Manufacturing is becoming more advanced as companies adopt new technologies to stay competitive and to help achieve newer sustainability goals. The Covid-19 pandemic and issues, such as supply-chain shortages, have accelerated this adoption, particularly of digitalization. The shift to advanced…
This past year was one of the best in a decade for the chemical process industries (CPI), according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C., www.americanchemistry.com) year-end report [ 1]. The report details that output of U.S. chemical producers…
This year marks Chemical Engineering’s 120th anniversary. At this extraordinary milestone, I paused to look into the history of the publication and its evolution to where we are now. The magazine evolved, changing its name to reflect changes and combinations…
The U.S. Energy Information Admin. (Washington, D.C.; www.eia.gov) projects a nearly 50% increase in global energy use by 2050. Coinciding with this demand explosion, ambitious sustainability targets are necessitating a widespread transition to more climate-friendly technologies. Hydrogen is poised as…
A few months ago, this column addressed the megadrought in the U.S. Southwest and the increasing concerns over water scarcity [ 1]. Since that time, the drought in that region of the U.S. has continued, further impacting communities across the…
Last month, the American Chemistry Council (ACC; www.acc.org) released its 2022 edition of the “Guide to the Business of Chemistry [1],” which profiles the U.S. chemical industry, including markets, developments, contributions to both domestic and global economies and more. The…
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court limiting the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate emissions from power plants has many concerned about the effects the decision will have on efforts to address climate change…
The Green Chemistry Challenge Awards recognize scientific solutions to environmental problems that reduce hazards associated with the design, manufacture and use of chemicals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention sponsors the awards in…
A megadrought in the U.S. Southwest has triggered emergency measures to be taken, as both water and hydroelectric power supplies to millions of people are threatened. The water levels in the two largest human-made reservoirs in the U.S., Lake Mead…
Each year since 2001, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE; www.swe.org) has analyzed the research addressing issues related to women in engineering professions. Last month, SWE released a retrospective analysis [1] of what has been learned over the past 20…