Last month, for the first time, U.S. plastic resin producers publicly committed to measurable targets toward complete recovery and recycling of plastic packaging. The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; www.americanchemistry.com) Plastics Division, which includes 15 of the leading resin manufacturers, announced…
Much is being said and written about the changes taking place in today's workforce. The conversation is often about the difficulty in finding and retaining talent, concerns about losing legacy knowledge as people retire, and the differences in work culture…
Most of us involved in the chemical process industries (CPI) are familiar with — to varying degrees — the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Also known as Industry 4.0 and more recently as industrial digitalization, the movement toward connecting more…
One of the first experiments I ever conducted in my basement chemistry lab was to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, using the transformer from my train set as the power sup- ply and platinum ribbon strips as electrodes. Although…
The chemical process industries (CPI) influence much of what affects our daily lives in areas as diverse as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food products, basic chemicals and more. One field where many engineers are focusing their efforts is energy. Efforts toward widening…
Last month, the American Chemistry Council (ACC; www.americanchemistry.com) issued its annual year-end report, which offers a positive outlook for the chemical process industries (CPI). The report, “Year-End 2017 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook,” was prepared by the ACC’s Economics and…
An article that was recently published on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s website (MIT; news.mit.edu) is titled “Why researchers should step out of the lab.” It tells the story of an MIT doctoral student whose research was focused on developing…
The technological advances that we witness in our everyday lives are quite astounding. What were once fantasies in science fiction have become reality. “Smart” devices that are now affordable to many, can talk to us, answer our questions, vacuum our…
My local municipality recently mailed out a brochure titled “Are you ready?”. It is a guide booklet about what to do in case of a nuclear emergency. I live close to a nuclear power plant. The brochure describes radiation, how…
I recently saw a television commercial that caught my attention and provided “food for thought.” The ad begins with a young girl opening a birthday gift, and is delighted when she sees that it is a Millie Dresselhaus doll. A…