In The News
Refinery-grade crude oils can be made from biogenic waste using this technology
A pre-commercial plant is now providing operational data for eventual scaleup and industrial integration of a technology that generates refinery-grade crude oils from biogenic waste, such as agricultural and forestry waste and sewage sludge. The 12-ton/d demonstration plant (photo), built…
New electrochemical route to critical chemicals is scaling up with significant industrial support
A new electrochemical process developed by French-American startup firm Dioxycle (Paris, France; Menlo Park, Calif.; www.dioxycle.com) produces critical chemicals from industrial by-products and electricity, independent from fossil-fuel imports. Recently, the company announced the deployment of their platform for the conversion…
Printable gel electrolytes support bespoke battery architectures
Unlike conventional liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries, gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are immobilized within a polymer network, which reduces leakage risks, thereby improving mechanical and thermal stability. However, current methods for GPE fabrication result only in two-dimensional planar films,…
Application-Specific Valves Deliver Reliability
Engineering valves for a specific application increases performance in challenging and complex chemical processes Valves play a critical role in the chemical process industries (CPI). They help manage capital-intensive operations, protect equipment and support environmental compliance. Rather than relying on…
Business News: August 2026
Plant Watch Air Liquide to supply ultra-high-purity gases to semiconductor fab in Arizona July 16, 2026 — Air Liquide S.A. (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) announced a new investment of over $160 million to build, own and operate a new large-scale production…
Microwave irradiation and ion exchange lower cost of battery upcycling
Approaches for recycling cathode active materials from used lithium-ion batteries generally face a tradeoff wherein recovering materials with the widest range of possibilities for re-use, such as pyrometallurgical methods, generally require high energy and long process times, while direct-recycling approaches…
Autonomous chemistry system identifies high-performing and tunable catalysts
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU; Raleigh; www.ncsu.edu) and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill; www.unc.edu), with the support of Eastman Chemical Co. (www.eastman.com), have developed a closed-loop autonomous catalysis platform for identifying high-performing catalyst formulations and for…
Taming reactive radicals to streamline C-glycoside drug synthesis
Many widely used pharmaceuticals depend on a carbohydrate class known as C-glycosides, which are metabolically stable and acid-resistant. Although they can be made from common sugars like dextrose, C-glycosides have proven difficult to synthesize due to the preponderance of hydroxyl…
Precise molecular order results in remarkably thin monofilaments
A materials-science breakthrough for the production of ultra-fine monofilaments is now being commercialized by startup firm Z-Polymers (Lowell, Mass.; www.z-polymers.com). The company’s Tullomer-branded monofilaments support exceptionally thin functional fibers with low creep and shrinkage, while exhibiting extremely high mechanical strength…
Low-energy carbon capture using food-production byproducts
Direct-air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is required to meet climate goals, but highly effective and inexpensive DAC remains elusive. Researchers at ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch) have developed a novel approach using waste proteins from dairy and tofu…