Latest News
A solar-powered electrolysis process extracts lithium from seawater
Today, all commercial lithium is sourced from ores or brines on land, where the total lithium reserves amount to 14 million tons. In contrast, the oceans contain 230 billion tons of lithium, although the lithium concentration in seawater is very…
MOF-coated mesh membranes separate oil from water
Current oil-water separation technologies, such as centrifugation, filtration, dissolved air flotation, distillation, oil skinners, adsorption and electrochemical methods, are of low efficiency and consume a lot of energy during complex separation processes. Mesh membranes have attracted much interest lately, and…
Progress toward using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for fuel cells
In order for ammonia to serve as a hydrogen carrier, it is necessary to develop separation techniques that can reliably recover H2 from the decomposition of NH3 with sufficient purity for operating proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A step in…
Mechanically strong aerogels get closer to commercialization
Aerogels — ultralight, insulating and heat-resistant nanoporous solids — offer benefits in many applications, but commercially available aerogels are typically limited to just two formats: particles and blankets. Aerogel Technologies, LLC (Boston, Mass.; www.aerogeltechnologies.com) is currently constructing a pilot plant…
Carbon-free power: Ammonia synthesized from renewable power and hydrogen
A collaboration between JGC Corp. (JGC, Yokohama, Japan; www.jgc.com), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National Institute of Technology, Numazu College, and JGC’s subsidiary, JGC Catalysts & Chemicals Ltd., (JGC Group), under the auspices of…
Microwave-plasma platform engineers solid-material properties
A new production process for engineering a range of nano- and microstructured solid materials can reduce the costs of manufacturing the materials compared to conventional “wet-chemistry” approaches, and can allow novel chemistries that are not accessible through traditional methods. Developer…
Plant Watch: Business News for Dec. 2018
Plant Watch Synthomer opens expanded nitrile latex production facility in Malaysia November 13, 2018 — Synthomer (London, U.K.; www.synthomer.com) opened its expanded nitrile latex production facility in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. This $63.5-million project added 90,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr)…
Economy and Opportunity Drive High CPI Salaries
Amid a tight labor market, CPI workers at all levels are in high demand as the range of jobs requiring chemical engineering expertise becomes increasingly diverse Many current indicators suggest that it is a great time to be working in…
Modern Simulation Tools: Expanding Applications
New user-friendly solutions help chemical processors tackle tasks beyond design and optimization Initially, steady-state simulation was used in the chemical process industries (CPI) to design a plant or a process. Advances in the technology, along with the need to produce…
Focus on Packaging and Transportation
Self-adhesive pipe labels improve workplace safety ANSI/ASME A13.1 recommends the marking of all pipes to clearly communicate their contents, to improve facility maintenance and safety. This company offers a variety of premade pipe marking labels (photo), which are ready to…