Ethanol could be produced for less than $1/gal through a new process developed by ZeaChem, Inc. (Lakewood, Colo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-531). The company has piloted the process (flowsheet) and plans to start up a 1.5-million-gal/yr full-scale demonstration plant at the end of…
Industrial designer Tore Christian Bjørsvik at Sintef Health Research (Trondheim, Norway; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-545) has developed a safety helmet with a soft, flexible inner layer that instantly becomes a hard shock absorber if the helmet is subjected to impact. The helmet also…
The chemical process industries (CPI) are subjected to countless environmental, health and safety (EH&S) regulations affecting the production, distribution and general use of chemical products. To add to the existing burden, new global initiatives related to product stewardship — most…
Dupont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-533) and its partner Genencor (Palo Alto, Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-534), a div. of Danisco A/S, plan to invest $140 million to integrate the pretreatment process and fermenting organism — developed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL: Golden,…
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…
Whether noise is encountered on the job or in the community, most people are at risk of hearing loss if they don’t take precautions. The occupational and environmental health and safety professionals of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) believe…
A process in which sulfur is extracted from natural gas in the field and converted to sulfur dioxide, which is then injected into the gas reservoir and reacts with hydrogen sulfide in situ to produce elemental sulfur, has been developed…
Verenium Corp. (formerly Celunol; Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-537) is starting up a 1.4-million gal/yr demonstration-scale facility at Jennings, La., which will produce ethanol from regional feedstocks (including sugarcane bagasse and specially bred "energy cane") via proprietary cellulosic-ethanol technology. The technology was…
This month, the newly released Foundation for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) was demonstrated at Shell Global Solutions (Amsterdam, Netherlands) — one of several demonstrations planned by the Fieldbus Foundation (FF; Austin, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-545). In Amsterdam, engineers constructed a DCS-controlled demo…
U.S. petroleum companies are investing in new domestic refining capacity on a scale not seen in decades. Over the next five years the industry will add more than one million bbl/d of distillation capacity (see table), according to…