MARKET PROSPECTS
AMEC selected for Canadian oil sands project
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MEC will undertake engineering, procurement and construction management for phase 1 facilities of Imperial Oil Ltd’s Kearl Oil Sands project in northern Alberta, Canada. This award follows on from the front end engineering design work for Kearl that AMEC has already completed.
Lurgi will undertake the engineering, construction, supply, installation and commissioning of the unit, which is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection under the program for renewable biological resources. The first stage of the pilot plant was completed in 2007. Second generation biofuels do not use the edible part of the plant.
WATER & WASTEWATER
Rheingauwasser GmbH, providing drinking water to 44 000 people and maintaining the water waterworks facilities, including 29 water wells and sources, and 334 km of water pipes. Eurawasser will also take over the business and technical management of wastewater services for the Abwasserverband Oberer Rheingau, the local public wastewater association. The company will also manage the two wastewater treatment plants and 28 km of sewers. The five-year contract has the option of a three-year renewal.
US water infrastructure could benefit from Veolia Water wins CHEMICALS economic recovery Saudi acetyls complex contract Dow, Süd-Chemie study legislation American Water Works syngas-to-chemicals (AWWA) has urged TheAssociation eolia Water has been awarded
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he Dow Chemical Co and SüdChemie AG are to research alternative routes to produce chemicals to help reduce dependence on traditional sources of oil and gas. The joint research aims to convert synthesis gas (syngas), that can be derived from abundant raw materials including coal, petroleum coke, biomass, natural gas and waste products, to “building block” chemicals in a more efficient and economically viable process. The research will be conducted in The Netherlands at Dow’s Terneuzen site and at Sud-Chemie’s catalyst research and development centres in Germany and the US.
BIOFUELS
Lurgi to build second generation biofuels plant in Germany
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urgi, a subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group, is building a second generation biofuels plant at its Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe site in Germany, in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT). The pilot plant will demonstrate the viability of the three-stage bioliq® process. Firstly, straw is converted into bioliqSynCrude®. The second step is a gasification of this liquor to produce syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Fuels are then synthesized from this gas mixture. 4
Pump Industry Analyst
Congress to include funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the economic stimulus legislation now being considered. The AWWA says that more than US$10 billion in drinking water infrastructure projects around the nation are shovel-ready and can be underway as soon as funds are committed. According to the AWWA, these projects would put more than 400 000 Americans to work on ageing water mains, leaking pipes, treatment plants, pump stations, storage reservoirs, elevated tanks, security safeguards and other needs. A 2001 study by the AWWA estimated that the cost of replacing existing pipes over the next two decades would be more than US$250 billion.
Eurawasser wins 2 German contracts for water, wastewater services
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uez Environnement’s Eurawasser Aufbereitungs- und Entsorgungs GmbH has won two management contracts in Germany. From 1 January 2009, Eurawasser will manage the water and wastewater services for the Rheingau area, 50 kms southwest of Frankfurt am Main. Eurawasser will be responsible for the business and technical management of water supply services for the
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the O&M contract for the industrial wastewater treatment plant at Sipchem’s Acetyl Complex in Saudi Arabia. The five year-contract is worth 6.5 million. The acetyls complex consists of three production units (carbon monoxide, acetic acid and monomer of vinyl). The treatment plant includes a sulfates removal unit, associated with a bio-treatment and a carbonates removal unit, with the treatment of the sludge resulting from the various stages.
US city forms public private partnership with Severn Trent Services
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he city of Danville in Virginia has selected Severn Trent Services to provide contract management, operations and maintenance services for Danville’s 24 million-gallon-per-day Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Severn Trent will also be responsible for Danville’s industrial pretreatment program, 11 pump stations and biosolids land application program. The three-year partnership is valued at US$6 million. During the first two years of the partnership, Danville will modify the facility to make it a more efficient operation for the lower flows being received. This may involve a process change.
January 2009