For intelligent textiles to function effectively, they need to be strong, stretchable and electrically conductive. However, fabricating fibers that possess these three properties has been challenging. Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, an international team of…
Last month, Circa Group A/S (Oslo, Norway; www.circa-group.com) applied for patents for two new solvents for CO2 capture processes. The solvents, named Furatech:1 and Furatech:2, were developed over the last 12 months as part of the company’s platform molecule, levoglucosenone…
ISOPROPANOL Cepsa Química, S.A. (Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain; www.cepsa.com) is constructing the first production plant to produce isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol), from renewable or circular materials, which the company says will make it the most competitive, innovative and environmentally…
It is well known that mercury is not only toxic, but is also highly mobile. As a result, Hg emissions from both industrial processes (gold mining, combustion of fossil fuels, cement production, waste incineration and more), as well as natural…
When a sliding interface experiences a coefficient of friction (CoF) below 0.01, the situation is said to have superlubricity. In the past, superlubricity has been limited to the microscale in controlled environments, and to ceramic surfaces with polar-fluid lubrication. Now,…
Eneos Materials Corp. (formerly the elastomers business unit of JSR Corp.; www.eneos.co.jp) and Yokogawa Electric Corp. (both Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) recently reached an agreement to officially adopt Yokogawa’s autonomous-control artificial intelligence (AI) technology for use at an Eneos Materials chemical…
Ore Benefication Last month, Torngat Metals Ltd. (Montréal, Que., Canada: www.torngatmetals.com) and Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.mogroup.com) signed a contract for large-volume, pilot-scale processing of ore. The focus of the agreement is to pilot test the beneficiation of ore extracted…
In May, Li-Metal Corp. (Markham, Ont.; www.li-metal.com) announced the production of refined lithium metal from lithium carbonate salt using a new electrolysis process at the company’s pilot facility in Ontario, Canada. The lithium metal produced at the pilot plant is…
As more and more CO2 is finding its way into carbon-capture systems instead of the air, the demand for new technologies that actually utilize CO2 is also rising. A new photocatalysis platform developed by New Iridium (Boulder, Colo.; www.newiridium.com) can…
A new material could open the door to more effective protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). PCFCs are a promising energy source that employ specialized ceramic materials to conduct protons (instead of electrons) at much lower temperatures than typical solid-oxide fuel…