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Chemical Engineering

This process can fully mineralize PFAS with no toxic byproducts

Breaking the stable carbon-fluorine bonds within per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is one of the most significant challenges in mitigating persistent PFAS pollution. The Hydrothermal Alkaline Technology (HALT; diagram), invented at the Colorado School of Mines (Golden, Colo.; www.mines.edu) and…

New reactor supports organic-assisted electrolysis for green hydrogen

The production of “green” hydrogen via electrolysis is seen as a key decarbonization pathway for certain industry sectors, but its efficiency can be hampered by a number of factors, including the accumulation of gas bubbles on electrode surfaces within electrolyzers…

Switchable solvent supports freshwater extraction from hypersaline brine

Extremely high-salinity water streams present difficulties for many types of processing equipment, such as membranes and filters, and most commercial treatment methods involve thermal evaporators or crystallization, which are energy-intensive and require special anti-corrosion materials. A new membrane-less, non-evaporative process…

Carbon dioxide removal combined with desalination

Most existing carbon-dioxide removal (CDR) approaches have focused on air, but the volumetric concentration of dissolved inorganic CO2 in surface water is much higher (150X) than its concentration in the atmosphere. Removing CO2 from water could prove to be a…

Novel reactor addresses limitations of pyrolysis for plastics recycling

Pyrolysis has received much attention as a technology capable of breaking down waste plastics in recycling processes, but existing pyrolysis approaches often give rise to products with broad molar mass distributions and poor yields. Catalysts can improve yield and selectivity,…

Micro-hydropower systems produce renewable electricity inside pipelines

A first-of-its-kind energy-recovery system harnesses the energy of water flow and pressure in pipelines to produce renewable energy. The patented HydroXS unit, developed by InPipe Energy, Inc. (Portland, Ore.; www.inpipeenergy.com) in collaboration with Grundfos Corp. (Brookshire, Tex.; www.grundfos.com/us), is a…

Editor’s page: Welcome to Chemical Engineering

This month’s column gives a brief overview of the Chemical Engineering brand. While long-term readers need no introduction to the magazine, newer readers might be interested in the history of the magazine and what we cover. Perhaps even long-term readers…

Business News: September 2025

Plant Watch Chevron Phillips Chemical completes LV PAO expansion in Belgium August 12, 2025 — Chevron Phillips Chemical L.P. (CPChem; The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) has completed the expansion of its low-viscosity polyalphaolefins (LV PAO) production unit in Beringen, Belgium, significantly…

Avenues for Decarbonizing the Steel Industry

Energy- and carbon-intensive, steel production is categorized as one of the most “hard-to-abate” industries, making the scaleup of decarbonization technologies crucial not only for steelmakers themselves, but for every downstream industry in the supply chain Responsible for some 9% of…

GEA commissions new spray dryer at Chugai Pharmaceutical in Japan

GEA (Düesseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) is supplying Chugai Pharmaceutical in Japan with a cutting-edge pharmaceutical spray dryer designed and built to meet the highest containment standards. The PSD-3 spray dryer was successfully commissioned in the first quarter of 2025 and represents…