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Sumitomo Chemical acquires full ownership of two agricultural subsidiaries in Europe

Sumitomo Chemical Co. (Tokyo, Japan) has acquired all shares of Philagro Holding, S.A. (Philagro), its France-based consolidated subsidiary engaged in sales of crop protection products. In addition, Sumitomo Chemical is to acquire all shares of another of its consolidated subsidiary,…

Covestro launches digitalized lifecycle-assessment tool for over 50,000 products

Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany) has announced a new digitalization strategy that is focusing on more data-centric business management to achieve digital transformation and to offer its customers transparency for its products. Covestro's climate impact from the manufacture of its products…

Stamicarbon awarded contract to upgrade urea plant in China

MAIRE S.p.A. (Milan) announced that NEXTCHEM, through its subsidiary Stamicarbon, the nitrogen fertilizer technology licensor, has been selected to provide the Process Design Package to upgrade the Hulunbeier New Gold Chemical Co., Ltd.’s urea plant in Hulunbuir (China), leveraging on…

Gas-Flow Calculations for Sonic Choking: Revisited

Gas compressibility can lead to choked flow in piping systems. Presented here is an overview of choked-flow geometries in pipes, and examples of how choked flow arises in different pipe layouts The more things change, the more they stay the…

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Pilot project planned for thermocatalytic ethanol-to-butene process

In December 2024, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) announced a three-year collaborative project with vehicle-tire manufacturer Bridgestone (Tokyo, Japan; www.bridgestone.com) to scale up a thermocatalytic process for converting renewably derived ethanol to n-butene. Conventionally, n-butene is…

New screw conveyor offers flexibility and easy maintenance

The Helix flexible screw conveyor (photo) features a helicoid screw that rotates within a fixed tube to transport materials efficiently from one point to another. It supports horizontal conveying up to 80 ft and vertical discharge heights of up to…

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Flow chemistry yields a more sustainable route to isocyanates

The wide range of performance properties of polyurethane foams makes them essential in many consumer goods. Thus, there is much effort going into creating a more environmentally friendly production process for polyurethane’s main building blocks, polyols and isocyanates. While much…

High-performance drive units with cybersecurity built in

Sinamics G220 (photo) is a new multi-purpose, adjustable-speed drive that features built-in technology to reduce harmonics by up to 97% — without the need for an a.c. line reactor or d.c. choke. Sinamics G220 drives have an integrated web server…

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On-demand ammonia production from atmospheric air

Nearly all ammonia is produced using methane via the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high-temperature and high-pressure operation. A new portable prototype device developed by researchers from Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.; www.stanford.edu) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran,…

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Business News: February 2025

Plant Watch Messer to construct $70-million air-separation unit in Arkansas January 15, 2025 — Messer Group GmbH (Bad Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com) has announced a strategic investment of over $70 million to construct a state-of-the-art air separation unit (ASU) in Berryville,…