Chemical Engineering
Electrochemical route to extracting lithium ions from ‘black mass’ could lead to more efficient battery recycling
Black mass is the powdered material resulting from shredding end-of-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries. For effective recycling, lithium must be efficiently separated from this material, but conventional methods, such as smelting at high temperatures or dissolving in strong acids, require large…
Project reveals insights about catalysts for microwave-assisted methane dehydroaromatization
Several situations, including when takeaway capacity is limited at remote oil-well sites, result in methane flaring. To avoid wasting that resource, several strategies have been explored to convert methane onsite into commercially useful liquid chemicals. One of the approaches is…
A superconducting magnet for hydrogen liquefaction is demonstrated in Germany
A first-of-its-kind demonstration unit is showcasing hydrogen liquefaction using magnetocaloric cooling, a process that demands much lower energy consumption than conventional methods used in industry. A joint venture between Magnotherm Solutions GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany; www.magnotherm.com) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR; Dresden,…
Novel chlorine-resistant membranes set new standards for reverse osmosis
A unique class of chlorine-resistant membranes is set to enhance the performance of processes requiring zero liquid discharge. NALA Membranes (Morrisville, N.C.; www.nalmembranes.com) has developed highly stable and durable membranes based on sulfonated polysulfone materials that overcome many of the…
Mosaic to sell its potash assets in Carlsbad, New Mexico
The Mosaic Co. (Tampa, Fla.) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc., including the operations, assets and liabilities of the Mosaic mine in Carlsbad, New Mexico to International Minerals Carlsbad, LLC for $30…
NEXTCHEM acquires process engineering firm Ballestra Group
MAIRE S.p.A. (Milan) announced that NEXTCHEM has signed a binding agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Ballestra Group, a global leader in the licensing, design and engineering of processing plants, as well as the supply of proprietary technologies…
Bp sells its majority stake in Castrol lubricants business
Bp plc (London) has reached an agreement to sell a 65% shareholding in lubricants business Castrol to Stonepeak, at an enterprise value of $10.1 billion. This represents an implied EV / LTM EBITDA of around 8.6x reflecting the strength of…
Outlook for the Chemical Process Industries (CPI) 2026: Putting the Pieces Together
Several 2025 year-end reports and data releases paint a nuanced picture of the global chemical process industries (CPI) as we head into 2026. The complex picture reflects the diversity of industry sectors comprising the CPI, and the wide range of…
Protecting Process-Plant Operations from the Impacts of Lightning
Editor’s note: The following is a question-and-answer conversation between Chemical Engineering magazine senior editor Scott Jenkins and Sean Carpenter, solutions analyst at Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (LEC), a leading provider of lightning protection solutions. Chemical Engineering’s questions appear below…
Tata Chemicals acquires sodium bicarbonate manufacturer Novabay
Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL; Mumbai, India) announced that Tata Chemicals International Pte. Limited (TCIPL) a 100% subsidiary of TCL, has signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% equity shares of Novabay Pte. Limited (Novabay) manufacturer of premium grade…