Latest News
Waterless technology uses supercritical CO2 to recycle textile waste
Textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally, and there are limited options available to efficiently recycle end-of-life textiles into useful materials. A new recycling approach developed by Renasens (Stockholm, Sweden; www.renasens.com) utilizes supercritical CO2 to recover intact…
PVC polymer chlorination with LEDs enhances resin stability
Lubrizol (Cleveland, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) recently began producing chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin in commercial reactors equipped with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light source, instead of the conventional mercury lamps. The company’s LED reactor technology enhances the thermal stability of…
Focus On: Pressure Measurement
This pressure transmitter works without a PLC The 4051S pressure transmitter (photo) provides local real-time control, eliminating the need for a separate device, such as a programmable logic controller. This functionality is provided by two relay switches, each of which…
Customizing Bulk-Solids Mechanical Conveyors for the CPI
For effective mechanical conveying of bulk solids in the chemical process industries (CPI), equipment should be tailored to the specific needs of the solids-handling application The sheer diversity of bulk-solid materials encountered across the chemical process industries (CPI), including agricultural…
Editor’s page: From ‘automated’ to ‘autonomous’
The continued and expanding use of digitalization technologies in the process industries have pushed facility operations from “automated” — featuring distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, safety instrumented systems and others — toward “autonomous” operations, where technologies like machine-learning, open-software-defined…
Refiners Pursue Flexibility Amid Economic Headwinds
Petroleum refiners are taking steps to support and increase operational flexibility and business agility as logistical challenges and economic headwinds build, and policy certainty is difficult to find Amid the current economic climate, business agility and operational flexibility have emerged…
Modular, low-cost ammonia-production system is designed for intermittent energy
Ammonia is a critical input for agricultural fertilizers, but NH3 production is plagued by volatile prices, difficult global logistics and high CO2 emissions. A new NH3-production system from the startup TalusAg (Austin, Texas; www.talusag.com) addresses these challenges with a modular…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers
Flexible intermediate bulk containers (fIBCs) are large, collapsible woven containers designed for transporting and storing of dry, flowable materials, such as powders, grains and granules, in industrial settings. This one-page reference summarizes the available options for flexible IBCs. Normally made…
Process for cellulose-derived pigments scales up to hundreds of tons/yr
A process for making pigments from cellulose for use in cosmetics, food and coatings applications has scaled up from a 1-ton/yr pilot unit to a process capable of generating multiple-hundreds of tons per year in a toll-manufacturing setting. The cellulose-derived…
Gas-fed, solid-state electrolyzer could allow ethylene from waste-derived syngas
Conventional ethylene production via steam cracking of ethane or naphtha leads to the emission of 1 ton of CO2 for every ton of ethylene produced. Given the carbon intensity of the process and the annual volume of ethylene produced (300…