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Archives :: Processing & Handling :: Reaction Engineering

Displaying 81 - 100 of 319 stories.
August 1, 2009
Biobased succinic acid pilot effort underway
Pilot-scale production of biobased succinic acid from dextrose has been demonstrated by Myriant Technologies (Quincy, Mass., www.myriant.com). The firm expects commercial production by mid-2010. The succinic-acid process follows Myriant’s successful commercialization with partner Purac (Blair, Neb.; www.purac.com) of a biobased D(–) lactic acid, which...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Biobased-succinic-acid-pilot-effort-underway_4964.html
August 1, 2009
An alternative to chlor-alkali
Earlier this year, NSR Technologies (Decatur, Ill.; www.nsr-tech.com) commercialized its patented process for producing potassium hydroxide (45–50 wt.%) and dilute hydrochloric acid via a membrane separations technology. The company’s flagship production facility in Decatur, Ill. is the first commercial application of this process says Dr. Kris Mani, NSR’s president and CEO. Current...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/electrochemistry/An-alternative-to-chlor-alkali_4956.html
July 1, 2009
New catalyst boosts liquid-fuel yield from heavy hydrocarbons
A new zeolite catalyst that increases yields of light cycle oil (LCO) from high molecular weight “bottoms” hydrocarbons in petroleum fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units was commercialized last month by Grace-Davison, an operating segment of W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com). Observed gains in LCO (boiling point 430–650°F) yields of up to 6% are significant to...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/New-catalyst-boosts-liquid-fuel-yield-from-heavy-hydrocarbons_4913.html
July 1, 2009
Direct conversion of cellulose to HMF demonstrated
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pln.gov) have published the first direct route for converting plant cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a valuable platform chemical for the production of both plastics and biofuels. Appearing in the June issue of Appl. Cat. A, the research could mark a pathway to less expensive, large-scale production of HMF. Although a...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Direct-conversion-of-cellulose-to-HMF-demonstrated_4914.html
July 1, 2009
Using gold to catalyze oxidation reactions
Polymer-supported nanoclusters of gold have recently been shown to catalyze the oxidation of alcohols to ketones at room temperature in air by the research group of chemistry professor Shu Kobayashi, University of Tokyo (www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp), in a project supported by Japan Science and Technology...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Using-gold-to-catalyze-oxidation-reactions_4916.html
July 1, 2009
A less-expensive way to make platinum catalysts
The cost of producing platinum catalysts could be reduced by up to 90% by a process being developed jointly by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL, Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov) and Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.; www.stanford.edu). The process involves the deposition of minute amounts of platinum onto disks of carbon aerogel by a technique called atomic...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/A-less-expensive-way-to-make-platinum-catalysts_4918.html
July 1, 2009
This photocatalyst works with visible light
A photocatalyst that uses visible light to deodorize and disinfect air has been developed by Hiroshi Taoda at the Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Chubu, Nagoya, (AIST; Chubu, Nagoya, Japan; www.aist.go.jp). The catalyst is made from inexpensive components, such as titanium dioxide, apatite mineral and iron, without...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/This-photocatalyst-works-with-visible-light_4920.html
July 1, 2009
A gypsum-free, energy-saving route to lactic acid
Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.biz) is developing a new process for producing lactic acid (LA) — a monomer for making the biodegradable plastic polylactic acid (PLA) — that does not require a distillation step. As a result, savings in steam and electrical power are calculated to be up to €100/ton of LA, says Joachim Schulze, head of Uhde’s biotechnology division. In...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/A-gypsum-free-energy-saving-route-to-lactic-acid_4910.html
July 1, 2009
A new support for biofilters
Researchers from the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Center (Sydney and Perth, Australia; www.ebcrc.com.au) have developed a new way to harness bacteria to biodegrade odor-causing substances. Traditional biofilters typically employ compost supported on wood chips to trap the odor-producing substances, and rely on micro-organisms in the compost to break down those substances. The...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/A-new-support-for-biofilters_4915.html
June 1, 2009
A microreactor makes HMF from just sugar and water
Hajime Kawanami and colleagues at the AIST Tohoku Collaboration Center, Research Center for Compact Chemical Process, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; Sendai, Japan; www.aist.go.jp) have developed a continuous, one-step process for synthesizing hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a biologically active substance with promising therapeutic properties against metabolic...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/A-microreactor-makes-HMF-from-just-sugar-and-water_4835.html
June 1, 2009
Renewable Feedstocks: Trading Barrels for Bushels
With traditional petroleum-derived feedstocks facing relentless economic and environmental pressures, it’s no surprise that stakeholders throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) have been in hot pursuit of alternative routes for producing commodity and specialty chemicals and polymers from cheap, plentiful renewable feedstocks. The most promising routes are based on agriculturally derived...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Renewable-Feedstocks-Trading-Barrels-for-Bushels_4822.html
June 1, 2009
Another potential outlet for glycerin
Hiroshi Abe and colleagues at Biochemical Group of Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Tsukuba, Japan; www.aist.go.jp) have discovered a strain of acetic-acid bacteria (which normally oxidize ethanol into acetic acid) that effectively converts highly concentrated (22%) glycerin into D-glyceric acid. The researchers...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Another-potential-outlet-for-glycerin_4836.html
June 1, 2009
Renewable feedstocks: Beyond a one-to-one conversion*
Today, stakeholders seeking to produce platform chemicals from renewable feedstocks are evaluating competing routes — based on, for example, oxidation, reduction, selective bond breaking, selective bond formation, and the selective dehydration of sugars — for breaking down complex starting materials into simpler, more versatile building block molecules. “The focus of this approach is to zero in on a...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Renewable-feedstocks-Beyond-a-one-to-one-conversion*_4841.html
June 1, 2009
Renewable feedstocks: Challenges of lignin and bagasse*
Because of the difficulties associated with separating it from lignocellulosic feedstocks, “lignin has typically been burned by papermakers to produce process heat or power. This is a tragic waste of a good source of carbon,” says Joseph J. Bozell, associate professor, Biomass Chemistry, Forest Products Center, University of Tennessee (Knoxville). Though challenging, the use of lignin to...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Renewable-feedstocks-Challenges-of-lignin-and-bagasse*_4842.html
June 1, 2009
Renewable feedstocks: Biobased plastics*
Dow is currently building a 770-million-lb/yr train to produce Dowlex linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) in the middle of a sugar cane field in Brazil. Once online, the unit will be the first fully integrated sugar-cane-to-polyethylene complex in the world, according to the company. In the process, sugarcane juice is fermented, centrifuged and distilled to produce ethanol, which is then converted into...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/biochemistry/Renewable-feedstocks-Biobased-plastics*_4843.html
May 1, 2009
Solid catalyst simplifies turning algae into biodiesel
Researchers at United Environment & Energy (UE&E; Horseheads, N.Y.) have developed a catalyst for the efficient conversion of algae to biodiesel. The mixed-metal oxide catalyst (comprised of metals that are resistant to corrosion yet reactive) facilitates the transesterification of algae oil and methanol. The mechanism for the reaction over the solid...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Solid-catalyst-simplifies-turning-algae-into-biodiesel_4781.html
May 1, 2009
A better way to make efficient catalysts
A new procedure for making uniform, metallic nanoparticles has been developed by the research group of Kousuke Mori, an associate professor at Osaka University (www.mat.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp), with support from New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, both Japan). The photo-assisted process, which uses...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/A-better-way-to-make-efficient-catalysts_4782.html
May 1, 2009
Alkaline-earth-based catalysts for C–C bond formation
Salts of alkaline-earth metals have been shown to catalyze reactions for the selective formation of carbon-carbon bonds, by chemistry professor Shu Kobayashi and colleagues at the University of Tokyo (www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp). The research, supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (Tokyo), promises to deliver alternatives to conventional catalysts that contain toxic, scarce and expensive...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Alkaline-earth-based-catalysts-for-C-C-bond-formation_4784.html
April 1, 2009
Chementator: High-throughput screening accelerates glycerol-to-chemicals research
Arkema (Colomes, France; www.arkema.com) and hte (Heidelberg, Germany; www.hte-company.de) have successfully concluded a research collaboration aimed at identifying new catalysts for the conversion of glycerol — a byproduct of biodiesel production — to acrolein (2-propenal) and acrylic acid. The collaboration, which started last year, utilized hte’s proprietary parallel testing technology...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Chementator-High-throughput-screening-accelerates-glycerol-to-chemicals-research_4675.html
April 1, 2009
Chementator: A palladium catalyst makes primary amines in aqueous NH3
Primary amines are made in high yield by a palladium-catalyzed allylic amination reaction developed by Shu Kobayashi, a chemistry professor at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp.). The reaction uses aqueous ammonia as the nitrogen source — the first time this has ever been achieved, disproving a 30-year old theory that allylic...
http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Chementator-A-palladium-catalyst-makes-primary-amines-in-aqueous-NH3_4676.html
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