Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries for storing large quantities of renewable energy (see Chem. Eng., September 2016, pp. 14–20), but they have always been too expensive for the mass market. Now, researchers at the…
The purification of seawater and wastewater for agriculture and human consumption is becoming increasingly important in water-scarce regions. Along with the removal of salt, rendering ocean water and wastewater suitable for humans and plants also involves removal of elements that…
Technologies designed to capture and store CO2 emissions from industrial operations are rapidly gaining traction, but finding ways to economically utilize the captured CO2 has posed challenges. A team of engineers from the University of California Los Angeles’ (UCLA; www.ucla.edu)…
Kaji Technology Corp. (Osaka; www.kajitech.com) and Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo, both Japan; www.toray.com) have jointly completed developing and demonstrating an electrochemical hydrogen pump system earlier this year. This effort was part of a project, funded by the New Energy and…
Ethylene Toyo Engineering Corp. (Chiba, Japan; www.toyo-eng.com) has been awarded a contract for a project to construct an ethylene pilot plant, using waste-derived ethanol as raw material. The project is planned by Sumitomo Chemical Co. at its Chiba Works. Sumitomo…
After a rough past year, petroleum refineries are seeking profit opportunities through the use of renewable feedstocks, such as vegetable oils and waste fats, as well as with new alkylation technologies and by increasing “crude-to-chemicals” (C2C) approaches The past 18…
A new demonstration plant will significantly scale up production of sustainable textile fibers made from cellulosic raw materials. TreeToTextile AB (Stockholm, Sweden; www.treetotextile.com), jointly owned by H&M Group, Inter IKEA Group, Stora Enso and LSCS Invest, has piloted a production…
A proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2Ox —originally conceived for the production of high-grade cobalt sulfate from mineral resources — is now showing promise in the field of battery recycling. “We did some preliminary test work and the technology was…
Last month, OMV AG (Vienna, Austria; www.omv.com) commissioned its ISO C4 demonstration isobutene plant at its Burghausen, Germany site. The plant is based on technology developed jointly by OMV and BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com), and has been producing high-purity…
An effort is underway to establish an environmentally friendly supply of rare-earth elements (REEs) from waste streams in the U.S. The project, undertaken by American Resources Corp. (Fishers, Ind.; www.americanresourcescorp.com), is focused on re-positioning assets from the coal industry to…