Zero-spin Silicon Natural silicon consists of three isotopes: 28Si (92.2%) and 30Si (3.1%) — each with zero electron spin state — and 29Si (4.7%) with a spin state of one half. The presence of 29Si in concentrations above 500 parts…
An adaptable sintered filter element that is manufactured by 3D printing will be introduced this month at the Powtech exhibition (September 27–29; Nuremberg, Germany). Developed by Herding GmbH Filtertechnik (Amberg, Germany; www.herding.com), Omikron is an adaptable sinter-plate filter element that…
Aluminum alloy 7075 has excellent mechanical properties, including high strength for lightweighting applications, but its production process is energy intensive, which raises costs and limits its use. Now, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) have developed…
A next-generation ethane-feed steam cracker designed by Lummus Technology (Houston; www.lummus.com) has the ability to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions in the production of ethylene. The zero-CO2 design utilizes Lummus SRT pyrolysis furnaces and a state-of-the-art product-recovery system. Lummus improved…
Proton ceramic cells that couple endothermic steam reforming with heat from electrochemical gas separation and compression have been scaled up. These cells, developed by CoorsTek Membrane Sciences AS (Oslo; www.coorstek.com), the University of Oslo (both Norway; www.uio.no) and the Institute…
Latest software combines the best of traditional physics-based and empirical approaches with advanced digitalization technologies Unless you’ve had your head buried deep in the sand, you know that digitalization is having an increasing impact on the chemical process industries (CPI).…
Cyclopropane-functionalized hydrocarbons can be excellent fuels because of their high energy densities, but organic synthesis of such fuels is difficult. In work recently published in the journal Joule, a research team led by Jay Keasling at the Joint Bioenergy Institute…
New hardware combined with monitoring technologies can help optimize combustion now and in the carbon-conscious future Combustion has long been a delicate balancing act. Chemical processors want their combustion systems to be fuel efficient and available for use, while at…
Conventional gas-separation membranes normally exhibit a trade-off between selectivity and permeability — a practical limitation referred to as the Robeson upper bound. As a result, membranes designed to selectively remove relatively low concentrations of carbon dioxide from natural gas or…
A new class of adhesives being developed by the startup gluECO Adhesives LLC (Ashburnham, Mass.; www.glueco-adhesives.com) is based on corn proteins and has a host of environmentally friendly properties, such as biodegradability and the ability to be easily removed in…