Plant Watch EuroChem launches phosphate-fertilizer manufacturing complex in Brazil March 14, 2024 — EuroChem Group (Zug, Switzerland; www.eurochemgroup.com) opened a new fertilizer-production facility in Serra do Salitre, Brazil. With a total project investment of nearly $1 billion, the new phosphate…
A first-of-its-kind plastics-recycling technology is being demonstrated in a new pilot plant in India. Novoloop (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.novoloop.com), in partnership with Aether Industries (Gujarat, India; www.aether.co.in), is developing an integrated pilot plant to scale up Novoloop’s Lifecycling technology, which…
Improvements in energy efficiency, reliability and operational boundaries reduce emissions and cut costs Due to a demand to increase margins and meet sustainability and decarbonization targets, today’s chemical processors are seeking ways to improve energy efficiency and reliability while also…
Fermentation processes provide essential pathways for many chemicals, but are often hampered by high costs and low yields due to CO2 losses. To overcome these concerns, ZymoChem (San Leandro, Calif.; www.zymochem.com) has developed the patented Carbon Conservation fermentation technology. “Typically,…
Waste heat Last month, Evonik Industries AG (Essen; www.evonik.com) and Uniper (Düsseldorf, both Germany; www.uniper.energy) launched the Technical Options for Thermal Energy Recovery (TORTE) project in Gelsenkirchen. As one of the first phases of Evonik’s Herne Green Deal to sustainably…
Stranded methane in waste streams and flare gases at remote processing sites is a promising untapped resource. Now, with a new modular technology, companies can take advantage of this hydrocarbon-containing stream while also reducing their methane emissions. M2X Energy (Rockledge,…
Plant Watch Petrobras to build ‘green’ hydrogen pilot plant with Senai ISI-ER February 12, 2024 — Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) entered into a cooperation agreement with Instituto Senai de Energias Renováveis to build a pilot electrolysis plant to…
Chemists at the University of Amsterdam (UvA; the Netherlands; www.uva.nl) have developed an autonomous chemical-synthesis robot with an integrated artificial-intelligence (AI)-driven machine learning unit. Dubbed “RoboChem,” the benchtop device can outperform a human chemist in terms of speed and accuracy,…
Spider silk protein generates significant development interest due to its unique combination of properties, including high toughness and strength, extensibility, biocompatibility, thermal stability and others. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI; Troy, N.Y.; www.rpi.edu) have developed what is said to…
A wastewater treatment plant operated by Orange County (Calif.) Sanitation District is the site of the first installment, at a commercial facility, of a new supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) technology capable of producing clean water and minerals from waste slurries.…