Graphene has been touted as a “super” material, boasting ultra-high strength, superconductivity and many more superlative properties, but, as a planar two-dimensional material, its commercial use has been limited in terms of reactivity, since reactions can only occur at the…
Improved catalysts and reconfigured reformer designs make steam-methane reforming the most scalable, industry-ready source of ‘blue’ H2 For many decades, steam-methane reforming (SMR) has been, and still is, the technology of choice for the large-scale production of synthesis gas (syngas;…
Electrolyzers are typically associated with the production of “green” hydrogen from water and renewable electricity, but a new device borrows from traditional electrolyzer principles to convert CO2 into propane. A team of researchers from the Electrochemical Energy Materials and Devices…
Operations have begun at leading chemical producer Qixiang Tengda’s new propylene oxide complex in Zibo City, China (photo), using technology from Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) and thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany). The technologically integrated setup offers significant ecological and…
Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.metso.com) has optimized its existing rotary kiln technology and launched RotarEkiln, an electrically powered, indirectly heated rotary kiln. The electric heating system of the RotarEkiln provides a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel-powered indirect rotary kilns. The…
Most plant-based bioprocesses involve growing plants in outdoor fields or greenhouses, but this is hindered by local climates and available space, and typical product yields are very low per plant, especially for natural active molecules used in pharmaceutical and healthcare…
Processing iron ore is the most carbon-intensive step in the steelmaking process, often using coal as an energy source. A new technology, called Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) aims to decarbonize the iron-ore process through electrification. “In the MOE cell, an…
Discovering new catalysts and materials for specific applications can be a tedious and time-consuming process involving labor-intensive tests and expensive samples. Technology developed by Mattiq (Skokie, Ill.; www.mattiq.com) enables the “printing” of tens of thousands of tiny material samples onto…
Modern solutions help processors achieve water-related goals in a more proactive, cost-effective way Although water reuse and recycling began as a necessity in regions where water scarcity was a significant challenge, the increasing cost of water coupled with aggressive sustainability…
The products of the chlor-alkali process continue to be essential for many purposes across the global value chain. Modern chlor-alkali technologies can vastly improve upon the safety and environmental performance of legacy systems The chlor-alkali production process is one of…