Chemical Engineering
Biogas from brewery wastewater makes power with a fuel cell
This month, a demonstration project to generate power from fuel cells running on biogas has begun at Asahi Breweries’ Ibaraki Brewery. Coordinated by Asahi Quality & Innovations, Ltd., an independent research subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahigroup-holdings.com),…
Fruit peels help recover metals from e-waste
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU; Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), led by professor Madhavi Srinivasan, have developed a method of using orange peel waste to extract precious metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and to make batteries from those recovered metals, creating minimal…
Graphene-POSS polymer additives enable lightweighting
MITO Material Solutions (Indianapolis, Ind.; www.mitomaterials.com) has developed a proprietary graphene-functionalization technique that produces unique strength-enhancing additives for a wide variety of polymers and composites. The additives significantly improve mechanical properties (including tensile strength, flexural modulus and others) of the…
Single-atom thin platinum makes a sensitive chemical sensor
Boosting the sensitivity of solid-state gas sensors is often achieved by incorporating nanostructured materials as the sensing element. However, interfacial effects at nanoparticles, grains or contacts can lead to non-linear responses, high electrical resistance or electrical noise. A possible way…
An electrochemical process treats wastewater from biofuels production
Researchers from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Universiy of Sydney (Sydney, Australia; www.sydney.edu.au), led by Alejandro Montoya, have developed an electrochemical oxidation process to clear up wastewater, which is heavily contaminated with organic and inorganic species…
Mobile Devices for Today’s CPI
New mobile devices, apps and augmented reality are supporting the digitalization revolution, as well as keeping business going during the pandemic Anyone who has visited or toured a production plant of the chemical process industries (CPI) knows that mobile phones…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Hopper Outlet Geometry and Arching
When transferring stored bulk-solids materials from hoppers, bins and silos, flow stoppage can occur because of bridging or arching at the vessel outlet. Hopper outlets must be large enough to prevent cohesive arches or stable ratholes from developing. Determining the…
Technology Profile: Sodium Chlorate Production
This column is based on “Sodium Chlorate Production – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/sodium-chlorate-production-cost. Sodium chlorate (NaClO3; also known as chlorate of soda) is an odorless inorganic salt with colorless crystals and…
Leak Prevention in Small-Bore Piping and Tubing
Improved understanding of the causes of piping leaks can reduce the frequency of leaks and lead to significantly better performance over time Leakage in pipes is an ongoing problem in research and development facilities across many sectors of the chemical…
Northvolt receives funding for world-scale LIB recycling, capacity expansion
Northvolt AB (Stockholm, Sweden) announced the signing of a $600 million private placement, led by Baillie Gifford, Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Volkswagen AG, enabling the company to make further investments in expanding its production and recycling capacity for…