Bridge & Iron Co (CB&I) to change anatural gas plant to a gasification-based fertilizer and ultra-cleansynthetic fuels unit. CB&I will installequipment using Rentech’s patentedadvanced derivative of the Fischer-Tropsch process in the initial stages.The Rentech Energy Midwest Corp(REMC) plant is expected to yield atleast 1250 bbl/day or 17.8 M gallon/yof ultra clean Fischer-Tropsch fuels.The plant is also predicted to churnout roughly 545,000 ton/y of ammoniaand other nitrogen fertilizers. Theproject is expected to be completed in2010.

Chemical Engineering Progress, Aug 2007, 103 (8),14-15

Nikki to boost output of hydrogenationcatalysts

Nikki Chemical plans to raise thecapacity for hydrogenation catalysts,particularly its series of stabilizednickel catalysts, by 50% to 900tonne/y. The company intends tocommence construction of new plantsin 2H 2008. Nickel and copper-basedhydrogenation catalysts are thecompany’s major products anddevelopment has focused on theareas of petrochemicals and finechemicals. Nikki Chemical hadstrengthened its global business togain a share of around 40% of itsoverall sales. Sales have been robustand total sales have escalated 2.5times from those in 2002. Under therevised plan, the company targetssales of Yen 8 bn ($66.7 M) in fiscal2008 ending 31 Mar 2009 and Yen 10bn in fiscal 2010.

Japan Chemical Week, 6 Sep 2007, 48 (2431), 2

Novozymes seeks new production sitein US

Novozymes has great expectationsfor market growth in the US and islooking for a new construction site inthe Mid-West. The acquisition of moreland in America will help the companyto meet future market demand quickly.Novozymes is planning to establishfacilities to supply chain-serviceactivities in the area of biofuels and atthe same time is considering thepossibility of a new plant for theproduction of enzymes. In the nearfuture the Danish firm will initiatenegotiations with five US states, Iowa,

Nebraska, S Dakota, Minnesota, andIllinois, over a possible plant location.

Dagbladet Borsen, 27 Sep 2007 (Website:http://www.borsen.dk) (in Danish)

NEWTECHNOLOGY

New HDS catalyst uses titania

Chiyoda Corp has awarded Axens itsproprietary titania-supported catalystfor ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization(HDS) of gas oil. Axens intends tocommence commercial production ofthe new catalyst in 1Q 2008. Thecatalyst is derived from titania supportthat provides higher HDS activity perunit area compared with traditionalalumina-supported catalysts.Chiyoda’s multi-gelation processallows the formulation of titania-supported catalysts with surfaceareas of more than 160 sq m/g andwith a narrow pore-size distribution.

Chemical Engineering (New York), 31 Aug 2007, 114(8), 14

Breakthrough, low-risk alkylationcatalyst

Albemarle Corp has teamed up withABB Lummus Global and Neste Oil inthe development of a new andimproved solid acid catalyst, AlkyStar.Claimed as a low-risk method, thetechnology can significantly improvethe safety of existing refineryprocesses and minimize hazardsduring transport and handling of liquidacids utilized in alkylate production.The catalyst, which is usedexclusively with the AlkyCleanalkylation process, imparts 25%higher activity and 35% lowerprecious metals content.

Hydrocarbon Processing, Sep 2007, 86 (9), 32,35

Mazda can cut PGM usage in cars

Mazda has announced that it hasdeveloped an auto catalyst whichuses up to 90% less platinum andpalladium than present commercialcatalysts. But it has not yet decidedwhen to use it in new models. Nissanmade a similar announcement in Jul2007 and plans to use its catalysts

from 2008. Mazda’s announcementcaused the prices of platinum andpalladium to fall slightly.

Financial Times, 2 Oct 2007

Chemspec Europe 2007: JohnsonMatthey/X-Zyme

Johnson Matthey’s Catalysts divisionwon a global licence from Germanbiotechnology firm X-Zyme coveringthe application and marketing ofcarbonyl reductase enzymetechnology in the manufacture ofchiral alcohols, for use in the finechemicals and pharmaceuticalsmarkets. A new oxidoreductase thatacts as a catalyst to reduce variouscarbonyl compounds was developedby X-Zyme. The material particularlyreduces keto esters to their matchingchiral hydroxy esters. Conversion ofaldehydes, aliphatic and aromaticketones, cyclic ketones anddiketones, and ketoacetals is alsopossible, all of which with superiorenantiomeric purity. The products willsoon be made available via the AlfaAesar catalogue. Johnson Mattheyannounced these developments at therecent Chemspec Europe 2007 inAmsterdam.

Speciality Chemicals, Jul/Aug 2007, 27 (6), 45

BioDiesel develops new biodieselproduction process

BioDiesel International has unveiled abiodiesel manufacturing process thatis said to yield higher quality atreduced cost for multi-feed operationsand to boost the quality of by-productglycerol. With the RepCat reusablecatalyst, the new technology utilizesanimal fats or used cooking oils andskips the process of blending withclean vegetable oils while retainingthe free fatty acid content.

Oils and Fats International, Sep 2007, 23 (6), 9

Eco-friendly adipic acid processadvances to pilot plant

A 30 tonne/y pilot plant, to produceadipic acid by a new, eco-friendlyprocess, has been constructed byDaicel Chemical Industry. The new,one-step process convertscyclohexane to adipic acid, using

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N-hydroxyphthalimide as catalyst,with a yield of over 80%. Currentprocesses use the nitric acid oxidationof cyclohexanone which releases thegreenhouse gas nitrous oxide.

Japan Chemical Week, 30 Aug 2007, 48 (2430), 1

FutureCarbon uses Bayer nanotubes

Bayer MaterialScience will supplyGermany-based FutureCarbon withBaytubes – multiwalled carbonnanotubes for making aqueousnanodispersions. FutureCarbon’snanodispersions and other carbonnanomaterial concentrates are usedin battery technology, fuel cells, andcatalysis. Bayer’s Baytubes output iscurrently at 30 tonne/y at a pilot plantand is raising capacity to 60 tonne/y.The company intends to establish a3000 tonne/y plant with the expectedseveral thousand tonnes increase inmarket demand.

Chemical and Engineering News, 27 Aug 2007, 85(35), 24

Commercialisation in 2010 likely forimproved HIPS modifier

In the autumn of 2007, Ube Industrieswill decide whether to commercialiseMBR (methyl methacrylate butadienerubber) using a new process with avanadium-based metallocenecatalysts system. The product wasdeveloped as a modifier for HIPS(high-impact polystyrene). Thecompany plans to invest Yen 350 M toconvert an existing 20,000 tonne/ybutadiene rubber (BR) plant in Chiba,Japan, to the production of MBR.Start up is planned for 2010. Ube hasproduction capacity of 172,000tonne/y cis-BR and 30,000 tonne/yhigh cis-BR (for use as a HIPSmodifier). There is backgrounddiscussion of BR types and uses.

Japan Chemical Week, 30 Aug 2007, 48 (2430), 2

Bio battery generates electricity fromsugar

Sony Corp has announced abiobattery that generates electricityfrom carbohydrates using enzymiccatalysis. The output is 50 mW. Thereis discussion of the product, theprocess, and product applications.

Japan Chemical Week, 30 Aug 2007, 48 (2430), 5

ENVIRONMENTCatalyst reduces nitrous oxide

South African company Sasol Nitro isthe first company which is participatingin the Nitrous Oxide ReductionProgramme (Clean DevelopmentProgram) using secondary catalysts inthe framework of the Kyoto Protocol forthe reduction of so-called climate-damaging gases. The manufacture ofnitric acid uses catalysts made fromplatinum alloys in the form of knittednets with a diameter of up to 6 metres,producing nitrous oxide as a by-product. Heraeus developed a several-stage catalyst which reduces theformation of nitrous oxide by up to 90%.An additional secondary catalystdestroys the remaining nitrous oxide.The advantage for Sasol: ifmanufacturers reduce their emissionsby a tonne of nitrous oxide they receive310 carbon dioxide certificates.

Chemische Rundschau, 11 Sep 2007, 60 (9), 12 (inGerman)

New technology claimed to convertwaste into petroleum

Mumbai based, SustainableTechnologies and EnvironmentalProjects P Ltd (STEPS) hasdeveloped a new caged catalysttechnology to convert waste intopetroleum fuels. The new methodconverts hydrocarbon based materialslike plastics, bio-medical waste,animal fats, petroleum sludge,sewage, petroleum byproducts andthe like, into liquid, gas, and solidfuels. STEPS has inked an agreementwith Australian firm B100 Biofuels,pursuant to which STEPS wouldprovide its technology to B100Biofuels for the conversion ofagriculture waste. B100 Biofuelsannounced its plan to set up biodieselunits in the Far East region.

Chemical Weekly, 4 Sep 2007, 53 (3), 126

PATENTSBoron carbide an effective FriedelCrafts catalyst

Boron Carbide, B4C, is a chemicallyunreactive refractory. Unexpectedly, aProfessor in The College of New

Jersey has discovered that it can beused to catalyse Friedel Craftsreactions. It will catalyse the alkylationand acylation of aromatic compounds.It appears to function as a Lewis acid!

US 7,279,604, Philip E Dumas, The College of NewJersey, Ewing, NJ, USA, 9 Oct 2007

Catalysed Plasmatron

A Plasmatron is a known device forconverting a hydrocarbon fuel into ahydrogen-rich gas for use in aninternal combustion engine (see US5,887,554). It has now been shownthat the use of a heterogeneouscatalyst following the Plasmatron canincrease the yield of hydrogen andthereby reduce the electricity usage.The principle can be applied to fuelcells as well as to internal combustionengines.

US 7,279,143, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA, USA, 9 Oct 2007

Improved toluene methylation

Toluene can be converted to the morevaluable xylene by reacting it withmethanol over a catalyst. The usualcatalyst is a phosphate-treated ZSM-5zeolite. The lifetime of the catalyst canbe increased, and the methanolselectivity improved, if water is co-fedto the reactor.

US 7,279,608, Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, 9 Oct 2007

Dehydrogenation catalyst

There are a number of commercialprocesses for converting loweralkanes to lower alkenes and anumber of catalysts have been used,notably chromia on alumina andplatinum on alumina. The challengefor catalyst manufacturers is tooptimise several factors – activity,selectivity, hydrothermal stability. Anew catalyst composition containingthe mixed oxides of Al, Cr, Li, and Na,and the method of manufacture, isdescribed here.

US 7,279,611, BASF Catalysts LLC, Florham Park, NJ,USA (formerly Engelhard – Ed), 9 Oct 2007

Zeolite compositions for alkylation

The performance of zeolite catalystsfor alkylating aromatic hydrocarbonsis enhanced if they are admixed with

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