Plastics: Biodegradable, Bio-based, or Compostable?
Conventional plastics are widely recognised as harmful to the environment, but are the alternativ...
Features
Polarised Positions Cast Shadow Over Global Plastics Treaty
Adam Duckett speaks to lobbyists about what they want from a global agreement to end plastic poll...
Not All Plastics Are Made Equally Recyclable
Aniqah Majid looks at the multiple plastics clogging up the waste management system and whether t...
Microbes, Microwaves, and Mixes: Eco-friendly Plastics Solutions
Amanda Jasi speaks to innovators striving to improve plastics sustainability and reduce their env...
Why the Lessons of the Fulcrum Fiasco must not be Wasted
Fulcrum BioEnergy shut down its flagship waste-to-fuel plant in May. Alex Howard looks at the imp...
The Problem of Waste Plastic and Why Pyrolysis Oil Might Just Contain the Answer
For Earth Day, Aniqah Majid speaks to chemical engineer George Huber who is looking to simplify t...
Fresh Nanotech Solutions to a Freshwater Problem
With fresh water in limited supply, ensuring water security is a global challenge demanding urgen...
Making Wind Power More Sustainable
Designed to withstand decades of strong winds and harsh weather conditions, wind turbine blades a...
Life After End of Life
The limited lifespans of wind turbines and solar panels mean many of the vital materials involved...
The Challenges of Developing a Fusion Fuel Cycle: and How Chemical Engineers are Helping to Make Fusion Energy Sustainable
In the final part of our series on fusion energy, Mirjana Damjanovic and Lewis Simmons highlight ...
Waste Away
Adam Duckett on our plastic plight and the efforts of engineers
Chemical Looping Diversity: Biofuels, Power, CCS and Chemicals
Adam Duckett and Amanda Jasi speak to engineers who are developing a variety of chemical looping ...
A Virtuous Circle: Chemical Looping has Solid Potential for Optimising Processes
Ben Anthony and Paul Fennell explore the advantages of chemical looping and call on governments t...
Book Review: Recycling of Plastics
Norbert Niessner; ISBN: 9781569908563; Hanser Publications; 2022; US$249.99
Made in Space
Andrew Bacon talks to Adam Duckett about plans to launch feedstocks into space, and bring them ba...
Bioplastics Promise
Nyssa Nair, Steven Pratt, Paul Lant and Bronwyn Laycock explain the use of bacteria to produce bi...
Recycling Needs You
David Hobson talks about his role in recycling and consulting on developing processes for the cir...
Closing the Plastics Loop
Ivan McCormack discusses his role in the recycling sector, developing a chemical process to clos...
Towards a Circular Chemical Economy: Stakeholders’ Perspectives
Bing Xu, Umit Bititci, Melissa Marques, Mengfei Jiang, and Jin Xuan discuss challenges and motiva...
DRAM It!
Joshua Pearce explains the use of open-source hardware to use recyclables as feedstock for custom...
A Change of Clothes
Tahani Kaldéus talks about her work towards a greener fashion industry
The Chemical Industry’s Balancing Act
Lars Krause and Michael Carus discuss crediting the value of bio- and CO2-based and recycled mate...
Transforming Supply Chains
Industry will be forced to adapt, says Paul Hodges
Taking Aim
Malcolm Wilkinson and members of IChemE’s Sustainability Special Interest Group discuss the futur...
Challenges for recycled polymers in Europe
An analysis of the increasing pressure faced by the recycled plastic supply chain in Western Europe
A Circular Economy for Plastics
What’s standing in the way of us closing the loop on plastics? Mark Vester discusses
Pyrolysis Gets Personal
Adam Duckett visits the workshop of Nik Spencer to understand more about a pyrolysis unit that ...
Plastics: Towards a Circular Economy
Using chemical recycling to tackle the problem of plastics waste
What to do About Waste?
Conclusions from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s summit on future waste science policy.
Answering the Call of Nature
Dyllon Randall explains how bio-bricks can be grown from human urine
Take it Apart; Put it Back Together
How do you dismantle a chemical plant for re-erection at the other side of the world? Richard Van...
Worth its Weight
It is increasingly important for companies to maximise the sustainability of their manufacturing ...
From Slime to Sublime
The potential of algae to recover valuable resources from waste could transform the traditional w...
Landfill vs Skyfill
How landfill might be the better option for disposal of low-grade plastics
A Battery Olympics
Getting around the limitations of battery devices with clever ways of teaming different technolo...
Rubbish Roads
A solution to the world’s plastic problem could be right under our feet. Toby McCartney, MacRebur...
A Greener Future for IChemE
The BioFutures Programme will address the opportunities and challenges faced by the chemical engi...
Solar-Powered Water Purification Wins Top Prize
Helen Tunnicliffe reviews the winners of IChemE’s annual awards programme
News
Dow and P&G partner to create polyethylene recycling technology
DOW and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are jointly developing a new process to recover near-virgin qualit...
ExxonMobil to build CCS pilot plant using carbonate fuel cell technology
ESSO Nederland, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, plans to build a pilot carbon capture plant at its Ro...
Heriot-Watt researchers make hydrogen from whisky wastewater
WASTEWATER from whisky distilleries could be used to produce hydrogen, saving precious freshwater...
LyondellBasell to build industrial-scale advanced recycling plant in Germany
MULTINATIONAL LyondellBasell is set to build the company's first industrial-scale catalytic advan...
Mura Technology’s flagship advanced plastics recycling plant opens in Teesside
MURA Technology’s first site, ReNew ELP, which turns 'unrecyclable' plastics that would usually b...
Heriot-Watt students launch Global Sustainability Week ahead of COP28
TO CELEBRATE and promote sustainability, students at Heriot-Watt University are leading a series ...
Plastics Europe launches ‘radical’ €235bn roadmap for industry sustainability
PLASTICS EUROPE has revealed a “radical plan” to completely redesign the European plastics sector...
Petronas Chemicals Group to build Asia’s 'largest advanced chemical recycling plant'
PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP (PCG) has unveiled plans to build what it claims to be Asia’s largest ad...
Engineers successfully trial single process to produce zero emissions steel and cement
ENGINEERS working on a process to produce zero-emission cement as a byproduct of recycling steel ...
Prince William unveils third class of Earthshot Prize finalists leading the way in climate change solutions
A GREENER and more easily recycled lithium-ion battery, a microbial fuel cell for cleaning water ...
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...
Plastic Energy commissions new chemical recycling pilot plant at Loughborough University
CHEMICAL recycling firm Plastic Energy has commissioned a new pilot plant to further develop and ...
Sika announces funding award for new concrete-recycling technology that stores carbon
SPECIALITY chemicals company, Sika, has announced that its reCO2ver technology is now receiving t...
Aquaporin partners with PUB to install its biomimetic membranes in NEWater facilities
WATER technology company Aquaporin has announced it is working with Singapore's National Water Ag...
Neste forms partnerships to collaborate on renewable PET production
NESTE, an oil company that also produces renewable fuels and other sustainable products, is partn...
Scottish researchers explore novel PET recycling approach to produce pharmaceuticals
IN WHAT they believe to be a world first, Scottish researchers are exploring whether it is feasib...
Rio Tinto and Giampaolo Group to partner on Matalco aluminium recycling venture
RIO TINTO and Giampaolo Group, one of North America's largest fully-integrated metal management b...
UK dye recycling startup recognised by the fashion industry while a demonstrator launches for textile circularity
DYERECYCLE, a startup of Imperial College London, UK working to recover and reuse dyes in the fas...
UK's first industrial scale lithium-ion battery recycling plant to open
UK-based mining company Technology Minerals has said that its battery recycling business, Recyclu...
Altilium Metals to accelerate development of the UK’s largest EV battery recycling plant
PLANS for Teesside to host the UK’s largest EV battery recycling plant are underway following the...
Chemical engineers work to create hydrogen from steel sludge
CHEMICAL engineers from Imperial College London have joined forces with the UK’s Materials Proces...
UK government fails to support technology that could be key to combatting plastic waste
THE UK government has been criticised for dismissing recommendations to support chemical recyclin...
Shell invests in used lubricants firm and buys Europe’s biggest biogas producer
SHELL has acquired a 49% interest in Blue Tide Environmental, a company specialising in the produ...
IChemE member is Australia’s first Chief Circular Engineer
ICHEME member Ali Abbas, one of Australia’s leading chemical engineers, has been announced as Aus...
Teesside to support growing EV batteries market
TEESSIDE, UK will host the UK’s first large-scale lithium refinery, and possibly the largest elec...
Plastics recycling partners plan 100,000 t/y facility
INEOS and Plastic Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding for a 100,000 t/y facility in ...
Prince William announces Earthshot Prize finalists
A CARBON-ZERO aggregate made from waste materials and by-products for use in construction, a curt...
Steelmaker successfully trials e-coke that could reduce emissions by up to 30%
LIBERTY Steel UK, the nation’s third largest steel manufacturer, has successfully completed trial...
US DOE awards US$38m for nuclear recycling projects
THE US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding US$38m in funding to twelve projects aimed at recyc...
Round and round: Newcastle University and Wastefront team up to improve tyre recycling
NEWCASTLE University and rubber recycling firm Wastefront, will use a new UK tyre recycling plant...
UK set to host rare earths processing hub in push for cleantech security
THE UK is set to host a new US$195m rare earth processing hub that Pensana is building at the Sal...
Engineers push to make zero emissions steel and cement from a single process
WHAT if it were possible to make cement as a byproduct of recycling steel – and power its product...
UK sets up centre to advise on critical minerals, amid warnings of supply risks
THE UK has established a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre in Nottingham to help the country ...
Australian universities join forces to commercialise clean tech
AUSTRALIA’S University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) and University of Newcastle have received...
BP agrees to buy naphtha from Teesside circular plastics plant
BP has signed an agreement to purchase naphtha produced from a plant being built in Teesside, UK ...
AI discovers routes for recycling chemical waste
RESEARCHERS have used artificial intelligence (AI) to discover routes for recycling waste into us...
Neste studies plastic waste processing facility
AS IT works to commercialise chemical recycling of plastic waste, Neste is conducting a feasibili...
Viridor opens state-of-the-art resource recovery facility
VIRIDOR has officially opened its £317m (US$417.3m), state-of-the-art, plastics recycling and was...
175 countries commit to create historic global plastics treaty
ONE HUNDRED and seventy-five nations have agreed to create a global treaty to end plastics pollut...
Johnson Matthey partnership to close EV battery recycling loop
JOHNSON Matthey (JM) and material recycler European Metal Recycling (EMR) have signed a memorandu...
LG Chem to build plastic recycling facility in South Korea
LG CHEM has invested in Mura Technology’s plastic recycling process, and has also announced that ...
Sustainable method for recovering neodymium from electronic waste
A NEW method has been developed to remove neodymium from electronic waste using cellulose, which ...
Ineos joins NEXTLOOPP polypropylene recycling project
INEOS Olefins and Polymers (O&P) has announced that it is joining the NEXTLOOPP project, which is...
Veolia announces its first UK battery recycling plant
VEOLIA is building its first electric vehicle battery recycling facility in the UK, with the capa...
RSC calls for action to reuse huge volumes of leftover paint
THE UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is calling for the Government to support a national rem...
Grangemouth trial to advance plastics recycling
INEOS and its JV company Petroineos will work with recycling technology company Plastic Energy on...
Plastic Energy and Axens join forces to license circular plastics processes
PLASTIC ENERGY has partnered with engineering services firm Axens to license its plastics recycli...
Novel process could recycle PVDC
SOLVAY has shown that polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) has the potential to be recycled and is now ...
North-west industry calls for UK Government action to support green growth
INDUSTRY in north-west England has published a manifesto, calling on the UK Government to impleme...
Siemens launches recyclable wind turbine blades
WIND power company Siemens Gamesa has launched a “world first”, recyclable wind turbine blade for...
Mitsubishi develops 20,000 t/y plastics recycling plant in Japan
MITSUBISHI Chemical Corporation (MCC) will develop a 20,000 t/y HydroPRS plastics recycling facil...
Glass industry sketches process technology route for reaching net zero
THE UK’s glass industry has said it faces a challenging road ahead in meeting net zero targets, a...
LEGO makes bricks from recycled plastic bottles
THE LEGO Group has developed a prototype LEGO brick using PET from recycled plastic bottles.
Pilot project develops process to recycle single-use face masks
A COLLABORATION between research and industry is developing a closed loop process where single-us...
Industry joins RSC taskforce to chart a greener path for PLFs
UNILEVER, Croda and Crown Paints have joined a taskforce convened by the Royal Society of Chemist...
McDermott awarded contract for plastics recycling project
MCDERMOTT has announced that it has been awarded a front end engineering design (FEED) contract f...
Partners to build world-first commercial recycling facility
WOOD and advanced recycling company ReNew ELP have partnered to build the world’s first commercia...
Australian Government announces recycling and clean energy fund
THE Australian Government has announced that funding is now available for recycling and clean ene...
KBR secures recycling technology licence
KBR has signed an agreement with Mura Technology under which KBR will be an exclusive licencing p...
Recovering precious metals from industrial waste
AN inexpensive, non-toxic method has been developed to recover silver and palladium from industri...
Veolia opens new wood waste processing facility
VEOLIA has announced that it has expanded its wood recycling and processing capacity by 50,000 t/...
Neste acquires stake in plastics recycling company
NESTE has acquired a minority stake in plastics recycling company Alterra Energy. The companies w...
LyondellBasell and SUEZ joint venture expands plastic recycling capacity
LYONDELLBASELL and SUEZ have jointly acquired plastics recycling company TIVACO, which will becom...
UK announces funding for five new circular economy R&D centres
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced £22.5m (US$29.9m) in funding for five new circula...
LyondellBasell sets ambitious plastics sustainability target
LYONDELLBASELL has released its 2020 Sustainability Report in which it sets the target of produci...
Four proposed UK plastic recycling facilities receive funding
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested £20m (US$26m) in four proposed plastic recycling p...
EU introduces new chemicals strategy
THE European Commission has unveiled its new chemicals strategy which aims to make chemicals prod...
Engineers tell government how PPE could be reused in the UK
SERIOUS consideration should be given to decontaminating and reusing PPE to alleviate shortages a...
BASF uses waste tyre oil as feedstock
BASF has signed an agreement with New Energy, a Hungarian technology company which has developed ...
Transition to low-carbon world needs to be faster, says DNV GL report
ENERGY-RELATED CO2 emissions have peaked due to the pandemic, but the world is still on track to ...
Partnership to accelerate plastic waste elimination
PACKAGING company Sealed Air has announced a partnership with advanced recycling technology compa...
Ineos Styrolution reports polystyrene can be successfully recycled
INEOS Styrolution has reported the final results of research project ResolVe, showing that waste ...
Recycling Association calls for Government to support paper and cardboard recycling
THE UK’s Recycling Association has called for Government to support investment in UK paper and ca...
Partnership aims to develop tyre recycling technology
MICHELIN and Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) are planning to join forces to develop Enviro’s...
Partners plan plant to recycle plastics into high-purity feedstock
INEOS and recycling technology company Plastic Energy are collaborating to construct a new plant ...
Recycling Technologies signs agreement for first European site
SPECIALIST plastic recycling technology provider Recycling Technologies has signed an agreement w...
Coronavirus could lead to packaging material shortage, warns Recycling Association
THE UK risks a shortage in material for vital packaging needed to protect food and medical suppli...
First aerogels made using rubber
RESEARCHERS at Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS), have achieved a major technolo...
Steam cracking transforms waste plastic into new
A PROCESS has been developed for steam cracking of plastic waste to produce new plastic, which co...
US$1.32m to accelerate waste-reduction innovation and research
ECOSURETY, a UK producer responsibility compliance scheme, has launched a £1m (US$1.32m) innovati...
Upcycling plastic bottles for the chemical industry
RESEARCHERS at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia have ...
Partners build Vietnam’s first ‘plastic road’
MATERIALS science company Dow and Vietnamese industrial zone developer DEEP C Industrial Zones ha...
100+ partners commit to the Circular Plastics Alliance
MORE than 100 public and private partners, including from the chemical sector, have signed the De...
Scientists win Nobel prize for developing Li-ion batteries
THE 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and A...
Recycling EV batteries
ERAMET, BASF, and SUEZ have partnered to develop an innovative closed-loop process to recycle lit...
Jaguar Land Rover and BASF trial recycled plastic in cars
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has partnered with BASF in a pilot research project to trial plastic recy...
New plastic can be recycled repeatedly
SCIENTISTS at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) hav...
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...
Increasing the recycling rate of electric vehicle batteries
A PARTNERSHIP between Nordic clean energy company Fortum, and Finnish speciality recycling compan...
A new process for converting plastic waste to fuel
A NEW process has been developed that uses supercritical water to transform polypropylene plastic...
Report identifies challenges towards a plastics circular economy
THE European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) has released a report identi...
Coca-Cola Company to extend loan for novel PET recycling technology
THE Coca-Cola Company has announced an agreement extending a loan to Ioniqa Technologies, a start...
UK government announces £60m in funding for sustainable packaging
THE UK government has announced the launch of a £60m (US$76m) innovation fund to accelerate the d...
Nuclear reprocessing ends at Sellafield’s Thorp plant
THE thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield, UK, has ceased reprocessing spent nuc...
Recycling mixed plastics together
RESEARCHERS in the UK have undertaken a project which aims to develop new technologies for dealin...
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...
Producing hydrogen from plastic waste
A PROCESS has been developed to convert waste plastic into hydrogen which could be used as fuel.
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...
New technique for recycling multi-layer packaging
CRISP packets, chocolate wrappers, and blister packets for pills are all extremely difficult to r...
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...
Neste aims to turn plastic waste into fuel
NESTE, a producer of renewable diesel, is developing ways to turn liquified plastic waste into a ...
Stemming the flow of plastic waste
EUROPE has proposed a law banning or restricting single-use plastics, the UN has released a polic...
Reducing the environmental impact of palm oil production
NEW technology has been developed that will convert palm oil waste into building materials and bi...
Engineered enzyme digests plastic
AN EXPERIMENT to study a plastic-eating bacterium accidentally created a mutant enzyme that degra...
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...
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...
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...
A new whey to drink
TOFU whey, a byproduct from tofu manufacture, has been fermented into a new alcoholic drink, whic...
Locking plastic in concrete
ADDING plastic bottles to concrete could lead not only to lower carbon emissions, but improve str...
Putting human waste to good use
NUTRIENTS, energy and water will be safely recovered from the faeces and urine of up to 1,000 peo...
Functionalising waste methane in remote locations
A NOVEL electrochemical process to convert methane into methanol precursors could reduce the need...
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...
An olive branch for a circular economy
RESEARCHERS have piloted a process to turn a waste stream from olive oil manufacture into biofuel...
Biodiesel: The tip of the fatberg
A GIANT “fatberg” made of congealed insoluble matter will be converted into 10,000 L of biodiesel...
Solving the big butt problem
STREETS worldwide could be made greener and cooler by incorporating waste cigarette butts into as...
Rise of incinerators risks circular economy
A SURGE in the construction of facilities that burn residual waste is a direct threat to the UK a...
Turning dirty foil into useful catalysts
CONTAMINATED foil is unrecyclable as grease and fats damage recycling equipment, so it is often l...
