Latest News
Recovering rare-earth elements from coal byproducts
A team from the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.; www.uky.edu) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg, Va.; www.vt.edu) has set up a novel pilot plant to recover rare-earth elements (REEs) from coal-based sources, aiming to produce high-grade REE concentrates from coal-based…
A catalyst that mimics enzymes
A research team from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia; www.unsw.edu.au) and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Bochum, Germany; www.ruhr-universität-bochum.de) has succeeded in transferring structural characteristics of natural enzymes to metallic nanoparticles, achieving high catalytic activity. In the case of enzymes,…
Simpler, more selective scandium recovery
Rare-earth elements (REEs), such as scandium, are in high demand, but it is often difficult to economically recover and extract them. Now, II-VI Inc. (Saxonburg, Pa.; www.ii-vi.com) has developed a patent-pending process utilizing selective ion recovery (SIR) that enables highly…
Chementator Briefs
Renewable jet fuel At the end of last October, euglena Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.euglena.jp) completed the construction of Japan’s first demonstration plant for the production of renewable jet and diesel fuel in Yokohama. The $58-million pilot plant, located at the…
Business News – January 2019
Plant Watch Neste moves forward with expansion of renewable products in Singapore December 12, 2018 — Neste Corp. (Espoo, Finland; www.neste.com) plans to add production capacity for renewable products at its existing facilities in Singapore. The approximately €1.4-billion investment will…
Power-to-X: Batteries Not Required
As renewable energy becomes increasingly available (and less expensive), Europeans are looking to Power-to-X as a way to couple the energy, CPI and transportation sectors Germany’s energy transition (Energiewende) from fossil-based fuels to renewables, such as solar and wind, is…
The Balanced Burner
Modern combustion technologies help processors safely meet emissions standards, while optimizing the process Combustion is integral to many chemical processes; however, it is not without challenges. Safety is, of course, always paramount when it comes to fired equipment and constantly…
Focus on Handling Powders and Bulk Solids
Vibrator-mounting system requires no welding or bolting This versatile mounting solution (photo) allows operators to quickly and easily attach the company’s compact, pneumatic, piston-type Bantam Series vibrators directly to process vessels, such as bins, hoppers and chutes, with no need…
Accelerating Six Sigma Research with the Definitive Screening Design (DSD) Technique
DSD is a new design-of-experiments (DOE) technique that is expected to bring huge benefits when using a Six Sigma optimization strategy Statistical tools are deeply ingrained in the Six Sigma methodology to optimize processes and products during chemical process industries…
Cost Engineering: Equipment Purchase Costs
A methodology and examples for estimating equipment costs are presented Engineers have the responsibility to create projects having attractive returns on investment and to create economically sound designs — designs that produce high-quality, competitively priced products. This requires the technical…