The ability of titanium dioxide to absorb ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) solar radiation has been increased 25% by researchers at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, NY; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-534). This could lead to improved…
Metabolic Explorer (Metex; Clermont-Ferrand; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-535) and IFP (Rueil-Malmaison, both France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-536) signed an agreement last month to accelerate the scaleup of Metex’s proprietary technology for producing 1,3-propanediol (PDO). The biological-based process uses glycerin — a byproduct of biodiesel production (CE,…
Asahi Kasei Finechem Co. (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-538) has commercialized a new type of catalyst for performing asymmetric oxidation reactions. The catalyst is based on ligands having the structure of a chiral-bis-hydroxamic acid (CBHA; diagram), which was first developed by Professor…
Bayer MaterialScience AG (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-541) is opening a second production facility for Baytubes, its carbon nanotubes product, at H.C. Starck GmbH (Laufenburg, Germany). When combined with the existing pilot-production plant, the new, 30-m.t./yr facility will increase the site’s…
Rigorous temperature control is required for performing selective catalytic reactions, such as hydrogenation and oxidation (ethylene oxide production, for example), and in reactions where the chemical equilibrium is strongly temperature dependent (Claus sulfur recovery or the CO-shift reaction, for example).…
Click here for full pdf version of this article - includes all graphs, charts, tables, and author information  This fourth in a series of articles* on piping for process plants examines two topics that may, at first, seem to…
Mixing is one of the oldest unit operations in the chemical process industries (CPI) and can also be one of the most demanding. The complex challenges presented by the wide variety of mixing tasks and scaleup needs encountered…
Move lots of potentially corrosive gas with this blower Rotron CP regenerative blowers (photo) offer extremely high resistance to corrosion and chemicals encountered in chemical processing applications, such as vent-header offgassing, spot source, biogas or landfill gas,…
Blasch Precision Ceramics (Albany, N.Y.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-548) has commercialized one-piece hex-head ferrules made of 99.6% alumina for applications in steam-methane reformers. The high-purity alumina is becoming popular as an alternative to high-grade metal alloys because it is virtually immune to chemical…
Technology for producing nanowires from titanium dioxide, and for fabricating the wires into free-standing membranes and other shapes, is being offered for sale by Intellectual Property Partners LLC (IP2; Atlanta, Ga.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6899-540). The membranes are chemically inert and thermally stable…