carbon dioxide in the recycle gas. Theproduction cost of the plant will be cutdramatically without affecting itsproduction capacity. It is predicted thatafter the renovation, the plant’sconsumption of ethylene and oxygenwill be decreased by over 10,000tonne/y and over 40,000 tonne/y,respectively. The plant’s unitconsumption of ethylene will decline by5%.

Press release from: Sinopec Shanghai PetrochemicalCo Ltd, 48 Jinyi Road, Jinshan District, Shanghai, PRC200540, China. Tel: + 86 21 57 941941. Fax: + 86 2157 942267. E-mail: spc@spc.com. Website:http://www.spc.com.cn (14 Jul 2010)

Carbon Sciences files patentapplications for clean tech CO2-basedGTL technology

A technology developed by CarbonSciences Inc enables production ofgasoline and other portable fuels viatransformation of greenhouse gases.The company announced recentlythat it has applied for approval of aseries of patents for its scalableclean-tech carbon dioxide-based gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel technology forconverting natural gas and carbondioxide directly into gasoline. The firstpatent application covers the designand production of a chemical catalystthat transforms methane gas andcarbon dioxide gas directly intogasoline. Related to this patent is amodule of Carbon Sciences’ end-to-end carbon dioxide to feed a systemthat produces gasoline and otherportable fuels via direct recycling ofraw carbon dioxide flue emissionsfrom plants.

Hydrocarbon Processing, Jul 2010, 89 (7), 7

ENVIRONMENTRefill Energy to bring revolutionarytechnology to gulf disaster cleanup

Refill Energy Inc announced that it iscompleting the requirements tobecome a FEMA Vendor to assist inthe affected areas of the Gulf Coast.The President of Refill Energy statedthat the technology at its disposal cangreatly assist the numerous areasaffected in the Gulf, as the companycan use the oil sludge or hurricanedebris as feedstock for the Refill

gasifier and convert it to cleansynthesis gas which can createelectricity or dimethyl ether (DME).

Press release from: Refill Energy Inc, 307 W 200 S,suite 3006, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, USA. Tel: +1 877745 5550. Website: http://www.graniteenergy.com (14Jul 2010)

US Environmental Protection Agencyplaces Actifilter SG on the NationalClean Diesel Campaign’s EmergingTechnology List

Engine Control Systems Ltd (ECS), aCatalytic Solutions Inc company, andNxtGen Emission Controls Incannounced that the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has placedthe Actifilter SG, an ECS dieselparticulate filter (DPF) emissionsreduction system that utilizes NxtGen’spatented syngas generator andCatalytic Solutions’ catalyst technology,on the National Clean Diesel’sEmerging Technology List. Actifilter SGis an actively regenerating DPF systemdesigned to reduce particulate matter(PM) for exhaust gas recirculation(EGR) and non-EGR equipped 4-strokehighway diesel engines manufacturedfrom 1994 through 2006. Unlike otheractive DPF’s which employ fuel burnersor diesel fuel injection, the Actifilter SGincorporates a syngas generator.

Press release from: NxtGen Emission Controls Inc, 22013155 Delf Place, Richmond, British Columbia, CanadaV6V 2A2. Tel: +1 604 688 7841, Fax: +1 604 688 8698.Website: http://www.nxtgen.com (19 Jul 2010)

PATENTSDirect epoxidation using improvedcatalyst

The title implies that the oxidant is amixture of elemental oxygen andhydrogen. The catalyst is unusual inseveral respects: the active catalyst isa vanadium or titanium zeolite, whichis known, but the carrier contains leadand is pre-treated with nitric acid,which is novel.

US 7,767,835, Lyondell Chemical Technology LP,Greenville, DE, USA, 3 Aug 2010

Acrolein from propylene

The production of acrolein by thepartial oxidation of propylene in thegas phase is plagued by the

development of hot spots in thereactor. This patent describes howthese may be avoided by the use ofannular, unsupported catalystelements in a fixed-bed reactor, underdefined process conditions. Thecatalyst is a mixed-metal oxidecontaining Co, Fe, Mo, W, and Bi.

US 7,772,148, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany, 10Aug 2010

Attrition-resistant zeolite catalystparticles

This patent describes how to makeattrition-resistant particles and alsominimize the energy required in themixing processes, by combinations ofslurrying and drying steps. Theproducts are SAPO types used for theMTO process.

US 7,772,337, ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc,Houston, TX, USA, 10 Aug 2010

Catalyst for making syngas having alow H2/CO composition ratio

The usual catalysts for making syngasfrom lower aliphatic hydrocarbons arebasically nickel supported on alphaalumina. Their coking resistance canbe improved by adding calcium.Further improved products describedhere include strontium in addition tocalcium.

US,771,586, Süd-Chemie Inc, Louisville, KY, USA, 10Aug 2010

Catalysts for making polyether polyols

The usual catalyst is a double metalcyanide. Its performance can beimproved by ‘conditioning’ it by pre-heating it in one of the reactants at upto 80° for 5 minutes to 4 hours underan inert atmosphere.

US 7,772,330, Bayer MaterialScience AG, Leverkusen,Germany, 10 Aug 2010

Generation of hydrogen in amicrochannel reactor

The purpose is to generate hydrogenfor powering a fuel cell car. Ahydrogen-containing organic liquid isdecomposed quickly in amicrochannel catalytic reactor.

US 7,766,986, Air Products & Chemicals Inc,Allentown, PA, USA, 3 Aug 2010

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