Furnaces used in the production of glass are normally equipped with fluegas-cleaning plants that have separate steps for the treatment of particulate matter, acid crude gases and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). GEA Group AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) has developed a…
New adsorbent Last month, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) launched Sorbead Air, an efficient adsorbent for drying compressed air. The adsorbents are hard, spherical beads of alumino-silicate gel that resist abrasion. Due to the beads’ large surface area and pore…
The first gold using a process without cyanide and without mercury has been produced using technology from CSIRO Minerals Technology (www.csiro.au) at a demonstration plant in the Western Australian goldfields town of Menzies. Cyanide is used in more than 90%…
Increased reliability, chemical compatibility and containment of sealing solutions are priorities for chemical processors Seals and gaskets may seem like an afterthought in the grand scheme of chemical processing equipment, but if you’ve ever been faced with unexpected — and…
Advances in sensing and imaging technologies have enabled new levels of accuracy in the measurement of bulk-solid materials stored in piles, silos and bins. BinMaster (Lincoln, Neb.; www.binmaster.com) and Stockpile Reports (Redmond, Wash.; www.stockpilereports.com) have collaborated to introduce the industry’s…
As environmental and transportation regulations become more stringent around the world, treating spent acids is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity Acids play many different roles in a large number of sectors of the chemical process…
A Japanese consortium has started the construction of the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R), which is said to be the world’s largest hydrogen-based energy system — a step towards a hydrogen-based economy. Located in Namie-cho, Fukushima Prefecture, FH2R will…
Thermal hydrolysis of wastewater sludge before it enters anaerobic digestion units can increase the rate of residuals-to-biogas conversion (biogas production) and increase the feed concentration, the combination of which significantly reduces anaerobic-digester reactor volume. An advanced thermal hydrolysis process (THP)…
Plant Watch Dow announces investment plans to increase global silicones production September 12, 2018 — The Dow Chemical Company (Dow; Midland, Mich.; www.dow-dupont.com) will make investments in its global silicones businesses, including plans to build a new hydroxyl functional siloxane…
In a first-of-its-kind endeavor, a hydrogen-fluoride-based alkylation unit producing linear alkyl benzene (LAB) is being converted into a solid-bed alkylation unit that employs UOP’s (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) Detal-Plus alkylation technology for LAB. LAB is used in the production of…