Mobile Navigation

Separation Processes

Member Exclusive

Spinning reactor recovers metals from spent Li-ion batteries

Recycling lithium batteries (LIBs) requires extensive use of hydrometallurgy, which requires multiple steps of extraction-stripping processes, each requiring separate reactors and different parameters. Although there have been attempts to devise a single-step, one-pot solution by partitioning the reactor using membranes,…

Member Exclusive

Pilot trials for a carbon-capture process that combines VPSA and MOFs

This summer, pilot trials will begin at a Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. (Casale Monferrato, Italy; www.buzziunicem.com) cement plant in Monselice, Italy, which will perform field tests of a new carbon-capture process developed by Nuada, the new tradename of MOF Technologies Ltd.…

Member Exclusive

Ligand-based separation method for rare earth elements

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are difficult to separate because of their similar properties, so conventional methods are often costly and generate significant amounts of waste. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) have developed a new technique…

BASF’s gas-treatment technology to be used by Linde and Heidelberg Materials’ large-scale CO2-capture plant

A CO2 capture process, jointly developed by Heidelberg Materials, Linde GmbH (Pullach) and BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, all Germany), and based on BASF’s advanced OASE blue technology, will be used for the first time at a large-scale CO2-capture facility operated by…

Member Exclusive

Scaleup for a hydro-organic-metallurgical process

Following a successful proof-of-concept to recycle spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using reagent extracted from fruit peel waste, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU; www.ntu.edu.sg) has partnered with Se-cure Waste Management Pte. Ltd. (SWM; Singapore; www.se-curewaste.com) to scale up the technology in…

Member Exclusive

Optimizing CIP for membrane filtration plants

Membrane filtration plants are often used in the food and dairy industry to separate or concentrate substances without thermal stress. Until now, cleaning-in-place (CIP) operations for this equipment was energy- and water-intensive, requiring three or four individual cleaning steps with…

Technology launched for enhancing propane recovery in GSP

The gas subcooled process (GSP) is a method for low-temperature separation of natural-gas liquids (ethane, propane) from natural gas. Depending on the current market prices of ethane and propane, gas processors extract ethane from the natural gas or reject it…

Linde and Heidelberg Materials Announce Large-Scale Carbon Capture Project

Heidelberg Materials and Linde GmbH (Pullach, both Germany) have established a joint venture (JV) under the name Capture-to-Use (CAP2U) to build and operate a state-of-the-art carbon dioxide capture and liquefaction plant. The world's first industrial-scale carbon capture and utilization (CCU)…

Member Exclusive

Using a ‘green’ oxidizer to degrade Kraft lignin into vanillin

The demand for vanillin vastly outstrips the natural resources of this flavoring agent. A chemical process is thus used to produce the required large quantities of vanillin from petroleum, which is far less expensive than obtaining the substance from fermented…

Member Exclusive

The Protein Shift

Goals to sustainably feed a growing population with limited land resources are driving massive efforts to develop new food sources Today, it is common to see plant-based “meat” products on the shelves of grocery stores. Although soy-based meat products have…