Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) is the most significant byproduct of the beer-brewing industry, making up 85% of the total waste. Globally, about 36.4 million ton/yr of spent grain are produced. This spent grain is typically discarded after its primary use…
Gallium and germanium are considered critical materials due to their multiple uses in semiconductors, optics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and other high-technology applications. Current solvent-based extraction methods for recovering these elements suffer from significant drawbacks, such as low separation efficiency, poor…
A process commercialized by Fortera Corp. (San Jose, Calif.; www.forteraglobal.com) creates a cement product that reduces CO2 emissions by 70% on a ton-for-ton basis, and can be blended with conventional cement or used as a standalone material to make ready-mix…
E-Cracking Last April, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com), SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) and Linde Engineering (Pullach, Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) inaugurated the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam-cracking furnaces. Following three years of development, engineering, and construction work,…
Asphaltenes are an ultra-complex fraction of crude petroleum that comprise a diverse population of molecules that vary in size, solubilities, aggregation states and hetero-atom contents. Asphaltene buildup and deposits create many operational and safety issues, and can occur anywhere in…
Electrification provides an avenue for industrial decarbonization, but many electric-heating options cannot handle the high temperatures and scale required for industrial use. Electrified Thermal Solutions (ETS; Medford, Mass.; www.electrifiedthermal.com) has taken a new approach to industrial heating through its JouleHive…
Bipolar plates (BPPs) are a key component in electrolyzers and fuel cells. BPPs include two key components: the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), in a fuel-cell system; and the catalyst-coated membrane (CCM), in an electrolyzer. In a fuel-cell stack, for example,…
Membranes are widely used in a variety of industrial separation processes, but the polymeric materials that make up many membranes are not durable enough to handle extreme conditions, such as processes with low pH or hazardous-metal content. Membrion, Inc. (Seattle,…
NanoTech Materials Inc. (Houston; www.nanotechmaterials.com) is expanding its commercial partnerships for the use the company’s Insulative Ceramic Particle (ICP) technology, which can be used in fireproof coatings, as well as in a range of applications for roof coatings that lower…
RO Membranes Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan; www.toray.com) has developed a highly durable reverse osmosis (RO) membrane that is said to offer double the resistance to cleaning chemicals of conventional counterparts. This reduces performance degradation from membrane wear and simplifies…