A new pilot plant is demonstrating a proprietary technology for recycling magnet materials from end-of-life (EOL) products, such as electric motors, automobile parts and hard-disk drives. Developed by Cyclic Materials Inc. (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.cyclicmaterials.earth), the Mag-Xtract process is said…
A laboratory ventilation system that does not work effectively may not keep personnel safe and can produce significant adverse impacts on operations Laboratory personnel treat their ventilation systems as a given. They expect them to be designed right, to always…
Launched last December, the High Efficiency Scrubber (HES) Optimizer (photo) is a digital tool that combines internal process calculations with measurements available at site to enable energy savings in the operation of Venturi-type scrubbers in wet-gas cleaning plants. Although the…
Researchers at Asahi Kasei Corp. (Düsseldorf, Germany and Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.com) are developing a membrane-based system that dehydrates organic solvents without heat or pressure. The system is targeting pharmaceutical-manufacturing applications, where organic solvents are commonly used in performing reactions, as…
Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; Germany; www.kit.edu) and the SMS group GmbH (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.sms-group.com) have developed a new process to reduce CO2 emissions from worldwide steel production by several hundred million tons per year. It is based…
Understanding the water chemistry is a first step in preventing heat-exchanger fouling At the two power plants and chemical plant in which this author formerly worked, the fresh-water-makeup supplies (two lakes and an underground aquifer adjacent to a river) all…
Plant Watch Solenis to build new polyvinylamine production facility in Virginia January 12, 2024 — Solenis, LLC (Wilmington, Del.; www.solenis.com) will invest $193 million to expand production capacity of polyvinylamine (PVAm) in Suffolk, Va. The company will build a new…
The Wilsen.valve and Wilsen.node internet of things (IoT) sensor nodes (photo) wirelessly transmit data from spatially isolated assets to the network communication system. The battery-operated devices record measurement data, position data and the status of the connected sensors and wirelessly…
This company has developed a new personal protective equipment (PPE) garment for laboratory workers that is said to be 100% recyclable, while also providing enhanced safety benefits. Traditional garments worn in laboratories are made of unrecyclable materials and frequently end…
The key technologies shaping industrial process control all work in tandem to support the ultimate goal of plant optimization Process control technologies are at the heart of all chemical process facilities, providing the foundation for safe and efficient plants. As…