Nearly all of the currently produced building-block chemical acrylonitrile (AN) results from the ammoxidation of propylene, a process that requires precise heat control and generates several toxic side products, such as hydrogen cyanide. The startup company Mars Materials (Houston, Tex.;…
As the hydrogen economy matures and production scales up, critical equipment like valves must evolve to ensure safe and optimized handling and transport According to the Energy Transition Council, the overall share of fossil fuels is expected to decrease significantly…
Plant Watch World-scale black pellet plant begins commercial operation in Vietnam October 14, 2025 — Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Tokyo; www.idemitsu.com) has commenced commercial operation of its newly constructed plant in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, to produce black pellets (BP), a…
Processes to reuse plastics from end-of-life vehicles are complicated by solid contaminants — including pre-embedded metal and rubber components of different sizes and reinforcing glass fiber. Currently, recycling solids-containing waste-plastic parts is accomplished by physical sorting processes. Honda (Tokyo, Japan;…
Following regulations for drinking water, increasingly stringent limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in industrial wastewater are anticipated, necessitating improved technology to handle higher rates of removal, as well as to destroy the compounds in concentrated samples. Gradiant (Boston,…
Understanding the forces acting on agitator impeller blades during turbulent flow in a mixing vessel is essential for successful and efficient operation. Presented here is information on the hydraulic force, its source, and how to calculate it Mechanically agitated vessels…
AI, machine learning and predictive analytics encourage faster, data-driven decision making To help offset the loss of experienced operators and optimize operations, advanced features, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and predictive analytics, are being applied to software…
In October, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize for chemistry to three pioneers who were instrumental in the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Richard Robson (University of Melbourne; www.unimelb.edu.au), Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University; www.kyoto-u.ac.jp and…
A new research study by ETH Zurich (www.ethz.ch), in collaboration with BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany), has investigated an alternative route for mixed plastic waste streams from end-of-life vehicles: to recycle it alongside biomass. The results show: the recycling of one…
Plug Power Inc. (Latham, N.Y.) announced a strategic partnership with Edgewood Renewables to support the development and construction of its advanced renewable fuel facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The project is designed to process waste biomass feedstocks to produce…