A heterogeneous catalyst for producing the solvent methyl isobutyl ketone has been developed by graduate student Ferry Winter, who defended his chemistry Ph.D. thesis last month at Utrecht University (Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-550). The catalyst is based on activated hydrotalcite — a…
The conventional way to dye textiles is by the so-called dip process, whereby cloth is first immersed into a vat of the dying medium, then removed and dried. The dye is then thermally fixed to the textile by heating to…
Haldor Topsøe (Lyngby, Denmark; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-533) has introduced two new hydroprocessing catalysts, which are based on its proprietary BRIM technology. Both catalysts are nickel-molybdenum types that optimize both hydrogenation at so-called brim sites (situated on the basal-plane of the catalyst) and…
Lanxess Deutschland GmbH (Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-548) has commissioned a parallel reactor for the screening of catalysts use in hazardous reactions, such as phosgenation and chlorination, which are commonly used to make fine chemicals. Up to now, existing automated screening devices…
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-549), Boston College (edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-550) and MIT (both Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-551) have discovered that by heating a single-walled nanotube of carbon to 3,600°F, its strength is increased by 280%. The discovery is expected to…
The Technical University of Denmark (Lyngby; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-552) has received a grant from the A. P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to develop the world’s most powerful miocroscope. The so-called environmental transmission electron miocroscope is said to be five time…
The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT; Rajamäki; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-542) has developed a process to make natural paper additives from starch, which can be used for making high-quality paper that is completely recycleable. The starch-based pigments can be used in conventional…
Color indicators show when valves are open or closed Mininert (photo, bottom left) valves for laboratory glassware and syringes offer push button operation with color coding — green to open and red to close. Valve bodies are PTFE with a…
A single-step process for making phenol from benzene and carbon monoxide has been developed by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-543) with cooperation from Yasutaka Ishii, professor of applied chemistry at Kansai University (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-544). Other attempts to make…
Teijin Twaron B.V. (Arnhem, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-556) has introduced a new rubber compound ingredient, tradenamed Sulfron 3000, which leads to a 20% improvement in rolling resistance when used in tires — resulting in a 5% reduction in fuel consumption for vehicles,…