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Maire Tecnimont wins EPC contract for SOCAR refinery upgrade
Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Milan, Italy; www.mairetecnimont.com) announced that its main subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and KT-Kinetics Technology S.p.A. have signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) as part of the execution…
BASF to double MDI production capacity at Geismar site
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will start the construction of a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) synthesis unit at the company’s Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, in early Q2 2018. Planning and engineering for the new unit started in 2016…
Engineering energy
The chemical process industries (CPI) influence much of what affects our daily lives in areas as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food products, basic chemicals and more. One field where many engineers are focusing their efforts is energy. Efforts toward widening…
Progress towards aluminum-ion batteries
Compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) offer significant advantages, such as non-flammability, and a high capacity of the metallic Al anode. However, due to inadequate cathodic performance, especially capacity, high-rate capability and cycle life, AlBs cannot compete with…
Biomass fractionation and conversion technology to be scaled up
Plans are underway for a demonstration-scale facility in France that will convert non-food lignocellulosic biomass into raw materials for bio-based chemicals and animal feed products, such as feed for fish farming. The process, developed by Arbiom (Research Triangle Park, N.C.;…
New process converts refinery offgas into gasoline
A process technology that upgrades offgas from petroleum refineries has been commercialized by Siluria Technologies Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.; www.siluria.com) and Wood (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodplc.com). According to Siluria, the new Modus technology’s ability to chemically convert refinery offgases into high-quality…
Direct conversion of methane into methanol and acetic acid
In a recent paper, published in Nature, the Flytzani-Stephanopoulos group from Tufts University (Medford, Mass.; www.tufts.edu) identified a new method for the direct conversion of methane into methanol or acetic acid under mild conditions using oxygen, carbon monoxide and a…
Recycled polymers improve the nylon product chain
Although recycled polymers can provide sustainable, low-cost feedstock, their use is challenging in applications that require high-performance characteristics. Vertellus LLC (now Aurorium) has developed additives to improve processors’ ability to incorporate recycled nylons and recycled polyesters into virgin nylon. One…
Lower-cost sulfur-removal process for syngas goes commercial
An adsorbent-based, sulfur-removal process for synthesis gas (syngas) that lowers capital and operating costs compared to alternative methods of removing sulfur has completed pre-commercial testing and has achieved commercial status. The Warm-gas Desulfurization Process (WDP; diagram) has been under development…
Startup for a demonstration plant to process three metals
Australian Mines (Perth; https//:australianmines.com.au) has started operating a demonstration three metals (cobalt-nickel-scandium) processing plant that will process ore from the company’s Sconi and Flemington projects into commercial-grade samples. The company’s flagship Sconi project, located in the mining center of Greenvale…