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Chemical Engineering

Sustainable graphite pilot project kicks off in Canada

A new project in Canada will build a pilot facility to demonstrate a carbon-neutral production strategy for battery-grade graphite materials. Nouveau Monde Graphite (Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Québec, Canada; www.nouveaumonde.ca) has signed an agreement with Olin Corp. (Clayton, Mo.; www.olin.com) to construct two…

Chementator Briefs

DESALINATION The challenge for large-scale desalination is to improve the performance of membranes used for reverse osmosis. One promising method is to introduce artificial water channels (AWCs) into synthetic membranes, to imitate the aquaporins of biological proteins for transporting water.…

Endress+Hauser establishes internet security standards

The cryptography working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF; Fremont, Calif.; www.ieft.org) standards organization has chosen the CPace protocol — developed by Endress + Hauser AG (Reinach, Switzerland; www.endress.com) — as a recommended method for use in internet…

Graphene-oxide filtration membrane for harsh chemical environments

Filtration is being investigated as an alternative to thermal separation methods (such as distillation and evaporation) in many applications because of the potential energy savings, but conventional filtration membranes, such as those used in water desalination, are often not robust…

Nanoengineered catalysts can upcycle polyethylene

Drawing inspiration from the enzymatic breakdown of macromolecules in cellular systems, scientists at Ames Laboratory (Ames, Iowa; www.ameslab.gov) have developed a nanostructured catalyst that can break down high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other polyolefins into a narrow distribution of diesel- and…

This nanoengineered catalyst converts mixed, impure waste to biodiesel

In an example of a biologically inspired and nano-engineered catalyst, researchers at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia; www.rmit.edu.au) have developed ceramic catalyst particles with a porous network organized hierarchically, where one chemical reaction takes place within larger pores, while a second…

TechnipFMC commences EPC work on new hydrocracking complex in Egypt

TechnipFMC (Houston) has successfully completed the remaining conditions required to enable work to commence on the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with Assiut National Oil Processing Company (ANOPC) for the construction of a new Hydrocracking Complex for the Assiut…

BASF completes new plastic additives plant in Italy

BASF SE (Ludwugshafen, Germany) announced the technical completion of the newly constructed plant for the plastic additives business at its site located in Pontecchio Marconi, Italy. The state-of-the-art facility will deliver a wider range of NOR solutions to support BASF’s…

Maire Tecnimont awarded engineering contracts in Mexico and Russia

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Milan, Italy) announces that its subsidiary KT – Kinetics Technology S.p.A. has been awarded an EP contract by a global engineering and construction company, consisting in the detailed engineering, procurement and delivery of three large-scale Delayed Coker…

Merck and Siemens collaborate to advance modular production technologies

Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) announced a collaborative partnership with Siemens (Munich, Germany) for the digitalization of production. This partnership is to result in the development of a process control system for the modular production of innovative materials and products for…