In The News
A process for making improved composite insulation material
Hollow silica particles (HSPs) are materials of interest for thermal insulation applications because of their very low thermal conductivity, but the particles pose health hazards and the powder is impractical to use, so scientists have been trying to incorporate HSPs…
Another step towards ‘green’ steel
Last month, Metso Outotec Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.mogroup.com) introduced NextGen Pelletizing — a visionary concept for the next generation of iron-ore pelletizing plants that strive to be carbon neutral and autonomous. According to the company, the combination of innovations —…
Sputtering process enables production of large, iridium-lean MEAs
Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis uses a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) that integrates the electrolyte membrane and electrode (diagram). Large-scale hydrogen conversion of electricity requires a large number of MEAs, which is a drawback for scaleup, because the MEA relies on…
Pressure Transmitters for Enhancing Uptime
New materials, digitalization and simplified user interfaces reduce downtime and ensure safety in pressure-measurement applications Optimizing uptime and safety are among the two highest priorities for chemical processors, making reliability in pressure-measurement devices essential to ensuring that key processes are…
New method selectively extracts magnesium salt from seawater
Magnesium metal is important for several emerging potential sustainability-related applications, including carbon capture, low-carbon cement and energy storage. These potential applications are driving efforts to efficiently produce magnesium hydroxide, the raw material for manufacturing Mg metal. It is possible to…
Business News: November 2022
Plant Watch Covestro breaks ground in Antwerp for new aniline plant October 12, 2022 — Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) broke ground in Antwerp, Belgium for a new world-scale production facility for the manufacture of aniline. Covestro is investing more…
This batch reactor saves time, energy, space and more
Batch reactors are widely used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), and the basic design has not radically changed for many decades. Nevertheless, precise temperature control of batch processes continues to be a common problem. Now, a new design of…
Carbonized polymer membrane exhibits improved performance, stability
Organic-solvent nanofiltration (NF) uses membranes with tiny pores to remove dissolved molecules. “Although NF is more energy efficient than alternative separation methods, such as distillation, the majority of polymer-based membranes exhibit poor chemical stability,” says Rifan Hardian, a post-doctoral researcher…
CO2 reduction aided by DNA
Electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide offers a pathway to use CO2 as a feedstock, but the reaction is challenging because it requires catalyst molecules and dissolved CO2 to meet on the electrode surface. One approach to help this…
Rare-earth recovery from magnet scrap is being scaled up
Rare-earth materials are a crucial part of high-performance magnets in many electronic devices. Right now, only about 5% of these magnets are recycled, but tapping into end-of-life electronics is a promising and more sustainable source for rare-earth materials, the vast…