Chemical Engineering
Hydrogen-enabled recovery of raw materials from ‘red mud’ and other metallurgical waste
Bauxite residue (red mud) is a byproduct from the smelting of aluminum. Like other waste slags from the metallurgy industry, bauxite residue is traditionally put into hazardous-waste landfills, although it contains a mixture of valuable raw materials in low concentrations.…
Solvent-based regeneration of granular activated carbon
Granular activated carbon (GAC) can be used to remove polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater and drinking water, but current methods to regenerate spent GAC are costly and require high temperatures of greater than 1,000°C. A team of scientists at Battelle…
Wireless device detects coronavirus — no batteries required
A collaborative research group in Japan has engineered a self-sustaining device that can detect the presence of COVID-19 particles or droplets in air. The device, which requires no batteries, employs a magnetostrictive clad plate composed of iron, cobalt and nickel,…
New pressure-relief valves improve performance and reduce emissions
Spring-loaded pressure-relief valves (PRVs) often use bellows to ensure balanced operation. Data analysis from 30,000 PRV service records across different industries and valve brands shows a bellows failure rate between 2 to 6%, according to Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.; www.emerson.com).…
A new tool to capture ‘microbial dark matter’
Microorganisms populate nearly any habitat, no matter how hostile it is. Their great variety of survival strategies is of huge potential in biotechnology. However, most of these organisms are unknown, because they cannot be cultivated. To make better use of…
Lotte Fine Chemicals receives world’s first shipment of blue ammonia from Sabic
Lotte Fine Chemicals (LFC) received the world’s first commercial shipment of 25,000 metric tons of independently certified clean (blue) ammonia from SABIC Agri-Nutrients (SABIC AN) and Saudi Aramco (Aramco). The shipment, dispatched from King Fahad Industrial Port at Jubail, Saudi…
Lummus to provide digitalization services to Zhangzhou Chimei Chemical
Lummus Technology (Houston) announced it has been awarded a contract by Zhangzhou CHIMEI Chemical Co. Ltd. for digitalization services at their petrochemical facility in Gulei, Fujian Province, China. "This award builds on the previous technology license Lummus provided to CHIMEI…
Entegris to build manufacturing center in Colorado Springs
Entegris, Inc. (Billerica, Mass.) announced plans to build a new manufacturing center of excellence in Colorado Springs. The new facility expands Entegris’ significant presence in Colorado and enhances its ability to meet the needs of its customers as the semiconductor…
Iberdrola to construct €1-billion green hydrogen and methanol plant in Tasmania
Iberdrola Australia and hydrogen developer ABEL Energy will build a green hydrogen and green methanol production plant at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania (Australia). The project, called Bell Bay Powerfuels, is backed by the Australian government and will involve an…
Technip Energies awarded ethylene cracker contract by Chevron Phillips Chemical and QatarEnergy
Technip Energies (Paris) has been awarded a contract for the supply of proprietary cracking furnaces for the 2,000,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) ethane cracker for the Golden Triangle Polymers project, a joint venture between Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC…