A newly demonstrated system for removing trace levels of heavy metals from water combines the positive traits of two existing technologies — chemical precipitation and electrowinning — while avoiding drawbacks of each. An engineering team at Brown University (Providence, R.I.;…
A microwave vessel heating system — said to be the first commercial, industrial-scale system of its kind — has been developed by Marion Mixers (Marion; www.marionmixers.com) in partnership with AMTek Microwave (Cedar Rapids, both Iowa; www.4amtek.com) with patent pending technology…
Oji Paper Co. (OJI; www.ojipaper.co.jp), in collaboration with Nippon Steel Engineering Co. (www.nsc-eng.co.jp) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; all Tokyo, Japan; www.aist.go.jp), has started pilot testing of a new, integrated process for making cellulose-based…
A reduction of CO2 emissions of 50% can be achieved in steelmaking, using renewable carbon from biomass, according to The Australian Steel Industry CO2 Breakthrough Program, an R&D program conducted by a team from: BlueScope Steel Research (Port Kembla, New…
Fine polyester fibers Teijin Fibers Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; teijinfiber.com), the core company of the Teijin Groups polyester-fiber business, is commercializing a new version of its Nanofront, high-strength polyester nanofiber with a diameter of 400 nm — nearly half that…
Harnessing renewable energy by catalytic dissociation and synthesis of ammonia has shown promise for distributed power applications, according to a team from the Center for Energy at the University of Western Australia (www.uwa.edu.au), led by professor Dongke Zhang. In the…
Gold catalysts have been shown to have superior activities for oxidation reactions, especially at low temperature, compared to other metal-based catalysts. But the high price of gold makes it necessary to develop Au catalysts with ever-higher activities, reducing the amount…
Venezuela’s state-run petroleum company, PDVSA Petroleo, S.A. (PDVSA, Caracas; www.pdvsa.com), will commercialize a company-developed process for upgrading heavy crude oil in its Puerto La Cruz refinery, about 300 km (190 miles) east of Caracas. The 210,000-bbl/d plant will employ PDVSA’s…
Construction of a demonstration plant has begun for a biomass-to-gasoline process that boosts biomass conversion efficiency in producing bio-gasoline. The demonstration, to be located at the Hillsborough, N.J. headquarters of Primus Green Energy (www.primusge.com), is slated for completion in the…
A new distillation system capable of reducing energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional columns has been developed by Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; Chiba, www.toyo-eng.co.jp), in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST;…