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A one-pot process to pretreat and saccharify biomass

Researchers from the U.S. Dept. of Energys Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org) have reported the first demonstration of a one-pot, wash-free process for the ionic-liquid pretreatment and saccharification of switchgrass — a leading potential biofuel feedstock. By combining…

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Successful implementation of a new extractive-distillation technology for aromatics recovery

AMT International Inc. (Plano, Texas; www.amtintl.com) and LG Chem, Ltd. (Seoul, Korea; www.lgchem.com) have successfully converted an existing sulfolane liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) unit at LG Chem’s Yeosu plant using a new extractive-distillation (ED) process for aromatics recovery. This technology was…

Cement technology increases strength and lowers emissions footprint

Cement manufacturing is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions due to two factors: carbon dioxide is released when calcium carbonate calcines to lime (CaO) in the cement manufacturing process; and cement kilns are operated at temperatures of 1,500°C, which…

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A direct, one-step enzymatic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol

The selective, one-step biocatalytic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol — at ambient pressure and temperature — has been demonstrated by professors Yoshihito Watanabe and Osamu Shoji at Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan; bioinorg.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp). The achievement was made using a wild-type of…

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A step toward ammonia production at ambient conditions

Many investigations are ongoing to achieve ammonia synthesis at energy-saving mild conditions instead of the high temperatures and pressures (500°C, 300 atm) required by the commonly used Haber-Bosch process, which consumes more than 1% of the world’s power production. Now,…

Two new sealless pumps for handling hazardous chemicals

Designed for general industrial applications, the new SLC4 (photo) and SLC8 models of the Seal-Less Drive Eccentric Disc Pumps line also handle numerous chemicals, such as isocyanates, polyols, additives, solvents, starches and glues, inks and resins, methacrylates and detergents. The…

A valve positioner for hygienic applications

The new intelligent positioner TopControl Basic, Type 8694 is designed for applications in hygienic process environments. With a compact design, it is optimized for integrated mounting on the company’s Element and Classic valve ranges, as well as third-party process valves.…

Chemical vapor deposition made easy

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is among the most reliable methods to produce large-area graphene films on different metal substrates with diverse carbon sources. The benchtop Thermal CVD Cube (photo) grows a bilayer graphene (BG) using a thermoplastic polymer as a…

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Ethylene in FCC off-gas is upgraded to motor fuels

A typical fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCC) generates about 200 tons/d of dry gas — a mixture of off-gases that is burned as refinery fuel. However, about 40 tons of that gas is ethylene, which would have much greater value…

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This FCC process shown to enhance olefins production

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (JX_NOE; Tokyo, Japan; www.noe.jx-group.co.jp) has demonstrated enhanced propylene and butenes yields by its high-severity, fluid-catalytic cracking (HS-FCC) technology. In a 3,000-bbl/d semi-commercial plant, which has been operating at the company’s Mizushima Refinery since May…