Industrial CO2 capture is currently done by absorption in liquid amines, such as monoethanolamine. However, absorption-based carbon capture carries a significant energy penalty for regenerating CO2 in a stripping column — power plants can lose 20–30% of their energy output…
Last month, Hydro ASA (www.hydro.com) entered into a contract with Multiconsult (both Oslo, Norway; www.multionsult.no) for engineering services for Hydro’s planned pilot plant at Karmøy, Norway. The Karmøy pilot aims to verify what Hydro calls the worlds most energy- and…
Photosynthesis is one of the best ways to convert carbon dioxide into renewable energy and at the same time, reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. In plants, there are two main steps in photosynthesis: First, water is split…
Plant Watch Prayon to build food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate plant in Georgia February 11, 2015 — Prayon S.A. (Engis, Belgium; www.prayon.com) plans to build a manufacturing plant for food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) in Augusta, Ga. Projected capacity of the new SHMP…
Integration between instruments and systems allows manufacturers to align process parameters with business performance As technological advances in instrumentation and control continue to progress, processors are beginning to realize that not only can their process control system keep a watchful…
Perfluorinated compounds — firefighting foams — such as perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS) have been used as fire suppressants, but some of them, such as perfluoroalkyl acids have been associated with serious environmental contamination. Also, several new fluorinated surfactants have been developed…
Takahiro Yamashita and colleagues at the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO, Tsukuba, Japan; www.naro.affrc.go.jp) have developed an aerobic bioreactor that can reduce nitrous oxide emissions by nearly 90% in the treatment of…
Composite coating A new composite material that prevents metal corrosion, even under extreme conditions, has been developed by researchers from the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials GmbH (Germany; www.inm-gmbh.de). The patented composite consists of layers of particles placed…
A new prototype lithium battery with a very thin metal anode achieves an energy density of 1,200 W-h/L at room temperature — double that of conventional Li-ion batteries using graphite anodes. The prototype battery, developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technologys…
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and Sankyo Tateyama Inc. (Takaoka, both Japan; www.st-grp.co.jp) have developed technology that enables the casting of small-diameter (500–100-mm dia.) magnesium alloy billets, which are suitable for direct, compact forging.…