In The News
More Sustainable Cleaning Solutions Increase Efficiency
Processors no longer need to sacrifice efficiency or effectiveness when selecting eco-friendly housekeeping methods Commitment to environmental, social and corporate-governance programs coupled with a pandemic-induced need for more effective sanitizing are forcing chemical, pharmaceutical, food-and-beverage and other processors to reevaluate…
Selective separation of individual rare-earth elements using DGA-based ligands
Utilizing rare-earth elements (REEs), such as for permanent magnets in renewable energy applications, requires costly chemical separations that generate large volumes of waste. A process featuring new diglycolamide (DGA)-based ligands and liquid-liquid extraction exhibits more effective separation of individual REEs,…
Pilot plant to produce ‘greener’ acrylonitrile at cost parity for carbon fiber
A pilot facility currently under construction in Charleston, W.Va. will produce renewable acrylonitrile (ACN) without requiring the traditional petroleum-based propylene as feedstock. Since ACN is the raw material used to make carbon fibers, the new route to ACN allows the…
Ultra-rapid production of battery materials using plasma technology
A new ultra-rapid plasma-based process could significantly expand the availability of premium materials for battery applications. Developed by 6K, Inc. (North Andover, Mass.; www.6kinc.com), UniMelt is a single-pass, continuous process that employs a proprietary microwave torch technology to create a…
Business News: March 2022
Plant Watch Lummus and Synthos double planned capacity of bio-butadiene plant February 10, 2022 — Following a successful feasibility study last year, Lummus Technology (Houston; www.lummustechnology.com) and Synthos S.A. (Oswiecim, Poland; www.synthosgroup.com) announced that their new bio-butadiene technology is ready…
A sulfur-tolerant catalyst for the deoxygenation of sulfoxides
The transformation of sulfur-containing molecules is an important reaction in organic and pharmaceutical chemistry. However, the sulfur atom strongly coordinates with the active sites of metal catalysts, significantly decreasing the catalytic performance. Sulfur impurities contained in chemical feedstocks also cause…
Rubber electrolytes could stretch the capabilities of solid-state batteries
A new class of electrolyte aims to bridge the performance gaps between the electrolytes used in conventional lithium-ion batteries and solid-state batteries. The new rubber electrolytes, developed by a team of researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; Atlanta;…
Quantum-inspired computing technology drastically accelerates materials design
Semiconductor materials contain numerous ingredients in various mixing ratios, and high-performance materials are obtained by optimizing the formulation. However, more than 1,050 theoretical combinations of ingredients and mixing ratios need to be analyzed, so it would take more than dozens…
Corrosion Under Insulation Gets Attention at CPI sites
Corrosion under insulation (CUI) remains a persistent challenge at chemical process industries facilities, but the issue is receiving renewed attention amid a host of technologies, materials and methodologies for detection and prevention of CUI Corrosion of process equipment, piping and…
This heat battery is a decarbonized, ‘drop-in’ replacement for industrial boilers
As the cost of renewable energy decreases, many organizations are looking to electrify their operations to reduce carbon emissions. One promising area for decarbonization is industrial heating, which accounts for a large fraction of global emissions. However, heating networks in…