870 results found
Vale CEO resigns after Brazil dam collapse
FABIO Schvartsman has resigned as the CEO of Vale, following the fatal collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam. Since the collapse, 186 people have been confirmed dead and 122 people remain missing.
Type: News
Brazil approves dam safety bill
THE Brazilian Senate has passed a bill to tighten dam safety, reports Reuters. This follows the collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam in Brazil on 25 January. Since the collapse, 186 people have been confirmed dead whilst 122 people remain missing.
Type: News
THE cheap, abundant and seemingly limitless energy supply of the 20th Century driven by fossil fuel consumption led to unprecedented economic growth and improvements in quality of life. But much like financial debt, the long-term cost will ultimately be higher than the short-term gain. Society has reaped the short-term benefits of fossil fuel consumption and the environmental bailiffs are now at the door.
Type: Feature
Why is it that the introduction of innovative process technologies appears to be so slow in the process industries? For example, the benefits of implementing flow chemistry at smaller commercial scales have been discussed for over a decade, and yet the reality is that new products continue to be realised through batch processes. Economies of scale and the two-thirds rule dominate the approach to large-volume, commodity chemicals, leading to highly centralised production, reliance on long-established process routes, and incremental improvements.
Type: Feature
Wanted: More Efficient Heat Exchange
Imagine if heat exchange of process fluids in an industrial setting was as simple as boiling a jug of water. We all know the process is not as simple as that, and companies can experience a raft of different issues and challenges that require new and innovative technical solutions. That’s what keeps chemical engineers in business.
Type: Feature
Micropore Technologies, a specialist engineering company, has successfully scaled up membrane technology that can create emulsions with monodisperse droplets. The membrane has applications in a wide range of industries.
Type: Feature
The fatal Brazil dam collapse highlights failings in the mining industry. Amanda Jasi speaks to experts about what must be done to improve safety and prevent repeats
Type: News
An alternative CO2 capture process
SCIENTISTS at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), US have developed a simple, alternative process that could be used to remove CO2 from coal-burning power plant emissions. The process requires 24% less energy than industrial benchmark techniques.
Type: News
BRAZIL has decided to ban tailings dams built by the upstream method. The decision follows the fatal collapse of such a dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on 25 January. So far 169 people have been reported dead and 141 people are missing.
Type: News
Employees arrested after Brazil dam breach
EIGHT Vale employees have been arrested as part of a criminal investigation into the collapse of one of the company’s tailings dams on 25 January in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil. BBC News reports that 17 employees have already been detained for questioning this month.
Type: News
Update: Number killed in Brazil dam breach reaches 99
AFTER the fatal collapse of a Vale mine tailings dam in Brazil, 99 people have been reported dead, 57 of whom have been identified. 257 people remain missing. The collapse occurred on 25 January.
Type: News
Adam Duckett speaks to chemical engineer Bill Grieco, CEO of the RAPID Manufacturing Institute, about its efforts to accelerate process intensification
Type: Feature
What Have Chemical Engineers Been Earning in 2018?
IChemE members were asked to reveal the salaries and benefits they received in 2018, to develop the Institution’s understanding of the key trends in chemical engineers’ earnings. Data was gathered from countries with the highest concentration of IChemE members. More than 2,200 members took part in the survey in Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, South Africa and the UK.
Type: Feature
It is increasingly important for companies to maximise the sustainability of their manufacturing processes, to reduce hazardous effects on the environment, and to ensure that we have sufficient natural resources for the future. Platinum group metals (PGMs) are widely used within consumer and industrial products, and include platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium. They occur naturally but are scarce and, therefore, highly valuable.
Type: Feature
IChemE releases report on the role of chemical engineering in the biosector
ICHEME’s BioFutures Steering Group has released a report with recommendations on how the Institution can better engage with chemical engineers in the emerging biosector as well as develop opportunities for growth.
Type: News
Process Safety Models: Cheese, Chains or Cords?
Harvey Dearden offers an alternative to the 'Swiss cheese' model for representing process safety. The ‘suspended load’ might be considered as more complete in representing the idea of an integrated system.
Type: Feature
IChemE launches energy and resource efficiency guide
ICHEME has launched an energy and resource efficiency guide which outlines how engineers and organisations can reduce energy and waste in order to tackle climate change.
Type: News
New alliance combatting environmental plastic waste
NEARLY 30 companies from across the plastic value-chain, including BASF, Dow Chemical, Shell, and ExxonMobil, have formed an alliance to combat plastic waste. Announced yesterday in London, UK the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) aims to reduce plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean.
Type: News
