Chemical Engineering
Focus on Expansion Joint Installation
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Predictive Maintenance Basics
Enabled by modern digitalization tools, predictive maintenance strategies have distinct advantages over traditional approaches and preventive maintenance protocols The era of visual-inspection-only maintenance routines with an employee checking boxes off on a clipboard could soon become a relic thanks to…
Immobilizing enzymes as a stable, active foam
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; Germany; www.kit.edu) have developed a new class of materials — enzyme foams. Normally, foaming modifies the enzyme structure and enzymes lose their biocatalytic activity. The new protein foams, however, are said to…
Breaking New Ground: AI’s Role in Biomanufacturing
Advanced technologies employing artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-learning models can reshape product inspection and quality control in bioprocesses, but users must understand both the capabilities and limitations of such digital platforms for optimal implementation Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the…
Piloting a chemical-recycling process for polycarbonate plastics
Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) has developed a chemolysis process for recycling polycarbonate back into monomers. In laboratory trials, the process has been shown to recycle waste streams with more than 50% polycarbonate content into monomers, closing the loop to…
Preventing Dust Explosions with Flow Analysis
Dust collection systems are often designed using simple rules of thumb that may not be sufficient for proper operation. Flow analysis can ensure that the systems meet requirements The presence of dust is one of the many potential causes for…
Unlocking the commercial feasibility of graphene-based water sensors
A new, non-intrusive screening method developed by researchers from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago (pme.uchicago.edu), as well as Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Ill.; www.anl.gov) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.uwm.edu), shows promise for…
Solar cells integrated into car hoods
In recent years, some car manufacturers have developed vehicles that integrate photovoltaic cells into the roof — the easiest surface to use for onboard solar-power generation. Now, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE; Freiburg, Germany;…
Chemenator Briefs
Carbon Capture Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR; Newark, Calif.; www.mtrinc.com) Carbon Capture announced it has commenced construction of a large pilot plant at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC) in Gillette, Wyoming. When operational in 2024, it will be…
Seawater electrolysis stabilizes and immobilizes atmospheric carbon dioxide
Seawater is being used in a new electrolysis scheme for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), while also producing hydrogen as a byproduct. Developed by Equatic (Los Angeles, Calif.; www.equatic.tech), the platform draws seawater into a closed electrolysis system, taking advantage of…