Desalination of seawater with reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is a key technology for addressing water scarcity issues around the globe, but seawater desalination is energy-intensive and the brine discharge can create coastal environmental problems. The company Flocean AS (Oslo, Norway;…
Gas compressibility can lead to choked flow in piping systems. Presented here is an overview of choked-flow geometries in pipes, and examples of how choked flow arises in different pipe layouts The more things change, the more they stay the…
In December 2024, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) announced a three-year collaborative project with vehicle-tire manufacturer Bridgestone (Tokyo, Japan; www.bridgestone.com) to scale up a thermocatalytic process for converting renewably derived ethanol to n-butene. Conventionally, n-butene is…
Recycling materials, such as plastics and metals, is an attractive, but challenging path toward sustainable material manufacture. Now, researchers have made a discovery that may have far-reaching implications in material manufacture by positioning carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers as a sustainable…
Plant Watch Messer to construct $70-million air-separation unit in Arkansas January 15, 2025 — Messer Group GmbH (Bad Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com) has announced a strategic investment of over $70 million to construct a state-of-the-art air separation unit (ASU) in Berryville,…
Nearly all ammonia is produced using methane via the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high-temperature and high-pressure operation. A new portable prototype device developed by researchers from Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.; www.stanford.edu) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran,…
A sophisticated approach to fire and explosion safety requires one that expands conventional protection strategies to comprehensively consider storage, containment and tool compatibility Industrial fires and explosions are a serious risk to chemical processing facilities worldwide, threatening significant harm to…
Sinamics G220 (photo) is a new multi-purpose, adjustable-speed drive that features built-in technology to reduce harmonics by up to 97% — without the need for an a.c. line reactor or d.c. choke. Sinamics G220 drives have an integrated web server…
This company has recently secured full ATEX Zone 22 certifications for its EX200 and EX205 2-hp dust-control fans (photo). These fans are designed explicitly to provide proactive protection against fugitive combustible dust in hard-to-reach areas, enabling users to operate more…
Developing sustainable pathways to ethylene — among the world’s most widely used chemicals — is a key element in decarbonizing the process industries. A new electrolysis technology developed by CERT Systems (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.co2cert.com) can produce ethylene from CO2…