The Chemical Engineer (tce)

1 week ago | thechemicalengineer.com | Sam Baker

MODELLING by chemical engineers in the US and Norway suggests that liquid air energy storage (LAES) could be a more cost-effective option than existing techniques. Researchers at MIT and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found it could be considerably cheaper than lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydropower.  LAES works by taking excess electricity from the grid to cool and liquify air which is then stored at ambient pressure.

1 week ago | thechemicalengineer.com | Adam Duckett

WOOD GROUP has said it is open to a £242m (US$318m) takeover bid from UAE’s Sidara – nearly 85% lower than last year’s offer – as the engineering business grapples with mounting debt and the fallout from cultural failings. Wood employs 35,000 people across more than 60 countries, providing engineering services for sectors including oil and gas, chemicals, renewables, minerals, and pharmaceuticals. Last year, Sidara offered 230p per share for the company, valuing it at around £1.5bn.

2 weeks ago | thechemicalengineer.com | Adam Duckett

USED tyres could one day be recycled to produce epoxy resins according to researchers exploring chemical processes that aim to extract greater value from end-of-life tyres. In a paper published in Nature, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US, have shown at lab scale that they can break down waste rubber in mild ambient conditions to produce precursors for epoxy resins. These have many applications, including adhesives, coatings and composites.

2 weeks ago | thechemicalengineer.com | Adam Duckett

BASF has started operating its first commercial plant to recycle waste textiles back into feedstock for new garments. The plant at the chemical company’s Caojing site in Shanghai, China has an annual capacity of 500 t/y. It is depolymerising polyamide 6 – also known as nylon 6 – into caprolactam which can be reused to make materials for clothes. Given the volume of clothing waste produced each year, much more needs to be done to improve sustainability, including closing the loop on manufacturing.

2 weeks ago | thechemicalengineer.com | Aniqah Majid

FORMER bp boss Lord John Browne of Madingley has urged the UK to become a global leader in climate action in the face of “regrettable” low-carbon cutbacks happening in the US. In a lecture at the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), Lord Browne told an audience of energy and financial experts that the UK has an opportunity to lead in decarbonisation technology – provided it continues to invest in commercially established renewables, namely solar, wind, and nuclear.