Fatty acids are indispensable ingredients in a broad range of high-value products, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food additives, industrial lubricants and many more. Current commercial production plants usually employ a thermal fat-splitting process that is often not economical for small- and…
Stirred tanks are common throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), used as batch reactors and continuous-flow reactors, as well as for physical processing of product formulations in which no chemical reaction is occurring. In all cases, fluid mixing — in…
Premium solutions prevent seal failure caused by extreme chemical process conditions Seals and gaskets are mission-critical components in the chemical process industries (CPI), where seal failure can have catastrophic consequences. While the corrosive and aggressive media and extreme operating conditions…
In the development of new pharmaceutical ingredients and other high-purity products, carefully controlled crystallization processes can help to eliminate critical impurities and zero in on optimal formulations Historically, small molecules have played a significant role in the pharmaceutical landscape, representing…
A first-of-its-kind demonstration unit is showcasing hydrogen liquefaction using magnetocaloric cooling, a process that demands much lower energy consumption than conventional methods used in industry. A joint venture between Magnotherm Solutions GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany; www.magnotherm.com) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR; Dresden,…
Plant Watch Aster invests in expansion projects at Bukom petroleum refinery December 11, 2025 — Aster Chemicals and Energy Ltd. (Singapore; www.aster.com.sg) announced a significant investment program at its Bukom petroleum refining facility in Singapore. The project includes a $75-million…
Designing plastics that can be broken down easily after their use phase have often required a trade-off between stability and ease of deconstruction. Recent research by scientists at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.; www.rutgers.edu) opens a path to resolve that…
Field trials are expected to begin shortly for a high-temperature thermal-storage demonstrator built by AED Energy (London, U.K.; www.aedenergy.com). The field trials follow the successful completion of a test program of the demonstrator at AED’s London facility. The test program,…
Black mass is the powdered material resulting from shredding end-of-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries. For effective recycling, lithium must be efficiently separated from this material, but conventional methods, such as smelting at high temperatures or dissolving in strong acids, require large…
Understanding both the limitations of process simulations and the assessments that can be performed to verify modeling results are important in the design and development of technical processes in many industries Chemical engineers routinely use process simulation software for design,…