Environment, Health, Safety & Security
A versatile sorbent that can clean metals from wastewater at a lower cost
At the 2024 Spring Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE; www.aiche.org), a team from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL; www.netl.doe.gov) presented on a recently patented technology for the removal of critical and heavy metals from wastewater…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Cooling Tower Basics
Most modern chemical processes require some means of rejecting heat for maintaining process efficiency, product quality and plant safety. Examples of heat rejection include cooling crystallization liquid, cooling reactor effluent, condensing material from a distillation column and cooling steps in…
Promoting Safety on the Job: An Approach for Today
By providing comprehensive ongoing training solutions, promoting emergency preparedness and implementing proactive safety guidelines on a day-to-day basis, employers can set their staff up for success In 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; Washington, D.C.; www.osha.gov) reported a…
Evolving Demand and Feed Profiles Challenge Refiners
Trends related to the energy transition are shifting global demand for refined products and affecting feedstock slates, forcing petroleum refiners to embrace adaptation and flexibility Demand for fossil fuels has remained strong in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, but…
Regulating air emissions
There have been several recent announcements regarding regulatory changes that affect the chemical process industries (CPI). One of the latest is a set of final rules announced on April 9 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; www.epa.gov) that significantly…
Electrochemical sensor selectively detects dangerous bacteria
Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt (www.uni-frankfurt.de) and Kiel University (both Germany; www.uni-kiel.de) have developed a new sensor for the detection of bacteria. It is based on a chip with a surface coating that ensures only very specific microorganisms, such as…
Disclosing climate risks
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC; www.sec.gov) finalized rules [1] that require registrants to disclose information about climate-related risks in their annual reports and registration statements. Recognizing that climate-related risks can affect a company’s business and financial…
Production and Demand Challenges for ‘Green’ Hydrogen
Burgeoning demand for hydrogen to support decarbonization goals is straining existing supply chains for industrial gases and prompting companies to adapt quickly to the emerging net-zero-carbon economy The increasing use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier is causing a…
Recently published books for April 2024
The following list is a selection of recently published books that may have relevance for parts of the chemical process industries (CPI): Processing of Biomass Waste: Technological Upgradation and Advancement. Edited by Angana Sarkar and Ulla Lassi, Elsevier Press, March…
A new project targeting emissions-free pulping
The Emission Free Pulping program aims to significantly reduce biomass burning and increase the product yield of wood material used for pulping from approximately 50 to around 70%. The five-year, €15-million program is jointly led by VTT Technical Research Centre…