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Latest News: Technologies

AI-supported polymer-dosage system slashes operating costs

Last month, Andritz AG (Graz, Austria; www.andritz.com) introduced its next-generation of Metris addIQ RheoScan, the world’s first patented, optical-measurement system for automatic polymer dosage in belt presses and gravity belt tables. The new generation uses artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize…

Combustion-free abatement of fugitive methane emissions

Curbing emissions of methane gas is a major concern for many industrial sectors. Typical emissions-abatement methods involve combustion, but a new flameless technology designed by Thermon, Inc. (Austin, Tex.; www.thermon.com) employs a proprietary explosion-proof catalytic pad in place of a…

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Feed injector lowers energy consumption of FCC units

A newly launched feed injector for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units at petroleum refineries reduces the oil-side pressure drop and lowers the steam required, enabling facilities to achieve the same performance with lower energy consumption, according to developer Lummus Technology…

Blast-furnace technology aims for carbon neutrality

Primetals Technologies, Ltd. (London, U.K.; www.primetals.com) and thyssenkrupp AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp.com) have signed an exclusive, worldwide cooperation agreement that sees both parties commit to bringing the Sequence Impulse Process (SIP) technology to the market. The SIP technology has been…

Recovering phosphoric acid from sewage-sludge incineration ash

This month, SusPhos B.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.susphos.com) is increasing the capacity ten-fold of its 25-kg/d pilot plant in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The pilot plant, which began operating in January, is being used to develop a process that recovers phosphorus…

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Self-healing hydrophobic coatings enhance heat transfer in steam condensers

Ultrathin (less than 100 nm) hydrophobic coatings on alloys and other engineering materials could enhance heat and mass transfer in a range of processing applications, but achieving lasting durability for such thin coatings in real-world settings has been a major…

Paving the way for emissions-free renewable fuels

UOP, LLC, a Honeywell company (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) and Wood plc (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodplc.com) are now licensing a combined technology suite that brings together UOP’s Ecofining renewable-fuels process with Wood’s Terrace Wall hydrogen-reforming furnace, with the aim of substantially…

Integration of CO2 direct air capture and alcohol-to-jet fuels manufacturing

A feasibility study is underway for the world’s first commercial facility that integrates direct air capture (DAC) of atmospheric carbon dioxide with gas fermentation of CO2 and production of aviation fuels. LanzaTech (Chicago, Ill.; www.lanzatech.com) and Carbon Engineering (Squamish, B.C.;…

Safer, more sustainable control of runaway polymerization

Runaway polymerizations of acrylic monomers can lead to catastrophic fires and explosions in production plants and storage terminals, as well as during transportation. Special chemical products called shortstop inhibitors are used to minimize the likelihood of runaway polymerization reactions. A…

A flexible, origami-based fuel cell

Until now, manufacturing polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that are small, light and capable of mechanical movement has been challenging using conventional methods. PEMFCs are composed of end plates, bipolar plates, gaskets, membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and other assembly parts, of…