Chemical Engineering
Direct molten-salt electroplating cuts battery costs
The extremely high material purity demanded for conventional lithium-ion battery manufacturing creates considerable costs for transporting and refining lithium and other raw materials. Through the development of a single-step electroplating process that uses lower-purity raw materials and a nanostructured-foam electrode…
First commercial DAC facility in the U.S. captures CO2 for concrete
In November 2023, Heirloom Carbon Technologies (Tracy, Calif.; www.heirloomcarbon.com) unveiled the United States’ first commercial direct air capture (DAC) facility, which can capture up to 1,000 ton/yr of CO2. The process first uses renewable energy to remove CO2 from limestone…
Fouling-immune membrane available for brackish-water RO applications
In November 2023, the first commercial test was initiated for a novel, fouling-immune membrane for brackish-water reverse osmosis (BWRO) applications through an early-access program. Membrane developer ZwitterCo (Woburn, Mass.; www.zwitterco.com) says its membrane is fouling-immune in cases where fouling of…
Business News: January 2024
Plant Watch Trinseo inaugurates new PMMA depolymerization plant in Italy December 7, 2023 — Trinseo (Berwyn, Pa.; www.trinseo.com) inaugurated a new polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) depolymerization plant in Rho, Italy. This depolymerization operation will be designed to enable the efficient recycling…
AGC to expand biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacities at Yokohama Technical Center
AGC, Inc. (Tokyo) has announced that it has decided to expand its biopharmaceutical CDMO capability at the AGC Yokohama Technical Center. The total investment for the expansion is expected to be approximately 50 billion Japanese yen. Development services for gene…
LG Chem begins construction of major battery-materials plant in Tennessee
LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) has commenced the construction of a cathode plant in the U.S., intending to establish a production hub for the global battery material market. The facility, located in Montgomery County, Clarksville, Tennessee, will locally produce…
TechnipEnergies to provide technology, engineering and procurement for Dow’s new ethylene cracker in Canada
Technip Energies (Paris) has been selected to provide Proprietary Technology, Engineering, and Procurement services for Dow’s net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions integrated ethylene cracker in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. Technip Energies provided an Extended Basic Engineering Package for this…
Q&A with CISA Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Lead Matt Rogers
Editor's note: The following responses were provided by Matthew Rogers, the Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Lead at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA; www.cisa.gov), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov). The statements were provided in response…
Idemitsu Kosan starts up new production plant in Malaysia for syndiotactic polystyrene
Idemitsu Advanced Materials (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (Tokyo), has newly constructed a second SPS (syndiotactic polystyrene) production plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia, and launched commercial operation in November 2023. The production capacity of this…
ExxonMobil to build carbonate fuel-cell pilot plant in Rotterdam
Esso Nederland BV, an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corp. (Houston) plans to build a pilot plant at its Rotterdam Manufacturing Complex to test a breakthrough technology that could significantly reduce CO2 emissions from key industries. The pilot plant aims to…