In April development tests, Cobalt Technologies (Cobalt; Mountain View, Calif; www.cobalttech.com) produced n -butanol at the fermentation scale of 100 m3 per run, demonstrating lower production cost than butanol produced from petroleum. This represents production that is a factor of…
GE Power & Water (Trevose, Pa.; www.ge.com) has introduced a novel, dual-pronged approach to corrosion inhibition for boiler and steam-condensate systems in petroleum refineries. The technology is designed to prevent attack by acidic species on steam-system surfaces, providing reliability to…
On the heels of its successful scaleup of bio-butanol, Cobalt is looking for pathways to use that molecule as a building block for other products. The company has announced plans to build the first bio-butadiene plant in Asia. Projected to…
Freestanding nanowires exhibit ultrahigh elastic-strain limits (of up to 7%) and yield strengths. However, it has been difficult to exploit their properties in bulk composites, due to the mismatch between the elasticity of the nanowires and the elasticity of the…
Squalane, an emollient used in cosmetics, will be the first product of a biotechnology pilot plant now being started up by Nucelis Inc. (San Diego, Calif.; www.nucelis.com), a spin-off from Cibus (also of San Diego). The plant will use Cibus’…
The HydroWhirl Poseidon range of PTFE tank cleaners (photo) has recently been enhanced with additional models and flowrates, as well as improvements in the overall design. The PTFE material of construction ensures that the design is not only hygienic, but…
The new ASM 340 (photo) is a high-performance and durable leak detector for a wide range of applications, from R&D through the industrial coatings market, and can be used for both serial production and maintenance tasks. Both qualitative localization of…
The new two-stage DuoLine rotary-vane vacuum pumps feature a newly developed pump system with optimized cooling. These changes have a significant impact on the pump’s service life, says the manufacturer. The long maintenance intervals, the energy-efficient motors and the optional…
A new range of compact, lightweight motorized valves has been introduced for applications where electric actuation is required. The valves are quiet in use, and can be operated by a 24-V d.c. power supply, or by voltages between 24–48 and…
The ViscoFlux mobile drum-emptying system has been further developed and now has an optional control unit enabling integration into a range of filling processes. For example, an end position cutoff can be integrated into the ViscoFlex so that the pumping…