UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) will form a joint venture (JV) with Ensyn Corp. (Wilmington, Del.; www.ensyn.com) to offer technology for the production of fuel oil and transportation fuels from second-generation biomass, such as forest and agricultural residues. Ensyn…
Liberty Engineering (Hamburg, N.Y.; www.libertypsa.com) has developed a bioremediation system that fully removes carcinogens from soil in 90 days. The process is based on microbial oxidation of organic compounds by petrophyllic pseudonomads in an oxygen-rich environment. The bacteria are specifically…
Azotobacter are nitrogen-fixing bacteria that do a useful job in soil by converting N 2 to ammonia. As a side reaction they also produce hydrogen, most of which they oxidize for their own energy consumption. In a project of the…
QuantumSphere, Inc. (Santa Ana, Calif.; www.qsinano.com) has filed a key patent for technology it has developed, which extends the capacity of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries up to five times, thus offering the potential to increase the operating life of portable consumer…
Last month, what is claimed as the first pilot plant in the world to demonstrate carbon-dioxide capture and storage (CCS) based on oxy-combustion came onstream next to Vattenfall´s 1,600-MW, lignite-fired Schwarze Pumpe power plant in Germany. The 30-MW pulverized-coal demonstration…
Genencor, a div. of Danisco A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark; www.danisco.com) and The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (Akron, Ohio; www.goodyear.com) have started a research collaboration to develop a bio-based process for producing isoprene using renewable raw materials. Tradenamed BioIsoprene, the alternative…
Last month, Donaldson Torit (Minneapolis, Minn.; www.donaldson.com) launched the Torit PowerCore dust collectors, which are up to 50% smaller than traditional baghouses. An extension of the firm’s patented PowerCore technology that has been proven in engine filtration, the new dust…
Cutler Technology Corp. (San Antonio, Tex.; www.cutler-tech.com) has launched ADMC 64, its most-advanced model-predictive controller ( CE, November 2005, p. 15). With 64-bit resolution, the device easily handles 600 coefficients with calculation times under ten seconds (on an Intel quad…
Launched at ISA Expo 2008 this month (Houston, Tex.; October 14 – 16), the ELDS line-of-sight gas detectors from Senscient, Inc. (League City, Tex.) is said to deliver three orders of magnitude better sensitivity for detecting flammable gases and false-alarm…
As part of the European BioDME project, Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) and Chemrec will design and build a new plant for producing dimethyl ether (DME). Located at the Smurfit Kappa paper mill in Piteå, Sweden, the facility will…