- Email: [email protected]
Carbon dioxide and monoxide used to make biopolymers
F O C U S
O N
C ATA LY S T S
Carbon dioxide and monoxide used to make biopolymers
has engineering offices in Sherbrooke, PQ.
Cornell University (USA) has developed a catalytic system for making biopolymers using renewable materials. Novomer has developed technology for production of biodegradable polymers using this catalytic system. Many producers of biodegradable polymers use carbon dioxide and monoxide as starting materials. The trend in the last 5 years has been to produce biodegradable and compostable packaging from vegetable sources especially maize.
Press release from: Enerkem Inc, 615 Rene-Levesque Blvd West, Suite 820, Montreal QC H3B 1P5, Canada. Tel: +1 514 875 0284. Fax: +1 514 875 0835. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.enerkem.co (26 Jun 2008)
macplas, May 2008, 33 (298), 28 (in Italian) & Macplas International, Jun 2008, 19
ENVIRONMENT Edmonton to be site of world’s first industrial scale municipal waste-toethanol facility Edmonton will be home to the world’s first industrial scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste. The City has signed a 25-year agreement with GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s largest ethanol producer, and Enerkem, a leading biofuels technology company. The $70 M biofuels facility will initially produce 36 M lt/y of biofuels and reduce Alberta’s carbon dioxide footprint by more than 6 M tonnes over the next 25 years from 2008 – the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars from the road every year. The City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) are contributing $20 M to the facility. The City of Edmonton will also contribute $50 M to a related processing facility and research facility. AERI’s total contribution to all the components is $29 M. This plant is the first to be announced by Greenfield Ethanol and Enerkem since the recent announcement of their partnership to jointly design, build, and operate commercial next generation ethanol plants. GreenField Ethanol Inc is Canada’s leading ethanol producer. Enerkem is a leader in the development and production of next generation biofuels. It is headquartered in Montreal, PQ, and
AUGUST 2008
Yara builds new urea solutions plant at Sluiskil Yara is to establish Uream 7, the world’s largest urea solutions plant at Sluiskil, The Netherlands. This will render two older plants redundant and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the complex by 300,000 tonne/y while increasing the production capacity at Sluiskil by about 50%. The project will cost around €400 M. The plant will be based on DSMStamicarbon’s CO2 stripping process. Uhde, Germany, will carry out the construction work. Commissioning is planned for Jun 2011. Traditionally, urea has mainly been used in the production of fertilizers, but the urea output at Sluiskil will be sold as an AdBlue solution. In the latest generation of goods vehicles, AdBlue is injected into the exhaust so that nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas are neutralized by selective catalytic reduction. The growing demand for this product is an important reason for Yara investing in Ureum 7. Chemisch2Weekblad, 27 Jun 2008 (Website: http://www.c2w.nl/) (in Dutch)
Borealis invests in AdBlue Borealis is investing over $7 M for the capacity expansion of its AdBlue high purity urea solution in Linz, Austria. The European polymer maker’s subsidiary Agrolinz Melamine International manufactures urea in the area. AdBlue transforms nitrogen oxides released by diesel vehicles into nitrogen and water by selective catalytic reduction. Chemical and Engineering News, 9 Jun 2008, 86 (23), 25
nonotubes together and functionalising the surface by oxidation. Various organic polymers can be used as the glue. US 7,396,798, Hyperion Catalysts International Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA, 8 Jul 2008
Supported nanoparticulate catalysts The challenge in making a supported nanoparticulate catalyst is to avoid agglomeration. This is achieved by the use of a polyfunctional anchoring agent, and drying at a relatively low temperature. The examples describe the deposition of palladium and platinum particles on activated carbon, using a polyacrylate anchor. US 7,396,795, Headwaters Technology Innovation LLC, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA, 8 Jul 2008
Improved SCR catalyst for NOx reduction The usual reductant for use with SCR is ammonia, but this can be hazardous. This invention uses a fluid hydrocarbon as the reductant, instead of ammonia. The catalyst is a supported mixed metal oxide containing gallium and indium and a promoter. US 7,399,729, General Electric Company, Niskayuna, NY, USA, 15 Jul 2008
Removal of catalyst from alkene oxide polymerisations Double metal cyanides are commonly used for catalysing the polymerisation of alkene oxides, but their removal from the polymer products can be difficult. If the cyanide catalysts are complexed with some alkene oxide polymers they may be removed from the liquid products by adjusting the temperature and separating the immiscible liquid phases US 7,396,963, Dow Global Technologies Inc, Midland, MI, USA, 8 Jul 2008
PATENTS Catalyst support made from carbon nanotubes A rigid carbon body is made by ‘gluing’ single-walled carbon
Hydroprocessing catalyst compositions for heavy oils A suspension of molybdenum oxide in aqueous ammonia is sulfided with hydrogen sulfide, slurried with a
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O N
C ATA LY S T S
Carbon dioxide and monoxide used to make biopolymers
has engineering offices in Sherbrooke, PQ.
Cornell University (USA) has developed a catalytic system for making biopolymers using renewable materials. Novomer has developed technology for production of biodegradable polymers using this catalytic system. Many producers of biodegradable polymers use carbon dioxide and monoxide as starting materials. The trend in the last 5 years has been to produce biodegradable and compostable packaging from vegetable sources especially maize.
Press release from: Enerkem Inc, 615 Rene-Levesque Blvd West, Suite 820, Montreal QC H3B 1P5, Canada. Tel: +1 514 875 0284. Fax: +1 514 875 0835. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.enerkem.co (26 Jun 2008)
macplas, May 2008, 33 (298), 28 (in Italian) & Macplas International, Jun 2008, 19
ENVIRONMENT Edmonton to be site of world’s first industrial scale municipal waste-toethanol facility Edmonton will be home to the world’s first industrial scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste. The City has signed a 25-year agreement with GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s largest ethanol producer, and Enerkem, a leading biofuels technology company. The $70 M biofuels facility will initially produce 36 M lt/y of biofuels and reduce Alberta’s carbon dioxide footprint by more than 6 M tonnes over the next 25 years from 2008 – the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars from the road every year. The City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) are contributing $20 M to the facility. The City of Edmonton will also contribute $50 M to a related processing facility and research facility. AERI’s total contribution to all the components is $29 M. This plant is the first to be announced by Greenfield Ethanol and Enerkem since the recent announcement of their partnership to jointly design, build, and operate commercial next generation ethanol plants. GreenField Ethanol Inc is Canada’s leading ethanol producer. Enerkem is a leader in the development and production of next generation biofuels. It is headquartered in Montreal, PQ, and
AUGUST 2008
Yara builds new urea solutions plant at Sluiskil Yara is to establish Uream 7, the world’s largest urea solutions plant at Sluiskil, The Netherlands. This will render two older plants redundant and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the complex by 300,000 tonne/y while increasing the production capacity at Sluiskil by about 50%. The project will cost around €400 M. The plant will be based on DSMStamicarbon’s CO2 stripping process. Uhde, Germany, will carry out the construction work. Commissioning is planned for Jun 2011. Traditionally, urea has mainly been used in the production of fertilizers, but the urea output at Sluiskil will be sold as an AdBlue solution. In the latest generation of goods vehicles, AdBlue is injected into the exhaust so that nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas are neutralized by selective catalytic reduction. The growing demand for this product is an important reason for Yara investing in Ureum 7. Chemisch2Weekblad, 27 Jun 2008 (Website: http://www.c2w.nl/) (in Dutch)
Borealis invests in AdBlue Borealis is investing over $7 M for the capacity expansion of its AdBlue high purity urea solution in Linz, Austria. The European polymer maker’s subsidiary Agrolinz Melamine International manufactures urea in the area. AdBlue transforms nitrogen oxides released by diesel vehicles into nitrogen and water by selective catalytic reduction. Chemical and Engineering News, 9 Jun 2008, 86 (23), 25
nonotubes together and functionalising the surface by oxidation. Various organic polymers can be used as the glue. US 7,396,798, Hyperion Catalysts International Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA, 8 Jul 2008
Supported nanoparticulate catalysts The challenge in making a supported nanoparticulate catalyst is to avoid agglomeration. This is achieved by the use of a polyfunctional anchoring agent, and drying at a relatively low temperature. The examples describe the deposition of palladium and platinum particles on activated carbon, using a polyacrylate anchor. US 7,396,795, Headwaters Technology Innovation LLC, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA, 8 Jul 2008
Improved SCR catalyst for NOx reduction The usual reductant for use with SCR is ammonia, but this can be hazardous. This invention uses a fluid hydrocarbon as the reductant, instead of ammonia. The catalyst is a supported mixed metal oxide containing gallium and indium and a promoter. US 7,399,729, General Electric Company, Niskayuna, NY, USA, 15 Jul 2008
Removal of catalyst from alkene oxide polymerisations Double metal cyanides are commonly used for catalysing the polymerisation of alkene oxides, but their removal from the polymer products can be difficult. If the cyanide catalysts are complexed with some alkene oxide polymers they may be removed from the liquid products by adjusting the temperature and separating the immiscible liquid phases US 7,396,963, Dow Global Technologies Inc, Midland, MI, USA, 8 Jul 2008
PATENTS Catalyst support made from carbon nanotubes A rigid carbon body is made by ‘gluing’ single-walled carbon
Hydroprocessing catalyst compositions for heavy oils A suspension of molybdenum oxide in aqueous ammonia is sulfided with hydrogen sulfide, slurried with a
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