Chemical Engineering
Albemarle confirms plans to acquire Australian battery-minerals firm Liontown Resources
Albemarle Corporation (Charlotte, N.C.) confirmed that it will be working toward the execution of a binding agreement to acquire Liontown Resources Ltd.(Liontown). Albemarle notes the announcement to the ASX by Liontown and confirms that it submitted a best and final…
Henkel launches operations at new Battery Engineering Center in Düsseldorf
Henkel AG (Düsseldorf, Germany)announced the launch of a new Battery Engineering Center within its unique Inspiration Center Duesseldorf. The opening solidifies the company's role as a premier design and innovation partner for automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers worldwide. The Battery…
BASF begins construction of syngas plant in Zhanjiang, China
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) has commenced construction of its syngas plant at the Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China. This world-scale syngas facility, fully integrated into the Verbund site, is scheduled to start up in 2025. BASF will adopt unique process…
Teijin to sell its GH Craft composites business in Japan
Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo)has agreed to sell its entire stake in GH Craft Co., a subsidiary of Teijin's composites business in Japan, to TIP Composite Co., Ltd., a manufacturer headquartered in Matsumoto City, Japan. Teijin acquired GH Craft in July 2008…
Chementator briefs
Steam Reforming Honeywell International Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.; www.honeywell.com) and ZoneFlow Reactor Technologies, LLC (ZFRT; Windsor, Conn.; www.zoneflowtech.com) have successfully conducted pilot-plant testing of the ZoneFlow Reactor in ZFRT’s large-scale pilot plant at Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. The…
Predictable plant-based production of complex biomolecules
Most plant-based bioprocesses involve growing plants in outdoor fields or greenhouses, but this is hindered by local climates and available space, and typical product yields are very low per plant, especially for natural active molecules used in pharmaceutical and healthcare…
This electrolysis cell produces high-purity iron
Processing iron ore is the most carbon-intensive step in the steelmaking process, often using coal as an energy source. A new technology, called Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) aims to decarbonize the iron-ore process through electrification. “In the MOE cell, an…
A new approach to refrigeration with no global-warming potential
Traditional vapor-compression refrigeration relies on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as refrigerant fluids — a class of compounds with global-warming potentials (GWP) thousands of times higher than that of CO2. A new approach from scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL; Berkeley, Calif.;…
‘Printing’ new catalyst candidates onto a chip
Discovering new catalysts and materials for specific applications can be a tedious and time-consuming process involving labor-intensive tests and expensive samples. Technology developed by Mattiq (Skokie, Ill.; www.mattiq.com) enables the “printing” of tens of thousands of tiny material samples onto…
Direct-air capture of CO2 via a liquid-based, low-temperature, thermochemical system
With global temperatures likely to rise beyond the 1.5°C target set by climate experts, negative emissions technologies — most notably direct air capture (DAC) — become increasingly important for addressing CO2 already in the atmosphere. A new DAC approach is…