Latest News
Chementator Briefs
PDH catalyst Last month, Clariant's Catalyst business (Munich, Germany; www.clariant.com) launched its latest propane dehydrogenation (PDH) catalyst, Catofin 311, which is said to deliver greater selectivity and a longer lifetime than its predecessors, resulting in increased overall profitability for propylene…
Self-healing elastomers from waste lignin
Lignin — a component making up 25–35% of woody biomass — is underutilized as a byproduct of biofuels production and paper-making processes. Because of its abundance, low-cost and sustainability, lignin is being investigated as a raw material for making higher-value…
Magnetism gives water splitting a big boost
In a paper published last month in Nature Energy, scientists from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonie (ICIQ; Tarragona, Spain; www.iciq.org) describe how, for the first time, a magnet has been used to directly enhance the production of hydrogen…
European project aims to develop CCS technology on an industrial scale
Last month, a consortium of 11 European partners, including ArcelorMittal, Axens, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Total, launched a project to demonstrate an innovative process called DMX for capturing CO2 from industrial activities. It is part of a more comprehensive…
Sound solutions to low-frequency noise
Low-frequency noise (≤500 Hz) from various sources, such as construction machinery and aircrafts, is a form of noise pollution that transmits over long distances and disturbs the surrounding area. It is also known to trigger several negative physiological reactions, such…
Selectively perform cross-coupling reactions with this catalyst
Twofold C–H activation and cross-coupling of stoichiometric amounts of organic molecules, R1–H and R2–H, to form an R1–R2 product that is free of homocoupling products (R1–R1 or R2–R2) is a goal to simplify organic synthesis of certain compounds. Up to…
Insight into the mechanism for enzymatic biofuel production
Enzymes that are responsible for the production of hydrocarbons in blue-green algae — a hydrocarbon producing cyanobacteria — have now been identified by the research group of Munehito Arai at The University of Tokyo (Japan; www.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp). Along with this achievement,…
Business News – July 2019
Plant Watch Bilfinger wins €60-million contract from SABIC May 23, 2019 — Bilfinger SE (Mannheim, Germany www.bilfinger.com) has been chosen as maintenance partner for a €60-million contract by SABIC UK Petrochemicals Ltd. to carry out a range of services across…
Making the Most of Methane Reforming
Despite valiant quests to find sustainable routes to syngas, methane reforming continues to play the lead — and ‘greener’ — role For decades, the production of synthesis gas (syngas, H2 + CO) from fossil-based feedstocks has been the key process…
Temperature Measurement: New Instruments Designed to Take the Heat
Temperature measurement and control equipment is being re-vamped to stand up to challenges of the chemical process industries (CPI) While the basic premise of temperature measurement instruments hasn’t seen drastic changes in recent years, equipment is receiving updates that make…