Chemical Engineering December 2022 - 6

their seeds is one of their
proteins called WRINKLED1
(WRI1). For over
two decades, scientists
have known that WRI1
plays an important role
in controlling plant-seed
oil production. Now for
the first time, a high-resolution
structure of WRI1
has been imaged and reported
by the NTU team,
jointly led by associate
professor Gao Yonggui
and assistant professor
Ma Wei from the School
of Biological Sciences.
In a recent issue of Science
Advances, the team
detailed the molecular
structure of WRI1 and
how it binds to plant DNA,
which signals to the plant
how much oil to accumulate
in its seeds. Based on
the understanding that
the atomic structure of
the WRI1-DNA complex
revealed, the team modified
WRI1 to enhance its
affinity for DNA in a bid to
improve oil yield.
The team has filed a
patent for their method
of gene modification
through NTUitive, the
University's
innovation
and enterprise office,
and is looking for industry
partners to commercialize
their invention.
PEM CATALYST
Iridium is presently essential
to electrolyzers working
with proton-exchange
membrane (PEM) technology,
but the Ir is both
scarce and expensive, so
efforts are underway to
reduce the amount of this
precious element needed
(see also story on p. 5,
and Chem. Eng. November
2022, p. 7).
TNO (The Hague, the
Netherlands; www.tno.
nl) researchers of the
Faraday Lab (Petten), in
collaboration with colleagues
from the Holst
Center (Eindhoven, both
the Netherlands) have
developed a method that
will require 200 times less
iridium, while performing
at 25 to 46% that of existing
electrolyzers. The
(Continues on p. 8)
6
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
DECEMBER 2022
Making more from mining water with
electrowinning
A
new electrowinning
process is being fieldtrialed
at the Prieska
copper-zinc mine operated
by Orion Minerals Ltd.
(Melbourne, Australia; www.
orionminerals.com.au) in South
Africa, which will enable the production
of valuable products,
including calcium, magnesium,
iron and others, from contaminated
mine water, while also
potentially replacing expensive
reverse-osmosis water-treatment systems.
At the heart of the process is the proprietary
Rotowinner technology developed by
Free Radical Process Design (FRPD; www.
frpd.biz; Pretoria, South Africa), which is
a fully enclosed, continuous electrowinning
technology to recover selected components
from mineralized
leachate using
a rotating cathode that is submerged in
pregnant leachate. A built-in scraping process
removes precipitated minerals from the
cathode and collects them, while the spent
leachate is recycled. Because cathode-stripping
is integrated and continuous, the Rotowinner
process requires fewer manual steps
and less energy to operate than traditional
electrowinning systems, and demonstrates
a higher throughput (as much as 15%, says
FRPD). Improved laminar-flow dynamics
within the system result in better mass transOrion
Metso
Outec
fer and current density. Furthermore, says
the company, electron-transfer efficiency is
boosted because the system is designed
with smaller inter-electrode distances to
minimize resistance. The Prieska field trials,
which are expected to occur for about six
months, are employing a mobile demonstration
plant operating on a continuous basis,
following successful laboratory tests.
Orion estimates that the Prieska mine
contains around 9 million ft3 of water requiring
treatment due to its solids content, and
the company is currently setting up for a
3.5-yr dewatering period. If the field trials are
successful, the companies intend to implement
a production-scale Rotowinner system
to treat the water, extracting minerals and
nutrients for local agricultural and industry
use, as well as producing a treated water
stream for local irrigation.
Using 'ecoke' to
reduce CO2 emissions from steelmaking
L
iberty Steel UK (LSUK; London; www.
libertysteelgroup.com) has completed
trials of ecoke - a sustainable new
raw material that can replace anthracite,
the main source of charge carbon used
in the electric-arc furnace (EAF) of steelmaking,
and reduce steel's carbon footprint by as
much as 30%. The ecoke initiative is part of
the company's drive to lead transformation
of steel manufacturing through its " Greensteel "
strategy. Production at LSUK's EAF in
Rotherham generates just 10% of the direct
emissions compared with traditional coalbased
blast furnaces, which produce the
vast majority of the U.K.'s steel output.
LSUK's steelmaking team at Aldwarke
Cast Products (ACP) in Rotherham performed
a review of the processes to identify
opportunities to reduce its CO2 emissions.
The team identified anthracite as the main
source of charge carbon in EAF production
- accounting for between 86 and 97%
of the carbon charge. A steering team was
formed in Rotherham to replace anthracite
with an environmentally sustainable alternative.
The group considered all available
options and finally identified CPL Industries
(Sheffield, U.K.; www.ecoke.biz) as local
supplier of a biofuel called ecoke.
Ecoke is made by combining fossil-fuel and
biomass fines with a binder, which is then
formed into briquettes that are heat-cured,
water-quenched and dried. The briquettes
contain a minimum of 30% secondary biomass,
giving a CO2 reduction of 30%. The
briquettes are delivered to the site in similar
packaging to the anthracite and ecoke is
charged into the EAF in the same manner as
the anthracite via the scrap basket.
In addition to the environmental benefits,
the reduction in carbon credits would provide
a " substantial " cost saving for the company.
" The major reductions in CO2 emissions
ecoke enables, without any downside to the
production process, can help to further decarbonize
our production and the wider steel
industry, " says Scott Jackson, plant manager
at ACP of Liberty Speciality Steels.
http://orionminerals.com.au http://orionminerals.com.au http://www.frpd.biz http://www.frpd.biz http://www.libertysteelgroup.com http://www.libertysteelgroup.com http://www.ecoke.biz http://www.tno.nl http://www.tno.nl http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering December 2022
