Chemical Engineering
Antimony trisulfide plant commissioned at Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory (INL; Idaho Falls, Idaho) has announced the commissioning of a new modular mineral processing plant, which will be instrumental in helping the U.S. to secure a domestic supply of the critical mineral antimony trisulfide . The plant…
Hexpol acquires Italian thermoplastics manufacturer Vipa Group
HEXPOL AB (Malmö, Sweden) announced that it has acquired 100% of the Italian company Vipa Group (Ancarano, Italy). The company is one of Europe's leading developers and manufacturers of high-quality thermoplastic compounds with focus on the fast-growing Wire & Cable…
AGC transfers shares of polymer material business to Saint-Gobain
AGC Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) has entered into a share transfer agreement with Saint-Gobain K.K. (Tokyo, Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Courbevoie, France). Under the agreement, AGC will transfer all of its shares in AGC Polymer Material…
Bp completes sale of Gelsenkirchen refinery to Klesch Group
bp plc (London, England) has completed the sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery and related businesses to Klesch Group (London, England). The transaction supports bp's continued focus on disciplined capital allocation and is also expected to lower underlying operating expenditure by…
Microwave irradiation and ion exchange lower cost of battery upcycling
Approaches for recycling cathode active materials from used lithium-ion batteries generally face a tradeoff wherein recovering materials with the widest range of possibilities for re-use, such as pyrometallurgical methods, generally require high energy and long process times, while direct-recycling approaches…
Autonomous chemistry system identifies high-performing and tunable catalysts
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU; Raleigh; www.ncsu.edu) and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill; www.unc.edu), with the support of Eastman Chemical Co. (www.eastman.com), have developed a closed-loop autonomous catalysis platform for identifying high-performing catalyst formulations and for…
Taming reactive radicals to streamline C-glycoside drug synthesis
Many widely used pharmaceuticals depend on a carbohydrate class known as C-glycosides, which are metabolically stable and acid-resistant. Although they can be made from common sugars like dextrose, C-glycosides have proven difficult to synthesize due to the preponderance of hydroxyl…
Precise molecular order results in remarkably thin monofilaments
A materials-science breakthrough for the production of ultra-fine monofilaments is now being commercialized by startup firm Z-Polymers (Lowell, Mass.; www.z-polymers.com). The company’s Tullomer-branded monofilaments support exceptionally thin functional fibers with low creep and shrinkage, while exhibiting extremely high mechanical strength…
Low-energy carbon capture using food-production byproducts
Direct-air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is required to meet climate goals, but highly effective and inexpensive DAC remains elusive. Researchers at ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch) have developed a novel approach using waste proteins from dairy and tofu…
Field trials demonstrate the ability of novel scavenger to remove H2S from natural gas
Field demonstration trials of a novel method for removing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from natural gas were recently completed in the Permian basin (Texas, USA). The trials demonstrated the ability of the technology, known as ECOTREAT®, to remove H2S from gas…