As processes have become more complex and dynamic, alarm management software has evolved, and now provides deep intelligence to keep plant personnel safer, more aware and more efficient There can be little doubt that effective alarms are one of the…
The wide range of performance properties of polyurethane foams makes them essential in many consumer goods. Thus, there is much effort going into creating a more environmentally friendly production process for polyurethane’s main building blocks, polyols and isocyanates. While much…
One of the aspects of my job that I really enjoy is keeping in touch with new and advanced technologies emerging from the chemical process industries (CPI) — an interest that traces back to my roots as an R&D engineer.…
Designing a proton-exchange membrane that will balance the efficiency, durability and safety requirements for hydrogen production requires careful consideration of materials and chemistry Among the ongoing efforts to curb climate change, researchers are actively pursuing the further development of water…
Developing sustainable pathways to ethylene — among the world’s most widely used chemicals — is a key element in decarbonizing the process industries. A new electrolysis technology developed by CERT Systems (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.co2cert.com) can produce ethylene from CO2…
Developments in heat exchange technologies promote efficiency, reliability and cost effectiveness in the chemical process industries (CPI) Heat exchange technologies play a pivotal role in industrial sustainability efforts because they are at the forefront of enabling more environmentally friendly chemical…
In December 2024, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) announced a three-year collaborative project with vehicle-tire manufacturer Bridgestone (Tokyo, Japan; www.bridgestone.com) to scale up a thermocatalytic process for converting renewably derived ethanol to n-butene. Conventionally, n-butene is…
Desalination of seawater with reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is a key technology for addressing water scarcity issues around the globe, but seawater desalination is energy-intensive and the brine discharge can create coastal environmental problems. The company Flocean AS (Oslo, Norway;…
Monitoring capabilities for shared laboratory spaces This product, launched as part of this company’s Dashboard solution (photo), is designed to add alerting capabilities to centrally located devices within a shared laboratory space, such as a cleanroom. The product introduces visual…
Recycling materials, such as plastics and metals, is an attractive, but challenging path toward sustainable material manufacture. Now, researchers have made a discovery that may have far-reaching implications in material manufacture by positioning carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers as a sustainable…