Bauxite residue (red mud) is a byproduct from the smelting of aluminum. Like other waste slags from the metallurgy industry, bauxite residue is traditionally put into hazardous-waste landfills, although it contains a mixture of valuable raw materials in low concentrations.…
Granular activated carbon (GAC) can be used to remove polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater and drinking water, but current methods to regenerate spent GAC are costly and require high temperatures of greater than 1,000°C. A team of scientists at Battelle…
A collaborative research group in Japan has engineered a self-sustaining device that can detect the presence of COVID-19 particles or droplets in air. The device, which requires no batteries, employs a magnetostrictive clad plate composed of iron, cobalt and nickel,…
Spring-loaded pressure-relief valves (PRVs) often use bellows to ensure balanced operation. Data analysis from 30,000 PRV service records across different industries and valve brands shows a bellows failure rate between 2 to 6%, according to Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.; www.emerson.com).…
Microorganisms populate nearly any habitat, no matter how hostile it is. Their great variety of survival strategies is of huge potential in biotechnology. However, most of these organisms are unknown, because they cannot be cultivated. To make better use of…
The following lists recently published books of relevance to the chemical process industries (CPI): The Other Side of Safety: Moving from Results-Based to Behavior-Based. By Robert Palmer, CRC Press, 2023, 154 pages, $71.96. A New Approach to HAZOP of Complex…
A new recycling process has been developed for scrap polypropylene (PP), a waste stream that is currently underserved by many plastics-recycling facilities. The process, developed by PureCycle (Orlando, Fla.; www.purecycle.com), aims to “wash the plastic molecules” using a series of…
A new electrowinning process is being field-trialed at the Prieska copper-zinc mine operated by Orion Minerals Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia; www.orionminerals.com.au) in South Africa, which will enable the production of valuable products, including calcium, magnesium, iron and others, from contaminated mine…
LuminUltra Technologies Ltd. (Fredericton, N.B., Canada; www.luminultra.com) recently launched a suite of DNA-based monitoring tools specifically designed to address organisms linked to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). The collection enables industrial users to collect, prepare and test samples for a range…
LanzaTech Inc. (Chicago, Ill.; www.lanzatech.com) has developed a genetically engineered bacterium capable of converting carbon dioxide directly to ethylene, the most widely used chemical building block globally. The company has incorporated the engineered biocatalyst into a continuous process in a…