In The News
Converting waste polyolefins to isoalkanes
Chemical recycling of waste polyolefins is difficult to achieve economically partly because of the stability of carbon-carbon bonds in the plastics. In a new approach, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) and the Technical University of…
Electrolysis of seawater — without pre-treatment
Current electrolyzers for producing hydrogen use purified water as feedstock, but in the future, this could exacerbate freshwater shortages in some areas. Seawater is highly abundant, but the ions it contains undergo electrode side reactions, and cause corrosion in proton-exchange…
Quinones power this flow battery
A new flow-battery design is based on quinones — a plentiful material historically derived from coal tar and used in dyestuff manufacturing — rather than traditional battery electrolytes. “Our feedstocks use no critical materials like lithium, cobalt or nickel, and…
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…
Process Sensors: It’s All About the Data
Today’s process sensors provide a real-time data foundation for asset management and process optimization across the enterprise For many decades, industrial process sensors have been used across the chemical process industries (CPI) to measure common process variables, such as pressure,…
Patented technology captures real-time ‘hyperspectral’ images
The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M; Spain; www.uc3m.es) has patented a new system for capturing hyperspectral images — those capable of collecting information across a broad frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum (near-infrared, mid-infrared and terahertz). The system can…
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…
Plant Watch: April 2023
Plant Watch Evonik to expand methionine production capacity in Singapore March 9, 2023 — Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is expanding its capacity to produce DL-methionine on Jurong Island, Singapore, by 40,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Following the…
A customized catalyst for solid-state reactions
Chemists at Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; www.global.hokudai.ac.jp) and the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery have developed what is said to be the first high-performance catalyst specifically designed and optimized for solid-state, mechanochemical synthesis. The new approach was…
Decarbonizing cement production using solar-thermal energy
Last month, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) awarded $3.2 million in funding for the Solar MEAD project, which aims to decarbonize cement production. This joint project is headed by Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cemex; Monterrey, Mexico;…