A feasibility study is underway for the world’s first commercial facility that integrates direct air capture (DAC) of atmospheric carbon dioxide with gas fermentation of CO2 and production of aviation fuels. LanzaTech (Chicago, Ill.; www.lanzatech.com) and Carbon Engineering (Squamish, B.C.;…
Runaway polymerizations of acrylic monomers can lead to catastrophic fires and explosions in production plants and storage terminals, as well as during transportation. Special chemical products called shortstop inhibitors are used to minimize the likelihood of runaway polymerization reactions. A…
In this episode of the Chemical Engineering podcast, senior editor Scott Jenkins speaks with Matt Dixon and Karim Mahraz, both engineers at Swagelok and experts on grab-sampling systems. Matt and Karim discuss the most common problems associated with grab sampling…
Here are recently published books with relevance to the chemical process industries (CPI). September 2021. Engineering of Power Plant and Industrial Cooling Water Systems. By Charles F. Bowman and Seth N. Bowman, CRC Press, 2021, 174 pages, $71.96. 2021 Guide…
Biological processes can be used for the conversion of greenhouse gases into added-value chemicals. With a new, unique high-pressure (up to 10 bars) fermenter, the Flemish Institute for Technology Research (VITO; Mol, Belgium; www.vito.be) is researching how these processes can…
Construction is underway on a demonstration plant for manufacturing 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) from bio-based furfural, a platform chemical that can be derived from plant-based hemicellulose sugars. The process under construction by the company Pyran Inc. (Madison, Wis.; www.pyranco.com) offers a lower-cost…
A new fibrous catalyst-support material can enhance a wide range of industrial catalytic reactions, allowing higher yields and reduced coke buildup compared to pellet supports. Unifrax (Tonawanda, N.Y.; www.unifrax.com) leveraged its expertise in ceramic materials to develop the high-alumina fiber…
Bionext and its partners — a consortium of six industrial companies — have successfully completed the test program on BioTfueL demonstration units, setting the stage for commercialization of the thermochemical process that makes low-carbon-footprint sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other…
New electrochemical processes are being developed to help CPI companies reduce their carbon footprint For over a century, electrochemistry has played a crucial role in the chemical process industries (CPI), and many chemicals are still produced using traditional electrochemical processes,…
Adipic acid (hexanedioic acid; Figure 1) is among the most important aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, with about 2.5 billion kg produced annually. It is isolated as odorless, colorless crystals with an acidic taste. Adipic acid undergoes the reactions of carboxylic acids,…