Latest News
How can chemicals industry R&D leaders address disruption and keep innovating?
Although almost everyone in the chemicals industry considers research and development (R&D) to be the primary engine of innovation and growth, R&D investment has been stuck at about 2.5% of revenue for the last 15 years. If that sounds like…
Plasma-based technology for sustainable textile functionalization
A new plasma-based technology is being touted as a more sustainable method for textile finishing, including water-intensive dyeing and coating processes. The Ausora process, developed by Xefco Pty. Ltd. (Eveleigh, Australia; www.xefco.com), in partnership with the Recycling and Clean Energy…
Upcycling waste ammonia from beef farming
A new ammonia-recovery plant has begun steady-state operation to demonstrate a patented process to upcycle the ammonia content from cattle manure into stabilized fertilizer ingredients. The Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) was developed by Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Old Bethpage, N.Y.;…
Synthetic chemistry advance allows swaps of aromatic C atoms with N
Substituting nitrogen atoms for aromatic carbon atoms at specific locations within the molecular skeleton of a possible therapeutic agent can have significant effects on molecular properties critical for biological activity, such as hydrogen bonding, polarity, metabolic stability, target specificity and…
3D-printed reactor core improves efficiency of solar-fuel production
In recent years, engineers at ETH Zurich have developed technology to produce liquid fuels from sunlight and air. At the heart of the production process is a solar reactor that is exposed to concentrated sunlight delivered by a parabolic mirror…
Machine learning approach aids 3D-printed part qualification
Metal components made with laser powder-bed fusion — an important additive manufacturing process — must be qualified for use in critical applications, but the qualification relies on expensive non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. In-process monitoring offers a less expensive alternative, but…
Scaleup of a process that makes an alternative to palm oil
A process to produce an alternative to palm oil for food applications, developed by scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), will be scaled up for commercial production through a partnership with Eves Energy Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; www.eves-energy.com).…
Business News: December 2023
Plant Watch Petrobras announces biorefining breakthrough at Riograndense refinery November 9, 2023 — Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) has successfully processed 100% soybean oil in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its Riograndense petroleum refinery…
CHEMENTATOR BRIEFS
Leather Tanning Trumpler GmbH & Co. KG (Worms, Germany; www.trumpler.com) and Archroma (Pratteln, Switzerland; www.archroma.com) have developed a new leather-production process that can be used to produce high-performance leather in a more eco-friendly and cost-efficient way. The new process, DyTan,…
Advanced borescopes provide more precise inspections
The new VJ-4 dual-camera video borescope (photo) is available in four sizes: 2.5, 3.9, 6.0 and 8.0 mm. All VJ-4 models are equipped with a 5.5-in. QLED screen with 2.5x digital zoom, a touchscreen or stylus interface with on-screen annotation…