America and the Middle East. UOP’sslurry hydrocracking process utilises aslurry catalyst to upgrade bitumen andheavy crude to lighter distillates thatcan then be used to produce cleangasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel.According to the US EnergyInformation Association, roughly 80%of the world’s bitumen is located inCanada.

Press release from: Honeywell International Inc, 101Columbia Road, Morristown, NJ 07962, USA. Tel: +1973 4552000. Fax: +1 973 455 4807. Website:http://www.honeywell.com) 14 Nov 2007

UOP and ENI develop diesel process

A new green diesel process that willuse hydrogen and vegetable oils tomanufacture chemicals and diesel oilis being developed by UOP and ENI.The process will be based onhydrodeoxygenation, decarboxylation,and hydroisomerisation methods. Thestudy of second generation biofuelsusing non-edible oils is being plannedafterwards by UOP. The biofuels unitat ENI’s Livorno, Italy, site is expectedto be operational by 2009.

Oils and Fats International, Jan 2008, 24 (1), 11

Verenium achieves financial milestonein research collaboration with Syngenta

Verenium Corp has achieved animportant technical milestoneassociated with a researchprogramme with Syngenta AG. As aresult of this achievement, Vereniumwill receive a $500,000 payment fromSyngenta. A core component of thisresearch effort utilised Verenium’sDirect Evolution technology toengineer the properties of a keyenzyme in the biosynthesis of starch.

Press release from: Verenium Corp, 55 CambridgeParkway, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Tel: +1 617 6745300. Website: http://www.verenium.com (8 Jan 2008)

NEW PLANTSAxens to supply technology toPetrobras

Axens, a technology and catalystsupplier based in France, will provideits ParamaX aromatics technologiesto the Comperj petrochemicals plantof Petrobras in Itaborai, Brazil. Theinitial operation of the plant in 2012covers capacities of 780,000 tonne/y

of p-xylene and 690,000 tonne/y ofbenzene.

ICIS Chemical Business, 26 Nov 2007 (Website:http://icischemicalbusiness.com)

BASF expands plant in Spain

BASF expects to complete theexpansion of its catalysts productionplant in Tarragona, Spain, in Sep2008. The catalysts are being used tomanufacture polypropylene. Theadditional 25% capacity is aimed atsupporting the growing polypropylenemarket, which is expanding at a rateof 4-5%/y.

Chemical and Engineering News, 12 Nov 2007, 85(46), 26 & Chemical Engineering Progress, Dec 2007,103 (12), 20

Genencor to build Center of Excellencein Cedar Rapids

Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S,has announced plans to construct anew 20,000-square-foot Applicationsand Training Centre in Cedar Rapids,IA. The project will have a capitalinvestment of approximately $3.5 Mand will create about 20 newpositions. Construction is scheduledto be complete between autumn 2008and spring of 2009, at the company’s80-acre manufacturing site.

Press release from: Danisco A/S, Denmark. Website:http://www.danisco.com (17 Dec 2007)

Johnson Matthey adds auto catalysts

Johnson Matthey will constructemission-control catalyst facilities inMacedonia and Pennsylvania, USAby 2009 to serve Europe and NorthAmerica. A $70 M plant with acapacity for 4 M/y light-duty dieselauto catalysts and selective catalyticreduction (SCR) catalysts for heavy-duty vehicles will be built near Skopje,Macedonia. The catalysts will meetnew European Union emissionsregulations. A $43 M plant producing1 M heavy-duty SCR catalysts for theNorth American market will be built insouthwest Pennsylvania. New USAstandards for heavy-duty dieselemissions are slated to be enforcedon 1 Jan 2010.

Chemical and Engineering News, 10 Dec 2007, 85(50), 19 & Press release from: Johnson Matthey, 40-42 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8EE. Tel: +44 (0) 207269 8400. Website: http://www.matthey.com (29 Nov2007)

Nippon Kasei Chemical to buildanother AdBlue plant

Nippon Kasei Chemical, which is thelargest manufacturer of AdBlue inJapan, is to build a third plant inAmagasaki and has plans for twomore in Japan. The third plant willbring its capacity to 62,000 kl/y. It alsoplans to increase the number of itsAdBlue warehouses from 2 to 10.

Japan Chemical News, 22 Nov 2007, 48 (2442), 5

Continuous catalytic reforming unitkicks off in China

On 9 Nov 2007, Sinopec GuangzhouPetrochemical Co Ltd commencedwork on the construction of a 1 Mtonne/y continuous catalytic reformingunit at Guangzhou in Guangdongprovince, China. The RMB Yuan 1.2bn unit, which should go onstream inDec 2008, is part of a 10 M tonne/yrefinery renovation project.Completion of the unit will increasegasoline capacity by 700,000 tonne/yfor Guangzhou Petrochemical, one ofthe main petrochemical producers insouthern China.

China Chemical Reporter, 6 Dec 2007, 18 (34), 12

Süd-Chemie to expand catalystproduction in Bitterfeld

Süd-Chemie Zeolites GmbH hasbegun to expand its production plantfor new speciality zeolites and alsoconstruct a new waste-waterprocessing plant at its Bitterfeld site.The investment volume amounts to adouble-digit million euro figure. In thewake of this capacity expansion, theBitterfeld workforce is to be increasedfrom just under 50 to more than 60employees over the next two years.From 2009 onwards, the productssupplied by the enlarged plant willinclude a new type of catalyst, makingit possible to manufacture propylenefrom coal and natural gas instead ofthe conventional source of oil.

Chemical and Engineering News, 3 Dec 2007, 85 (49),37 & Chemical Week, 5 Dec 2007 (Website:http://www.chemweek.com) & Chemical Engineering(New York), Dec 2007, 114 (13), 13 & Chemie Technik(Heidelberg), 10 Dec 2007 (Website:http://www.chemietechnik.de) (in German) & Pressrelease from: Süd-Chemie, Germany. Tel: +49 (0)895110 250 247. Website: http://www.sued-chemie.com(23 Nov 2007)

FEBRUARY 2008 5

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