Digitalization, sustainability, security and safety are at the forefront of innovations in the logistics and supply-chain sectors Ensuring that chemical products reach the correct location at the correct time requires intricate networks of complex logistics and scheduling tasks where several…
One of the major obstacles to making hydrogen economically by splitting water is the high cost of noble-metal electrodes. Less expensive, non-noble metals only function as electrocatalysts under alkaline conditions, where the reaction requires more electricity. Now, professor Ryoichi Ito…
Plug-and-produce concepts for automating modular skids may solve integration challenges for modular construction projects Modular construction — both of facilities and process skids — has gained popularity due to its benefits, including speed of delivery and predictability of cost and…
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China; www.cas.cn), led by professor Ying-Jie Zhu, have reported a “smart” fire-alarm wallpaper prepared using ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires and graphene oxide thermosensitive sensors. At room temperature, the graphene-oxide sensor is an electrical…
Using ultraviolet (UV) radiation or ozone (or both) to oxidize air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a well-established treatment method in the chemical process industries (CPI). What is not so well known, however, is that for most…
Professor Toru Murayama at Tokyo Metropolitan University (Tokyo, Japan; www.haruta-masatake.ues.tmu.ac.jp), in collaboration with Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., has developed a vanadium oxide catalyst that removes oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from fluegas generated by the combustion of heavy fuel oil…
The world’s first pilot plant for manufacturing bio-based furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) began operating last month in Decatur, Ill. A collaboration between DuPont Industrial Biosciences (Wilmington, Del.; www.biosciences.dupont.com) and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM; Chicago, Ill.; www.adm.com), the 60-ton/yr…
Plant Watch Saudi Aramco and RRPCL to proceed with integrated megaproject in India April 12, 2018 — Saudi Aramco (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; www.saudiaramco.com) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL), a consortium of Indian…
A new fermentation-based technology aims to create leather materials from yeast rather than animal skin. Developed by Modern Meadow (Nutley, N.J.; www.modernmeadow.com), the process feeds sugar feedstock to yeast cells that have been engineered to create collagen. Some additional enzymes…
A remote-operated, screw-propelled (amphirol) machine equipped with a vacuum hose can remove solid catalyst material from reactors robotically, allowing plants to avoid subjecting personnel to enclosed work environments and inert atmospheres. Currently, catalyst changeout requires personnel to work inside process…