Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1197147
18 / January 2020 powderbulk.com PBE UPFRONT PBE UPDATE PBE 2020 webinar dates set The preliminary schedule for PBE's 2020 webinar series has been final- ized. All sessions run from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET. Dates, presenters, and topics include: • February 11: Jack Osborn of Airdusco will present "DHA Dust Hazards Analysis — Time is run- ning out." • April 14: Jack Hilbert of Hatch will present "Material chemical properties – How they affect the pneumatic conveying system." • June 9: Vahid Ebadat of Stone House Process Safety will present "Dust explosion testing — How to get all the right data without break- ing the bank." • August 11: Jack Osborn will present "2020 update on NFPA standards for combustible dusts and explosion prevention." • October 13: Jack Hilbert will present "Air-activated gravity con- veyors — The forgotten stepchild." • November 10: Eric Maynard of Jenike & Johanson will pres- ent "Five must-know rules when designing an effective dust collec- tion system." ing recycling methods is expected to help stabilize the rare earth magnet's supply chain for Europe's manufacturing base. Researchers at the University of Birmingham came up with a new process for material extraction that uses hydrogen to break down mag- netic metal alloys into a powder, a departure from previous meth- ods that required disassembly and removal of the magnet. Among other benefits, the new process allows for multiple items to be pro- cessed simultaneously. Formosa Plastics to pay $50 million settlement for plastic pellet pollution lawsuit Formosa Plastics Corp. USA has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a Clean Water Act lawsuit over plas- tic pellet pollution in Texas. The settlement is reportedly one of the largest in a case brought by private citizens under that federal environ- mental statute. According to the groups that brought the lawsuit, Formosa has agreed to pay for environmen- tal cleanups around the compa- ny's Point Comfort, TX, plant. The company has also agreed to meet zero discharge requirements for resin pellets in the environment, a move that environmental groups believe should become standard practice for the plastics industry. The consent decree must still be approved by Judge Kenneth Hoyt of the US District Court in Hous- ton. According to the plaintiffs, the settlement would be paid out over a 5-year period to support projects to reverse the impact of water pollu- tion in Calhoun County, where the factory is located. Formosa, based in Livingston, NJ, has confirmed the broad out- lines of the settlement. According to Ken Mounger, the company's execu- For more information or to reg- ister for these free webinars, go to www.powderbulk.com. Webinar attendance is PDH-eligible and may count toward continuing education credits. INDUSTRY NEWS University of Birmingham awarded grant to create rare earth magnet reclaim pilot plant The University of Birmingham in the UK has been awarded €4 mil- lion (about US$4.43 million) to set up a pilot facility to reclaim rare earth magnets from scrap. The facil- ity is part of a project funded by the European Union's Sustainable Recovery, Reprocessing and Reuse of Rare-Earth Magnets in a Circular Economy committee. At the facil- ity, magnets made of neodymium, boron, and iron will be recycled. These magnets are found in hard disk drives, household appliances, electric vehicles, and wind turbine generators and are necessary for the transition to a green, low-carbon economy. The grant aims to help develop a supply chain that can produce 20 metric tons (about 22 tons) of recycled magnets a year that would otherwise go to a land- fill. The facility will have a robotic sorting line to locate and concen- trate the rare earth magnets from scrap at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham. Then, recycling facil- ities will extract the metal alloy powders, which will be used to manufacture magnets in the UK, Germany, and Slovenia. Currently, the main source for rare earth production is China, and only about 1 percent of what's produced is recycled. These facts as well as volatile pricing for rare earth magnets mean that develop- Omission PBE's December cover photo was provided cour- tesy of Coperion K-Tron, Sewell, NJ (www.coperion. com). This infor- mation was mistakenly omit- ted from the issue. The photo depicts a K3 V200 vibratory feeder feeding mustard seed onto a Smart Weigh Belt in a demonstration unit. We regret the omission.