Biotechnology plays a key role in sustainably feeding a growing global population How are we going to feed 10 billion people using 35% less land by 2050? This was the question posed by Ian Roberts, chief technology officer at Bühler…
Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber is a terpolymer elastomer derived from ethylene and propylene, along with small amounts of a non-conjugated diene as a third monomer (Figure 1). With a completely saturated polymer backbone, this random elastomeric copolymer exhibits…
March 2022: The following is a list of recently published books that may be of interest to professionals in the chemical process industries (CPI) Overpressure Protection in the Process Industry: A Critical View. By Marc Hellemans, Elsevier Press, 2022, 396…
2D polymer Chemical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge; www.mit.edu) have synthesized two-dimensional sheets of polyaramide. The achievement, described in a February issue of Nature, is said to be the first time a polymer has been grown…
Last month, Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cemex; Monterrey, Mexico; www.cemex.com) and Synhelion SA (Lugano, Switzerland; www.synhelion.com) successfully connected the clinker production process with the Synhelion solar receiver to produce solar clinker. The milestone is a first step towards fully solar-driven…
Converting propane to propylene by oxidative dehydrogenation with CO2 is an alternative route to conventional propane dehydrogenation, but existing catalysts for this conversion are not very efficient. Now, in a study described in a recent issue of Nature Catalysis, researchers…
The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater and groundwater has garnered increased attention as a health and environmental issue because of their recalcitrance and bioaccumulation. To complement existing PFAS separation technologies, the Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, Ohio;…
A new ultra-rapid plasma-based process could significantly expand the availability of premium materials for battery applications. Developed by 6K, Inc. (North Andover, Mass.; www.6kinc.com), UniMelt is a single-pass, continuous process that employs a proprietary microwave torch technology to create a…
The transformation of sulfur-containing molecules is an important reaction in organic and pharmaceutical chemistry. However, the sulfur atom strongly coordinates with the active sites of metal catalysts, significantly decreasing the catalytic performance. Sulfur impurities contained in chemical feedstocks also cause…
A new class of electrolyte aims to bridge the performance gaps between the electrolytes used in conventional lithium-ion batteries and solid-state batteries. The new rubber electrolytes, developed by a team of researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; Atlanta;…