The EU chemical industry has called for a reformed European Emissions Trading System (ETS) that enables allocation of free carbon allowances.
ETS is designed to cut industrial carbon emissions from European manufacturing facilities and recent proposals would see ‘at-risk sectors’ receive greater free allocations of carbon allowances – the ‘currency’ underpinning ETS. Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic, the EU chemical industry body, said: “Proposed ETS reforms to divide industries in groups or tiers protect certain industries at the expense of others. This is not only unfortunate but undesirable, since it’s based on old industrial production data. Before taking such a decision, updated and recent data should be applied at the very least.”
Company wins contract
Amec Foster Wheeler has won a contract for the engineering and material supply of a steam reformer heater for hydrogen production for the JSC Orsknefteorgsintez refinery at Orsk, Russia. The heater will be based on Amec Foster Wheeler’s Terrace WallTM design and form part of a new 75,000 Nm3/h hydrogen production unit to be installed at one of the leading refineries in Russia.
Honour for professor
Hong Kong Baptist University has conferred the title of Emeritus Professor on Professor Chan Wing-hong for his contributions to academic work and university activities over three and a half decades. He retired as a professor in the Department of Chemistry in August. Professor Chan was Head of the Department of Chemistry from 1998 to 2007, leading it through financial hardship arising from the Government’s cuts to higher education spending after the Asian financial crisis. A prolific scholar in the areas of organic synthesis and analysis, chemical sensors and supramolecular chemistry, Professor Chan has published more than 200 refereed articles in leading international journals and received more than 3,600 citations.
