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India to get One of the World's Largest Ethylene Plants

The Linde
Group and its consortium partner Samsung Engineering, have been awarded
the contract to build a turnkey ethylene plant in Dahej, India. The plant has
been commissioned by the Indian company OPAL, . The contract is worth around 1.030
billion euro in total, of which Linde's share is 350 million euro. The plant
will be the largest of its kind in India and one of the largest ethylene plants
in the world.

30 Dec 2008

Linde Joint Venture to Supply Taiwanese Solar Cell Manufacturer with Bulk Specialty Gases

As part of its continuing success in the rapidly growing solar sector, BOC
Lien Hwa (BOCLH), Taiwan’s leading electronic gases supplier, has been
selected to supply Auria Solar in Tainan, with a wide range of bulk & specialty
gases used in the manufacturing process of solar cells.

30 Dec 2008

Fluid Free Transformers Provide Improved Safety and Reliability

DuPont ReliatraN Solid
Insulation Distribution Transformers (SIDT) represent a major innovation in
transformer operating safety and reliability. Fluid-free and designed for underground
operation in a vault or enclosure, ReliatraN SIDT transformers can be used
in residential, commercial, industrial and urban settings and are particularly
well-suited to corrosive environments, damp or humid areas, and areas prone
to storms and flooding.

29 Dec 2008

Breakthrough Lowers Cost of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Northwestern University team develops new method to reliably produce and sort out double-walled carbon nanotubes; discovery could lower the cost of this dynamic material. In recent years, the possible applications for...

29 Dec 2008

Advances in OLEDs Bring Cheaper, Richer LED-Type Room Lighting Closer

For those who love “green” compact fluorescent bulbs but hate their cold light, here’s some good news: Researchers are closer to flipping the switch on cheaper, richer LED-type room lighting. Univers...

29 Dec 2008

3M Settle Wafer Bonding Patent Infringement Litigation

3M and EV Group (EVG) have
agreed to settle the patent infringement litigation brought by EVG against 3M
in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York relating to
systems for temporary wafer bonding.

28 Dec 2008

Swedish Steel Manufacturer to Construct R+D Facility in North America

SSAB announced it will construct a research and development facility adjacent to its steel mill in Montpelier, Muscatine County, Iowa. The new facility will replace the research and development laboratory that was includ...

28 Dec 2008

Notice of Data Availability on The Regulatory Status of Spent Oil Shale

EPA has released a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) on the regulatory status of spent oil shale generated by above ground retorting or heating of oil shale. The NODA clarifies that oil shale from above ground operati...

28 Dec 2008

$7 Million in Grants Available for Reducing Methane Emissions

Through the Methane to Markets partnership, EPA is making up to $7 million in grants available for innovative international projects and activities. The agency expects to award up to 40 cooperative grants agreements rang...

28 Dec 2008

PolyOne Offers Plastics that Satisfy the US Requirements for Toys and Products Marketed for Kids

PolyOne announced its portfolio of value-added solutions that help
customers meet new U.S. standards for toys and products marketed for use by
children. PolyOne has a number of products that comply with the Consumer Products
Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), a U.S. law expected to take effect on February
10, 2009.

28 Dec 2008

DuPont Automotive Designs with Engineering Plastics Win Innovation Awards from SPE

The Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) automotive division recently
honored two automotive components that use DuPont
engineering polymers with the association’s 2008 “Most Innovative
Use of Plastics” awards.

28 Dec 2008

New Technique Could Help Improve the Reliability of Integrated Circuits

Researchers at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a method to
measure the toughness—the resistance to fracture—of the thin insulating
films that play a critical role in high-performance integrated circuits. The
new technique could help improve the reliability and manufacturability of ICs
and, better yet, it’s one that state-of-the-art microelectronics manufacturers
can use with equipment they already own.

26 Dec 2008

Electromagnetic Phantom to Help Test Airport Metal Detectors

In the comics, the Phantom is a masked crimefighter who protected the innocent
from pirates, hijackers and other evildoers. While not as dashing or exciting
as its costumed namesake, this electromagnetic phantom—a carbon and polymer
mixture that simulates the human body—is being readied by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its upcoming role as a
different kind of protector. The NIST phantom serves as a mannequin in a standardized
performance test for walk-through metal detectors or WTMDs such as those used
at airports.

26 Dec 2008

Vale Acquires $300 Million in Coal Assets

Vale announces that it entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire 100% of the export coal assets of Cementos Argos S.A. (Argos) in Colombia for US$ 300 million. Argos, listed in Bolsa de Valores de Colombia...

26 Dec 2008

Extreme High Resolution SEM Allows Imaging at Different Angles with Sub Nanometer Resolution

FEI’s
new Magellan™ extreme high-resolution scanning electron microscope (XHR
SEM) allows scientists and engineers to quickly see 3D surface images at many
different angles and at resolutions below one nanometer.

26 Dec 2008