Processes to reuse plastics from end-of-life vehicles are complicated by solid contaminants — including pre-embedded metal and rubber components of different sizes and reinforcing glass fiber. Currently, recycling solids-containing waste-plastic parts is accomplished by physical sorting processes. Honda (Tokyo, Japan;…
Electrically conductive plastics, also known as conjugated polymers, bring many cutting-edge benefits for flexible sensors, medical devices, energy-storage systems and more. They are currently produced at relatively small volumes and come with extremely high prices. A novel technology discovered at…
Following regulations for drinking water, increasingly stringent limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in industrial wastewater are anticipated, necessitating improved technology to handle higher rates of removal, as well as to destroy the compounds in concentrated samples. Gradiant (Boston,…
Nearly all of the currently produced building-block chemical acrylonitrile (AN) results from the ammoxidation of propylene, a process that requires precise heat control and generates several toxic side products, such as hydrogen cyanide. The startup company Mars Materials (Houston, Tex.;…
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is among the world’s most widely used polymers. Recycling PVC via mechanical and high-temperature chemical processes is challenging due to its chlorine content.The startup company Plastic Back (Tel Aviv, Israel; www.plastic-back.com) aims to raise the rates of…
A new research study by ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch), in collaboration with BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany), has investigated an alternative route for mixed plastic waste streams from end-of-life vehicles: to recycle it alongside biomass. The results show: the recycling of one…
In chemical manufacturing, precise instrumentation is essential for product quality, process safety and regulatory compliance. The Beamex Calibration Software Buyer’s Guide helps engineers and operations leaders understand how digital calibration management improves traceability, reduces manual work and supports compliance with…
Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT; Rostock, Germany; www.catalysis.de), Ruhr University Bochum (Bochum, Germany; www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de) and Evonik Oxeno (Marl, Germany; c4-chemicals.evonik.com) have developed a novel catalyst system that enables the use of the climate gas carbon dioxide (CO2)…
Sasol International Chemicals, a business of Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa) announced the launch and commercialization of a bio-circular, palm and deforestation-free surfactant derived from insect oils available under the trade name LIVINEX IO 7. This new, innovative product (patent…
This whitepaper, Estimating Simulation Parameters for Batch Columns from Experimental Data, outlines a practical method for deriving key model parameters (such as heat losses, hold-up volumes, and stage efficiencies) directly from plant data. Using a lab-scale ethanol–water batch distillation column,…