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Testing Hydrogen Infrastructure Materials: A Practical Framework
As hydrogen infrastructure expands, existing material-qualification frameworks must keep pace with hydrogen-specific degradation risks, such as embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking, permeation and accelerated aging Hydrogen infrastructure deployment is speeding up in the chemical process industries (CPI). However, the material qualification…
These “self-driving” bioreactor sensors are forging new fermentation frontiers
Ubiquitous in biomanufacturing, fermentation processes are complex and unpredictable when compared to traditional chemical-processing operations. From changing cell-growth rates to drifts in environmental conditions, typical control approaches can only react to predetermined setpoints rather than reliably maximize product output. A…
Recovering Valuable Chemicals from Vapor Streams Using Absorption
Absorption can pull a high-value component out of an air stream and return it for reuse, often at a lower cost than destroying it Many chemical and biological processes produce a vapor stream that is primarily air, but contains a…
Canada takes the stage with major energy and mineral investments
The first-ever Canada Investment Summit, held Sept. 14–15 in Toronto, along with other recent funding initiatives and global partnerships, put the spotlight on Canada’s support for innovation and competitiveness in energy, manufacturing and critical materials. The Summit convened investors from…
Layered graphite membrane has internal structure to aid water separation from IPA
Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is a key industrial solvent for the pharmaceuticals, electronics and fine chemicals sectors, among other uses, but methods for making IPA leave water-alcohol mixtures that need to be separated to achieve the purities required for industrial use.…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Real-Time Particle-Size Measurement
Particle size is a key parameter in many solids-handling processes, and can have a strong influence on product performance and quality, as well as for effectiveness of downstream operations. One important approach to particle-size measurement is conducting real-time, inline measurement…
Offtake agreement inked for system that produces methanol from stranded methane economically
In late August, technology developer Emvolon, a spinout company from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, Mass.; www.mit.edu), signed an offtake agreement with Freepoint Commodities LLC (www.freepoint.com) for methanol produced commercially via Emvolon’s technology starting in spring 2027. The…
Business News: October 2026
Plant Watch Evonik breaks ground on €80-million biotechnology expansion in Slovakia September 14, 2026 — Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has broken ground on a new biotechnology expansion project at its Fermas site in Slovakia, part of the €80-million…
Industrial Heat Pumps for Waste-Heat Upgrading
Electrification of industrial processes using heat pumps is moving from niche applications toward the mainstream, but challenges to their implementation remain Decarbonization initiatives have focused attention on the production of process heat for industrial operations without the combustion of fossil…
Toray Industries develops first solvent-based recycling technology for recovering PPS from waste
Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan; www.toray.com) announced that it has developed what it believes is the industry’s first solvent-based recycling technology to recover polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) from waste materials. The technology selectively dissolves and separates PPS from the materials while…