Fouling-immune membrane available for brackish-water RO applications

In November 2023, the first commercial test was initiated for a novel, fouling-immune membrane for brackish-water reverse osmosis (BWRO) applications through an early-access program. Membrane developer ZwitterCo (Woburn, Mass.; www.zwitterco.com) says its membrane is fouling-immune in cases where fouling of…

Steam Reboilers: Condensate Vessel Balance to Reboiler is Important

Properly locating a simple 1–2-in. balance line can make all the difference in successful reboiler operation Steam reboilers are crucial to production in petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants, representing huge capital investment in distillation columns. Regardless of the investment made…

A continuous electrochemical process for direct-air CO2 removal

Direct-air capture (DAC) of atmospheric carbon dioxide presents promise for helping to reach global-warming reduction goals. However, many DAC technologies are hindered by high costs and inefficiency. RepAir Carbon (Yokne-am Illit, Israel; www.repair-carbon.com) recently launched a field prototype of its…

Upcycling waste ammonia from beef farming

A new ammonia-recovery plant has begun steady-state operation to demonstrate a patented process to upcycle the ammonia content from cattle manure into stabilized fertilizer ingredients. The Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) was developed by Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Old Bethpage, N.Y.;…

Scaleup of a process that makes an alternative to palm oil

A process to produce an alternative to palm oil for food applications, developed by scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), will be scaled up for commercial production through a partnership with Eves Energy Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; www.eves-energy.com).…

Membranes and Filters Handle Separation Issues

Tailored separation systems address energy consumption and fouling while supporting sustainability Recently there has been a demand for separation technologies that are better suited to specific applications and a more sustainable world, so providers of filters and membranes have begun…

Recently Published Books for the CPI: November 2023

The following is a selection of recently published books with relevance to parts of the chemical process industries (CPI) Integrated Process Modeling, Advanced Control and Data Analytics for Optimizing Polyolefin Manufacturing. By Y.A. Liu and Niket Sharma, Wiley-VCH Publishing, 2023,…

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…

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.…

Piloting a chemical-recycling process for polycarbonate plastics

Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) has developed a chemolysis process for recycling polycarbonate back into monomers. In laboratory trials, the process has been shown to recycle waste streams with more than 50% polycarbonate content into monomers, closing the loop to…