Chemical Engineering
Quantum chemistry helps uncover path to safer ozone-based water disinfection
Ozone is seen an a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine for water disinfection, but the efficient generation of ozone on-demand and at commercially relevant scales has been hindered by catalytic degradation problems. A team of researchers from…
New transparent insulator material could improve heat efficiency of buildings
Buildings lose considerable heating and cooling energy through their windows, so window coatings with low thermal conductivity would improve efficiency. However, finding insulating materials that are also transparent is a challenge. A team of researchers at the University of Colorado…
A water-durable construction material that also sequesters CO2
A new structural material builds upon the promise of enzyme-enhanced CO2 mineralization to overcome decarbonization challenges in the construction industry. Researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI; Worcester, Mass.; www.wpi.edu), led by Nima Rahbar, head of WPI’s Department of Civil, Environmental…
Novel nanobubble generator enters commercial service at Saudi Aramco site
In late December 2025, a system that uses electric fields — rather than mechanical means — to generate nanometer-sized gas bubbles entered operation at a commercial site in Saudi Arabia. The nanobubble-generating technology was developed by the startup company AquaB…
Novel gasification scheme piloted for recycling of absorbent hygiene products
Post-consumer absorbent hygiene products (AHPs), such as infant diapers, feminine hygiene products and adult incontinence products, present unique challenges for recycling, because they contain compound materials like superabsorbent polymers and non-woven fabrics, as well as bio-hazardous waste, which are difficult…
Kemvera gears up for commercialization of bio-based manufacturing processes for acetic acid and ethyl acetate
Kemvera (Denver, Colo.; formerly New Iridium) announced it has completed the process design package (FEL 1) for its planned 50,000 metric tons per year commercial-scale plant. To support scale-up for this commercial facility, Kemvera completed the design for a 500…
Solvay inaugurates Europe’s first bio-circular silica facility in Italy
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) inaugurated its new bio-circular silica facility at its plant in Livorno, Italy, marking a major milestone in Europe’s industrial transformation toward sustainability. This investment positions Solvay as a proactive partner in achieving the European Green Deal…
Air Products awarded $140-million hydrogen supply contract for NASA facilities
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.) announced that it was recently awarded supply contracts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) totaling more than $140 million to provide liquid hydrogen for several NASA facilities including the world’s largest hydrogen sphere…
CF Industries and POET launch low-carbon fertilizer pilot project
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (Deerfield, Ill.) and POET LLC, the world’s largest producer of biofuels, have launched a pilot project with major agriculture co-operatives to jointly develop a low-carbon fertilizers supply chain. The goal of the pilot is to demonstrate…
Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals and Mitsubishi Chemical enter agreement for ethylene production decarbonization
Asahi Kasei Corp. (Tokyo), Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo), and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (Tokyo) have explored measures to promote decarbonization and optimize production capacity for their two ethylene manufacturing facilities in western Japan. To achieve these goals, the three companies applied…