Plant Watch Petrobras announces biorefining breakthrough at Riograndense refinery November 9, 2023 — Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) has successfully processed 100% soybean oil in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its Riograndense petroleum refinery…
A new plasma-based technology is being touted as a more sustainable method for textile finishing, including water-intensive dyeing and coating processes. The Ausora process, developed by Xefco Pty. Ltd. (Eveleigh, Australia; www.xefco.com), in partnership with the Recycling and Clean Energy…
Tailored separation systems address energy consumption and fouling while supporting sustainability Recently there has been a demand for separation technologies that are better suited to specific applications and a more sustainable world, so providers of filters and membranes have begun…
New magnetic level indicator completes series A wide range of options have been added to the BM26 Series of magnetic level indicators (MLI) since it was first introduced in 1955. With the recent introduction of the new BM26A-8000, the company…
Metal components made with laser powder-bed fusion — an important additive manufacturing process — must be qualified for use in critical applications, but the qualification relies on expensive non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. In-process monitoring offers a less expensive alternative, but…
A new ammonia-recovery plant has begun steady-state operation to demonstrate a patented process to upcycle the ammonia content from cattle manure into stabilized fertilizer ingredients. The Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) was developed by Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Old Bethpage, N.Y.;…
With new manufacturing improvements to its standard plated paddle agitator (photo), this company can speed up lead times on its 30-in. dia. and smaller-sized horizontal mixers. The new plated paddle agitators are manufactured with the paddle and arm sections cut…
The new SpeedAir 3050 leak tester (photo) is an all-in-one system for nonporous pharmaceutical containers. SpeedAir offers container-closure integrity testing (CCIT) for a wide range of products, including flexible or rigid, liquid or solid packaging. Typically requiring only 30–45 s,…
Researchers at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich; Switzerland; www.ethz.ch) and Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU; www.ntu.edu.sg) developed a process to utilize industrial chicken feathers for making proton-conductive membranes that can be used in fuel cells, protonic transistors and water-splitting…
The Mobile Minor MM 100 spray dryer (photo) is equipped with the Cyclone CEE mechanical powder separator. This cyclone helps operators overcome challenges in spray drying, such as smearing due to powder settling in the cyclone, as well as abrasion…