In spring of this year, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM; Decatur, Ill.; www.adm.com) plans full operation of a chemical plant based on soybean and canola oils as renewable feedstock. Products of the plant will include refined glycerin, propylene glycol and…
Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. (TCI; Tokyo; www.tokyokasei.co.jp) is planning full-scale production of a new palladium-complex catalyst, trade-named SingaCycle-E1, for performing Heck-Mizoroki carbon-carbon coupling reactions and the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction — both reactions of importance for producing pharmaceuticals. TCI says SingaCycle-E1…
The Gas Technology Institute (GTI, Des Plaines, Ill.; www.gastechnology.org) has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with CRI/Criterion Inc. (Houston; www.cricatalyst.com) to commercialize a GTI process for converting biomass directly into cellulosic gasoline and diesel fuel blendstocks. The technology, called…
Energy Fuels Inc. (Lakewood, Colo.; www.energyfuels.com) has been granted a radioactive materials license by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for the first uranium mill to be built in the U.S. in 30 years. Energy Fuels says the…
Ingersoll Rand This compressor matches output to demand The Nirvana R190-225ne (photo) is a variable-speed-drive rotary-screw air compressor with an advanced motor design that allows users to match compressor output to required demand. In particular, the Nirvana R190-225ne features a…
Process plant operators continuously face the pressure of having to increase productivity by improving equipment reliability and plant availability, a goal seemingly at odds with the everyday realities of decreased operating budgets, rising energy costs and increasing operations costs. And,…
North America’s largest event for the pharmaceutical- and biopharmaceutical-manufacturing industries, Interphex 2011 (www.interphex.com) will be held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York from March 29-31. The event will feature more than 650 exhibitors, including 100 vendors exhibiting…
Agility, reliability, reporting and sharing of business information are among the key ingredients that have been dictated to modern-day control systems by the competitive pressures facing today’s manufacturers. In short, production must be faster, more efficient and provide actionable data…
The production of biotechnology-based chemicals, while still a niche operation in terms of global chemical production, is demonstrating double-digit growth, says a recent SRI Consulting report*. Enabled by rapid advances in industrial biotechnology and significant increases in the price of…
The precise monitoring and control of valve position is essential for efficient automation of both discrete and continuous processes. Measurement of valve position provides the data required for the use of advanced control strategies and predictive maintenance algorithms. More effective…