VIDEO of Peter Spitz at TEDxNJIT
Chemengineeringposts
Categories
Contributors
Blogroll
Archives
Category Archives: Chemical Industry
Disruptive technologies: Mushroom packaging
This blog has periodically covered advances in bioplastics, such as compostable garbage bags, starch- and sugar-based polymers and other biomass-based materials. The current issue of New Yorker magazine carries a long article about a new technology that uses mushroom spores and … Continue reading
Phoenix-like from the ashes
An idea for this post came to me as I reread, probably for the fifth time, John LeCarre’s iconic novel “The Spy who came in from the Cold”. Set in East and West Germany during the Cold War, the novel captured conditions on the … Continue reading
A gentle educator passes
All of us who knew and loved Dr. Harold Witcoff remember him fondly. He passed away a few days ago in his nineties. F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “there are no second acts in America”. Harold proved him wrong. After … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry
1 Comment
Sea water desalination: becoming a reality here
The technologies that can be used to make fresh water from sea water or partly salty bracking water have been used for a long time in locations where little fresh water exists (e.g. the Middle East). The processes employed are … Continue reading
North American competitveness: Mexico rising
In several previous posts and in my Ted speech I talked about the “renaissance” of the North American manufacturing industry with emphasis on our energy and petrochemical industries. Let me now broaden this to include Mexico, our NAFTA neighbor, which is a … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry, Manufacturing
Tagged competitiveness, Manufacturing, petrochemical
Leave a comment
Elemental knowledge
In last July’s post I showed artistic impressions of a number of elements - an interesting way that imaginative artists depicted zinc, cadmium, bromine, palladium and other inhabitants of the periodic table. Recently I came across a book entitled “The Disappearing … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry
Leave a comment
Remembering Rachel Carson…..
While my “Reflections of the Chemical (and Energy) Industries” as stated on the header of my blog, have generally involved current developments, I want to reflect today on the extraordinary event, now fifty years ago, when Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” awakened the … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry
3 Comments
Corn-based gasohol on way out?
The Federal mandate to inject oxygenated fuels into gasoline to allow cleaner burning car engines spawned a huge gasohol (i.e. ethanol) industry based on turning the starch in corn into sugars, with conversion to alcohol. Originally, gasoline blenders received a subsidy to … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry, Energy Industry
Tagged Alternative chemical feedstocks, biofuels
1 Comment
Shale gas: huge ammonia turnaround
In reporting on the “renaissance” of domestic manufacturing we have not stressed the resurgence of the domestic ammonia industry. Over recent years, fertilizer companies have imported very large amounts of liquid ammonia, as well as solid ammonia-based fertilizers, from countries … Continue reading
Posted in Chemical Industry, Manufacturing
Tagged ag chemicals, Clean Energy, natural gas
Leave a comment
Biochemicals: Desirable Innovation Model
Sunday’s New York Times a couple of weeks ago had an interesting article on innovation and job creation, with emphasis on the fact that companies are sitting on a great deal of money, because they see so few opportunitie to … Continue reading
