In The News
Zero-liquid-discharge project to recover products from brine
HRS Heat Exchangers Ltd. (Watford, U.K.; www.hrs-heatexchangers.com) was recently awarded an order for the design, manufacture and installation of a mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) evaporation system for LIFE Desirows (lifedesirows.eu) — a three-year, €1.6-million project funded under the E.U.’s LIFE19…
New catalyst technology for methanol synthesis boosts production and extends lifetimes
Newly launched catalyst technology, developed through a collaboration between Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) and Air Liquide Engineering & Construction (Frankfurt am Main, Germany; www.engineering-airliquide.com) and designed for methanol (MeOH) production, is capable of boosting cumulative MeOH yields by up to…
Mining REEs from phosphogypsum
Last month, the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State; University Park, Pa.; www.psu.edu), Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland Ohio; www.case.edu) and Clemson University (S.C.; www.clemson.edu) received a $1.7-million National Science Foundation grant for a four-year project to recover rare earth elements…
Business News: December 2021
Plant Watch Chemours to open new HFO plant in Arkansas November 11, 2021 — The Chemours Co. (Wilmington, Del.; www.chemours.com) announced plans to open a new facility located in El Dorado, Ark. The new plant will be dedicated to Chemours’…
Recovering REEs from unconventional sources
In October, researchers from Penn State and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Calif.; www.llnl.gov) described — in an article published in ACS Central Science — a new method that improves the extraction and separation of rare earth elements (REEs)…
Waste-based ceramics improve energy-storage economics
Ceramic materials’ high heat resistance makes them a promising media for thermal energy storage, but their high costs have inhibited their widespread use for this application. Now, a new technology offered by Seramic Materials Ltd. (Masdar City, U.A.E.; www.seramic.eco) can…
A new spin on ultrasonic algae control in wastewater-treatment applications
Ultrasound treatment is a non-chemical method to control algae using specific sound frequencies emitted through water to cause internal damage to polluting algae cells. Most previous work in the area of ultrasonic algae control has focused on very loud emitted…
Taking a Holistic Approach to Column Internals
Combining new and improved high-performance column internals and a whole-system view provides a comprehensive solution with more benefits Today’s economic and environmental pressures have chemical processors looking into projects that will help them achieve more throughput from existing columns while…
Plant Watch & Mergers: November 2021
Plant Watch ExxonMobil to build large-scale advanced recycling facility in Baytown October 11, 2021 — ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) plans to build its first large-scale, advanced recycling facility for plastic waste in Baytown, Tex. Expected to start operations by…
Chementator Briefs
ODH Catalyst Clariant Catalyts (Munich; www.clariant.com) has teamed up with Linde Engineering (Pullach im Isartal, both Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) to develop new catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODH-E), a low-emissions catalytic technology for the production of ethylene. The new…