Processing & Handling
Chementator briefs
NITROGEN UTILIZATION Late March, the first nitrogen fertilizer produced from a wastewater-treatment plant sidestream was delivered to a farm in Sweden. The fertilizer was produced at a pilot plant that began operation last December at Ragn-Sells Högbytorp’s (www.ragensells.se) wastewater-treatment and…
A new burner slashes NOx emissions from iron-ore pelletizing plants
Before being fed to the blast furnace, iron ore is first converted into pellets by, for example, a traveling-grate (TG) pelletizing plant. In this plant, so-called green pellets are conveyed through a furnace that heats the pellets to high temperatures…
Growing sulfur batteries from crystals
Strain on demand for critical battery metals is forcing manufacturers to seek alternative materials. Sulfur’s high thermal stability and abundance are making it a promising emerging battery material. A new class of solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries developed by Theion GmbH (Berlin,…
Catalyst-coated membrane reduces electrolyzer stack cost for H2 production
A new catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) technology for hydrogen production, developed by Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; uop.honeywell.com), is undergoing performance validation testing in partnership with manufacturers of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) and anion-exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzers. Made from both proprietary UOP…
Commercial debut for a process that makes ‘green’ pig iron
Last month, Vale S.A. (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.vale.com) began construction on the first commercial plant to use its Tecnored process, which produces pig iron with biomass instead of metallurgical coal (coke). Located in Marabá, in the southeast of Pará,…
Reduced fouling when pneumatically conveying lactose products
To ensure product safety and quality, products containing lactose (at dairy plants, for example) are processed under hygienic conditions. These strict hygiene conditions require frequent cleaning of pneumatic transport systems — typically every eight weeks. This procedure is both labor-intensive…
Six Steps to Designing a Storage Vessel That Really Works
Designing a storage vessel for your plant requires a methodical approach. This article outlines six steps to follow in designing, installing and starting up a storage vessel that successfully handles your bulk material under your operating conditions. Have you experienced…
BASF and thyssenkrupp Uhde optimize STAR process dehydrogenation technology and demonstrate significant sustainability benefits
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen) and thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, both Germany) achieved measurable improvements in the STAR process, a proprietary dehydrogenation process from thyssenkrupp Uhde that can produce propylene from propane feedstocks, or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks. The technology has been…
thyssenkrupp nucera to deliver electrolyzers for Air Products’ H2 facility in Arizona
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.) has awarded thyssenkrupp nucera AG & Co. KGaA (Dortmund, Germany) the supply of its alkaline water electrolysis technology for a 10 metric ton per day facility to produce green liquid hydrogen in Casa Grande, Arizona.…
Iron and steel industry to demonstrate hydrogen-based reduction technology
SSAB (Stockholm, Sweden), LKAB (Luleå, Sweden) and Vattenfall (Solna, Sweden) are joining together in a demonstration project called HYBRIT, to replace coal-based blast furnaces with direct hydrogen-based reduction technology. The HYBRIT initiative aims to demonstrate a complete industrial value chain…