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UV-sterilized bioreactor could reduce costs for bioproducts

Capital intensity is among the current constraints on industrial-scale fermentation, because the hardware for steam sterilization of bioreactors is complex and expensive. After recently emerging from stealth status, the startup company Biosphere (Oakland, Calif.; www.biosphere.io) has launched a new reactor…

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Efficient cavitation-based method for challenging oil separations

Many separation processes depend on chemical or thermal principles, such as solvent extraction or distillation, but in some cases, mechanical methods can provide effective separations with lower cost and energy requirements. Eirex (Vaughan, Ont., Canada; www.eirex.ca) has developed a proprietary…

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First open process automation (OPA) control system at a commercial manufacturing facility

An ExxonMobil Corp. (Spring, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) adhesive-resin finishing facility in Baton Rouge, La. has become the first commercial process-manufacturing facility to be controlled by an open, standards-based process automation system. This is a departure from the closed, proprietary systems currently…

Winter-Proof Your Process: The Hydro-Thermal Heating Advantage

When temperatures drop, industrial water heating becomes a challenge. Maintaining precise outlet temperatures is critical in processing, and Hydro-Thermal’s Direct Steam Injection technology ensures instant, on-demand heating. This allows faster startups and reduces downtime—even in extreme cold. Unlike heat exchangers,…

Direct-ocean carbon-capture pilot plant starts up in Hawaii

Captura Corp.  (Pasadena, Calif.) announced the start of operations at its latest pilot plant, capable of capturing 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually.  Located in Kona, Hawaii, and developed in partnership with multinational energy company Equinor, the facility marks…

Thyssenkrupp Uhde and Novonesis launch new enzymatic esterification technology

 Thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany), in partnership with Novonesis Group (Lyngby, Denmark), announced the launch of their joint offering: Uhde Enzymatic Esterification. This new technology bears the potential to revolutionize ester production by significantly reducing energy consumption and enhancing product…

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Deepwater RO could cut energy use and environmental impact of seawater desalination

Desalination of seawater with reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is a key technology for addressing water scarcity issues around the globe, but seawater desalination is energy-intensive and the brine discharge can create coastal environmental problems. The company Flocean AS (Oslo, Norway;…

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On-demand ammonia production from atmospheric air

Nearly all ammonia is produced using methane via the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high-temperature and high-pressure operation. A new portable prototype device developed by researchers from Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.; www.stanford.edu) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran,…

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New sustainable materials from recycled carbon nanotubes

Recycling materials, such as plastics and metals, is an attractive, but challenging path toward sustainable material manufacture. Now, researchers have made a discovery that may have far-reaching implications in material manufacture by positioning carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers as a sustainable…

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Carbon-neutral calcium carbonate process uses emissions from steel-making plant

Construction is imminent for a carbon-capture project aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from steel production while producing carbon-neutral calcium carbonate. At the U.S. Steel (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ussteel.com) manufacturing facility in Gary, Ind., a carbon-capture system designed by CarbonFree (San Antonio,…