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Facts At Your Fingertips: Industrial Electrolysis

Industrial electrolysis involves passing a direct electric current through an electrolyte to elicit a range of chemical reactions. Electrolyzers are key pieces of technology for producing many important industrial chemicals. This one-page reference reviews the basic general operation of an…

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Facts At Your Fingertips: Efficiency in Electric Induction Motors

The purchase price of an electric motor is generally thought to end up as a small fraction (2–3%) of the motor’s total lifetime cost, with the majority of costs resulting from the electricity used by the motor. This makes motor…

A Primer on LPG Storage Systems

Any loss of containment for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) can have potentially catastrophic results. This article details various LPG storage configurations with special focus on the design of mounded-bullet systems Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a mixture of propane and…

Bookshelf September 2024: Recently published books for the CPI

The following titles are recently published books that may be relevant for professionals in the chemical process industries (CPI):    Fundamentals and Practice in Statistical Thermodynamics. By Jianzhong Wu and John Prausnitz. Wiley and Sons Publishing, 2024, 768 pages, $149.95. Rare…

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Versatile production of biopolymers in new semi-crystalline format

Bio-based polymers, such as polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), are seeing increasing application as a more sustainable alternative to fossil-based materials. A new, flexible production platform developed by CJ Biomaterials, Inc. (Woburn, Mass.; www.cjbiomaterials.com) is now enabling the production of PHA in both…

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A proof-of-concept “BionicHydrogenBattery”

At a press conference during Achema 2024, Festo SE & Co. KG (Esslingen, Germany; www.festo.com) presented the BionicHydrogenBattery — a new concept for the simple storage and safe transportation of hydrogen. Currently, H2 can only be stored and transported safely…

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Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into a range of chemicals

At Achema in June, GIG Karasek GmbH (Gloggnitz, Austria; www.gigkarasek.com) introduced the ECO2Cell, an electrochemical CO2-recycling technology that utilizes proprietary catalysts to convert captured carbon dioxide into a range of chemicals. Using only water, CO2 and electricity as process inputs,…

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New bio-based concrete admixture is scaling up production

A new biomass-based liquid admixture for concrete uniquely combines the benefits of traditional performance-enhancing additives with decarbonization. Hydrous bio-graphene oxide (hBGO), developed by AlterBiota (Edwardsville, Nova Scotia, Canada; www.alterbiota.com), is a stable, high-solids dispersion that helps to improve strength and…

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A biocatalytic process for producing nitriles — without cyanide

Nitrile compounds (R–N≡N) are important for the manufacturing of fragrances, pharmaceuticals, superglue and chemical-resistant gloves. Currently, such nitrile compounds require the use of highly toxic cyanide in their synthesis. Now, an alternative cyanide-free chemo-enzymatic cascade process is being developed by…

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Pilot plant produces climate-friendly cement clinker

Concrete production is responsible for 6–9% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. “The largest contribution to that comes from the production of cement, a precursor product,” says Peter Stemmermann from the Institute for Technical Chemistry (ITC) at the Karlsruhe Institute of…