Davy Process Technology Ltd. (DPT; London; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-531), a Johnson Matthey company, has received the first license of its new glycerin-to-propylene glycol (GTPG) process. The first project, planned for the Ashland/Cargill joint venture (CE, June, p. 10), will produce more than…
A new catalyst that promises to cut the cost of producing biodiesel fuel from vegetable oils and animal fats by 30% has been developed by Victor Lin, a chemistry professor at Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-537). The solid catalyst…
Alumina refining by the Bayer process involves the digestion of bauxite ore with caustic soda, which produces “green liquor,†from which alumina is recovered, and a bauxite residue, called red mud, which is stored in large disposal areas. A typical…
A research team from Austria and Sweden have demonstrated that nanowires of a nickel-rhodium alloy exhibit a suprisingly high reactivity to oxygen. Using physical vapor deposition, the researchers have produced quasi one-dimensional rows of Ni atoms on a single-crystal rhodium…
These helical mixing elements are for several process applications Kenics Sanitary Static Mixers (photo) perform efficient, cost-effective handling of processing applications such as blending, dispersion and heating or cooling. Continuous inline mixing is achieved with no moving parts,…
Max Planck Innovation GmbH (Garching by Munich; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-536), the technology transfer agency of the Max Planck Society, has signed a co-exclusive license agreement with Leica Microsystems (Wetzlar) and Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH (Göttingen, all Germany) for the RESOLFT (reversible saturable…
At the end of May, Teijin Twaron B.V. (Arnhem, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-543) opened a new pilot-production plant for producing a new generation of Twaron para-aramides pulp using a new jet-spinning process. The company did not disclose process details except to say…
The standard way to produce ethanol from agricultural waste involves acid hydrolysis to convert hemicellulose to glucose, which is then fermented to obtain ethanol. However, cellulose in the waste is not converted, so cellulase enzymes are generally used to hydrolyze…
In your energy efficiency programs, don't overlook air-pollution control and ventilation systems, which account for more than 25% of CPI energy consumption on average The cost to power fans and ventilators in the chemical process industries (CPI) is a significant…
A process that promises to improve the economics of ethanol production by coproducing a marketable adhesive is being developed by the USDA's Dairy Forage Research Center (Madison, Wis.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6896-534). Another benefit is that ethanol is made from cellulosic material in…