Until now, waste tires have been used mainly for recovering energy. Only small proportions of the carbon black contained in these tires are recycled, since the mineral ash generated by pyrolysis consists of about 20 wt.% of additives used to…
Next year, construction will begin on an industrial-scale pilot plant to further develop a new process that decomposes methane into H2 and carbon. The process uses a thermo-catalytic decomposition (TCD) technology developed by Hycamite TCD Technologies Oy (Kokkola, Finland; www.hycamite.com).…
According to statistics from the World Bank, thousands of tons of valuable minerals are imported to Germany from Chile every year, including raw materials for lithium-ion batteries. But their extraction causes ecological and social problems. “The use of the limited…
Higher-volume production of battery-powered vehicles is driving the development of high-performance polymers with improved properties to meet the needs of electric propulsion The market for battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) has grown rapidly over the past five years. According to a…
A new technology developed by Enertopia Corp. (Kelowna, B.C., Canada; www.enertopia.com) aims to improve the efficiency of solar panels by collecting excess waste heat and using it to heat water. Besides improving energy output, the technology also significantly lengthens the…
Enterprise-level software simplifies data management Last month, this company launched its Plantweb Optics Data Lake (photo), an enterprise-level data-management software solution that helps manufacturers reduce data complexity so that they can fully leverage operations data across a production site or…
Five innovative technologies have been selected as finalists for the 2021 Kirkpatrick Award for Chemical Engineering Achievement.* The finalists were selected based on three criteria: the difficulty of chemical engineering problems met and solved; novelty of the technology; and evidence…
Following a standardized project-development process, in combination with a robust cost-estimate classification system, can help to ensure that projects meet their financial goals Cost estimating is critical to support decision-making during the project development process for projects in the chemical…
Managing the risk from combustible dust explosions involves a number of strategies for preventing explosions, as well as isolating, venting and suppressing explosions if they occur. Complying with applicable NFPA standards is a pathway toward minimizing risk Combustible dust explosions…
Caprolactam (Figure 1) is a cyclic amide widely used as a chemical intermediate. The main forms of caprolactam are molten (liquid) and flakes. At ambient temperatures, it is a white, hygroscopic, crystalline solid. Almost all caprolactam is used as monomer…