In The News
Chementator Briefs
Nylon Recycling Validation has been completed, and construction is underway for an industrial-scale facility that will recycle technical textile waste when it starts up in 2016 at a site in Gorzów, Poland. The facility is part of Solvay S.A.’s (Brussels,…
This chemical-free disinfection media requires no power
Surface-modified ceramic materials have been developed to disinfect water and air and other fluids without requiring additional chemicals or energy input. Developed by Claire Technologies (Raleigh, N.C.; www.claire-tech.com), the disinfection media consist of silica- and alumina-based pellets that have been…
Air Liquide signs longterm contract with major petroleum group in China; and more business news for the CPI
Plant Watch BASF and Sinopec inaugurate world-scale isononanol plant in Maoming October 12, 2015 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; Beijing; www.sinopec.com) have inaugurated a world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming, China.…
CPI Salaries Hold Steady; Workforce Solutions Expand
Conditions in the U.S. CPI continue to support high salaries for engineers and skilled technical workers, but conditions also continue to sustain ongoing workforce challenges Engineering expertise and technical know-how continue to be in high demand in the chemical process…
Air Pollution Monitoring and Control: EPA Bumps Up Enforcement Efforts
Tighter enforcement requires up-to-date monitoring and control equipment With stricter emissions regulations on the horizon and with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) actively enforcing ones, the chemical process industries (CPI) can not sit back and relax.…
‘Switchable solvent’ technology is a promising development for advancing forward osmosis
Forward osmosis (FO), whereby a concentrated salt solution is used to “draw” water through a membrane from a less-concentrated salt solution (via osmotic pressure), has the advantage over reverse osmosis (RO) in that high pressures, with the associated pumps and…
Liquid-infused surfaces move toward commercial applications
A set of technologies that create an immobilized thin layer of lubricant on a solid surface, thus enabling highly repellent, omniphobic surfaces, has moved closer to commercial application. Known as slippery, liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), the technologies can be applied…
A booster bed for Circulating Fluidized-bed Combustors
The efficiency of circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) combustors can be significantly increased by substituting conventional bed material with an ilmenite-based bed material, according to researchers at Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden; www.chalmers.se). Conventional CFB boilers use silica sand to evenly…
Turning wastewater treatment into resource recovery
In late September, GE Power & Water (Trevose, Pa.; www.gewater.com) introduced its new Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) technology, tradenamed ZeeLung, at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (Weftec; Chicago, Ill., September 26–30; www.weftec.org). This technology is poised…
Lithium from coal
Coal could become a major source of lithium, according to a team led by professor Shenjun Qin, of Hebei University of Engineering (Handan, China; www.hebeu.edu.cn). From available data, the concentration of lithium in most coal varies between 10 and 50…