Industry News
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Siemens Energy collaborates with ServiceNow on defense against cyber threats
Siemens Energy is collaborating with ServiceNow to create a unified software service offering enabling energy companies to monitor, detect and respond to cyber threats targeting digitally connected critical infrastructure.
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U.S. fuel supply response slowed by mothballed oil tankers
Efforts to get fuel supplies to areas in the United States facing shortages have been slowed because shipowners have mothballed U.S.-flagged oil tankers that can make coastal voyages.
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Solvay switches soda ash plant from coal to biomass
SOLVAY says its soda ash plant in Rheinberg, Germany will become the first in the world to use 100% renewable power after it switches from burning coal to biomass.
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SK Innovation says refining margins to gradually improve in Q2
SK Innovation Co Ltd, the owner of South Korea's top refiner SK Energy, said refining margins were likely to gradually improve in the second quarter due to recovering demand as the impact of COVID-19 eases.
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U.S. fuel pipeline recovering from ransomware attack
After a six-day outage, the top U.S. fuel pipeline moved some of the first millions of gallons of motor fuels after a crippling cyberattack led to fuel shortages across East Coast states.
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SpectraSyn MaX next-generation polyalphaolefin provides improved fuel economy and energy efficiency
ExxonMobil announced the new SpectraSyn™ MaX next-generation polyalphaolefin (PAO) base stock, designed to provide an unprecedented low viscosity, low volatility balance and help enable improved fuel economy and energy efficiency.
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Refinery suspends production after fire, oil release
The troubled Limetree Bay oil refinery in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, has suspended operations after a malfunction sent oil raining onto a nearby neighborhood.
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BASF expands global PGM refining capacity
BASF announcedthe expansion of its Seneca, South Carolina, USA, Platinum Group Metals (PGM) refining facility.
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MHI Compressor International to supply production-boosting turbomachinery to ammonia facility
MHI Compressor International Corporation (MCO-I), a leader in the design and manufacture of compressors, drive turbines, gear boxes and their control systems, will supply four compressors and two steam turbines during a revamp and expansion of Koch Fertilizer’s ammonia production facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
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FPT Industrial, Landi Renzo Group to collaborate on clean fuel projects
FPT Industrial, the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of low-impact sustainable engines, and Landi Renzo Group have signed two Memoranda of Understanding aimed at exploring the possibility of collaborating on Clean Fuel projects.
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Sinopec offers refineries sweeteners to boost clean marine fuel
China's Sinopec Corp is offering its refineries incentives to boost their output of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) three sources with knowledge of the matter said, to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing marine fuel market.
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Aker Solutions wins contract to design E-fuel plant
AKER SOLUTIONS has won a contract to design a plant in Norway that will use renewable power, water, and captured carbon to produce fuels and chemicals feedstocks.
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McDermott awarded contract for plastics recycling project
MCDERMOTT has announced that it has been awarded a front end engineering design (FEED) contract from Michelin Group to industrialise a plastic recycling project.
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BioNTech announces new facility in Singapore
BIONTECH has announced that it will build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Singapore as well as establish its regional headquarters for Southeast Asia there.
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Carbon Clean supplies carbon capture technology to three more industrial facilities
CARBON Clean has announced three new agreements with power-to-fuels, cement, and hydrogen production companies for use of its carbon capture technology.
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Engen to convert SA refinery into terminal
AFRICAN-based energy group Engen has announced that it will be progressing plans to convert its 120,000 bbl/d refinery in Durban, South Africa into a terminal, as the refinery is not commercially viable and considered unsustainable in the long term.
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John Botterill, 1929–2021
JOHN BOTTERILL, a pioneer of heat transfer research, died in Birmingham, UK, on 9 February at the age of 91.
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Lonza and Moderna enter agreement to increase vaccine production
LONZA has entered a new agreement with Moderna to double production for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine at its site in Switzerland.
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Shell to trial hydrogen fuel cells for Singapore ships
SHELL has entered a collaboration which will trial the use of hydrogen fuel cells on ships in Singapore.
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Declining demand sees Stora Enso plan to close pulp and paper mills
PENDING discussions with employees, renewable materials company Stora Enso plans to permanently close two European pulp and paper production mills amidst declining demand. The closures, planned for Q3 of 2021, would impact more than 1,000 workers.
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Safer and more efficient alkylation process now at commercial scale
CHEVRON and Honeywell have started commercial operation of a new alkylation process using an ionic liquid catalyst that is safer and more efficient than traditional methods.
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Firefighter injured at US chemical plant explosion
ONE firefighter was injured while responding to a large fire at a chemical plant in Affton, St Louis County, Missouri.
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Novel sponge tech collects oil in ultra-cold waters
RESEARCHERS in Canada and the UK have developed a coating for commercially-available sponges that can recover oil droplets from water as cold as 5°C, offering a sustainable and economical method for removing oil from ultracold industrial wastewater and oil spills.
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Sanofi to support 200m Covid vaccines
SUPPORTING global supply demand, Sanofi will help Moderna manufacture up to 200m doses of the biotechnology company’s Covid-19 vaccine in the US, starting in September.
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IChemE sets out priority topics to 2024
ICHEME has identified three priority topics and published Learned Society Priority Topics to 2024, which sets out how the Institution will address these focus areas over the coming years.
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Arkema says Singapore polyamide plant on track for 2022
SPECIALTY materials company Arkema has said despite challenges from the pandemic it is on track to rapidly expand production of polyamide 11 through a new plant in Singapore.
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Air Products acquires full ownership of China gasification joint venture
AIR Products has announced that it has acquired the remaining 50% stake in a gasification joint venture from China Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical.
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World leaders announce new commitments at climate summit
US President Joe Biden hosted a climate summit on Earth Day, where some world leaders announced new commitments and Biden unveiled the US’ new Paris Agreement pledge.
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Jacobs supports UK nuclear reactor development
JACOBS is going to provide “cutting-edge” technical support to two companies as they continue to develop nuclear power reactors backed by the UK Government.
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Webinar: Designing effective emission abatement systems
ON 28 April, The Chemical Engineer hosted a webinar about using data analytics to design the most cost-effective emissions abatement system.
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New steel manufacturing process could lower emissions in car industry
ENGINEERS have developed a new method of steel manufacturing to produce strong, lightweight steel which could help to lower CO2 emissions in car manufacturing by making the vehicles lighter.
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Australia to invest A$539m in carbon capture and hydrogen projects
AUSTRALIA’s budget for this fiscal year will see it invest A$539.2m (US$416.6m) in hydrogen and carbon capture, use, and storage (CCS/CCUS) projects that will support industry, create 2,500 jobs, help cut emissions, and drive further investment.
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Turning food waste into aviation fuel
A BIOREFINING process that converts wet waste – including food waste and wastewater sludge – into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been developed by researchers in the US. The SAF could be used in commercial flights within a couple of years if approved.
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TEPCO to flush Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific
THE Japanese Government will allow TEPCO to discharge treated wastewater stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear site, into the sea, in two years’ time.
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Energy partners to develop claimed world-first decarbonisation projects
ENERGY companies Equinor and SSE Thermal have unveiled plans to jointly develop two projects including what they claim will be one of the UK’s first power stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and the world’s first major 100% hydrogen-fuelled power station.
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UK sets target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035
THE UK has set a new legally-binding target of cutting emissions by 78% from 1990 levels by 2035, building on its previous target of cutting emissions by 68% by 2030.
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Regulator stops Tepco nuclear plant restart over security issues
TEPCO has been prevented from restarting units at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata, Japan, as regulators said improvements in security measures must be made following a number of incidents.
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South Australia agrees A$1bn for hydrogen, CCS and more gas
SOUTH Australia has agreed a A$1bn (US$770m) investment with the Federal Government that includes funds for hydrogen, CCS, and exporting gas to the east coast.
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Candidates announced for IChemE elections
ICHEME has announced the candidates running for available positions on the IChemE Board of Trustees, Congress, and Learned Society Committee.
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UK announces Horizon funding following science budget cuts
THE UK Government has announced that it is making an additional £250m (US$345.5m) in funding available to support UK participation in Horizon Europe, the EU’s 2020–2027 research and innovation funding programme, with a budget of €95.5bn (US$113.81bn).
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Sanofi invests in new vaccine production facility in Singapore
SANOFI is investing €400m (US$479m) over five years to build a new vaccine production facility in Singapore.
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Wood and NEL Hydrogen to work on green hydrogen projects
WOOD and NEL Hydrogen have signed an agreement to support the delivery of large-scale green hydrogen facilities.
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Veolia agrees deal for Suez, merging world’s largest water firms
VEOLIA has agreed a deal to buy its rival Suez, ending a fraught takeover battle that merges the world’s two largest water and wastewater companies.
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APC subsidiary lets contract for Jubail PDH-PP complex
AGIC let a contract to Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Arabia Ltd. to deliver engineering, procurement, and construction on two polypropylene units for a grassroots integrated propane dehydrogenation and PP complex in Jubail Industrial City II, Saudi Arabia.
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IChemE pays tribute to Royal Patron Prince Philip
ICHEME has paid tribute to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his time as Royal Patron of the Institution.
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Lanxess enters battery electrolyte sector
LANXESS is taking its first step into the battery chemistry market through a deal to manufacture electrolyte formulations for Chinese manufacturer Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology.
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Chemical engineers develop ‘smart bandages’
RESEARCHERS at the University of Rhode Island (URI), US have embedded nanosensors into microfibres to create “smart bandages”, which offer the chance to detect and monitor wound infections in a continuous, non-invasive manner.
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Santos greenlights Australia’s largest oil and gas investment in close to a decade
SANTOS has sanctioned a US$3.6bn investment in the Barossa gas project off Australia’s Northern Territory, extending the life of the Darwin LNG plant and marking the largest investment in the country’s oil and gas sector since 2012. Concerns about the climate impacts of the project have prompted one group to label the project “a carbon bomb”.
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New fund seeks to boost investment and diversity of South Africa energy
A R1.5bn (US$102m) investment fund has been launched in South Africa to boost investment in the country’s energy sector and encourage more black participants, especially women, in the sector.
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Wastewater leak causes concern for Florida marine life
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are concerned about the impacts on marine life after days of leakage of contaminated wastewater into a local creek leading to Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest open-water estuary. Researchers are currently investigating the effects.
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