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Tag Archives: Alternative chemical feedstocks
Making “Petrochemicals” without petroleum feedstocks: China successfully uses coal
Ethylene has historically been the most important petrochemical building block: a highly reactive molecule made by the high temperature cracking of hydrocarbons ranging from ethane to heavy gas liquids. This is actually not a specific process in that it produces a number of other … Continue reading
Aircraft biofuel blending becoming a reality
While there is considerable controversy regarding the Greenhouse gas emission-related benefits of biofuels, a number of air lines, notably United, are starting to use a “natural” jet fuel produced by a process patented by UOP. The fact that this biofuel … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Engineering, Energy Industry
Tagged Alternative chemical feedstocks, biofuels
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Biobased polymers gaining acceptance
It’s been getting more difficult to find new, interesting developments in industrial chemistry and energy, which explains why my posts are not as frequent as they used to be. The U.S. petrochemical industry got a robust new lease on … Continue reading
New, Middle West cracker breaks the mold
Last week The Joseph Priestley Society of Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia hosted a luncheon and a speech by Fernando Musa, head of Braskem USA, which is now the largest polypropylene producer in the Americas. The most interesting part of the speech … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry
Tagged Alternative chemical feedstocks, ethylene, fracking, petrochemical
2 Comments
Disruptive technologies: Mushroom packaging
This blog has periodically covered advances in bioplastics, such as compostable garbage bags, starch- and sugar-based polymers and other biomass-based materials. The current issue of New Yorker magazine carries a long article about a new technology that uses mushroom spores and … Continue reading
Corn-based gasohol on way out?
The Federal mandate to inject oxygenated fuels into gasoline to allow cleaner burning car engines spawned a huge gasohol (i.e. ethanol) industry based on turning the starch in corn into sugars, with conversion to alcohol. Originally, gasoline blenders received a subsidy to … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry, Energy Industry
Tagged Alternative chemical feedstocks, biofuels
1 Comment
Biochemicals: Desirable Innovation Model
Sunday’s New York Times a couple of weeks ago had an interesting article on innovation and job creation, with emphasis on the fact that companies are sitting on a great deal of money, because they see so few opportunitie to … Continue reading
Renewable Feedstocks Update: Industrial Biotech Advances
Industrial biotechnology, when defined as large scale production of fuels and chemicals from biomass (i.e. renewable feedstocks) has been around for a long time, though in a limited way compared to production from hydrocarbon feedstocks. Ethanol (from sugar cane, molasses, … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry
Tagged Alternative chemical feedstocks, biochemicals, bioplastics
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Ethanol from Natural Gas: An obvious move
With corn prices hitting new highs every day because of the nationwide drought and natural gas prices lower than anyone thought they could go and slated to stay low, there is a good reason for the government to change current legislation regarding … Continue reading
Polymer Raw Materials: History Continues
In developing my TED talk on chemical engineers and on the innovations now being made in the use of biomass feedstocks, I started to think about the changes that have been taking place over a number of decades in raw materials for plastics and synthetic … Continue reading