Ethylene dichloride Recently, Chemetry (Moss Landing, Calif.; www.chemetrycorp.com) and Braskem (Sao Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com) announced their intent to construct and operate a demonstration plant using Chemetry’s eShuttle technology for the production of ethylene dichloride (EDC) in Brazil. The initial focus…
New mobile devices, apps and augmented reality are supporting the digitalization revolution, as well as keeping business going during the pandemic Anyone who has visited or toured a production plant of the chemical process industries (CPI) knows that mobile phones…
This month, a demonstration project to generate power from fuel cells running on biogas has begun at Asahi Breweries’ Ibaraki Brewery. Coordinated by Asahi Quality & Innovations, Ltd., an independent research subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahigroup-holdings.com),…
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU; Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), led by professor Madhavi Srinivasan, have developed a method of using orange peel waste to extract precious metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and to make batteries from those recovered metals, creating minimal…
MITO Material Solutions (Indianapolis, Ind.; www.mitomaterials.com) has developed a proprietary graphene-functionalization technique that produces unique strength-enhancing additives for a wide variety of polymers and composites. The additives significantly improve mechanical properties (including tensile strength, flexural modulus and others) of the…
Boosting the sensitivity of solid-state gas sensors is often achieved by incorporating nanostructured materials as the sensing element. However, interfacial effects at nanoparticles, grains or contacts can lead to non-linear responses, high electrical resistance or electrical noise. A possible way…
Researchers from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Universiy of Sydney (Sydney, Australia; www.sydney.edu.au), led by Alejandro Montoya, have developed an electrochemical oxidation process to clear up wastewater, which is heavily contaminated with organic and inorganic species…
Plant Watch Braskem begins commercial production at La Porte PP plant September 11, 2020 — Braskem America (Philadelphia, Pa.; www.braskem.com) launched commercial production at its new polypropylene (PP) production line in La Porte, Tex., which has a production capacity of…
Lignin bio-oil is a common waste stream formed during the production of cellulose and ethanol from biomass. Due to its high oxygen and low hydrogen content, lignin bio-oil must be upgraded via hydrogenation and deoxygenation before it can be used…
Smart Stir Bar Scientists at the University of Warwick (Coventry, U.K.; www.warwick.ac.uk) have developed a magnetic stir bar with an integrated process monitoring system. Described in a recent issue of ACS Sensors, the Smart Stirrer has an integrated microprocessor and…