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Chemical Engineering

Premix Group opens plastics manufacturing plant in North Carolina

Premix Group, a global leader in electrically conductive plastics, announced the opening of its state-of-the-art US manufacturing facility in Apple Creek, North Carolina. With a $79 Million investment from the Department of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS),…

Dow to sell interest in DowAksa composites joint venture for $125 million

Dow Inc. (Midland, Mich.) announced that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement to sell its 50% interest in DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings BV (DowAksa) to Turkish chemicals firm Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.Ş., a company of Akkök Holding.…

Creating microgels for drug delivery by ion exchange

One method used to deliver drugs in a controlled manner is to encapsulate them in an injectable gel. Microgels — hydrogel particles made of synthetic or natural polymers with a high water content that measure about 1 to 100 micrometers…

Non-fluorinated coatings reach new heights with first oil- and water-repellent textile product

As industries and consumers have shown an increasing preference for water and oil repellents that do not include any fluorinated materials, significant efforts and years of research and testing have gone into developing non-fluorinated alternatives. AGC Chemicals Americas, Inc. (AGCCA;…

Molten-salt electrolysis process quickly scales up U.S. cobalt-refining capacity

A proprietary molten-salt electrolysis (MSE) process originally designed for battery manufacturing has now been re-optimized for North America’s first operational cobalt-refining plant. The DirectPlateTM MSE technology developed by Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. (Kettering, Ohio; www.xerionbattery.com; see Direct molten-salt electroplating cuts…

Direct synthesis of C2 hydrocarbons using photoelectrochemistry

Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, Calif. www.lbl.gov), along with a host of collaborators, have made progress on an artificial photosynthesis system that converts CO2 into ethane and ethylene using nanostructured copper and perovskite. In a recent publication…

Conversion of CO2 gas to graphene successfully demonstrated

The ability to economically produce large scales of graphene will help to enable many high-performance applications, from smart packaging materials and medical devices to safer gas storage. A new process demonstrated at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI; San Antonio, Tex.; www.swri.org)…

Plant Watch: June 2025 Business News

Plant Watch Cariflex opens $355-million latex plant in Singapore May 15, 2025 — Cariflex Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; www.cariflex.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of DL Chemical Co., Ltd. (DL Chemical), inaugurated its new polyisoprene latex plant at Jurong Island, Singapore. With…

Facts At Your Fingertips: Genetic Engineering Tools in Industrial Microbiology

Industrial fermentation using bacteria, yeast and other microbes to produce specific products has the potential to reduce future dependence on fossil-fuel-derived chemicals. To further the economic viability of industrial fermentation processes, engineers have turned to genetic modification to stimulate production…

Gevo sells Agri-Energy subsidiary to A.E. Innovation

Gevo, Inc. (Englewood, Colo.) has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Agri-Energy, LLC (Agri), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gevo, to A.E. Innovation, LLC for $7 million. The transaction includes Agri’s 18-million-gallon-per-year ethanol-production facility located in Luverne, Minnesota. Gevo…