Filtration – The Forgotten Process
Filtration is often overlooked during the development of new processes, but at what cost?
Features
Carbon Capture and Storage: Are We There Yet?
Amanda Doyle travels to Norway on a CCS safari
From Slime to Sublime
The potential of algae to recover valuable resources from waste could transform the traditional w...
Joining Forces
Starting a learned society chain reaction
Screen Test
Are today’s methods of grading and selecting our graduate chemengers lacking?
Developing Policies: What Can We Do?
Increasing chemical engineering contributions to sustainable policy development: an Australian ...
Creating a Sustainable Future – The Role of Material Selection
The one challenge that engineers of all stripes need to deal with is material selection.
Bioprocessing insights on getting the most from your data
Ahead of our coming webinar on 9 October, the presenters from JMP and GSK discuss using data to i...
Where Are They Now?
Class of ’82: a chemical engineering cohort study
Roads Less Travelled
Improving the employability of chemical engineers
The Rum Diary
Bringing multi-product distilling to Australia
Nereda: Redefining Effluent Treatment
There is a new player in the wastewater process sector, re-writing the rules of the game
Add It Up!
How 3D printing of reactors can help chemical engineers with process intensification
Practically Speaking – Flow Control
Back to basics on theory and equipment
2-in-1 Overfill Prevention
One radar level gauge can provide two separate and independent layers of protection
Pet Projects
Standard routines and their place in continuous improvement
Applying chemical engineering in the construction industry
Bryden Wood is a technology and design company that designs residential, commercial, and process ...
Diverter Valves: No Longer Just for Special Applications
Why we should give more thought to these versatile, durable valves
Pump Action
Tips for selecting a pumping system for chemical treatment and comparing different dosing systems
Data is Best
Preventing asset failure in the refining industry using machine learning
The Long View on Longford
20 years on from Australia’s infamous gas explosion, what have we learned, and what should we do ...
Sadara: Lessons Learned
How to stay on budget with large, complex projects
Energy Saviours
Ways for operations and design engineers to boost efficiencies
Industrial Aftermath: Project Ends Toxic Pesticide Legacy
Mag Sim of Pure Earth takes us inside the collaborative effort that cleaned up a polluted industr...
Thinking Outside the Block
Can novel uses of blockchain technology in the chemical and process industries justify its cost?
How to Build a Self-Healing Plant
A future where plants will monitor, diagnose potential issues, and even schedule a fix is not far...
Using Bow Ties to Classify Barriers
Not all parts of a process safety management system are of equal importance
Get more from your data, increase yields and reduce costs
Ahead of our coming webinar on 19 June, Stan Higgins says we are not getting the value from our d...
Under One Roof
The University of Cambridge’s new chemical engineering and biotechnology building is open for b...
Hands On
Adam Duckett reports from the launch of the University of Sheffield’s new continuous powder proce...
Brownfield and Beyond
Innovation is needed to develop systems to identify problems before they occur
Lessons in Safety
Effective communication a key theme as experts gather to discuss safety
Millennials Teach Baby Boomers a Lesson
How reverse mentoring is bridging the generational skills gap while encouraging fresh thinking
Fighting the Fight
Cyber attacks on industrial control systems are increasing. What can you do?
Friendly Foams
Building the UK’s first captured-carbon polymerisation plant
The Privilege of Being First
An insider’s view of the technical challenges overcome at the pioneering Boundary Dam CCS project...
Landfill vs Skyfill
How landfill might be the better option for disposal of low-grade plastics
It’s a Gas, Gas, Gas
H21: why we need bold thinking for a greener, cleaner, low-cost future
Shale Gas: Friend or Foe?
An overview of the scientific and technical challenges that have surfaced because of shale gas
On the Level
How advanced level measurement technology increases plant efficiency and safety
A Battery Olympics
Getting around the limitations of battery devices with clever ways of teaming different technolo...
No Operation is an Island
Adam Duckett discusses siloed operations
Beyond ALARP
Why considered, informed, respectful dialogue is needed
Rubbish Roads
A solution to the world’s plastic problem could be right under our feet. Toby McCartney, MacRebur...
Applying Chemistry
How chemical engineering developed in Nigeria
Vaccines: The End of the Cold War?
How an award-winning ensilication technology could remove the need to refrigerate life-saving vac...
Growing the digital plant
Technology transfer: how digital trends in the consumer market might benefit process plant operat...
Demolition Man
Expert observations of demolition dangers and how to avoid them
South Australia to host world-scale solar thermal plant
Energy company SolarReserve has announced that it has received developmental approval for its 150...
Get Nimble
Adam Duckett says it is time to get nimble and experiment
Reality Check
How augmented reality is ticking all the boxes for the process sector. Simon Clarke, Director at ...
A South African Challenge
Mobilising chemical engineering resources to mitigate drought
Get Ready
Chemical engineers: start answering climate change questions now
Industry X.0 – The Next Stage
What’s coming, and why the process industries will have to be more nimble. Simon Coombs, Managing...
Coming Soon…
The promise of AI for industrial automation
Cosmetics Industry: Making More of Ancient Methodologies
Ancient methodologies, such as fermentation and cold pressing, are finding new uses in natural co...
Biorefining and Integrated Bioresource Engineering
FBP journal – a new avenue for the research
A Greener Future for IChemE
The BioFutures Programme will address the opportunities and challenges faced by the chemical engi...
Ditch the Deluge
An argument for using insulation rather than fixed firewater deluge to protect bulk LPG storage t...
The Big Vision
Next-generation batch technologies drive productivity and profitability
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
Interreg FCE – Funding Cross-Channel Collaboration
Funding up for grabs for Anglo-French projects
What to do About Creeping Change
A new hazard identification methodology can identify creeping changes, potentially averting catas...
Capturing Ionic Winds
STUNNING 3D images that show the effect of electric fields on ionic winds flowing from a flame co...
Something in the water
Managing the safe discharge of active pharmaceutical ingredients during drug production
Looking to the future
What should we do to prevent the next process safety catastophe?
An urgent request: new decommissioning head must bring fresh-thinking to wrong-headed plans
THE appointment this week of a new head of decommissioning at the UK’s Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) ...
Scotland’s Fracking Ban – Politics Trumps Expert Advice
THE Scottish government’s recent announcement on fracking was no surprise. No amount of evidence-...
A Sneak Peak at Air Products’ Graduate Recruitment Process
Insights on how a major employer of engineers handles its graduate recruitment process.
Carbon Capture or Kettle Smart?
Why energy efficiency is a much smarter way of reducing carbon and other harmful air emissions th...
How to Limit Amine Systems Failures
A review of incident trends reveals ways to reduce risks to production
Surviving the storm
Joan Cordiner, Technical and Change Manager, Syngenta Houston speaks to Helen Tunnicliffe
The ‘Watermelon’ Effect: Does a green dashboard mean a healthy facility?
Introducing the ‘watermelon’ effect, where process safety performance metrics appear ‘green’ sugg...
Cyber Security in the Asian Process Industry
Every production process has inherent risks. Cyber criminality is now one of these risks.
Technology Sharing
Why we must harness the power of horizontal innovation in the formulation sector
The Rise and Evolution of the Connected Worker
Connected technologies offer the potential to achieve a step change for industrial markets akin t...
Equipped to Innovate
Rethinking the PhD – and your perceptions
Better by Design
Quality by design must be viewed as an opportunity, not as a regulatory burden
Adding Value to Gold
Scotland’s first ever commercial goldmine proves that precious metals can be worth more than thei...
Digital Pioneers
Evonik's chief digital officer discusses his expectations for digitalisation at the specialty che...
Usher in a New Age
THE big news this month – measured by the landslide levels of interest on our Facebook page – is ...
Peering into the Future
A crystal ball view of the chemical process industry
The Next Big Thing
The next big breakthrough in chemical process technology will only be achieved by adopting a rigo...
News
INEOS buys Ashland’s Composites business for US$1.1bn
INEOS has announced that it will buy the Composites business from Ashland Global Holdings, includ...
Air Products to buy General Electric’s gasification business
AIR Products has agreed to buy General Electric’s gasification business, which will expand Air Pr...
Bloomberg hosts second London sustainability summit
THROUGHOUT history, industries have either fought change or embraced it. Now, with the global thr...
Nuclear reprocessing ends at Sellafield’s Thorp plant
THE thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield, UK, has ceased reprocessing spent nuc...
Fluor awarded contract for Valero’s refinery in Wales
FLUOR has announced that it has been awarded a contract for Valero Energy’s combined heat and pow...
Protecting future energy infrastructure from natural hazards
ICHEME has supported the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in publishing research identifying h...
Flooding causes damage to Dangote refinery
FLOODING due to heavy rainfall has caused damage to the US$10bn Dangote refinery site in Nigeria.
Neste and Clariant sign deal for sustainable chemicals production
RENEWABLE fuels and chemicals producer Neste has signed an agreement to provide sustainable raw m...
Report outlines path to significantly reducing emissions from cement industry
A REPORT has outlined how the cement and concrete industry can reduce its CO2 emissions by 95% by...
Understanding why fracking wastewater contains radioactive waste
RESEARCHERS at Dartmouth College, US, have released a study explaining the transfer of radium to ...
NuScale partners with Ontario Power Generation to bring small nuclear reactors to Canada
NUSCALE has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in a bid to ...
Toshiba withdraws from planned UK nuclear plant
TOSHIBA has announced that it will withdraw from a construction project that had planned to build...
House of Lords calls on government to take urgent action to clarify chemical regulations
THE House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee has published a report expressing conc...
New MOF makes plastic manufacturing more energy efficient
RESEARCHERS have developed a metal-organic framework (MOF) containing iron-peroxo (Fe2(O2)) sites...
ExxonMobil to contribute US$10m to the Singapore Energy Centre partnership
EXXONMOBIL has announced that it will be contributing US$10m to the Singapore Energy Centre. The ...
ExxonMobil starts new unit at Antwerp refinery
EXXONMOBIL has started operations of a new unit for producing high-value transportation fuels at ...
Eni and Total sign agreement for offshore exploration in Algeria
ENI and Total have signed an agreement with Sonatrach for offshore oil and gas exploration in Alg...
BASF and Sinopec sign MoU for China steam cracker
BASF and Sinopec have signed a memorandum of understanding that will further strengthen their par...
First apprenticeship survey released
SCIENCE Industry Partnership (SIP), a membership organisation for employers across the UK’s scien...
Recycling carbon dioxide in steel production
A EUROPEAN project is researching how to use the carbon dioxide produced during steelmaking to ma...
Demonstration plant for ground-breaking chemicals technology
PHOTANOL, a platform renewable chemicals company, is building a demonstration plant for what it c...
More than US$50bn worth of deals for Saudi Arabia
SAUDI Arabia has announced more than US$50bn worth of deals in oil, gas, infrastructure and other...
New catalyst reduces carbon dioxide emissions in coal-to-liquids process
A CATALYST has been developed that almost eliminates carbon dioxide emissions in the Fischer-Trop...
RAEng and Lloyd’s Register launch £15m safety initiative and call on others to join
THE UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation have announced a £15m (US$1...
Wood wins work on Anglesey nuclear project
WOOD has won a contract to support Hitachi’s work as architect engineer for the Wylfa Newydd nucl...
A membrane technology breakthrough
RESEARCHERS from the Livingston Group at Imperial College London, UK, in collaboration with BP, h...
Consortium bails out Singapore water treatment firm Hyflux
TROUBLED Singapore water treatment firm Hyflux has been rescued by a S$530m (US$384m) investment ...
Amsterdam considers green electrolysis plant
NOURYON, Tata Steel, and the Port of Amsterdam are collaborating on a feasibility study for a gre...
Queen of Perak presents IChemE Awards to outstanding young engineers
Her Royal Highness Zara Salim, Queen of Perak, presented two promising chemical engineers with tr...
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...
Smaller cheaper plants: Exxon and BASF tout improved gas-treating solvent
EXXONMOBIL and BASF are carrying out a full-scale commercial demonstration of a new gas-treating ...
Chemicals coalition calls on EU leaders to allow UK to remain within REACH
A COALTION of European chemicals NGOs has called on politicians negotiating the terms of Brexit t...
UK fracking set to resume today after seven-year break
FRACKING is set to restart in the UK today after a High Court judge dismissed a last-minute legal...
Improving water purification
A NEW, multi-university research centre, headquartered at the US' University of Texas at Austin (...
Covestro to build world-scale MDI plant
COVESTRO, a leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, is to invest €1.5bn (US$1.73bn) to b...
Ineos picks McDermott for new PDH unit
INEOS has awarded McDermott a contract for the licence and engineering of a new propane dehydroge...
Eleven die in fire at India steel plant
ELEVEN people have been killed in a fire at a steel plant in Bhilai, India.
Explosion shuts down Canada’s largest refinery
AN explosion has shut down Canada’s largest refinery, operated by Irving Oil in Saint Paul, New B...
Fluor to test carbon capture technology at Norwegian facility
FLUOR has signed an agreement to test its carbon capture processes at the Technology Centre Mongs...
UN climate experts warn society must make unparalleled shift
LIMITING global warming to 1.5°C requires rapid and unprecedented changes to society, UN climate ...
Caltech chemical engineer Frances Arnold wins Nobel Prize
CHEMICAL engineer Frances Arnold has been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her pione...
Pioneering SMR technology enters manufacturing phase
NUSCALE Power has selected BWX Technologies (BWXT) to manufacture NuScale’s small modular reactor...
Canada's LNG project gets green light
A large-scale LNG project in Canada has been given the final go-ahead by project partners.
ThyssenKrupp splits in two
THYSSENKRUPP has announced that it will separate its industrials and materials divisions into two...
New US plant will convert household waste into fuel
FULCRUM BioEnergy has announced that it will convert municipal solid waste into biojet fuel using...
UK steel industry gets £7m funding for alloy development
SWANSEA University, in partnership with Tata Steel and Warwick Manufacturing Group at the Univers...
Evonik to build a new silicones plant
EVONIK, a world leader in specialty chemicals, is to build a new silicones plant at its Geesthach...
UK government releases document on chemical regulation in case of no-deal Brexit
THE UK government has outlined a framework for regulating chemicals if a no-deal Brexit occurs, s...
Total announces major gas discovery
TOTAL, the world’s fourth-largest oil and gas company, has announced a major gas discovery on the...
An improved methane to syngas catalyst
RESEARCHERS at the Institute of Catalysis at Hokkaido University, Japan, have created an improved...
New coal-to-chemistry plant in Inner Mongolia will use novel ethylene glycol technology
DOWNSTREAM producer Jiutai is planning a coal-to-chemistry plant in Inner Mongolia that will prod...
Second Cuadrilla approval for onshore fracking
CUADRILLA, the natural resource company, has been granted government approval for fracking at a s...
Three US oil majors commit to climate change action
EXXONMOBIL, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum have joined the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGC...
Trump administration scraps methane emission laws
THE Trump administration has rolled back two Obama-era laws on reducing methane emissions in the ...
Major new refinery proposed for Canada
INDIGENOUS communities and Chinese companies are planning to build a 167,000 bbl/d refinery in Al...
Shell sets methane reduction target
SHELL has said it will reduce methane leaks by installing new equipment at its operations, as the...
IChemE chair meets Malaysian minster to promote expert input
THE chair of IChemE’s Malaysia board, Christina Phang, has met with the country’s new energy mini...
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...
ExxonMobil plans US$650m upgrade to Fawley refinery
EXXONMOBIL is planning on upgrading its Fawley refinery, in the company’s biggest investment in t...
Joint report calls for immediate action to remove greenhouse gases
The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) have released a joint report outli...
Explosion at Indian petrochemicals facility kills six
THE explosion of a methane tank at the Mohit petrochemical factory in Bijnor, India, earlier toda...
Landmark Piper Alpha Cullen report now free to download
THE Cullen Report into the Piper Alpha disaster is now available to download for free from the He...
IChemE announces Global Award finalists
IChemE has announced the finalists of the IChemE Global Awards 2018. More than 100 entries from a...
Attempt to hasten compliance with chemical safety law overruled
THE US’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not have to comply with the Chemical Disaster ...
Nuvia wins contract for Dounreay Site Restoration Limited
NUVIA (UK) has won a multi-million-pound contract with Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) t...
Exxon mulls new multi-billion-dollar chemicals complex in China
EXXONMOBIL is considering building a multi-billion-dollar chemicals complex in China’s Guangdong ...
Big little droplets
RESEARCHERS at MIT have discovered a method that makes sprayed droplets hit and stick to their ta...
Equinor floats plan to power oil platforms with wind
NORWAY could become the first country to directly connect an offshore wind farm to oil and gas pl...
Wood awarded new contracts at Norwegian refinery
WOOD has been awarded two strategic modifications contracts for Equinor’s Mongstad refinery in No...
Alliance seeks partner to boost lab safety
PISTOIA ALLIANCE, a global-not-for-profit life sciences organisation, is seeking a strategic part...
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...
Air Products to build a coal-to-syngas facility for Jiutai New Material
AIR Products, a world-leading industrial gases company, headquartered in Pennsylvania, US, has be...
Courts block Trump administration from further delays of chemical safety law
A FEDERAL appeals court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop delaying an...
Drax: Stepping closer to coal-free
DRAX, which operates the largest power station in the UK, and supplies 6% of the country’s energy...
Uranium: Under the sea
LCW Supercritical Technologies and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have taken a mile...
High temperature nuclear reactors could make uranium extraction energy neutral
THE International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published a report discussing how to make urani...
Cabot Microelectronics to acquire KMG Chemicals
CABOT Microelectronics, the world’s leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) p...
Carbon capture studies to go ahead at Norwegian waste incineration plant
NORWAY’s ministry of petroleum and energy has announced that it will fund FEED studies on CO2 cap...
Invista brings latest ADN technology to China
INVISTA Intermediates is to build a 300,000 t/y, world-scale adiponitrile (ADN) plant in China, a...
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...
Johnson Matthey picks Clitheroe for next-gen battery plant
JOHNSON MATTHEY is building a demonstration- plant for production of next-generation lithium ion ...
Arkema and employees indicted for toxic cloud
ARKEMA, its CEO and the manager of the plant in Texas that caught fire after Hurricane Harvey bat...
Worn valve may have caused Husky refinery blast
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has said that a deteriorated valve may have caused the explosi...
AkzoNobel signs deal with Renmatix to develop bio-based paint additives
AKZONOBEL and Renmatix, a specialist in plant-based technology, have formed a partnership to make...
Kuwait refinery to use DuPont technology for sulphur reduction
DuPont Clean Technologies has signed a contract with Honeywell UOP to provide sulphur-reducing te...
ExxonMobil starts up new ethane cracker
EXXONMOBIL has announced that its new 1.5m t/y ethane cracker has commenced operations at its int...
Thyssenkrupp develops new industrial-scale water electrolysis units to produce green hydrogen
THYSSENKRUPP has launched industrial-scale water electrolysis technology to make hydrogen product...
CCUS report urges UK government to act now
THE carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) cost challenge taskforce has released a report settin...
AkzoNobel plans upgrade to chlor-alkali plant
AkzoNobel will upgrade its Rotterdam chlor-alkali plant to include a new production line for chlo...
Saudi Aramco confirms interest in potential stake at SABIC
SAUDI Aramco is evaluating the possibility of buying a stake in petrochemical company SABIC, whic...
US$11bn petrochemicals complex to be built in Egypt
A MULTI-BILLION dollar petchems complex is to be built in Egypt, and is expected to create thousa...
Fine investment: coal miner and oil trader invest in novel coal-to-fuel developer
VITOL and Peabody Energy have invested US$20m in a firm that has developed technology that it say...
Dangote signs deal for world-scale Nigeria refinery
AFRICA’S richest man, Aliko Dangote, has agreed a US$650m loan to build the world’s largest singl...
19 killed in blast at Chinese chemicals plant
AN explosion at a Chinese chemicals plant has killed 19 people and injured 12 others.
ABB warns chemical firms must invest in digitalisation
ABB has warned that unless the leaders of chemical companies embrace the Industrial Internet of T...
BASF signs MoU for a US$10bn Verbund chemicals site in China
BASF is considering building a new highly-integrated – or ‘Verbund’ – chemicals site in Guangdong...
Ineos will build Europe’s first new cracker for 20 years
INEOS will invest €2.7bn (US$3.1bn) to build a new ethane cracker and propane dehydrogenation uni...
Chemicals blast kills one in Japan
AN EXPLOSION at a chemicals plant in Japan on 2 July has killed one worker and injured at least a...
Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp sign definitive agreement for merger
TATA Steel and Thyssenkrupp have announced that the companies will merge, after being in negotiat...
Wood invests in nuclear decommissioning
WOOD has launched a new fund that will invest in technologies developed by small and medium enter...
Laser monitoring of molten steel
NEW laser technology will allow steelworkers to monitor the condition of molten metal furnaces in...
UK outlines £200m nuclear sector deal
THE UK government has unveiled a £200m (US$262m) deal in partnership with the nuclear industry th...
ABB wins contract to decommission ENGIE power station
ABB has secured a contract with energy operator ENGIE to provide support and advice for the decom...
Green ammonia project set for launch in UK today
SIEMENS will launch a demonstration project in the UK today to showcase the potential of using ‘g...
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...
Queen honours Rose Amal, David Hind, Graham Hutchings and Jim Ratcliffe
THE QUEEN has awarded birthday honours to four members of IChemE: Rose Amal, David Hind, Graham H...
Petronas invests in LNG Canada
PETRONAS is buying a 25% stake in LNG Canada, after previously scrapping plans to develop its own...
SUEZ agrees to help improve water treatment at Rosneft sites
SUEZ has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft to improve water and wastewater pr...
Repsol to use Google technology to improve refinery efficiency
SPANISH energy company Repsol has announced that it is working with Google to use big data and ar...
UK government’s failure to invest in Tata Steel criticised by Welsh first minister
THE Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones, has accused the UK government of failing to secure the fu...
Top ten bio-based chemicals for UK economic growth
A REPORT from the Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Network (LBNet) has identified ten biochemicals whe...
Drax will host Europe’s first bioenergy CCS project
DRAX Power Station in Yorkshire, UK, will pilot Europe’s first bioenergy carbon capture and stora...
ExxonMobil sets methane reduction targets
EXXONMOBIL has announced plans to cut methane emissions by 15% and reduce flaring by 25% by 2020.
BASF and ExxonMobil form gas-treating alliance
BASF and ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing will work together to develop new gas-treating solven...
STEM outreach group warns about UK skills shortage
A SHORTAGE of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills is costing UK businesses £...
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 ...
Norway outlines funding for full-chain CCS demonstration project
NORWAY’S efforts to develop a full-chain CCS demonstration project have been boosted by governmen...
Abu Dhabi outlines US$45bn plan to become key downstream chemicals player
IN a bid to diversify its economy away from oil production, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (A...
New aluminium smelting process will cut carbon emissions
ALUMINIUM producers Alcoa and Rio Tinto have announced a new joint venture, called Elysis, which ...
BASF CEO says company will not undergo DowDuPont-style split
THE new CEO of BASF, Martin Brudermüller, has said that he will be keeping the company as one ent...
Finalists announced in AkzoNobel Imagine Chemistry challenge
THE 20 finalists for the 2018 Imagine Chemistry challenge have been announced, with winners due t...
DuPont and ADM launch bioplastic pilot plant
DUPONT and ADM have announced the opening of a pilot plant in that will be the world’s first prod...
BASF and Solenis combine paper and water chemicals businesses
BASF has announced that it will combine its paper wet-end and water chemicals business with Solen...
Philip Aldridge shares his plans as new NEPIC CEO
PHILIP ALDRIDGE, an IChemE member who has taken over as CEO of England’s Northeast Process Indust...
KBR wins contract for Saudi Arabia’s crude-oil-to-chemicals complex
KBR has been named the second project management contractor for the design of Saudi Aramco and SA...
Offshore industry has come “perilously close to disaster”, warns HSE
HSE has warned the UK’s offshore oil and gas operators that they must do more to tackle hydrocarb...
Australian coal-to-hydrogen plant will fuel Japan’s green economy
THE AUSTRALIAN government has entered into a partnership with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries t...
BP announces two new North Sea developments
BP has given the green light for the development of two North Sea oil fields worth a combined £42...
Saudi Aramco signs deal with Indian consortium for new refinery
Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco has made an agreement with a consortium of Indian o...
Reopening of UK bioethanol plant could lead to decarbonisation of transport
VIVERGO, the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, has reopened after a four-month shutdown period. Howe...
New Zealand bans future offshore oil and gas exploration
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that no future permits will be awarded fo...
Motiva joins forces with UOP and TechnipFMC to fuel push into petrochemicals
MOTIVA ENTERPRISES has signed MoUs with UOP and TechnipFMC worth as much as US$10bn to explore us...
Unilever joins forces with Ioniqa to scale up breakthrough plastic waste recycling process
UNILEVER has formed a partnership with processing pioneer Ioniqa and Indorama, the world’s larges...
Santos agrees to takeover talks with Harbour Energy
HARBOUR ENERGY has made a A$13.5bn (US$10.4bn) bid for Australian oil and gas producer Santos.
Saudi Aramco and Petronas reach deal on Rapid complex
SAUDI ARAMCO has agreed a deal to take joint ownership of Petronas’ refinery currently under cons...
200 GW: Saudi Arabia plans world’s largest solar development
SAUDI ARABIA and Japan’s Softbank have agreed to build the world’s largest solar power project, w...
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...
Chemical companies review lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey
AN INDUSTRY forum held in Texas has discussed the response of chemical companies to Hurricane Har...
AkzoNobel joins Swedish green hydrogen partnership
AKZONOBEL has joined a partnership in Sweden that seeks to use excess renewable power to produce ...
Explosion at Unipetrol chemical plant in Czech Republic
AN EXPLOSION at a Unipetrol refinery is reported to have killed six people and injured others.
New MOF membrane cuts energy use for petrochemical industry
AN ENERGY efficient separation method for propylene and propane has been developed using metal-or...
National Grid report says gas can decarbonise heat, transport, and industry
THE UK’s gas and electricity operator, National Grid, has set out its long-term goals in its repo...
Two injured, one feared dead in Texas chemicals blast
TWO workers have been injured and one remains missing following an explosion at a chemicals plant...
Siempelkamp develops new process for nuclear decontamination
A PROCESS for the chemical decontamination of nuclear reactor cooling systems has been developed ...
Liveris to step down as chair of DowDuPont in April
CHEMICAL engineer Andrew Liveris will step down in April as executive chair of DowDuPont, the hol...
Nuclear fusion is 15 years away from reality, say MIT engineers
FUSION power – the clean energy technology wryly said to always be 30 years from reality – could ...
Three killed in chemicals blast at Indian industrial site
AT least three people are dead after an explosion in a chemical factory in the Maharashtra Indust...
UK must remain within REACH as it exits EU
ICHEME has backed calls for the UK to remain within the EU’s chemicals regulation (REACH) despite...
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...
ABB signs deal with Yitai Group
ABB has signed an agreement with Chinese coal production company Yitai to apply ABB’s technologie...
Exxon’s algae biofuel venture enters new phase, targeting 10,000 bbl/d
EXXONMOBIL and biotech pioneer Synthetic Genomics are starting field trails for their joint algae...
Shell shows scale of work underway at Geismar expansion
SHELL has released photos showing its progress building the world’s largest alpha olefins product...
Europe's first waste-to-chemistry facility provides solution for non-recyclable plastics
A FACILITY that will convert non-recyclable wastes into biofuels and chemicals for industrial use...
BP’s crystal ball suggests oil demand plateau and electric car increase
BP has released its annual Energy Outlook report, which suggests a significant increase in the us...
Steel furnace reignited after two years
His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, has formally restarted an idle furnace at a Liberty Stee...
LyondellBasell announce plans to acquire A. Schulman
PLASTICS company LyondellBasell has announced that it will merge with A. Schulman as part of a US...
Innovation grant awarded for development of low-cost carbon capture technology
A research and development grant worth almost £900,000 (US$1.3m) has been awarded to a consortium...
New steel and metal research institute for Swansea University
The UK’s Swansea University, in collaboration with Tata Steel, has opened a new Steel and Metal I...
Green glycidol pilot plant in the UK
Green Lizard Technologies (GLT) will use dimethyl carbonate and unpurified waste glycerol for env...
DNV GL opens centre to catalyse 3D printing in oil and gas industry
DNV GL has set up an R&D centre in Singapore to accelerate the use of 3D-printed technology by th...
CB&I to design world’s largest methanol plant
CB&I has been awarded a contract for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the world’s l...
Angola to end fuel imports by building refineries
Angola’s state oil company Sonangol has announced plans to reduce the country’s fuel imports by b...
Green steel process given go ahead for testing at pilot scale
AN INDUSTRIAL consortium in Sweden will build a pilot plant to test a steel production process th...
ExxonMobil expects to pump out majority of its oil, even in a low-carbon future
EXXONMOBIL says there is little risk that climate change policies will force it to leave its prov...
Emerson to keep an eye on Covestro plants to boost operations
EMERSON will install industrial internet of things (IIoT) technologies at Covestro production pla...
Australia must act now to own big downstream battery opportunity
AUSTRALIA’S government has been urged to act now if it wants domestic industry to push downstream...
Fire engulfs Taiwan refinery
AN explosion at an oil refinery in Taiwan set off a fire yesterday that took hours to extinguish.
Genomatica and Aquafil join forces to make bio-based nylon
GENOMATICA is working with nylon-maker Aquafil to produce one of its key feedstocks – caprolactam...
Evonik and Siemens announce two-year plan to create 'technical photosynthesis'
EVONIK and Siemens are working together on a process to produce specialty chemicals from carbon d...
Shale gas ruled one of the least sustainable options for power
SHALE gas is one of the least sustainable options for producing electricity, according to a new s...
Shell commits to Penguins North Sea investment
SHELL will redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field 240 km northeast of the Shetland Islands, a p...
GFG Alliance buys Europe’s largest aluminium smelter
GFG ALLIANCE, the UK-based metals, mining and energy group owned by Sanjeev Gupta, has bought Eur...
Trump proposes opening most US waters to drilling
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s administration has revealed a plan to open almost all US offshore waters...
UK plastic recycling crisis expected
THE UK’S recycling industry says it may not be able to cope with an increase in plastic waste, as...
Fluor pilot plant opens at the University of Surrey
THE Fluor Pilot Plant at the University of Surrey UK, designed to give chemical engineering stude...
US$4.2bn Bahrain refinery expansion contract awarded
BAHRAIN PETROLEUM COMPANY (Bapco) has awarded a US$2.4bn expansion contract for its Sitra oil ref...
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...
Saudi giants agree to develop largest oil-to-chemicals complex
SAUDI ARAMCO and SABIC have agreed to develop plans for the world’s largest crude oil-to-chemical...
World’s largest dynamic hydrogen electrolysis plant inaugurated
THE WORLD’S largest dynamic hydrogen electrolysis plant has been inaugurated in Germany, and has ...
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...
ExxonMobil to revamp refining and chemical operations
EXXONMOBIL will reorganise its refining and chemical operations in an attempt to boost profits am...
BASF in talks for DEA oil and gas merger
BASF has announced that its Wintershall unit is in talks to merge with Letter One’s oil and gas a...
Ethylene from artificial photosynthesis
ETHYLENE has been produced from an integrated artificial photosynthetic device for the first time...
Tees Valley £123m Budget boost
UK CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond announced in his 2017 budget on Wednesday an investment of £123m (US...
Bioengineering opportunities and risks
MAJOR issues that could face industry, society and the environment as a result of the growing bio...
INEOS expands North Sea oil and gas operations
INEOS will move into deep water oil and gas exploration, after agreeing to buy a majority stake i...
Mystery ruthenium-106 cloud over Europe
ROSATOM, the Russian state nuclear company, has denied that a radioactive cloud of ruthenium-106 ...
New continuous cell therapy bioprocess
A COATING that allows the first ever continuous production of cells could remove a significant bo...
Video: CSB releases detailed animation of Arkema incident
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a detailed animation of the events leading to the...
Bechtel signs US$15.2bn in LNG contracts with Tellurian
TELLURIAN has awarded four contracts worth US$15.2bn to Bechtel for the engineering, procurement ...
Keeping oil and water mixed for months
EMULSIONS that can stay stable for months have been created using a low-cost, low-energy process ...
Alaska and China sign LNG development deal
ALASKA and China have signed an historic joint development agreement for the Alaska LNG project, ...
BP, Shell lead energy trading blockchain plan
A CONSORTIUM including energy companies BP, Shell and Statoil is developing a blockchain-based di...
NUS, NTU and ExxonMobil set up Singapore Energy Centre
THE National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have signed...
IChemE Energy Centre responds to UK Clean Growth Strategy
THE IChemE Energy Centre has welcomed the UK’s Clean Growth Strategy and investment in carbon cap...
Rockwell says no to Emerson offer
ROCKWELL AUTOMATION has rejected a takeover offer worth around US$28bn from Emerson Electric.
IChemE Singapore joins unique alliance on skills certification
ICHEME SINGAPORE has joined a unique alliance with the country’s government and industrial trade ...
OGCI selects first three green investment projects
THE OIL AND GAS CLIMATE INITIATIVE (OGCI) has selected the first three low carbon projects to ben...
ENGIE Fabricom selected to design and build novel Saltend chemical plant
ENGIE Fabricom has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for ...
YPF to invest US$30bn in Argentina over five years
ARGENTINA’S state energy company YPF is to invest US$30bn to boost hydrocarbon production in the ...
Tetra4 to become first South African LNG producer
ALTERNATIVE and renewable energy firm Renergen says that its gas production subsidiary Tetra4 is ...
Removing silica from power plant water
COOLING tower water could be reused and recycled ten or more times by using a new silica-removing...
Wood Group wins contract for offshore LNG platform
HONGHUA GROUP has awarded Wood Group the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract for its...
Australia to set new national energy policy
A NEW proposal from the Australian government seeks to remove renewable energy subsidies and prom...
Ceramic pump works at 1,400°C
A CERAMIC pump capable of transferring molten tin at temperatures of more than 1,400°C could lead...
Arup: Organic waste could be used in construction
A NEW report from engineering major Arup says that organic waste such as that from bananas, potat...
BASF to enter seeds business with €5.9bn Bayer deal
BAYER has agreed to sell some of its crop science businesses to BASF for €5.9bn (US$7bn), as it s...
UK sets out green growth plans
THE UK government has outlined a raft of plans for low-carbon investment, setting out how £2.5bn ...
First liquid MOF described, retains porosity
NOVEL research has demonstrated that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), commonly produced as fine p...
IChemE to publish guide on natural hazard infrastructure threats
AN ENGINEER-focussed guide to help better understand the threats presented by UK natural hazards ...
Liveris to leave Dow for battery firm Novonix
ANDREW Liveris will take a board position at an Australian battery company when he steps down fro...
Glencore to spend US$1bn on Chevron South African assets
GLENCORE has announced that it will spend US$973m acquiring Chevron’s oil assets in South Africa ...
WorleyParsons buys Amec Foster Wheeler North Sea oil
WORLEYPARSONS has bought Amec Foster Wheeler’s North Sea upstream oil and gas business for a tota...
Plasma synthesis turns CO2 and CH4 into fuels and chemicals
RESEARCHERS have reported a “major breakthrough” in reforming CO2 and CH4 into liquid fuels and c...
East coast CCS could be worth £163bn to UK economy
A CCS network on the UK east coast could boost the national economy by £163bn (US$210bn) by 2060 ...
Singapore "model factory" to help SMEs
SINGAPORE’S first 'model factory' has been launched, which will allow SMEs to gain experience of ...
IChemE member an ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women finalist
ICHEME associate member Chong Mei Fong will represent Malaysia as a finalist in the ASEAN-US Scie...
Fracking banned in Scotland “indefinitely”
THE SCOTTISH government has announced an effective ban on fracking activities, following “overwhe...
ISC report sets out safety roadmap
PROCESS safety incidents are not decreasing over time, and steps must be taken to reduce the repe...
Founders of £65m UK battery research institute named
SEVEN British universities have been named as founding partners of the £65m Faraday Battery Insti...
Statoil, Shell and Total in Norwegian CCS partnership
STATOIL, Shell and Total have signed a partnership to further develop CO2 storage on the Norwegia...
Key US coal and nuclear announcements
AMERICA’S power markets could move away from renewables and natural gas towards coal and nuclear,...
Petronas Chemicals, Saudi Aramco in polymers JV
PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP has sold a 50% stake in its PRPC Polymers subsidiary to Saudi Aramco for...
Filtering fracking water for reuse
A SUPERHYDROPHILIC filter has been shown to remove 90% of hydrocarbons, bacteria, and particulate...
Malaysia’s Sabah to set up first oleochemical plant
THE Malaysian state of Sabah is to set up its first oleochemical plant, which will process indust...
Open-access reaction optimisation
FREELY-available software which is hoped will provide an easy-to-use tool for automated reaction ...
UK offers £5m funding for North Sea exploration
NORTH Sea oil and gas exploration will receive £5m (US$6.7m) in funding from the UK government in...
Engineering better healthcare
AN ENGINEERING approach towards designing and managing complex systems could transform health and...
Capturing ionic winds
STUNNING 3D images that show the effect of electric fields on ionic winds flowing from a flame co...
Thyssenkrupp and Tata announce merger plans
STEEL majors Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel have signed a memorandum of understanding to merge their...
Solvay sells polyamide business to BASF
SOLVAY is selling its integrated polyamides business to BASF for €1.6bn (US$1.92bn) as it continu...
Process integration across sectors
THREE Humberside process industry giants are participating on a European industrial efficiency pr...
Singapore launches Tech Access Initiative
SINGAPORE’S senior minister of state for trade and industry, Koh Poh Koon, has launched the count...
Storing energy brick by brick
FIREBRICKS similar to those used to line kilns for over 3,000 years could provide an industrial e...
IChemE Fellow on UK Council for Science and Technology
CHEMICAL engineer Max Lu has been appointed to the UK Council for Science and Technology (CST), a...
Thorium nuclear research boost
A THORIUM molten salt reactor (TMSR) experiment – the world’s first in over 45 years – has been s...
Singapore pharma innovation programme launched
A MEMORANDUM of understanding between three industry giants and Singapore’s public sector was sig...
GFG Alliance to invest US$1bn in Arrium
GFG ALLIANCE has completed its acquisition of Australian metals and mining business Arrium, and w...
Arkema sets fire to remaining chemicals stocks at flooded site
All nine chemical containers have ignited at the flooded Arkema plant in Crosby, outside Houston,...
Chemical fire reported at Arkema Texas plant
ARKEMA has reported a chemical fire at its organic peroxide (OP) plant in Crosby, Texas, amid flo...
Chemical fire expected at flooded Texas plant
A CHEMICAL fire or explosion is expected within days at Arkema’s organic peroxide plant in Crosby...
US CSB safety warning after Hurricane Harvey
A SAFETY alert has been issued by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), ur...
EU probes Bayer-Monsanto deal
AN IN-DEPTH investigation has been launched by the EU Commission into German chemical giant Bayer...
Spraying electric rainbows
A SAFER, easier process to apply colour-changing conjugated polymer films to consumer goods such ...
Cyborg bacteria make chemicals from sunlight
“CYBORG” bacteria covered in tiny solar panels have been demonstrated to produce acetic acid from...
CBI gathers CEOs to give voice to makers
THE UK’S CBI has established a new CEO-level Manufacturing Council to ensure that the voices of c...
Sadara JV commissions last plant
SAUDI-based Sadara Chemical Company has commissioned the last of 26 plants at its US$20bn petroch...
Making magic
BIOSYNTHESIS of psilocybin, the psychoactive drug found in so-called “magic mushrooms”, has been ...
Tata Steel fined £1m for toxic release
TATA STEEL has been fined £1m (US$1.3m) after five employees were exposed to a toxic gas release ...
Fighting ageing with AI
AS FAR as humans go, doctor-turned-investor Gregory Bailey is pretty good at spotting patterns an...
Call for UK industry to pioneer hydrogen use
INDUSTRY in the Northwest of England should pioneer the use of hydrogen fuel, according to an amb...
Should maintenance KPIs be standardised?
PETROFAC is conducting a safety study that could recommend that the upstream oil and gas industry...
Merck unsure of cyberattack impact
MERCK & Co has said that it still does not yet know the full impact of the NotPetya cyberattack, ...
BASF to set up 3D printing company
BASF is to establish a new group company to develop and expand 3D printing materials, systems, co...
Produce less, pollute more
A STANFORD University study suggests that ageing oilfields can demand more energy even while petr...
Making polysulfates and polysulfonates
RESEARCHERS using so-called “click chemistry” say they have developed a fast, easy way to make su...
Wood digestion without enzymes
SUCCESSFULLY understanding the unique, non-enzymatic digestion of wood by a fungus has been descr...
PETRONAS cancels Pacific NorthWest LNG
PETRONAS and its project partners have decided to cancel the vast US$28bn Pacific NorthWest LNG p...
UK battery technology funding announced
BATTERY technology in the UK received a boost today, as the government announced £246m (US$321m) ...
GSK to sell Horlicks, shut Slough site
GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) is to sell its Horlicks drinks brand in the UK and shut its Slough manufact...
Science sans frontières
PRICE often limits training and research opportunities in developing countries – but researchers ...
Student placements key to employment
WHEN looking for work, experience could be more influential than socio-economic background for ch...
New guidelines to boost UKCS production
OIL & GAS UK has launched new guidelines aimed at increasing oil and gas production efficiency on...
PSE becomes IChemE Gold Corporate Partner
PROCESS SYSTEMS ENTERPRISE (PSE) is the first process engineering software company to become an I...
Chemistry Australia's gas price warning
CHEMISTRY Australia has said that manufacturing and jobs are still being affected by rising gas p...
Siemens and AES launch energy storage JV
SIEMENS and AES Corporation have set up a new global joint venture, Fluence, to offer energy stor...
Spinning webs sustainably
HYDROGEL fibres similar to spider silk have been spun at room temperature, and researchers say it...
Evonik plans €100m digital investment
EVONIK has earmarked €100m (US$114m) for investment in digitalisation by 2020 and formed strategi...
South Australia calls Musk on storage bet
SOUTH AUSTRALIA has called Elon Musk on a bet he made in March, and has challenged the billionair...
Vattenfall plans gas power station H2 switch
VATTENFALL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Statoil and Gasunie to investigate conve...
Engineering Council launches new strategy
THE Engineering Council, the UK regulatory body for engineering, has launched a new strategic pla...
Qatar to boost LNG production by 30%
QATAR PETROLEUM has announced that it will ramp up its LNG production by 30% over the next five t...
Evonik and Sinopec partner on OSN
EVONIK and the SINOPEC Beijing Research Institute of the Chemical Industry (BRICI) have agreed to...
Industry 4.0 in R&D
BASF has described how digitalisation is affecting all areas of its business, from product develo...
Jacobs Douwe Egberts is new Corporate Partner
JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE) in Banbury, UK, has been made an IChemE Bronze Corporate Partner.
Kemper clean coal opts for gas instead
IN a blow to clean coal development, the Kemper County power plant in the US has been forced to a...
Method makes olefins under mild conditions
CHEMISTS in the US and South Korea have developed a technique to produce olefins, a vital chemica...
Dichloromethane may slow ozone recovery
DICHLOROMETHANE, an unregulated chemical known to deplete the ozone layer, could delay the recove...
IChemE’s PSEP impact factor up 40%
PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PSEP) now has the highest impact factor ever held by...
Shell partners SBI for drop-in biofuels
SBI BIOENERGY has granted exclusive development and licensing rights for its drop-in biofuels tec...
GTI will demo R-GAS gasification in China
GAS TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE (GTI) in the US will be partnering with China’s Yangquan Coal Industry G...
New MOF turns CO2 into methane
A NEW metal-organic framework developed at the University of Adelaide, Australia, can convert CO2...
France to ban oil exploration
FRANCE plans to pass a law later this year to stop granting licences for oil and gas exploration ...
Making polycarbonate from sugar and CO2
CHEMISTS at the University of Bath, UK, have developed a process to create polycarbonate plastic ...
Rio Tinto picks Yancoal again
RIO TINTO has snubbed a second Glencore bid for its Australian coal assets, choosing Chinese mine...
PMI invests US$320m in smoke-free factory
CIGARETTES giant Philip Morris (PMI) has unveiled plans to build a US$320m facility to produce sm...
Notts Uni to reprogramme chemicals production
GREEN chemicals are a focus of a new £200m (US$253m) investment announced by the UK’s University ...
Industry supports US carbon tax
EXXONMOBIL is among a number of industry giants that have backed plans for a US carbon tax design...
Rio Tinto picks Yancoal for Aussie coal mines
RIO TINTO has snubbed an offer from Glencore for its thermal coal assets in Australia, sticking i...
Celanese and Blackstone form acetate tow JV
CELANESE is forming a joint venture with Blackstone to create a global acetate tow supplier – as ...
