Chementator: Europe to get a new wave of plastic-to-diesel plants
Over the next four years, EnvoSmart Technologies B.V. (Roosendaal, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-533) plans to install 31 ThermoFuel systems throughout Europe for converting plastic waste into low-sulfur diesel fuel. The first six systems are to be located near Berlin, Germany, where they…
Chementator: Microbial contamination — see it and believe it
In Anaheim, Calif., last month at the Parenteral Drug Assn.’s annual meeting, Pall Corp. (East Hills, N.Y.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5829-539) introduced Ascotec to the global market, a faster, more accurate system for detecting microbial contamination in clean-room air systems. When compared to…
Chementator: A dosimeter monitors long-term exposure to phosgene
Phosgene is widely used for making fine chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, and polymers such as isocyanates, polyurethanes and polycarbonates. But phosgene is highly toxic, and although gas detectors are required to monitor for dangerous leaks, they cannot determine if workers have…
Chementator: Mobile water plant
Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (Erlangen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-551) has built, commissioned and deployed the largest mobile water filtration system in the industry. The Horizontal Filtration Trailer (HFT) has 242 ft2 of filtration surface area and can produce up to…
Chementator: This packing material keeps produce moist, while preventing water contact
A patented moisture-control technology (MCT) developed by CSIRO Plant Industry (edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-534), with cooperation from Stellar Films Group (both Melbourne, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-535), has shown it can maintain field freshness of selected fruit and vegetables during extended periods of storage and shipping.…