FOCUS

hydrogen peroxide and propylene oxide plants in Dahej, Gujarat. The hydrogen peroxide part of the project will be executed by Evonik, and GACL will construct the propylene oxide plant.
Chemical Business (India), Feb 2011, 25 (2), 27-28 (Website: http://www.printsjournals.com/)

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USA. This combines two technologies, one being sunlight as a more economical energy source. Solar energy is combined with micro fluidics where water passes through micro channels and is subjected to photo-catalysis. The researchers have created a flat micro fluid reactor consisting of a rectangular chamber with two glass plates covered with titanium dioxide. Sunlight on the plates releases electrons that react with toxic agents in the water. It is envisaged that the small scale test system can be increased to take 1000 litres/hour and many systems in parallel would allow for industrial implementation.
Energie e Ambiente Oggi, Mar 2011, 1 (1), 22 (Website: http://www.ilb2b.it) (in Italian)

Avantium converting sugars into furans

Dutch research company Avantium has begun construction work on a pilot unit at the Chemelot site in Geleen, The Netherlands. The new unit will make small quantities of furanic intermediates from sugar for making fuels and ecological materials. It will open in 1Q 2011 and will in part be funded by a 1 M grant from the Dutch ministry for agriculture. Avantium has developed a new catalytic process called YXY, based on classical chemistry. Furan compounds are believed to have enormous commercial potential. In order to develop its technology, Avantium is seeking new partners. The company already works with NatureWorks (a subsidiary of Cargill), Teijin Aramid, and DAF Truck. Before end 2010 Avantium is planning to raise a further 15 M funding from private investors.
Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 18 Oct 2010, (525) (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie/) (in French)

Mitsui and Honam in PE catalyst partnership

Mitsui Chemicals and the S Korean firm Honam Petrochemicals have set up a 50:50 jv with capital of $18.5 M for the production of polypropylene catalysts. The partners plan to build a plant on Honams site at Yeosu, S Korea. This is scheduled to enter service in Apr 2013.
Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 11 Oct 2010, (524) (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie) (in French)

Chinese companies improve FCC

Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Corp, Sinopec, has developed several new processes for fluid catalytic cracking. The new process has a lower energy loss, a higher yield of light oil and propylene, and a reduced yield of dry gas.
Xiandai Huagong, 20 Apr 2011, 31 (3), 67-70, 82 (Website: http://www.xdhg.com.cn) (in Chinese)

NEW TECHNOLOGY
Algal biofuels: the backstory
The development of transportation fuels using renewable materials such as microalgae is intensifying, driven by growing energy demand and shrinking energy sources. The USA is eyeing advanced biofuels to help it achieve its energy targets under the Energy Independences and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. EISA mandates the production of 36 bn gallon/y of biofuels by 2022, and 21 bn gallons must be generated from advanced biofuels. One such advanced biofuel is microalgal biomass-based biofuel. Microalgae can be cultivated in almost any marine environment whereas cellulosic ethanol depends on land that can otherwise be utilized for food crops. Since algae consume carbon dioxide, they provide a way to capture and reuse carbon dioxide and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Though the individual elements of microalgae-to-biofuels technology have been validated, there are still technical issues that need to be resolved in order to make the technology commercially viable.
Chemical Engineering Progress, Mar 2011, 107 (3), 35-36 (Website: http://www.aiche.org/cep/)

The pure potential of glycerol

The market appears to be keeping up with the changing strategies for glycerol purification. A 5 M gallon/y biodiesel and glycerol refining plant in Keokuk, IA, USA, which has been idle over the last three years, is being primed for a major revamp. The units membrane filtration system will be installed with a liquid-liquid separator hydrosep unit, a coalescer, a vacuum, and a Pall Corp filtration system. The plant, recently acquired by Enervation Advisors LLC, has a capacity to refine 4 M gallon/y of glycerol. A total of 100 M gallons of glycerol output are expected for every 1 bn gallons of biodiesel produced. The Keokuk plant employs a combination of several steps in purifying the glycerol stream. Other biodiesel facilities use distillation, solid catalyst, or enzymes, while some take the membrane filtration route.
Biodiesel Magazine, Apr 2011 (Website: http://www.biodieselmagazine.com)

Nano approach boosts metals recovery

Recovery of valuable materials and metals has presently become the need of the hour, as their usage has increased in fabricating electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, televisions and others. This has resulted in generation of surplus of electronic waste across the globe and every day the world generates an enormous amount of electronic waste. A recent survey reports that about 80% of the e-waste generated in the US is exported to India, China, and Pakistan. This has brought about significance for recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and this e-waste can be transformed into huge revenues by utilizing proper technology for extracting these substances. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the national science agency of Australia, has made significant progress towards this. Dr Seng Lim, research scientist from CSIROs Future Manufacturing

Light intervenes in purification of water

One problem in water purification is the amount of energy needed in traditional methods. A new system developed by the University of Hong Kong has been announced in the

JULY 2011