Chemical Engineering August 2021 - 10

bonding with liquid adhesives or
hot-melt adhesives, or mechanical
fastening with bolts, manufacturers
have been demanding simpler
bonding methods that maintain
adhesive strength.
To meet these challenges, Showa
Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan;
www.sdk.co.jp) has developed
WelQuick, a film-type adhesive
component that eliminates
the
need for applying liquid components
used for reactive adhesives.
WelQuick is easy to handle, and
shortens bonding time to a few
seconds. Conventional adhesives
require dozens of minutes, says
the company.
WelQuick utilizes the phase
change between solid and liquid,
and materials can be joined by
ultrasonic welding, electromagnetic
induction welding and heat
welding. It can bond resins (such
as polycarbonate, polyethylene
terephthalate and nylon) and metals
(including aluminum, iron and
copper). SDK has confirmed that
WelQuick can achieve shear adhesive
strength of more than 10 MPa
with more than 40 combinations of
base materials.

Call the
Solids Mixing
Ribbon & Cone Blenders
Fluidizing Mixers
Sigma Blade Mixers
(also for high-viscosity mixing)
Size Reduction
Wet & Dry Size Reduction
Steel & Ceramic Lined Mills
Jars & Jar Rolling Mills
Vacuum Drying
Dryers & Complete Systems
Sustainable mining of raw materials from
thermal springs
A
ccording to statistics from the
World Bank, thousands of tons
of valuable minerals are imported
to Germany from Chile every
year, including raw materials for lithiumion
batteries. But their extraction causes
ecological and social problems. " The use
of the limited freshwater resources in
northern Chile for mining regularly fuels
conflicts with the local population, " says
professor Thomas Kohl from the Institute
of Applied Geosciences (AGW) at
the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT;
Germany; www.kit.edu). " Northern Chile
is one of the driest regions on earth, but
has extensive geothermal resources, "
he says. " With a novel type of plant, it
is not only possible to generate electricity
in a climate-friendly way, but also to
extract drinking water and even mineral
resources at the same time. "
As part of BrineMine - a GermanChilean
research project that began in
2019 with €1.5 million in funding from
the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- the AGW team is developing
for all your solids processing
Experts
Applications:
APIs ∙ Ag-Chemicals
Biologics ∙ Catalysts
Ceramics ∙ Chemicals
Food Ingredients
Herbicides ∙ Minerals
Nutraceuticals ∙ Pesticides
Pharmaceuticals ∙ Pigments
Polymers ∙ Powdered Metals
Proteins ∙ Resins ∙ Vitamins
the necessary strategies and technologies
for extracting mineral resources, as
well as drinking water, directly in geothermal
power plants. One partner is
the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy
Systems (ISE; Freiburg, Germany; www.
ise.fraunhofer.de); which is developing the
plant technology for later industrial use.
In the process, heat from the geothermal
brine is first used for energy recovery. The
cooled liquid, which has a relatively low
concentration, is then pre-concentrated
by reverse osmosis, which also generates
drinking water. The brine concentrate is
then further concentrated by membrane
distillation until it is saturated. " The thermal
energy required for the entire process can
be covered directly from the excess heat
of the power plant process, " explains ISE
project manager Joachim Koschikowski.
A demonstration plant is now set up in
a geothermal power plant in the Upper
Rhine Graben and successfully integrates
key components into ongoing power plant
operations. The research is described in a
recent issue of Geothermics.
■
Innova tion
www.pauloabbe.com
10
855-789-9827
sales@pauloabbe.com
For details visit adlinks.chemengonline.com/80072-05
For details visit adlinks.chemengonline.com/80072-06
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
AUGUST 2021
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Since
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Chemical Engineering August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2021
