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Chemical Engineering

Versalis establishes dedicated Oilfield Solutions business

Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, announces that, as of 1 July 2025, it will transfer its Oilfield Chemicals business unit into the newly established company Versalis Oilfield Solutions S.r.l. The operation aims to consolidate Versalis’ position in the oilfield services sector by…

Akzo Nobel to sell Akzo Nobel India to JSW Group

Akzo Nobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has signed an agreement to sell its shareholding in Akzo Nobel India Limited (ANIL) to the JSW Group, one of India’s leading diversified conglomerates. The transaction is based on a total enterprise value of…

Small-angle X-ray scattering reveals catalyst degradation routes for CO2RR

The CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction (CO2RR) has intrigued scientists for decades as a way to make fuel and chemicals from the greenhouse gas CO2. Prior research identified copper as a CO2RR catalyst, and has revealed the active sites where electrocatalysis…

This biosolids gasification technology also destroys PFAS

A new gasification process designed for the disposal of biosolids is also capable of destroying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminants, which are typically very resistant to conventional treatment processes. Aries Clean Technologies (Franklin, Tenn.; www.ariescleantech.com) recently validated its fluidized-bed…

Hydrogen storage using lignin-based jet fuel demonstrated

Hydrogen can be a zero-emissions fuel source, but its storage and transportation are costly and problematic, limiting its widespread use. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), in which hydrogen atoms are chemically bound to liquid hydrocarbons via reversible hydrogenation reactions, offer…

Microbial biohydrometallurgy boosts copper recovery from extremely challenging ores

A “plug-and-play” microbial technology enables the recovery of additional copper from low-grade ores when used alongside traditional sulfuric-acid heap-leach methods. Working synergistically within the existing heap-leach infrastructure, the unique microbial communities that have been cultivated by Endolith (Westminster, Colo.; www.endolithmining.com)…

Using water to break ultra-strong PFAS bonds

Water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds is one of the most significant environmental and health issues globally. In particular, effectively breaking the carbon-fluorine bonds that are paramount to the stability and persistent nature of PFAS is extremely…

Adapting thin-film polymers for membrane separation of liquid hydrocarbons

Thin-film polymer membranes have been very effective for industrial-scale desalination of seawater, but have not been used for separation of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures because oil-separation membranes tend to absorb oil components and swell, which eliminates their size-sieving ability to separate…

A new demonstration plant expands the horizons of post-consumer recycling

Operations are planned to start up soon at a first-of-its-kind recycling demonstration plant in Monthey, Switzerland. Employing a proprietary reaction technology developed by DePoly S.A. (Sion, Switzerland; www.depoly.co), the plant is set to treat up to 500 tons/yr of polyethylene…

Business News: July 2025

Plant Watch Tosoh to construct new chloroprene rubber plant in Japan June 13, 2025 — Tosoh Corp. (Tokyo; www.tosoh.com) plans to increase its production capacity for chloroprene rubber (CR) by adding a second CR production facility at its Nanyo Complex…