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Bio-based fuels and feedstocks
FOCUS M for nine months of 2010 ($4.808 M in nine months of 2009). Verenium Corp is a pioneer in the development and commercialisation of high-performance enzymes for use in industrial processes. The financial figures for the company are presented in tables. Verenium financial reports 3Q and nine months of 2010, 9 Nov 2010 (Verenium Corp, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Tel: +1 617 674 5300. Website: http://www.verenium.com)
NEW PLANTS China’s Hubei Biocause to build crude C4 to C3 olefin conversion plant Hubei Biocause Pharmaceutical plans to construct an olefins conversion unit (OCU) in Jingmen, central Hubei province, at a cost of Yuan 302 M ($45.4 M). The 200,000 tonne/y plant will produce propylene using the process of catalytic cracking of crude C4. ICIS Chemical Business, 1 Nov 2010 (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Technologies selected for Pucheng project Pucheng Clean Energy Chemical Co (PCEC) will use a second-generation demonstration methanol-to-olefin (MTO) process, called DMTO-II, at its new polyolefins and MTO project in Pucheng, Shaanxi province, China. Chinese companies led by parent firm Shaanxi Coal Chemical Group developed the technology. The Unipol process from Univation Technologies will be used for a 300,000 tonne/y polyethylene plant, and a Lyondell Basell Industries technology will be adopted at a polypropylene unit. Startup of the plants is slated for 2013. ICIS Chemical Business, 8 Nov 2010 (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
NEW TECHNOLOGY Recent progress in catalytic technology in Japan – II (1994-2009) The Japanese chemical industry has been remarkably prolific in developing
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industrial catalytic processes. A tabulation lists 96 processes developed by 42 companies. Applied Catalysis A: General, 1 Dec 2010, 389 (1-2), 27-45
Nanodiamond excels as industrial catalyst Researchers at Shenyang National Laboratory for Material Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ridjer Boskovic Institute Zagreb, Croatia, and Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Germany are researching into the potential of nanodiamond as a catalyst for styrene manufacture. Studies show that nanodiamond is almost three times better than conventional potassium-iron as a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, the conventional method for producing styrene. Nanotechweb, 28 Oct 2010 (Website: http://nanotechweb.org)
Biofuels from biomass Workers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, have devised a two-stage process for converting lignocellulosic biomass into high-value hydrocarbons. Hydroprocessing, over a precious metal catalyst, yields a mixture of oxygenates which are converted to hydrocarbon gases using a zeolite catalyst. A company, Anellotech, has been created to commercialise the technology. Chemistry and Industry, 6 Dec 2010, (23), 8
Butadiene rubber industry should develop new and efficient catalysts The development in China of patented processes and catalysts for the production of cis-1,4-butadiene rubber (BR) is described. A current development focus is the use of neodymium catalysts to replace traditional titanium catalysts. Patented BR technology based on neodymium catalysts is soon to be commercialized by CNPC and the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry. Issues faced by Chinese companies seeking to commercialize rare earth-based BR technology include those of price, performance, quality, and supply. Chinese BR capacity rose to about
625,000 tonne/y in 2009 and accounted for around 20% of the global total. Startup of new BR units by Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemical Co Ltd (50,000 tonne/y) and CNPC Sichuan Petrochemical (150,000 tonne/y) will increase Chinese BR capacity to over 800,000 tonne/y. However, a somewhat slower increase in downstream demand will result in an oversupply situation. The impact of alternative products and raw material supplies are also considered. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Oct 2010, 21 (19), 49
Sinopec developed new titanium catalyst for polyesters A new catalyst, containing titanium, has been developed in China by Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Co. The catalyst has been developed as a replacement for a more toxic catalyst (containing antimony) used in polyester production and it has been successfully utilised at the company’s 60,000 tonne/y polyester plant. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Nov 2010, 21 (21), 19
Bio-based fuels and feedstocks Biofuel and biofeedstock production processes developed by scientists promised to deliver both economic and environmental advantages. A catalytic glycerol-to-propylene process developed by a chemical engineering professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia offers several benefits, such as lower operating temperature and pressure, more efficient conversion, and fewer byproducts. Food and agricultural company Cargill is keen on producing propylene glycol using a proprietary process that can boost production efficiency by increasing yields and generating fewer by-products. SABIC has come up with a new process to produce polybutylene terephthalate (PET)- based resins and polyesterbased elastomers using PET waste, primarily from plastic bottles. Chemical Business (India), Aug 2010, 24 (8), 11-12
OrganoClick wins first order, plans production plant OrganoClick, Sweden, has received its first order in a sales and distribution
JANUARY 2011
NEW PLANTS China’s Hubei Biocause to build crude C4 to C3 olefin conversion plant Hubei Biocause Pharmaceutical plans to construct an olefins conversion unit (OCU) in Jingmen, central Hubei province, at a cost of Yuan 302 M ($45.4 M). The 200,000 tonne/y plant will produce propylene using the process of catalytic cracking of crude C4. ICIS Chemical Business, 1 Nov 2010 (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Technologies selected for Pucheng project Pucheng Clean Energy Chemical Co (PCEC) will use a second-generation demonstration methanol-to-olefin (MTO) process, called DMTO-II, at its new polyolefins and MTO project in Pucheng, Shaanxi province, China. Chinese companies led by parent firm Shaanxi Coal Chemical Group developed the technology. The Unipol process from Univation Technologies will be used for a 300,000 tonne/y polyethylene plant, and a Lyondell Basell Industries technology will be adopted at a polypropylene unit. Startup of the plants is slated for 2013. ICIS Chemical Business, 8 Nov 2010 (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
NEW TECHNOLOGY Recent progress in catalytic technology in Japan – II (1994-2009) The Japanese chemical industry has been remarkably prolific in developing
6
ON
C ATA LY S T S
industrial catalytic processes. A tabulation lists 96 processes developed by 42 companies. Applied Catalysis A: General, 1 Dec 2010, 389 (1-2), 27-45
Nanodiamond excels as industrial catalyst Researchers at Shenyang National Laboratory for Material Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ridjer Boskovic Institute Zagreb, Croatia, and Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Germany are researching into the potential of nanodiamond as a catalyst for styrene manufacture. Studies show that nanodiamond is almost three times better than conventional potassium-iron as a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, the conventional method for producing styrene. Nanotechweb, 28 Oct 2010 (Website: http://nanotechweb.org)
Biofuels from biomass Workers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, have devised a two-stage process for converting lignocellulosic biomass into high-value hydrocarbons. Hydroprocessing, over a precious metal catalyst, yields a mixture of oxygenates which are converted to hydrocarbon gases using a zeolite catalyst. A company, Anellotech, has been created to commercialise the technology. Chemistry and Industry, 6 Dec 2010, (23), 8
Butadiene rubber industry should develop new and efficient catalysts The development in China of patented processes and catalysts for the production of cis-1,4-butadiene rubber (BR) is described. A current development focus is the use of neodymium catalysts to replace traditional titanium catalysts. Patented BR technology based on neodymium catalysts is soon to be commercialized by CNPC and the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry. Issues faced by Chinese companies seeking to commercialize rare earth-based BR technology include those of price, performance, quality, and supply. Chinese BR capacity rose to about
625,000 tonne/y in 2009 and accounted for around 20% of the global total. Startup of new BR units by Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemical Co Ltd (50,000 tonne/y) and CNPC Sichuan Petrochemical (150,000 tonne/y) will increase Chinese BR capacity to over 800,000 tonne/y. However, a somewhat slower increase in downstream demand will result in an oversupply situation. The impact of alternative products and raw material supplies are also considered. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Oct 2010, 21 (19), 49
Sinopec developed new titanium catalyst for polyesters A new catalyst, containing titanium, has been developed in China by Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Co. The catalyst has been developed as a replacement for a more toxic catalyst (containing antimony) used in polyester production and it has been successfully utilised at the company’s 60,000 tonne/y polyester plant. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Nov 2010, 21 (21), 19
Bio-based fuels and feedstocks Biofuel and biofeedstock production processes developed by scientists promised to deliver both economic and environmental advantages. A catalytic glycerol-to-propylene process developed by a chemical engineering professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia offers several benefits, such as lower operating temperature and pressure, more efficient conversion, and fewer byproducts. Food and agricultural company Cargill is keen on producing propylene glycol using a proprietary process that can boost production efficiency by increasing yields and generating fewer by-products. SABIC has come up with a new process to produce polybutylene terephthalate (PET)- based resins and polyesterbased elastomers using PET waste, primarily from plastic bottles. Chemical Business (India), Aug 2010, 24 (8), 11-12
OrganoClick wins first order, plans production plant OrganoClick, Sweden, has received its first order in a sales and distribution
JANUARY 2011