A convergence of digital technologies and data science means that industrial AI is gaining ground and producing results for CPI users As data accessibility and analysis capabilities have rapidly advanced in recent years, new digital platforms driven by artificial intelligence…
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)…
Plant Watch BASF to expand PGM recycling capacity in South Carolina May 12, 2021 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is expanding its platinum group metals (PGM) refining facility in Seneca, S.C. New capital investments will increase refining capacity to…
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…
Conventional propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is an endothermic, equilibrium-limited reaction that requires high temperatures to achieve commercially viable per-pass yields of propylene. Oxidative propane dehydrogenation has the potential to form propylene at much lower temperatures and more selectively by controlling the…
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…
TeselaGen Biotechnology (San Francisco, Calif.; www.teselagen.com) has developed a platform technology that integrates software and services, while taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) by applying machine-learning algorithms to reduce the costs and time required for the development of biologically derived…
Typically, to achieve the high graphite purity levels demanded by lithium-ion battery (LIB) applications, processors depend on hydrofluoric acid to remove silica impurities. Now, a new graphite-purification technology that eliminates the use of highly corrosive and toxic HF is being…
Plant Watch Chevron and Honeywell start up alkylation unit using new ionic-liquids technology April 13, 2021 — Chevron Corp. (San Ramon, Calif.; www.chevron.com) and Honeywell International, Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.; www.honeywell.com) announced the commissioning and startup of the world’s first commercial-scale…