Chemical recycling refers to a set of technologies that convert plastic waste into raw materials by breaking down long polymer chains into shorter molecules (monomers), enabling the creation new chemicals, fuels or virgin-quality plastics. Key chemical recycling methods for plastics…
Hydrogen requires careful handling. It is colorless, odorless and highly flammable across a broad range of concentrations. As the lightest gas, it rises quickly and can accumulate in hard-to-detect areas. Without proper precautions, even a small leak can lead to…
Storing energy to smooth the intermittency of wind and solar power can be accomplished in a number of ways, including mechanical (pumped hydro, flywheels, compressed air and others), thermochemical (phase-change materials and molten salts, for example), chemical (conversion of electricity…
Process electrification is gaining interest as a solution to industrial CO2 emissions, which account for 20% of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. [1]. Several technologies are emerging for electric process heating, including electrode steam boilers and high-temperature heat pumps,…
Pneumatic conveying uses air to either push (positive pressure) or pull (negative pressure) solid material through a conveying line. The characteristics of the solid materials being conveyed play a significant role in how the pneumatic conveying system is designed and…
Industrial fermentation using bacteria, yeast and other microbes to produce specific products has the potential to reduce future dependence on fossil-fuel-derived chemicals. To further the economic viability of industrial fermentation processes, engineers have turned to genetic modification to stimulate production…
Actuators are attached to the control mechanism of a valve to replace a manual lever or handle, and they control the position of a valve (open, closed or specific position) remotely and automatically. In industrial applications, numerous types of actuators…
Effective measurement of corrosion on process equipment and plant structures offers several benefits to plant operators. These include providing early warnings about damaging process conditions that could lead to corrosion-induced failures, establishing correlations between changes in process parameters and their…
Absorption and stripping are important mass-transfer operations within the chemical process industries (CPI). This one-page reference provides some basic information on the principles and applications of stripping and absorption in industrial chemistry settings. General operation In absorption, a solute from…
In solids-handling, blending (combining two or more materials to achieve a combined product) and segregation (the separation of particles into distinct zones according to particle size, shape, density or other physical attributes) are competing processes. This one-page reference outlines common…