Chemical engineers at University College Dublin (UCD) have developed new technology to save energy in wastewater treatment. Conventionally, bubbles of oxygen are forced through wastewater to support bacteria that remove nutrients and contaminants, but this wastes energy. Prof Eoin Casey and his research group at UCD’s School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering have developed an alternative technology: membranes that diffuse or ‘breathe’ oxygen and thereby directly support biofilms of ...

Some catalysts require un/loading under inert conditions to exclude air and avoid pyrophoric ignition, catalyst damage or polythionic stress corrosion cracking of stainless-steel reactor internals. Nitrogen is most commonly used for this purpose, but its use poses an extreme risk of asphyxiation to personnel. Sadly, there have been numerous fatalities by asphyxiation during inert-entry activities in the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI), even when the work is being carried out by ...

Winemakers have added sulphites to preserve their products since the time of the Roman Empire. Sulphites, a class of compounds including sulfur dioxide and sulphite salts, act as antioxidants and antibacterial compounds. They can occur naturally in the winemaking process or can be added by producers to preserve freshness and boost flavour in a vintage. But, according to the US Department of Agriculture, "People who have an intolerance to sulphites can experience symptoms including chest ...

This article is based on a presentation given at a recent Engineers Ireland seminar on biopharmaceuticals in Ireland, ‘A Global Perspective: Facility Design, Trends & Positioning for Growth’. It will outline the importance of process closure in biopharmaceutical production and how to undertake a risk assessment, process closure analysis, to support both a process design and operational procedures. Before examining process closure, one must understand the importance of bioburden control in ...

Chemical engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a new three-dimensional fabrication method that can generate a novel type of drug-carrying particle that could allow The new microparticles resemble tiny coffee cups that can be filled with a drug or vaccine and then sealed with a lid. The particles are made of a biocompatible, US Food and Drug Administration-approved polymer that can be designed to degrade at specific times, spilling out the contents of the ...

There’s no use crying over spilt milk, as the saying goes, but researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Germany might have solved the problem of spilt milk when having your coffee. The researchers have developed a milk capsule that dissolves when placed in a hot drink. Not only does this reduce the consumption of packaging material, the capsules are easier to use than conventional plastic containers. The research group published its findings in the journal ...