Lurgi Zimmer GmbH, a company of Lurgi GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany; www.lurgi.com), has contracted a Polyamide 6 plant to be built for Zhejiang Huajian Nylon Co. Ltd., China. Polyamide is a widely used polymer for sophisticated technical and textile applications. Zhejiang…
Airborne contaminants can be identified within 2 – 3 s with a new sensor developed by researchers at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Stanford University (Calif.). The researchers have founded a company, SpectraFluidics, Inc. (Santa Barbara; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-539) to commercialize…
A team of researchers from MIT’s (Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-540) chemical and mechanical engineering departments, in association with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.), has developed oil-repellent surfaces with likely separations and safety applications for the…
PCM (Paris, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-541) has introduced what is claimed to be the world’s first all-metal progressing cavity pump (PCP). PCM Vulcain is capable of pumping extremely hot (350°C) and viscous fluids, making it particularly suitable for the thermal recovery of…
Royal DSM N.V. (Heerlen, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-542) and the French starch and starch-derivatives company Roquette (Lestrem, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-543) have joined forces to implement and commercialize the fermentive production of biorenewable succinic acid. A demonstration plant with a capacity of several hundred…
Valencent Products, Inc. (El Paso, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-544) and Global Green Solutions, Inc. (Vancouver, B.C., Canada; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-545) are in the final stages of commercializing their patented Vertigro process, which includes the growing and harvesting of algae, and extraction of oil from…
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM; Decatur, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-547), Bayer CropScience AG (BCS; Leverkusen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-548) and Daimler AG (Stuttgart, Germany) have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential for a biodiesel industry based on Jatropha curcas L., a…
Transfield Services Ltd. (edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-549) and WorleyParsons Ltd. (both North Sydney, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-550) have been selected to construct two mobile-desalination units (MDU) for contingency use in the Brisbane River. The project is expected to provide 100-million L/d of potable water at…
Plant Watch Oxea Increases Alcohol Capacity in North America January 24, 2008 — Oxea is expanding its oxo alcohols capacity at its production site in Bay City, Texas. The production capacity for propionaldehyde and n-propanol will be increased 10% by…
Hitachi Zosen Corp. (Hitz; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-531) is commercializing a new membrane for a hybrid-distillation system (HDS) that is especially suitable for dehydrating ethanol and isopropanol. The HDS can produce 99.7 vol.% ethanol from ethanol-water mixtures with 10 vol.% H2O…