Division Radomiro Tomic of Codelco (Codelco Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile; Santiago; www.codelco.www) is adopting a bioleaching process to recover copper from low-grade ores. The process was developed by BioSigma S.A. — a joint venture (JV) of JX Nippon…
Last month, Chiyoda Corp. (Yokohama; www.chiyoda-corp.com) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Tokyo, both Japan; www.mhi.com) received approval in principle (AIP) for a jointly developed floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility for the production of H2 and CO2 from associated…
Aiming to understand the nature of the synergistic effect of ultrasound and enzymes in the production of fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass, researchers from the Institute of Chemical Technology (Mumbai, India; www.ictmumbai.edu.in) have studied the ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis of waste…
This letter is in reference to the article, Forces Acting on a Gasket [ Chem. Eng. October, 2014, p. 32a]. I need to clear my understanding on the seating stress required for the proper sealing. As per the article, seating…
Construction has begun on a unique refinery project that will convert Canadian bitumen into ultralow-sulfur diesel while producing high-purity CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and subsequent carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The project, located near Edmonton, Alta. and run…
A high-temperature pressure-swing-absorption (HT-PSA) process that reduces energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional PSA technology is being developed by Tokyo Gas Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.tokyo-gas.co.jp), with support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).…
Last month, Veolia Water Technologies (Birmingham, England; www.veoliawaterst.co.uk) introduced a new generation of biofilm carriers for moving-bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs). Trade-named AnoxKaldness Z-MBBR, the new carrier is the result of two decades of development work, says the company. Unlike conventional…
The research group of Masatsugu Morimitsu at Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan; www.doshisha.ac.jp) has developed an “evolutionary” electrowinning process for the production of rare and base metals that promises to reduce both the power consumption and environmental burden. The process features…
Last month, NET Power, LLC (Durham, N.C.; www.net-power.com) announced the completion of major project agreements for its first-of-a-kind power plant — a 50-MWth demonstration plant that will validate the world’s first natural-gas power generation system that produces no air emissions,…
Scientists from the Materials Science and Technology Div. of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Washington, D.C.; www.nrl.navy.mil) have developed a one-step process to form oxide nanoparticles. The technique is capable of producing large quantities (10 g) of oxide nanoparticles —…