Processing & Handling
A car company moves closer to making cellulosic ethanol ecomomically
Using gene recombination technology, Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC; Toyota City, Japan: www2.toyota.co.jp/en) has developed a new strain of yeast that achieves one of the highest ethanol-fermentation density levels in the world — approximately 47 g/L with 87% yield (based on…
High temperature and pressure are not a problem for this pump
Available in ANSI stainless steel with stainless-steel actuator, the Badger Meter RC200 control valve is designed for handling liquids and gases at pressures up to 5,000 psi and temperatures ranging from –80 to 500°C. The valves are available as a…
Prevent binding of reactants with this chopper
A new chopper system has been developed for demanding applications where products tend to bind or harden when adding reactants. The chopper is placed tangentially and at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the mixer, through both sides…
Temperature-related problems are avoided with this dry pump
This company has expanded its iXH family of harsh-process dry pumps with the introduction of the iXH500H Series. This new series of 500-m3/h pumps has been optimized for flat-panel, solar and advanced semiconductor processes that require high gas flows and…
A new series of solenoid valves in brass or stainless steel
The solenoid valves from the new product Series 6200 are suitable for a broad spectrum of standard applications with fluidic and gaseous media. The first two valves of the series — types 6213EV and 6281EV — are available in brass…
Making formic acid by artificial photosynthesis
For the first time, an organic compound has been synthesized from water, carbon dioxide and sunlight — without any other external energy or reagents. The achievement, which was demonstrated by researchers at Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories, Inc. (Toyota…
World’s highest-purity lithium plant announces commercial launch
A facility that produces high-purity lithium carbonate for use in the growing market for electrolytes in electric-vehicle batteries has begun commercial operations in Imperial Valley, Calif. The 500-ton/yr plant, operated by Simbol Materials (Pleasanton, Calif.; www.simbolmaterials.com), is the only producer…
Supercritical water process converts biomass to sugars
Sugar is a critical feedstock for many emerging bio-based-chemical and biofuel processes, but harvesting sugar from low-value, nonfood biomass cost-effectively and at large scale remains a challenge. Renmatix Inc. (King of Prussia, Pa.; www.renmatix.com) has developed a process that uses…
A new catalyst for asymmetric-transfer-hydrogenation reactions
The Fine Chemicals div. of Takasago International Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.takasago.com) has commercialized Deneb: Oxo-Tethered Ruthenium (II) Complex, which shows higher catalytic activities compared to conventional RuCl (arene)(N-sulfonylated diamine) catalyst systems. The higher activity enables a reduction in catalyst loading…
New catalyst allows lower-temperature waste destruction
Base-catalyzed decomposition (BCD) is a commercially used process developed in the early 1990s by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.) for the destruction of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It has been used as an alternative to incineration for…