Professor Kazuaki Ishigreo and colleagues at Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan; http://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp) have shown that a chiral, supramolecular, U-shaped, boron Lewis acid catalyst (diagram) promotes the unprecedented multi-selective Diels–Alder reaction of propargyl aldehyde with cyclic dienes. The Diels–Alder reaction, which is…
A process that increases the water-recovery from reverse osmosis (RO) while producing a salt byproduct is being developed by Hyrec (Urla/Izmir, Turkey; www.hyrec.co). The process, which uses osmotically assisted RO (OARO), could be especially beneficial in coal-to-chemicals (CTC) plants in…
New PDH capability A new catalyst for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) that does not include precious metals has been developed by KBR Inc. (Houston, Tex.; www.kbr.com). The new catalyst is incorporated into KBR’s new PDH technology, known as K-PRO, which was…
Plant Watch Lotte BP Chemical to expand petrochemicals production in Ulsan January 14, 2019 — BP plc (London; www.bp.com) and Lotte Chemical Corp. (Seoul, South Korea; www.lottechem.com) have agreed to significantly expand production capacity at their joint venture (JV), Lotte…
From process and materials development to maintenance and logistics, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative force across the chemical process industries As in many other sectors, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are beginning to emerge in the chemical process…
Using the hierarchy of controls can help guide housekeeping and safety programs to better protect employees and facilities There is a close link between safety and housekeeping for all manufacturers, but facilities that store, handle or process chemicals have an…
The launch of a filter press and ceramic-disc filters After a recent acquisition of Swedish filtration-technology company NovaTek, this company has introduced Flowrox Filter Press (FP) and Flowrox Ceramic Disc (CD) Filter (photo) to its product range for solid-liquid separation.…
Autonomous inventory management for stockpiles This company has launched an inventory-management solution (photo) for mining and aggregates companies to reconcile drone surveys with data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other systems of record for production and sales data. Bringing…
The PolarDry Model 0.1 electrostatic spray dryer (photo) retains the features of larger dryers in a much more compact footprint. The dryer can be easily disassembled for autoclave sterilization. By producing small-scale samples with minimum product loss, the Model 0.1 allows for…
Designed for Class I or II/Div. 2 and Zone 2/22 locations, the 7500 series Ex pzc/Type Z purge and pressurization system purges a common enclosure of hazardous gas or dust to maintain positive pressure. With operations in fully automatic or…