A newly patented class of synthetic antimicrobial compounds is aimed at overcoming the limitations of existing industrial disinfectants, such as quaternary ammonium compounds and bleaches. “Bleaches are effective disinfectants on initial application, but they don’t work when they dry and…
As part of its expanded seminar series this year, the Chem Show is hosting a session that highlights outstanding achievements in chemical engineering that have led to successful commercializations. The presenters are all finalists for the renowned Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering…
The following information describes recently published books relevant to the chemical process industries (CPI): Engineering Energy Storage, By Odne Stokke Burheim, 2017, Academic Press, 252 pages, $125.00. Energetic Materials: Advanced Processing Technologies for Next-Generation Materials. Edited by Mark Mezger, Kay…
Biofilms in water-treatment systems may harbor problematic bacteria and pathogens since chemical disinfectants typically do not penetrate the biofilm. Now, a new treatment approach developed in the laboratory of Pedro Alvarez at Rice University (Houston; www.rice.edu) could enable the controlled…
Increasingly, wastewater treatment plants must address odors due to volatile contaminants. This guide provides an overview of odor causes and possible remedial actions Processes and applications that emit odor-causing air contaminants are common across many sectors of the chemical process…
Considering water-management strategies as a central component of infrastructure design at industrial facilities will unlock cost savings throughout the operation Mounting water shortages and resulting regulations across the globe are fueling the need for seamless and smarter water-management methods —…
Produced water from natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale Deposit is extremely high in total dissolved solids (TDS; levels of 25–35% TDS are common) and barium, making the water difficult to re-use and requiring injection in underground geologic formations.…
Although there are several ways to reduce the phenol concentration in industrial effluent, they each have drawbacks. Chemical treatment, such as adsorption and stripping, is fast but expensive, and the chemical degradation of phenol leads to the formation of toxic…
A new electrochemical water-treatment process developed in the laboratory of T. Alan Hatton, professor of chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge; web.mit.edu), employs functionalized electrodes to selectively remove contaminants, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, at extremely low…
Membrane distillation (MD) — a thermal desalination technique used for recovering pure water from concentrated salt solutions — is hampered by high energy consumption, low single-pass recovery rates and by the need to use expensive heat exchangers to handle the…