Latest News: Technologies
Chementator briefs
'New food' GEA AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) has received a contract from Novozymes A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark; www.novozymes.com) for a turnkey fitting of a major new plant to produce plant-based proteins for the plant-based food industry. The high double-digit million-euro order…
Two new semiconductor-based nanomaterials synthesized for the first time
The latest generations of computer chips are only a few nanometers in size and are becoming ever more energy-saving and powerful as a result of progressive miniaturization. Since the etching processes traditionally used in chip production are increasingly reaching their…
Expanding access to real-time monitoring technology for polymer reactions
A recently announced business collaboration between Fluence Analytics (Houston; www.fluenceanalytics.com) and Yokogawa Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) will significantly expand the availability of the latest generation of Fluence’s technology for continuous, real-time monitoring of polymerization processes. Under the agreement, the two…
Membrane productivity springs forward with new degradation-control method
The ability to precisely control the molecular structure of polymer membranes could expand their use in challenging separations, such as the purification of xylene isomers. Using highly selective membranes that can be operated at ambient conditions to separate such hydrocarbons…
Operation begins at the world’s largest direct air capture, CO2-storage plant
Last month, Climeworks (Zurich, Switzerland; www.climeworks.com) started operations of Orca, said to be the world’s first and largest climate-positive direct air capture (DAC) and storage plant. Located in Hellisheiði, Iceland, the Orca plant has a capturing capacity of 4,000 ton/yr…
High-pressure fermentation for optimizing CO2 utilization
Biological processes can be used for the conversion of greenhouse gases into added-value chemicals. With a new, unique high-pressure (up to 10 bars) fermenter, the Flemish Institute for Technology Research (VITO; Mol, Belgium; www.vito.be) is researching how these processes can…
Cost-efficient, on-purpose 1,5-PDO from bio-based starting material
Construction is underway on a demonstration plant for manufacturing 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) from bio-based furfural, a platform chemical that can be derived from plant-based hemicellulose sugars. The process under construction by the company Pyran Inc. (Madison, Wis.; www.pyranco.com) offers a lower-cost…
Fibrous catalyst support boosts yields and reduces coke buildup
A new fibrous catalyst-support material can enhance a wide range of industrial catalytic reactions, allowing higher yields and reduced coke buildup compared to pellet supports. Unifrax (Tonawanda, N.Y.; www.unifrax.com) leveraged its expertise in ceramic materials to develop the high-alumina fiber…
Solar-powered water extraction from atmospheric air
A first-of-its-kind pilot project in Abu Dhabi is integrating large-scale atmospheric water generation (AWG) with solar-thermal energy storage to enable carbon-free production of water. Led by partners AQUOVUM LLC (Dover, Del.; www.aqvglobal.com), Masdar Clean Energy (www.masdar.ae) and Khalifa University of…
Increasing recovery of metals from refractory mine tailings
EnviroGold Global Ltd. (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.envirogoldglobal.com) has filed a patent application for a proprietary electrochemical process designed to achieve advanced metal recoveries from refractory ores with reduced capital expenditures (capex) compared to industry standard solutions. “The residual metals contained…