Phosgene is widely used for making fine chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, and polymers such as isocyanates, polyurethanes and polycarbonates. But phosgene is highly toxic, and although gas detectors are required to monitor for dangerous leaks, they cannot determine if workers have…
Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (Erlangen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-551) has built, commissioned and deployed the largest mobile water filtration system in the industry. The Horizontal Filtration Trailer (HFT) has 242 ft2 of filtration surface area and can produce up to…
Last month, Rentech, Inc. (Denver, Co.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-539) signed its first domestic license agreement with DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-540) for the use of Rentech’s patented F-T CTL technology (CE, May 2004, p. 23). At the same time, DKRW’s…
Last month, TÜV Anlagantechnik GmbH, Automation, Software and Information Technology (Cologne, Germany) granted protocol-type approval for the Fieldbus Foundation (FF; Austin, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-541) safety-instrumented-systems (SIS) specifications. The specifications are in compliance with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508 standard requirements up…
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…
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,…
Last month, British Nuclear Fuels Plc. (BNFL; Daresbury, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-554) announced plans to sell Westinghouse Electric Co. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-555), the highest bidder, says BNFL. Others vieing for the U.S. nuclear-power-plant arm of BNFL included GE…
Biotage AB (Uppsala, Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-557) has signed two agreements with Reaxa Ltd. (Manchester, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-558) to develop and market new catalyst packages for development of fine chemicals. The first agreement is to develop an encapsulated palladium catalyst, based on Reaxa’s…
LG Chem, Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-545) has developed a direct oxidation process for making terephthalaldehyde (TPAL; terephthalic aldehyde), a key intermediate for dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, specialty polymers, and other fine chemicals. Because the conversion requires only one reaction step and…