Plant Watch Mitsui Chemicals to increase production capacity for polyurethane dispersions August 11, 2023 — Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan; www.mitsuichemicals.com) will increase its production capacity for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) at the company’s Shimizu site. This expansion will approximately double…
Traditional vapor-compression refrigeration relies on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as refrigerant fluids — a class of compounds with global-warming potentials (GWP) thousands of times higher than that of CO2. A new approach from scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL; Berkeley, Calif.;…
Most plant-based bioprocesses involve growing plants in outdoor fields or greenhouses, but this is hindered by local climates and available space, and typical product yields are very low per plant, especially for natural active molecules used in pharmaceutical and healthcare…
Processing iron ore is the most carbon-intensive step in the steelmaking process, often using coal as an energy source. A new technology, called Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) aims to decarbonize the iron-ore process through electrification. “In the MOE cell, an…
Steam Reforming Honeywell International Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.; www.honeywell.com) and ZoneFlow Reactor Technologies, LLC (ZFRT; Windsor, Conn.; www.zoneflowtech.com) have successfully conducted pilot-plant testing of the ZoneFlow Reactor in ZFRT’s large-scale pilot plant at Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. The…
Ammonia is becoming more crucial for the energy transition as renewable-power producers look to its potential as a means for energy storage. Typically made using the energy-intensive Haber Bosch (HB) process, solutions for decarbonizing NH3 typically involve the adoption of…
Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.metso.com) has optimized its existing rotary kiln technology and launched RotarEkiln, an electrically powered, indirectly heated rotary kiln. The electric heating system of the RotarEkiln provides a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel-powered indirect rotary kilns. The…
Commissioning is wrapping up this month for a pilot facility designed to validate the capabilities of a new carbon-capture solvent. The pilot plant was constructed by Koch Modular Process Systems (KMPS; Paramus, N.J.; www.kochmodular.com) as part of Project Enterprise, a…
Facilities can reduce emissions without major capital projects. Here are some practical ideas showing where to start People working in the air-pollution control industry used to boast that you can remove everything from fluegas except carbon dioxide, and it remains…
With global temperatures likely to rise beyond the 1.5°C target set by climate experts, negative emissions technologies — most notably direct air capture (DAC) — become increasingly important for addressing CO2 already in the atmosphere. A new DAC approach is…