In The News
First industrial-scale plant uses CO2-lean cement production
By replacing part of cement clinker with calcined (thermally activated) clay, CO2 emissions in cement production are lowered by up to 40%, according to thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com), which developed the technology known as “polysius activated clay.”…
Ion-exchange beads for lithium extraction
With lithium demand higher than ever, processors are increasingly turning toward emerging technologies and new resources for lithium extraction. A new California-based project launched by Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR; Imperial, Calif.; www.cthermal.com) and Lilac Solutions (Oakland, Calif.; www.lilacsolutions.com) aims to…
‘Artificial photosynthesis’ system design overcomes problem of fast proton flow
Artificial photosynthesis systems seek to harvest sunlight and carbon dioxide to make fuels. Among the many challenges for making solar fuels has been achieving a fast flow of protons from where they are generated to where they combine with CO2…
New catalyst selectively promotes hydrodeoxygenation reaction
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL; Upton, N.Y.; www.bnl.gov) and the University of Delaware (Newark; www.udel.edu) have designed a catalyst capable of selectively removing oxygen atoms from the side chain of an aromatic compound without affecting the ring. The team…
COVID-19 Shutdowns Slash Demand for Refined Products
Demand for refined products has dropped sharply, challenging petroleum refineries with compressed margins, but a deal was struck on global production cuts The large-scale shutdown of economic activity related to the global pandemic response has caused demand for refined petroleum…
MOFs and nanochannels enable lithium extraction from brines
Lithium is a key raw material for batteries that power electric vehicles, portable electronics and more, but traditional methods for obtaining it are plagued by poor lithium recovery (a large portion of Li is lost in the recovery process), slow…
Wearable technologies: Wear it Well
Wearable technologies help chemical processors improve productivity and safety of workers Wearable technologies — cameras, tablets and other devices loaded with applications (apps) and software that can be attached to the body or personal protective equipment (PPE) — are catching…
Oxidative precipitation recovers nickel and cobalt from ore
An alternative method for processing mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate to separate the nickel from cobalt and manganese has been proposed by a team from the Bandung Institute of Technology (Bandung, Indonesia; www.itb.ac.id), the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Bandung) and the…
A desalination process that pumps ions instead of water
Researchers from Indonesia’s Bogor Agricultural University (Bogor, Indonesia; www.ipb.ac.id), the University of Bath (U.K.; www.bath.ac.uk), and the University of Johannesburg (Johannesburg, South Africa; www.uj.ac.za), led by Budi Riza Putra, have developed a low-cost, low-energy and low-maintenance, solar-powered desalination system that…
Plant Watch – April 2020
DOMO Chemicals to invest €12 million in new nylon plant in China March 13, 2020 — DOMO Chemicals GmbH (Leuna, Germany; www.domochemicals.com) will invest €12 million for a new nylon production plant in Zhejiang, China. The new plant will be…