Chemical Engineering
More sustainable curing technology for coil coatings
Coil coating is a continuous process for producing prepainted sheets of metal (steel or aluminum), which can then be fabricated into various building and other materials. Because organic coating materials are used, the process requires substantial energy for the curing…
A new way to improve valve resiliency against flashing
Flashing occurs when the pressure of a fluid passing through a valve is lower than the same substance’s vapor pressure. This causes the fluid to boil — otherwise known as “flashing.” “By reducing flow capacity and eroding the valve itself,…
A new high-throughput tool for developing catalysts
When searching for catalysts for the energy transition, materials consisting of at least five elements — so-called high-entropy alloys (HEAs) — are considered highly promising. But to find the right combination of elements and composition ratios needed for the best…
Sorption-enhanced methanation
The production of substitute (or synthetic) natural gas (SNG) by methanation of CO2 with hydrogen is energy intensive and also requires a purification step to remove the byproduct water and remaining reactants. To address these issues, researchers at The Swiss…
Battery electrode binder allows easier recycling
Recovering valuable metals, such as cobalt and nickel, from used lithium-ion batteries is emerging as a key capability because of anticipated high battery demand and material shortages. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, Calif.; www.lbl.gov) have developed a technology…
Business News: March 2023
Plant Watch Arlanxeo starts up new polybutadiene production line in Brazil February 14, 2023 — Arlanxeo B.V. (Maastricht, the Netherlands; www.arlanxeo.com) opened a new polybutadiene production line in Brazil. The new production line supplements Arlanxeo’s existing production capacity in Brazil…
Head to Toe Technology: Advances in Wearables
From headsets to gloves to fabric sensors, technologies that can be worn on the body are providing many new benefits for plant workers Apace with innovations in all “smart” technologies, wearable devices for industrial personnel are rapidly evolving to incorporate…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Fractional Solvent-Free Melt Crystallization
Fractional crystallization is a stage-wise separation technique that relies upon the liquid-solid phase change and enables the purification of multi-component mixtures, as long as none of the constituents can act as a solvent to the others. Thanks to the level…
Victrex invests in manufacturing expansion for biomaterials business
Victrex plc (Thornton Cleveleys, U.K.) has announced priority investment to support expanding its medical division, Invibio Biomaterial Solutions, including the opening of a new product development facility in Leeds, UK, this month. As part of Victrex’s plans to accelerate future…
Amyris to sell selected cosmetic-ingredient portfolios to Givaudan
Givaudan International SA (Vernier, Switzerland) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire certain cosmetic ingredients from Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.) , including Neossance Squalane, the high-performant emollient, Neossance Hemisqualane, the plant-based silicone alternative and CleanScreen, a sustainable sun…