Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used for high-performance fire-fighting and in the manufacture of durable goods for their chemical inertness, non-stick properties and fire resistance. They have also raised health concerns because they do not degrade in…
The research group of Yabing Qi at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST; Japan; https://groups.oist.jp/emssu), in collaboration with Shengzhong Liu at Shaanxi Normal University, China, has developed a simple method to fabricate thin (1µm) perovskite films that can be…
Shu Kobayashi and colleagues at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp) reported on two new catalysts for synthesizing fine chemicals using their continuous-flow reactor system. The first technology is a novel methodology using CsF.Al2O3 as a highly efficient, environmentally benign,…
O2 recycling A beta field trial has been successfully completed for an adsorption-based technology designed to separate unreacted oxygen in ozone-generating systems. The technology, known as Ozora, was developed by Linde LLC (Bridgewater, N.J.; www.lindeus.com), and was originally launched last…
Plant Watch Covestro to invest €1.5 billion in new, world-scale MDI plant in Baytown October 9, 2018 — Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) approved an investment of around €1.5 billion to build a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant in…
A project has been announced to demonstrate Microvi’s (Hayward, Calif.; www.microvi.com) pollutant-removal-and-recovery technology for phosphorus in water. The objective of the demonstration is to reduce total phosphorus levels to 0.1 mg/L at a wastewater treatment plant. The nine-month project is…
A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that bonds a silicon-oxide film to metal surfaces of any shape is being scaled up by Wicoatec GmbH (Ulm, Germany; www.wicoatec.com). Serial production started in 2017 with pilot-scale equipment, and capacities will be tripled…
As environmental and transportation regulations become more stringent around the world, treating spent acids is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity Acids play many different roles in a large number of sectors of the chemical process…
Around 70% of all chemical products use chlorine in their manufacturing process. At the same time, the production of this important base chemical is one of the most energy-intensive processes in the chemical industry. In order to change that, thyssenkrupp…
Petroleum refineries must meet increasingly stringent levels for sulfur content in fuel, but the conventional hydrodesulfurization approach requires high-pressures and temperatures. Alternative Petroleum Technologies Corp. (APT; Reno, Nev.; www.altpetrol.com) has piloted an oxidative desulfurization technology, known as Sulfex, that can…