A novel crystallizer has shown promise in lowering costs for direct-air capture (DAC) of CO2 emissions. In recent work published in Nature Chemical Engineering, a research team from the University of Toronto; www.utoronto.ca), led by mechanical and industrial engineering professor…
Black mass is the powdered material resulting from shredding end-of-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries. For effective recycling, lithium must be efficiently separated from this material, but conventional methods, such as smelting at high temperatures or dissolving in strong acids, require large…
Several situations, including when takeaway capacity is limited at remote oil-well sites, result in methane flaring. To avoid wasting that resource, several strategies have been explored to convert methane onsite into commercially useful liquid chemicals. One of the approaches is…
A first-of-its-kind demonstration unit is showcasing hydrogen liquefaction using magnetocaloric cooling, a process that demands much lower energy consumption than conventional methods used in industry. A joint venture between Magnotherm Solutions GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany; www.magnotherm.com) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR; Dresden,…
A unique class of chlorine-resistant membranes is set to enhance the performance of processes requiring zero liquid discharge. NALA Membranes (Morrisville, N.C.; www.nalmembranes.com) has developed highly stable and durable membranes based on sulfonated polysulfone materials that overcome many of the…
Designing plastics that can be broken down easily after their use phase have often required a trade-off between stability and ease of deconstruction. Recent research by scientists at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.; www.rutgers.edu) opens a path to resolve that…
Fatty acids are indispensable ingredients in a broad range of high-value products, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food additives, industrial lubricants and many more. Current commercial production plants usually employ a thermal fat-splitting process that is often not economical for small- and…
The Mosaic Co. (Tampa, Fla.) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc., including the operations, assets and liabilities of the Mosaic mine in Carlsbad, New Mexico to International Minerals Carlsbad, LLC for $30…
MAIRE S.p.A. (Milan) announced that NEXTCHEM has signed a binding agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Ballestra Group, a global leader in the licensing, design and engineering of processing plants, as well as the supply of proprietary technologies…
Bp plc (London) has reached an agreement to sell a 65% shareholding in lubricants business Castrol to Stonepeak, at an enterprise value of $10.1 billion. This represents an implied EV / LTM EBITDA of around 8.6x reflecting the strength of…