Tractors and farm equipment-manufacturer TAFE Ltd has acquired FAURECIA, an interior business group of the French global automotive supplier FORVIA, the company said on Friday. The deal covers operations of FAURECIA in the States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Transactions with respect to operations at Chakan in Maharashtra, and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh have been completed. The operations in Tamil Nadu is expected to stop shortly, said TAFE. The integration of plastic business of TAFE with interior systems of business of the French company offers synergistic benefits to customers. Under the deal, FAURECIA would continue to support TAFE and its customers with design capabilities, a statement said. “TAFE is encouraged by the strong synergistic opportunities that this acquisition offers,” said chairman and managing director of the company Mallika Srinivasan. “We value our relationship with our customers and thank them for the encouragement and suppor...

WASHINGTON: Researchers have developed a new catalyst that could make biofuels cheaper and more efficient. The researchers, led by Washington State University professor Yong Wang, made the catalyst by mixing cheap iron with a small amount of rare palladium. One of the biggest challenges in biofuel production is obtaining fuel carbon while removing oxygen. High oxygen levels make biofuels more unstable, less viscous, and less efficient than fossil fuels, making them unsuitable for use in aircraft or diesel fuel. The researchers wanted to use as little hydrogen as possible in the reaction to increase the yield. /p The researchers developed a mixture of iron and a small amount of palladium to effectively and cheaply remove oxygen as a catalyst. “The synergy between palladium and iron is amazing,” says Wang, who works at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University.” . Wang says, “When coupled, the catalyst is much better than the individual...