Latest News
Facts At Your Fingertips: Comparing Steam and Heat-Transfer-Fluid Utility Systems
While modern steam systems trace their history to James Watt’s steam engine in 1776, heat-transfer-fluid (HTF) systems are more recent, dating to 1926 with the use of diphenyl oxide as a heat recovery agent in power plants [1]. This one-page…
Drum Screen Evolution: Eliminating Trunnion Wheels Reduces Downtime and Cost
Through a trunnion-free drum-screen technology, fine screening applications with high solids loading can achieve their goals while controlling costs and reducing risk For fine screening and small-particle removal in applications like wastewater treatment, few technologies offer as much value as…
Autonomous chemistry system identifies high-performing and tunable catalysts
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU; Raleigh; www.ncsu.edu) and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill; www.unc.edu), with the support of Eastman Chemical Co. (www.eastman.com), have developed a closed-loop autonomous catalysis platform for identifying high-performing catalyst formulations and for…
Taming reactive radicals to streamline C-glycoside drug synthesis
Many widely used pharmaceuticals depend on a carbohydrate class known as C-glycosides, which are metabolically stable and acid-resistant. Although they can be made from common sugars like dextrose, C-glycosides have proven difficult to synthesize due to the preponderance of hydroxyl…
Precise molecular order results in remarkably thin monofilaments
A materials-science breakthrough for the production of ultra-fine monofilaments is now being commercialized by startup firm Z-Polymers (Lowell, Mass.; www.z-polymers.com). The company’s Tullomer-branded monofilaments support exceptionally thin functional fibers with low creep and shrinkage, while exhibiting extremely high mechanical strength…
Low-energy carbon capture using food-production byproducts
Direct-air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is required to meet climate goals, but highly effective and inexpensive DAC remains elusive. Researchers at ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch) have developed a novel approach using waste proteins from dairy and tofu…
Spark ablation technology cuts iridium use by 90% in PEM water electrolysis
Proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis holds significant promise for “green” hydrogen production, but broader adoption hinges on reducing dependence on costly platinum-group metals, such as iridium. A new production method for ultra-thin nanoporous layers developed by VSParticle B.V. (VSP; Delft,…
VOC Control: Solvent Recovery Versus Oxidation
Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) are commonly used for abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but in some cases, solvent-recovery systems can realize significant economic and environmental benefits In the field of industrial air-pollution control, the regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) is…
Microwave irradiation and ion exchange lower cost of battery upcycling
Approaches for recycling cathode active materials from used lithium-ion batteries generally face a tradeoff wherein recovering materials with the widest range of possibilities for re-use, such as pyrometallurgical methods, generally require high energy and long process times, while direct-recycling approaches…
Falling Films in Vessel CIP Applications
Applying an understanding of flow regimes and turbulence to clean-in-place (CIP) processes can optimize CIP cleaning efficiency, reducing water, solvent, energy and chemical use, while maintaining cGMP cleaning performance For vessels and bioreactors in bioprocessing applications, designing clean-in-place (CIP) cycles…