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Using a ‘green’ oxidizer to degrade Kraft lignin into vanillin

The demand for vanillin vastly outstrips the natural resources of this flavoring agent. A chemical process is thus used to produce the required large quantities of vanillin from petroleum, which is far less expensive than obtaining the substance from fermented…

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Decarbonizing cement production using solar-thermal energy

Last month, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) awarded $3.2 million in funding for the Solar MEAD project, which aims to decarbonize cement production. This joint project is headed by Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cemex; Monterrey, Mexico;…

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Chementator Briefs

P-XYLENE FROM CO2 Last month, a Japanese consortium announced the successful production and purification of p-xylene produced from CO2 at pilot scale. The University of Toyama (www.u-toyama.ac.jp), Chiyoda Corp. (www.chiyodacorp.com) and HighChem Co., Ltd. (www.highchem.co.jp) have been collaborating on producing…

Show Preview: Interphex 2023

Interphex 2023 — a leading global event for the pharmaceutical industry — takes place at the Javits Center in New York City April 25–27. Over 400 exhibitors will be on hand presenting product innovations and services. A technical conference also…

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Pneumatic Conveying Basics

Pneumatic conveying is a versatile method for transporting powders and other solid materials within chemical process plants. Success depends on understanding science and applying specific experience Undergraduate engineering programs include little instruction about powder handling. While there may be some…

What Manufacturing Sites Can Learn from Municipalities About Water Loss

Accurate water-monitoring technologies support short- and long-term sustainability goals in both municipalities and the industrial sector In recent years, São Paulo, Cape Town and other major world cities have come dangerously close to running out of water, and the criticality…

Show Preview: iPBS Conference and Exhibition

The International Powder and Bulk Solids (iPBS; www.powderandbulkshow.com) Conference and Exhibition, which includes a conference program of topics related to solids handling, as well as a tradeshow highlighting all types of solids-handling process equipment, will be held April 25–27 at…

Kraton announces SBS copolymer capacity expansion in Ohio

Kraton Corp. (Houston) announced a significant expansion of its styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers (SBS) supply capability at its Belpre, Ohio facility starting in 2024. The production capacity is expected to increase by 24,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) by 2025. "We…

Saint-Gobain to sell its glass-processing business in Switzerland

Saint-Gobain (Courbevoie, France) has signed a binding agreement for the sale of its glass processing business Glassolutions in Switzerland to the privately-owned German group AEQUITA. The business generated sales of around €25 million in 2022 and employs approximately 70 people…

Honeywell to supply automation technologies for SGP’s biorefinery in Panama

Honeywell International Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.) announced that SGP BioEnergy will implement Honeywell’s Experion System Technology at its Golden City Biorefinery in Colón, Panama.  As one of SGP’s key automation contractors, Honeywell will deploy its Experion technology solutions for the plant’s distributed…