Latest News
Veolia acquires waste-handling and recycling firm in the U.S.
Veolia North America announced that it has completed the acquisition of U.S. Industrial Technologies, a Michigan-based provider of total waste and recycling services that has managed industrial waste streams for automakers as well as other large manufacturers, medium and small…
Dow and Evonik start up hydrogen peroxide to propylene glycol pilot plant
Dow (Midland, Mich.) and Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) announced the successful start-up and operation of a pioneering hydrogen peroxide to propylene glycol (HPPG) pilot plant at Evonik’s site in Hanau, Germany. Collaboratively developed by Dow, the world’s largest producer…
CE Podcast: Generative AI and Large-Language Models with Cognite’s Moe Tanabian
On this episode of the Chemical Engineering podcast, our guest is Moe Tanabian, the chief product officer at industrial software company Cognite. We talk with Moe about the potential of artificial intelligence-powered large language models (LLMs) to significantly enhance business…
Ultrathin films achieve record hydrogen separation
Scientists at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL; Switzerland; www.epfl.ch) have synthesized the first ever metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) membrane with the thickness of just one unit cell. The ultrathin film yields record-high performance for the separation of hydrogen from nitrogen.…
A new heat-resistant membrane
Most polymeric membranes degrade during use, making them impractical for industrial separation processes. To solve this problem, researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo; www.buffalo.com), with cooperation for scientists at Rensselar Polytechnic Institute, have created…
First-phase pilot tests completed to demonstrate RotoDynamic technology
Coolbrook Oy (Helsinki, Finland; www.coolbrook.com) has successfully completed the first phase of large-scale pilot testing (photo) for its RotoDynamic Technology at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, the Netherlands. During 2023, Coolbrook has been running a test program to demonstrate…
Slurry-processing system produces dry solids, aqueous NH3 in a single step
A new technology designed for improving the environmental footprint associated with processing liquid waste streams containing suspended or dissolved solids has been developed by Sedron Technologies (Sedro-Wooley, Wash.; www. sedron.com) and tradenamed Varcor. The technology separates, dries and sterilizes solid…
The shortness of time . . .
As I get older, time seems to get shorter. Although many experience this feeling, the duration of time is not changing, only our perception of it. However, in the five decades I have been involved in science, the timescale at…
Chementator Briefs
Bio-acrylonitrile Site selection is underway for a glycerol-to-acrylonitrile demonstration-scale plant that will enable the production of plant-based acrylonitrile (ACN). Trillium (Knoxville, Tenn.; www.trilliumchemicals.com) is partnering with Zeton (Oakville, Ont.; www.zeton.com) to design and build the plant, known as Project Falcon.…
Business News: November 2023
Plant Watch BASF to build a new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen October 12, 2023 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) is investing in a new fermentation plant for biological crop-protection products, such as fungicides, insecticides and seed treatments, at its…