Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; Seoul, South Korea; www.kist.re.kr) led by Seongpil Jeong have developed a pre-treatment method for membrane distillation desalination processes that involves adding magnesium to seawater to prevent scale formation (anti-fouling) on…
The Agave tequilana plant, which is native to Mexico and used to make the popular drink tequila, promises significant advantages over sugarcane and corn as a source of bioethanol. The Agave plant is now being grown as a biofuel source…
Biofertilizer + biogas Three new biofertilizer-biogas facilities will be built in the Zachodniopomorskie region of Poland. The plants are being built by Ductor Oy (Helsinki, Finland; www.ductor.com), a Finnish-Swiss biotechnology company funded by Esperotia Investments Ltd. The plants will use…
This column is based on “Orthophthalic Unsaturated Polyester Production Process – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/unsaturated-polyester-resin-production-cost. Unsaturated polyester resins (UPRs) are solutions of unsaturated polyesters in co-polymerizable monomers, which undergo cross-linkage to…
COVID-19 Response Ineos Styrolution donates ABS for safety-glasses production May 13, 2020 — Ineos Styrolution (Frankfurt, Germany; www.ineos-styrolution.com) has donated over 1,300 kg of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) to Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg to help produce protective glasses for frontline healthcare workers.…
Chemists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL; Switzerland; www.epfl.ch) have developed “sponges” designed to capture various target substances, such as gold, mercury and lead, dissolved in solution. Now, they have developed one for capturing toxic hexavalent chromium…
The presence of moisture — even in very small amounts — can be extremely detrimental the manufacture of many products, including semiconductors. Removal of moisture from a contaminated process is a labor-intensive process that requires large volumes of high-purity gases.…
Because of its abundance, light weight and easy alloying, magnesium metal has great potential for components in the automotive, aerospace and military industries. However, the two existing magnesium production processes — the Pidgeon process from ore and electrolytic process from…
This overview of a number of different methods for handling spent acids will help operators select the technology most suited for a given application The most common pickling, leaching and passivation acids are the mineral acids: sulfuric, hydrochloric and nitric.…
Removal of dissolved ions from industrial process water, boiler feedwater or wastewater is a common challenge for facilities in the chemical process industries (CPI). Ion exchange (IX) systems offer one possible solution for demineralization, purification or wastewater-treatment applications. Ion exchange…