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Sustainability

Enzymatic PET-recycling demonstration plant launches in France

Carbios (Saint-Beauzire, France) announced the launch of the construction of its industrial demonstration plant for the enzymatic recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. The demonstration plant is located near Lyon, in France’s Chemistry Valley, the French hub of innovation and…

Eni, Versalis and Corepla to collaborate on plastics recycling projects

Eni S.p.A. (Rome, Italy), Versalis S.p.A. (San Donato Milaese, Italy) and COREPLA (the National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging) have signed an agreement that will see them pool their expertise to collect and recycle plastic…

Awarding ‘green chemistry’

One important challenge that continues to receive the attention of scientists and engineers worldwide is the creation of a more sustainable environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; www.epa.gov) recognizes achievements in this area through the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards,…

JDA to advance conversion of syngas to ethylene

A recently announced joint development agreement (JDA) between Enerkem Inc. (Montreal, Que.) and NOVA Chemicals (Calgary, Alta.) is aimed at developing recycling technology to allow difficult-to-recycle plastics (specifically #3–7 polymers), as well as other municipal solid waste (MSW), household waste…

Enzymatic conversion of waste algae into specialty chemicals

Waste algae from municipal wastewater-treatment plants is typically sent to landfills, but a new process offered by Gen3Bio, Inc. (West Lafayette, Ind.; www.gen3bio.com) aims to convert it into specialty chemicals using a proprietary blend of enzymes to break open —…

FOG separation technology expands to new application areas

Fats, oil and grease (FOG) waste can create environmental problems for water-treatment and sewage systems, but can be a potential resource if collected and separated efficiently. A technology originally developed by Downey Ridge Environmental Co. (Lansing, W.Va.; www.greasezilla.com) to separate…

Producing hydrogen (and more) from biomass

A new electrochemical system that uses biomass-derived lignin to produce hydrogen has been developed by a team from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Ulsan, South Korea; www.unist.ac.kr), led by…

Siemens and Polenergia to collaborate on hydrogen-energy projects in Poland

Polish energy company Polenergia and Siemens Energy signed a letter of intent pertaining to cooperation related to industrial application of high-efficiency co-generation, as well as introduction of solutions that enable sustainable production and use of hydrogen. Both parties declare cooperation…

BASF begins piloting new chemical-recycling process for mattress materials

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) has developed a chemical recycling process for used mattresses and is starting pilot tests at the Schwarzheide site in Brandenburg, Germany. The materials from old mattresses are to be recycled in such a way that they…

Green-hydrogen production plant inaugurated in Germany

Hydrogen production specialist McPhy Energy S.A. (La Motte Fanjas, France) announced the inauguration of Apex Energy’s zero-carbon hydrogen production plant located in Laage, Germany. The plant, which represents a major milestone in the industrialization of the hydrogen sector, is equipped…