Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio; www.owenscorning.com) has announced plans to invest $50 million to rebuild a glass melter and expand production capacity by approximately 25% at its Chambéry, France, composites manufacturing facility. The investment will support the growing demand for thermoplastics…
UniFlow AireStream Fume Hoods (photo) are constructed entirely of chemical-resistant, flame-retardant, non-metallic composite resin materials and feature an exclusive unitized construction that does not require screws, bolts, rivets or metallic hardware for assembly. The fume chamber is molded one-piece seamless…
Ineos (London; www.ineos.com) announced that INEOS Oxide plans to expand its ethylidene norbornene (ENB) plant in Antwerp, increasing capacity by 7,500 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) to 35,500 m.t./yr, with the capacity being available by the end of 2018. “We…
Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Milan, Italy; www.mairetecnimont.it) announced that its subsidiary Stamicarbon has acquired a 20% stake in Pursell Agri-Tech, LLC, a U.S.-based startup company specialized in developing and marketing polymer-coated, controlled-release fertilizers. The amount of Stamicarbon’s investment is equal to…
Statoil, Shell and Total have signed a partnership agreement to mature the development of carbon storage on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The project is part of the Norwegian authorities’ efforts to develop full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) in…
The VersaMix is a multi-shaft mixer designed for viscous applications requiring a high level of accuracy and batch-to-batch consistency. In a VersaMix, two or three independently-driven agitators work in tandem to ensure high-speed fine dispersion, efficient turnover and uniform heating/cooling.…
My local municipality recently mailed out a brochure titled “Are you ready?”. It is a guide booklet about what to do in case of a nuclear emergency. I live close to a nuclear power plant. The brochure describes radiation, how…
In critical pumping applications involving toxic or expensive products, the use of double mechanical seals or external flushing fluids can lead to product contamination or leakage, as well as additional costs for installation and monitoring. Although hermetically-sealed pumps, such as…
DPC monomer As part of an NEDO project, Asahi Kasei Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) verified a newly developed process for diphenyl carbonate (DPC), a monomer used to produce polycarbonate (PC) at its Mizushima Works (Kurashiki, Okayama). The stability and operability…
Lithium Australia NL (Perth, Western Australia; lithium-au.com) has generated 99.8% (battery-grade) lithium carbonate from lithium-bearing silicates, such as spodumene, using its Sileach process — a hydrometallurgical process that does not require an energy-intensive roasting step. The company says Sileach has…