Surface-structured RO membrane couples fouling resistance with flux
Engineers at the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA; www.ucla.edu) have developed a new class of…
In The News
Chementator
Improving enzyme performance for making chemicals
By genetically modifying E. coli — introducing four enzymatic genes from bacteria of the Clostridium…
These microfluidic sensors can be made with a sewing machine
A low-cost method for fabricating microfluidic diagnostics devices using cotton, paper, or other multifilament threads…
These microfluidic sensors can be made with a sewing machine
A low-cost method for fabricating microfluidic diagnostics devices using cotton, paper, or other multifilament threads…
May Chementator briefs
A new Cl2 process Oxygen-depolarized cathodes (ODCs) will be used for the first time…
This new process makes biogasoline from carbohydrates
In late March, the world’s first demonstration plant for converting sugars directly into gasoline started…
A process that makes ‘green jet fuel’ is slated for commercialization
Honeywells UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) has developed a process that makes a renewable,…
Bioethanol as a feedstock for ‘green’ polymers
Efforts to make a completely sustainable route to polymers based on vinyl acetate monomer (VAM)…
Revamped hydrotreater co-processes light gas oil and tall oil derivative to produce ULSD
Co-processing of biomass-derived feed with petroleum feed for the production of diesel fuel is a…
Destroy HFCs and recover CaF2 with this process
A process that destroys hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and recovers high-purity calcium fluoride has been developed by…
Distillation-tray downcomer design improves mass transfer efficiency
A new approach to the design of the downcomer portion of distillation column trays —…
Business News
Cellulosic biofuel demonstration in China
Novozymes A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark: www.novozymes.com), COFCO Ltd. (www.cofco.com/en) and Sinopec Corp. (both Beijing, China; english.sinopec.com) signed a…
Milestones in distributed production of biofuels
A biomass-to-liquids (BTL) demonstration plant jointly operated by the Oxford Catalysts Group Plc. (Abingdon, U.K.;…
Flexible carbon capture CFB technology moves closer to commercialization
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) has signed, together with ENDESA and the Spanish Foundation,…
Startup of large biomass CFB in Finland
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) announced today the successful start of commercial operation of…
$1.075 billion contract for construction of Borouge 3 ethane cracker in Abu Dhabi signed
Borouge (Abu Dhabi in the UAE; www. borouge.com), a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi National…
Borouge awards three EPC contracts for Borouge 3 expansion project
Borouge, a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis has awarded three major…
Laos instant-coffee plant for GEA Niro
GEA Niro (Soeborg, Denmark; www.niro.com) has recently won a contract worth several million Euros with…
Fluor awarded contracts by Ma'aden-Alcoa JV
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) has won a series of contracts from the joint venture comprising…
Lanxess invests $10 million in Gevo
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com), the world’s largest producer of synthetic rubber, has invested in…
Cognis opens new APG facility in China
Cognis GmbH (Monheim, Germany; www.cognis.com) today officially opened a new state-of-the-art production facility for alkyl polyglucoside…
Sonara refinery upgrade in Cameroon
Cegelec (Paris, France; www.cegelec.com), an international group providing technological services to companies and public authorities,…
Alstom invests in BrightSource Energy
Alstom (Paris, France; www.alstom.com) says it will complement its strong portfolio in renewables through a partnership…
Honeywell and DuPont form JV to manufacture new refrigerant
Honeywell (Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) and DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) today announced a manufacturing joint venture…
Outotec to deliver a copper plant in Chile
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with Minera Lumina Copper S.A. on the delivery of…
Toyo wins urea contract from Cuba
Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; Chiba, Japan; www.toyo-eng.co.jp) has been awarded a contract from Cuvenpeq S.A.…
Construction starts on first Lanxess plant in Russia
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is today officially starting work on construction of its first…
Holly selects GTC Technology’s BenZap technology
GTC Technology US, LLC (Houston; www.gtctech.com) was selected by Holly Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.hollycorp.com) and…
Messer commissions new CO2 recovery plant
Messer Group GmbH (Sulzbach/Frankfurt, Germany; www.messergroup.com) has commissioned a new CO2 liquefaction plant with a…
EdeniQ & Logos seek DOE integrated bio-refinery funding
EdeniQ, Inc. (Visalia, Calif,; www.edeniq.com) and Logos Technologies, Inc. (Arlington, Va.; www.logos-technologies.com) announced today the signing…
Outotec to deliver flotation technology for First Quantum Minerals
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with the First Quantum Minerals Limited Projects Office (Perth,…
Lonza selects Nansha for new vitamin B3 plant
Lonza Group Ltd. (Basel, Switzerland; www.lonzagroup.com) has selected Nansha, its leading high-tech life-science site in China,…
Buhler & Sigma-Aldrich ink nanoparticles agreement
The Buhler Group (Uzwil, Switzerland; www.buhlergroup.com) and Sigma-Aldrich (www.sigma-aldrich.com) have signed an agreement in which research…
Thai Paraxylene to license ExxonMobil’s PxMax technology
ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing LLC (EMCTL) and ExxonMobil Catalyst Technologies LLC (EMCT; www.exxonmobilchemical.com) today announced…
First Meteor EO/EG process facility starts up in China
Sinopec-SABIC (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co., Ltd (SSTPC), a joint venture between Sinopec and SABIC, relies on…
Outotec Kaldo furnace technology for Boliden
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with Boliden AB (Stockholm, Sweden; www.boliden.com)…
Celanese acquires LCP and PCT product lines from DuPont Performance Polymers
Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.celanese.com) today announced that its Advanced Engineered Materials business has completed…
Lanxess and TSRC to create rubber JV in China
Lanxess AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) and TSRC Corp. (Taipei, Taiwan www.tsrc.com.tw) will enter into a 50:50…
Topsøe signs contract with Pemex
Pemex Refinacion (Pemex-Refining; Mexico; www.ref.pemex.com) and Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) have signed a…
DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products expanding Bio-PDO production
DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, LLC (Loudon, Tenn), a joint venture between DuPont (www.dupont.com)…
Linde builds ASU in Kazakhstan
The Linde Group (Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) is set to construct a large, state-of-the-art air separation…
Technical & Practical
Focus on Pumps
Neptune Chemical Pump This self-priming pump is available for water and wastewater processing The Series…
Spiral Plate Heat Exchangers: Sizing Units for Cooling Non-Newtonian Slurries
Gooch Thermal Systems Spiral plate heat exchangers are ideal for cooling slurries and viscous fluids.…
Wireless Communication in Hazardous Areas
Wireless communications have great potential in the chemical process industries (CPI) because they do away…
Agglomeration Technology: Equipment Selection
A virtually endless number of process options are available for agglomerating powders in the chemical…
Facts at Your Fingertips
Burner Operating Characteristics
Burners are critical for the successful operation of industrial furnaces. Presented here is a set…