Latest News
BASF sells its bioenergy enzymes business to Lallemand
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) has sold its bioenergy enzymes business based in San Diego to Lallemand's subsidiaries, Danstar Ferment AG and Lallemand Specialties Inc. This includes the Spartec product portfolio and related technologies in development. Lallemand will integrate the business…
Asahi Kasei to build new biologics manufacturing site in Texas
Asahi Kasei Corp. U.S. medical subsidiary Bionova Scientific, a full-service biologics CDMO, has decided to launch a new business line providing services leveraging plasmid DNA, and establish a dedicated facility for this purpose in Texas, the U.S. With the expansion…
Chementator Briefs
E-Cracking Last April, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com), SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) and Linde Engineering (Pullach, Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) inaugurated the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam-cracking furnaces. Following three years of development, engineering, and construction work,…
New microreactors and flow loops improve asphaltene management
Asphaltenes are an ultra-complex fraction of crude petroleum that comprise a diverse population of molecules that vary in size, solubilities, aggregation states and hetero-atom contents. Asphaltene buildup and deposits create many operational and safety issues, and can occur anywhere in…
Tackling the plastics challenge
Plastic products have evolved to play a prominent role in our daily lives. They are generally durable and lightweight, making them ideal for a broad spectrum of applications, such as: improving efficiency of automobiles; extending the shelf-life of foods; providing…
Extracting useful proteins from beer-brewing leftovers
Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) is the most significant byproduct of the beer-brewing industry, making up 85% of the total waste. Globally, about 36.4 million ton/yr of spent grain are produced. This spent grain is typically discarded after its primary use…
Next-generation encapsulation technology
Nucleic acid-based medications, such as mRNA vaccines, are opening up new therapeutic approaches. These active ingredients must be enclosed inside nanoparticles to ensure that they get to where they are needed inside the body’s cells. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production…
Making cement with 70% lower CO2 emissions
A process commercialized by Fortera Corp. (San Jose, Calif.; www.forteraglobal.com) creates a cement product that reduces CO2 emissions by 70% on a ton-for-ton basis, and can be blended with conventional cement or used as a standalone material to make ready-mix…
On-demand electric heat can reach near-flame temperatures
Electrification provides an avenue for industrial decarbonization, but many electric-heating options cannot handle the high temperatures and scale required for industrial use. Electrified Thermal Solutions (ETS; Medford, Mass.; www.electrifiedthermal.com) has taken a new approach to industrial heating through its JouleHive…
Functionalized ionic liquids enhance L-L extraction of Ga and Ge
Gallium and germanium are considered critical materials due to their multiple uses in semiconductors, optics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and other high-technology applications. Current solvent-based extraction methods for recovering these elements suffer from significant drawbacks, such as low separation efficiency, poor…