Processing & Handling
Electrolysis of seawater — without pre-treatment
Current electrolyzers for producing hydrogen use purified water as feedstock, but in the future, this could exacerbate freshwater shortages in some areas. Seawater is highly abundant, but the ions it contains undergo electrode side reactions, and cause corrosion in proton-exchange…
Quinones power this flow battery
A new flow-battery design is based on quinones — a plentiful material historically derived from coal tar and used in dyestuff manufacturing — rather than traditional battery electrolytes. “Our feedstocks use no critical materials like lithium, cobalt or nickel, and…
The Protein Shift
Goals to sustainably feed a growing population with limited land resources are driving massive efforts to develop new food sources Today, it is common to see plant-based “meat” products on the shelves of grocery stores. Although soy-based meat products have…
Facts at your Fingertips: Mixing Intensity in Stirred Tanks
The ability to quantify liquid motion in a stirred tank is a basic step toward understanding how mixing influences process results. Quantifying mixing according to a mixing index (MI) can evaluate and predict mixing intensity related to fluid velocities in…
Chem Chronicles: The first patent holder in the U.S. was a ‘Pott Ash Maker’
Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford — these are some of the larger-than-life figures who spring to mind when reflecting on the history of innovation and invention in the U.S. But the first person in American history to…
Using a ‘green’ oxidizer to degrade Kraft lignin into vanillin
The demand for vanillin vastly outstrips the natural resources of this flavoring agent. A chemical process is thus used to produce the required large quantities of vanillin from petroleum, which is far less expensive than obtaining the substance from fermented…
KBR Launches SCOREKlean — a Zero Emissions Olefins Technology
KBR (Houston) announced today the launch of SCOREKlean, a proprietary ethylene and propylene process technology utilizing 100% hydrogen-fueled burners for zero emissions from the ethylene cracking furnaces. By achieving zero emissions from ethylene cracking furnaces, SCOREKlean will play a major…
Canatu increases CNT film production capacity
Carbon nanomaterial developer Canatu Oy (Vantaa, Finland) has upgraded its carbon nanotube (CNT) film manufacturing to meet the rising demand for ADAS heater products in the automotive industry. Canatu has improved its step-and-repeat (SAR) CNT film production line by adding…
Shell Blue Hydrogen Process wins Humber H2ub process design package contract
The international energy company Uniper SE (Düsseldorf, Germany), and Shell UK Ltd. (London), have awarded Shell Catalysts & Technologies a contract to deliver a process design package for the Humber H2ub project, using the Shell Blue Hydrogen Process (SBHP). The…
This coating boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cells
Perovskite materials have great potential as a lightweight and low-cost option for solar panels, but in the past have not been seen as stable or durable enough for widespread use in large-scale solar-power installations. Now, a new coating developed by…