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…
Plant Watch Evonik’s Coating Additives business expands production capacity in Taiwan August 16, 2022 — The Coating Additives business line of Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is expanding production capacity for precipitated matting agents at its manufacturing facility in…
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).…
Last month, operation began at Polar Night Energy Oy’s (Tampere, Finland; www.polarnightenergy.com) first commercial sand-based thermal-energy storage system. The thermal storage system, which is located at the Vatajankoski power plant, is now producing low-emission district heating to the city of…
In an advancement toward circularity for commodity plastics, researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) have developed a method for upcycling the commodity thermoplastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) into an ABS-vitrimer material that can be…
Currently, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) techniques in municipal wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs) do not work well at temperatures above 25°C, which is common in warm countries. This limitation is expected to extend to more countries with the advent of global…