Single crystals of high-purity, anatase titanium dioxide with a high percentage of reactive (001) facets are said to have promising applications in solar cells, photonic and optoelectronic devices, sensors and photocatalysis. However, it is the (101) crystal facets of anatase…
Scientists at Rice University (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-547) have shown how baton-shaped nanoparticles of metal and carbon can trap oil droplets in water by spontaneously assembling into tiny sacs. The particles — composed of hollow carbon nanotubes (hydrophobic) with a short…
BASF IT Services (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-533) has developed a voice-activated IT system that can be used by those involved in hazard-containment. The application was pilot tested together with BASF SE’s fire department, as part of the four-year EU project called…
Dupont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-533) and its partner Genencor (Palo Alto, Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-534), a div. of Danisco A/S, plan to invest $140 million to integrate the pretreatment process and fermenting organism — developed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL: Golden,…
After several years of proven operation in the food- and nutritional-products industry, a patented drying technology is now ready to be applied for any liquid or slurry product. Developed by MCD Technologies, Inc. (Tacoma, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-535), the Refractance Window (RW)…
ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-537) plans to spend more than $100 million on a commercial demonstration of its Controlled Freeze Zone (CFZ) technology for removing carbon dioxide from natural gas. The plant, to be located at the company’s Shute Creek…
Nissan Chemical Industries Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-538) is commercializing "ultrahighly active" catalysts, based on the catalyst technology developed by professor Yoshiharu Iwabuchi of the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan), which catalyzes the oxidation of alcohols into…
Soy-oil-based hydrogels developed by the U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) show promise as biodegradable encapsulants for drug delivery. Scientists at ARS’ National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (Peoria, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-539) have collaborated with researchers at the University of Toronto to…
Infrared (IR) analyzers are widely used for gas, liquid and surface analysis. Up to now, the most common and inexpensive IR sensor has been a combination of filters (non-dispersive IR) — which have a restricted wavelength band — with a…
Petroleum refiners can have the option to produce more diesel fuel or propylene from their fluid catalytic crackers, depending on the demand, through a new process offered by Shell Global Solutions (edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-541). The process enables a typical FCC (processing a…