The chemical process industries (CPI) are, by their very nature, global in scope. While chemical process operators share many common aspects (in terms of the use of chemical engineering unit operations), the location of their operation brings about different requirements…
After extensive pilot- and field-testing, U.S. Water Services (St. Michael, Minn.; www.uswaterservices.com) plans to roll out new “green” corrosion inhibitor products, which have been tested not only for effectiveness against corrosion in cooling-water applications, but also for the inhibitors’ performance…
Construction is underway in France on a pilot plant for what is believed to be the first fermentation process capable of directly producing the light olefin isobutene. Global Bioenergies (Evry, France; www.global-bioenergies.com) expects to begin operations of a 500-L fermentation…
Renewable 5-HMF Last month, commercial-scale production of high-purity 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) started at the Biochem-1 facility operated by AVA Biochem (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.ava-biochem.com). In the first phase, the facility will produce 20 metric tons (m.t.) per year of 5-HMF —…
A new chemical process is set to create bio-based p-xylene from cellulosic waste. Micromidas (West Sacramento, Calif.; www.micromidas.com) opened a pilot plant in December 2013 that converts cellulosic waste materials, such as rice hulls, switchgrass, sawdust and cardboard to bio-based…
A new process-intensification technology to accelerate the rate of enzymatic reactions has been developed by researchers from the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath (U.K.; www.bath.ac.uk). The so-called spinning cloth disc reactor (SCDR) is based on, but extends the…
Cellulose nanocrystals New research from Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.; www.purdue.edu) has shed some light on the physical properties of cellulose nanocrystals. The nanocrystals, which are about 3-nm wide and 500-nm long, have historically been difficult to analyze, but…
Techniques for manufacturing carbon adsorbent materials with highly tuned pore properties have been developed by EnerG2 Technologies Inc. (Seattle, Wash.; www.energ2.com). The technology platform produces carbon adsorbents that enable the storage of natural gas at significantly lower pressures than those…
Water treatment technology from Alcoa Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.alcoa.com) that includes engineered areas of natural wetland vegetation is now available commercially for the first time. The engineered wetlands technology can lower capital and operating expenses, as well as energy consumption,…
Dealing with wastewater streams in petroleum refineries and petrochemical operations is often a trying task — environmentally, economically and logistically — especially as regulations on salinity in waste streams are tightened. However, many waste streams actually contain useful components, such…