Plastics: Biodegradable, Bio-based, or Compostable?
Conventional plastics are widely recognised as harmful to the environment, but are the alternativ...
Features
Not All Plastics Are Made Equally Recyclable
Aniqah Majid looks at the multiple plastics clogging up the waste management system and whether t...
Keep Calm and Dry Tea: Designing an ATEX-Compliant Tea Leaf Dryer
Tea may be renowned for its soothing qualities, but tea leaves have the potential to cause catast...
IChemE takes centre stage at the Process and Chemical Engineering Show this May
The ChemUK 2024 Expo will return on 15 and 16 May at the NEC in Birmingham. Running as part of th...
Volunteer Spotlight: Laura Malhi CEng FIChemE
Shining a light on the valuable work of IChemE volunteers
Oil Change: Using Microbes to Produce Edible Oils
With the food system threatening to crumble under the weight of a growing population, Chris Chuck...
Palm Oil in Numbers
Palm oil's impact and benefits in numbers
Sharing the Secrets of Greener Palm Oil
Adam Duckett interviews researchers working to optimise the palm oil sector
History of Nuclear Engineering Part 1: Radioactivity
For just over 100 years, radioactive elements have proved of industrial and commercial use. Marti...
Making the Palm Oil Industry Greener
Environmental concerns regarding the palm oil industry are well documented. However, IOIEO’s Sust...
Soil Survivor: Using Nanotech for Regenerative Agriculture
Amanda Jasi speaks to researchers using nanotechnology to help preserve, replenish and analyse soil
Imagining What Chemical Engineering Will Look Like in 50 Years
Duncan Barker got in touch to share a prize-winning essay that he discovered his late father Andy...
Christmas Past: A Historical Christmas Stocking
Martin Pitt reminisces on Christmases past, and brings with him a sackful of facts and figures
Brewing Up a Storm: The Origins of Biotechnology Part 1
In this contribution to his series about chemical engineering history, Martin Pitt turns his focu...
Growing Old, Fast
Kerry Hebden speaks to innovators who have developed processes to artificially age whisky
Pore Performance: One 3D-printing firm's ambition to re-engineer membranes
Adam Duckett interviews Tom Pugh and Andrew Walker about Evove’s push to improve separations
The Breakfast Club
Early innovations from the food and drinks industry have done much to influence other industries ...
The £300 Industrial Secret that Changed the World
Martin Pitt looks at how acquiring gunpowder know-how shaped the world as we know it
Small APC, Big Benefits
British Sugar’s James Caws and consultant Howard Boder explain how small-scale advanced process c...
Troubled Waters and Systems Thinking
Adam Duckett on low-water marks and engineering highly-complex systems
Question Time: Food & Water
IN the sixth webinar of IChemE’s Centenary series, experts discuss how chemical engineering can ...
The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread?
Estefania Lopez-Quiroga and colleagues look at the potential upsides of scaled-down, decentralis...
100 Years? Piece of Cake
Séamus Higgins and Ellie Cooke look at a century’s evolution of food and processes, in the form o...
Designing Dairy
Yvonne Owens talks about her role as Whey Intake Process Manager at Ireland's largest dairy proce...
Precision Fermentation: A green route for protein production
Jeremy Chignell speaks to Amanda Jasi about the promise of alternative proteins
Cow-Free: A possible future for dairy
Arie Abo speaks to Amanda Jasi about using microorganisms as ‘cell factories’
Clean Steam: Greener distillation processes
Brian Williamson and Chris Jackson talk to Adam Duckett about zero emission closed-loop steam
100 Centuries of Chemical Engineering
In a prelude to IChemE’s centenary celebrations, IChemE Fellow Martin Pitt charts the influence o...
Lab-to-Table: Why Chemical Engineers are Key to a Meat-Free Future
Marianne Ellis talks about her work on tissue engineering to find ways to improve societal health...
Microwave Processing – Beyond Food
Sam Kingman, Chris Dodds, Adam Buttress and Daniel Groszek discuss new technology that offers a h...
A Lot of Bottle
Ella Howells talks about her switch from oil and gas to the drinks industry
Time to Transfer?
James Colley offers sound advice on careers transition when you need to switch sectors
A Lego Technic Cupcake Production Line
In the third of a series about chemical engineers who are volunteering their skills to contribute...
Decarbonisation of End Uses
Malcolm Wilkinson and members of the Sustainability Special Interest Group discuss the technologi...
Oils & Fats: Essential Engineering
Qua Kiat Seng charts the evolution of vegetable oil production
Ensuring the Safety of Food
Tony Hasting looks at the options for quality assurance
A Clean Bill of Health
Tony Hasting discusses cleaning and disinfection of food process plant
Success for Recipes
Tony Hasting discusses process and equipment design for food safety
Brewing Up Energy
Constantine Tsounis, Bijil Subhash, and Khushal Polepalle chart their journey from undergrad desi...
Turning Points for IX
John Bewsey describes a new ion exchange process for cleaning up acid mines and brackish water
All You Can Eat
What contribution do chemical engineers make in ensuring our food is safe?
Novel Meat for a New Age
Protein sources are gaining increasing attention due to concerns about the sustainability of tr...
Pyrolysis Gets Personal
Adam Duckett visits the workshop of Nik Spencer to understand more about a pyrolysis unit that ...
Packing a Punch
David Smith discusses the importance of product packing and filling for formulated dry products
Bulk Solids Handling: Perspective on a Professional Blind Spot
A topic often overlooked and misunderstood, Grant Wellwood looks at the prevalence of bulk solids...
Food for thought
Adam Duckett discusses innovation in the food and drinks sector and an issue focussed on efficiency
Policy Perspective: Sustainable Transitions
Elena Demou explains how IChemE is supporting members to influence policy
Step by Step
Stephen Drew reports on why classic pinch technology used in the NZ food industry is just as vali...
Dry Run
Smarter testing for powder development in the dairy industry
Policy Perspective
Samson Yosef explains how IChemE is supporting members to influence policy
Careers in Chemical Engineering: Jaega Wise
Yasmin Ali interviews Jaega Wise, Head Brewer at Wild Card Brewery in London.
Policy Perspective
Nooryesha Choudhury explains how IChemE is supporting members to influence policy
INWED: ‘At the end of the day, we are all engineers’
HELD on 23 June, International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is a global awareness campaign wh...
Lean Forward
We should sell Lean Manufacturing to the food industry, says Ian Madden
Process Hengineering, You Say?
How a team of process engineers turned waste calcium hydroxide into valuable animal feed
Chemical Engineering in the Kitchen
Visiting the home of the inventor of a novel, continuous process for juicing and straining. Amand...
The Rum Diary
Bringing multi-product distilling to Australia
Pet Projects
Standard routines and their place in continuous improvement
Ditch the Dirt
Hydroponic technology could help us sustainably meet growing food demand
Spontaneous Combustion of Tortilla Chip Waste: an Unknown Known?
A analysis of a fire caused by spontaneous combustion of food waste at a factory in Texas.
The Internet of Brewing
Developing a low-cost smartphone app to help craft beer breweries and homebrewers monitor and con...
Tastes Good, Can’t Hurt? It Ain’t Necessarily So
The Loss Prevention Bulletin's special issue on food processing uncovers hazards you might find s...
Applying Chemistry
How chemical engineering developed in Nigeria
A Greener Future for IChemE
The BioFutures Programme will address the opportunities and challenges faced by the chemical engi...
Buses Full of Beans
The route from coffee waste to biofuel: Dickon Posnett, Argent Energy Director of Corporate Affai...
Solar-Powered Water Purification Wins Top Prize
Helen Tunnicliffe reviews the winners of IChemE’s annual awards programme
Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch – Feed the World
No chemical engineering feat better illustrates the double-edged nature of many inventions than t...
News
A shot of whisky and some chemical feedstocks please
WHISKY waste could provide high-value feedstocks such as lactic acid for the pharmaceuticals and ...
Carlsberg will buy Britvic for £3.3bn
CARLSBERG has agreed to buy UK drinks manufacturer Britvic for £3.3bn (US$4.2bn) as it pushes ahe...
Bezos funds US$30m sustainable protein lab as Imperial engineers seek to revolutionise food production
A US$30m centre for sustainable protein has been launched at Imperial College London as engineers...
Britvic rejects £3.1bn bid from Carlsberg
UK DRINKS manufacturer Britvic has turned down a £3.1bn (US$3.9bn) takeover bid from Danish brewe...
Winston Mellowes, 1941-2023
Obituary of Winston Mellowes, an expert in the technology of sugar cane processing, Professor Eme...
Xampla and 2M awarded Innovate grant to scale up production of biodegradable materials
XAMPLA, a company specialising in natural, biodegradable materials, has been awarded the Innovate...
UK government lays out national vision for engineering biology industry
THE UK government has said it will invest £2bn (US$2.5bn) over the next ten years in engineering ...
R.M. Palmer fined US$44,000 for lack of evacuation before blast killed seven
R.M. PALMER, the owner of a chocolate factory which exploded in March killing seven people, has b...
New novel use of glycerol helps make renewable hydrogen and propane fuel gases
GLYCEROL, a naturally occurring alcohol made from the hydrolysis of fats and oils, is being used ...
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to team up with Swansea University on CO2 upcycling research
COCA-COLA Europacific Partners (CCEP) is teaming up with Swansea University to work on cutting-ed...
Carbon Capture Scotland to capture biogenic CO2 from Whyte & Mackay whisky distillery
CARBON CAPTURE SCOTLAND has teamed up with Scottish whisky makers Whyte & Mackay to capture the b...
Heineken to pour £25m into low carbon heat system for Manchester brewery
HEINEKEN UK, the maker of Heineken, Birra Moretti, and Foster's, has said it will pour £25m (US$3...
A new gallery celebrating engineers opens at the Science Museum
AN exhibition called Engineers opened today at the Science Museum in London dedicated to world-ch...
Recovering heat, capturing carbon and switching fuels: UK industry awarded funds to engineer out emissions
CHEMICAL companies and food manufacturers are among the latest firms to receive millions in UK go...
Seven killed in US chocolate factory explosion
THE death toll following an explosion at a US chocolate factory on 24 March has risen to seven. T...
BrewDog partners with Budweiser China to extend reach into Asia
SCOTTISH craft beer group BrewDog has partnered with brewing giant Budweiser China to tap into a ...
Competition launched to advance low-emission foods
INNOVATE UK and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have jointly launc...
Carlsberg fined £3m for fatal ammonia leak
CARLSBERG has been fined £3m (US$3.6m) after one contractor died and another was seriously injure...
Green investor partners with spinout for novel fluid flow characterisation technology
UNIVERSITY of Birmingham spinout Rheality and investment company Clean Engineering have partnered...
UK provides funding for distilleries to reduce emissions
THE UK Government has announced £11.3m (US$15.1m) in funding for distilleries to help them cut em...
Sugar beet could kickstart Scottish bioeconomy
GROWING sugar beet in Scotland and processing it at a new biorefinery could help the country beco...
HyNet secures new hydrogen customers
MAJOR producers of food, ceramics, glass, paper and cars – including PepsiCo and Jaguar Land Rove...
UK CO2 users agree short-term price fix to keep gas flowing
INDUSTRIAL gas users in the UK have struck a short-term deal on the prices they pay for CO2 to ke...
UK Government props up industry to prevent CO2 shortage
THE UK Government has been forced to step in and pay for industry to keep producing CO2 after a r...
Engineered yeast strain could revive interest in non-food bio-feedstocks
CHEMICAL engineers at MIT have genetically engineered yeast that are tolerant to toxic biorefinin...
Dairy pioneer Kevin Marshall honoured by the Queen
KEVIN Marshall has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the Queen, for his ...
Pilot plant will convert soybean waste into bioplastic
A FINNISH consortium is building a pilot plant to convert waste from soybean processing into comp...
Fonterra supports NZ industry switch from coal – but outlines significant challenges
FONTERRA – New Zealand’s huge dairy cooperative – has come out in support of plans to end coal us...
CPI launches programme to support SMEs
CPI, an independent technology centre, has announced the launch of a programme aiming to support ...
Explosion at UK oilseed plant injures three
AN explosion at an oilseed processing plant in the UK has injured three people.
Liveris joins Australia’s business response group
CHEMICAL engineer Andrew Liveris, former CEO of Dow Chemical, has joined a commission established...
Companies repurpose to produce hand sanitiser
IN the fight against the spread of coronavirus, chemical companies and distilleries are stepping ...
Asahi to sell beer and cider brands to appease consumer agency
ASAHI announced last year its intentions to acquire Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) and has now ...
NZ PM visits milk processing plant to see novel boiler and launch tree-planting scheme
NEW ZEALAND Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has visited milk processing company Synlait for a tour ...
Communication troubles are holding back UK biotech
ENGINEERING biology must learn to communicate better if the breakout discipline is to achieve its...
Carlsberg to halve water usage at Danish brewery
BREWING company Carlsberg has announced investment in a state-of-the-art water recycling plant th...
Food, fuel and drug supplies at no-deal Brexit risk, Government warns
THE UK Government has warned in a document it has been forced to disclose that a no-deal Brexit c...
Asahi to acquire Carlton and United Breweries for US$10.8bn
BELGIAN brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has agreed to sell its Australian subsidiar...
BP invests US$30m in alternative protein production startup
BP has invested US$30m in startup Calysta’s “breakthrough” technology, which uses bacteria to pro...
Protein-producing microbes to reduce CO2 emissions
DRAX is partnering with startup Deep Branch Biotechnology (DBB) on a new bioenergy carbon capture...
Cattle feed and dye membranes win MIT water prize
ENTREPRENEURS who are developing process technologies to remove dyes from industrial wastewater a...
Consortium aims to bring world-first PET recycling technology to market
PEPSICO, Nestlé Waters, and Suntory Beverage and Food Europe have joined a consortium to help bri...
GPS pioneers win prestigious QEPrize
FOUR engineers responsible for creating the first global, satellite-based positioning system – GP...
University of Melbourne wins US$100,000 grant
RESEARCHERS at the University of Melbourne, Australia have won a US$100,000 Grand Challenges Expl...
GSK and Pfizer merge consumer healthcare businesses
GSK and Pfizer are merging their consumer healthcare businesses in a move that will create a mark...
Climeworks pioneering air-captured CO2 for drinks carbonation
COCA-COLA HBC Switzerland has teamed up with Climeworks to pioneer the use of air-captured carbon...
Scepticism over the UK bioeconomy strategy
INDUSTRY has expressed mixed reactions towards the recently-released UK Bioeconomy Strategy. The ...
UK set to see surge in biomethane plants
THE UK is set to see a 50% rise in biomethane plants operating by 2020, with as much as £400m (US...
AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals renamed Nouryon
AKZONOBEL Specialty Chemicals has been renamed Nouryon following its sale to the Carlyle Croup an...
UK’s largest bioethanol facility set to close
VIVERGO FUELS has said it is looking to close the UK’s largest bioethanol plant by the end of Sep...
No deal Brexit will hit chemicals sector hard, government warns
THE UK Chancellor has warned that the chemicals sector will be one of the hardest hit by a ‘no de...
University of Sheffield to host 2019 Frank Morton Sports Day
CHEMICAL engineering students at the University of Sheffield, UK have successfully won the bid to...
CCS could fuel the fizz in UK lager
CARBON capture and storage (CCS) could fuel the fizz in UK lager and help guard against a future ...
Novel smart drying technology
RESEARCHERS at Monash University in Australia, along with academic collaborators in China, France...
New packaging: cheap and slippery
FANS of fast food know how tricky it is trying to squeeze out the last drops of ketchup from thos...
Nestlé reduces water consumption in South African dairy factory
NESTLÉ South Africa is transforming its Mossel Bay dairy factory into a “zero water” site by re-u...
CO2 shortage sparks concerns over food and drinks supplies
BEER, fizzy drinks, and poultry supplies are at risk of disruption in the UK following a shortage...
Reducing the environmental impact of palm oil production
NEW technology has been developed that will convert palm oil waste into building materials and bi...
That’s the spirit: chemical engineer develops flexible micro-distillery
A CHEMICAL engineer from the University of Queensland has created a new type of micro distillery ...
Nestlé launches first product containing breakthrough form of sugar
NESTLÉ has announced it is launching its first product containing a new form of natural sugar tha...
Easter eggsperts: chemical engineers have chocolate eco-ratings licked
AS we peel the foil off our Easter eggs this Sunday, chemical engineers are urging us to consider...
GSK buys Novartis out of consumer healthcare venture
GSK will pay US$13bn to take full control of its consumer healthcare venture with Novartis.
BASF in exclusive talks to buy Bayer’s vegetable seeds business
BAYER is in talks to sell its entire vegetable seeds business to BASF as it seeks to address anti...
Bread alert: chemical engineers reveal worst sandwiches for the climate
DO you want to do your bit for the climate at lunchtime? If so, chemical engineers say you should...
ThaiBev buys US$4.8bn stake in Sabeco
THAI Beverages (ThaiBev) has won an auction to buy a US$4.84bn majority stake in Vietnam’s top br...
Campbell Soup to buy Snyder’s-Lance for US$4.87bn
CAMPBELL Soup has agreed to buy pretzel and chip manufacturer Snyder’s-Lance for US$4.87bn as it ...
Unilever sells spreads business to KKR for €6.8bn
UNILEVER has sold its spreads business, including margarine brands such as Flora, Becel and ProAc...
UK’s largest bioethanol facility shuts down in face of political instability
THE UK’s largest bioethanol producer has halted production at its plant in East Yorkshire, blamin...
Government outlines plan to make UK world’s most innovative nation
THE UK government has published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy as it seeks to boost industr...
A new whey to drink
TOFU whey, a byproduct from tofu manufacture, has been fermented into a new alcoholic drink, whic...
Bioengineering opportunities and risks
MAJOR issues that could face industry, society and the environment as a result of the growing bio...
An olive branch for a circular economy
RESEARCHERS have piloted a process to turn a waste stream from olive oil manufacture into biofuel...
Lund team turns chicken feathers into food
MILLIONS of tons of chicken feathers are wasted every year, but researchers at Lund University in...
Surf and turf: replacing plastic laminates
A COMPOSTABLE biomaterial made of derivatives from lobster shells and wood could sustainably repl...
Bunge buys 70% of IOI Loders Croklaan for US$946m
AGRIBUSINESS and food giant Bunge has bought a 70% controlling stake in IOI Loders Croklaan from ...
EU probes Bayer-Monsanto deal
AN IN-DEPTH investigation has been launched by the EU Commission into German chemical giant Bayer...
Jellyfish and prawn cocktail
A GASTRONOMIC delight in Asia could be making its way to the western world, thanks to a new proce...
Turning dirty foil into useful catalysts
CONTAMINATED foil is unrecyclable as grease and fats damage recycling equipment, so it is often l...
Protein made using CO2 and electricity
RESEARCHERS in Finland have successfully produced a batch of single-cell protein using electricit...
Spinning silkworm cocoons
BIOCOMPATIBLE, biodegradable silk cocoons capable of being accurately spun on a nano-scale could ...
GSK to sell Horlicks, shut Slough site
GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) is to sell its Horlicks drinks brand in the UK and shut its Slough manufact...
Roadtrip fuelled on whisky waste
PROCESS developers are celebrating a roadtrip fuelled by whisky waste.
