Hitachi Zosen Corp. (Hitz; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-531) is commercializing a new membrane for a hybrid-distillation system (HDS) that is especially suitable for dehydrating ethanol and isopropanol. The HDS can produce 99.7 vol.% ethanol from ethanol-water mixtures with 10 vol.% H2O…
Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-532) has designed a fuel cell for powering automobiles, using nickel and cobalt for the electrodes (instead of conventional platinum and carbon), and hydrazine hydrate (N 2H4. H2O) as its fuel (instead of hydrogen).…
Last month, Benefuel, Inc. (Mt. Prospect, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-533) established an exclusive global agreement with Süd-Chemie India Pvt. Ltd. (SCIL; New Delhi) whereby SCIL will manufacture proprietary solid-acid catalysts for Benefuel’s biodiesel production facilities around the world. The patent-pending catalysts —…
Nanostructured microporous carbons containing well-dispersed metal nanoparticles have the potential to improve the performance of fuel cells or catalysis. However, traditional techniques for embedding metal particles in porous carbons (post-synthesis treatment either by impregnation, adsorption, or ion exchange) can lead…
Johnson ElectroMechanical Systems, Inc. (Atlanta, Ga.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-536) in conjunction with professor Heshmat Aglan of Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Ala.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-537) has received a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.) to further develop the firm’s solid-state heat…
Biotechnology samples, such as proteins, nucleic acids, biological specimens and pharmaceuticals, are typically stored frozen to extend their shelf life. However, a problem that has plagued researchers for decades is that the buffers used to maintain the pH of the…
Airborne contaminants can be identified within 2 – 3 s with a new sensor developed by researchers at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Stanford University (Calif.). The researchers have founded a company, SpectraFluidics, Inc. (Santa Barbara; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-539) to commercialize…
A team of researchers from MIT’s (Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-540) chemical and mechanical engineering departments, in association with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.), has developed oil-repellent surfaces with likely separations and safety applications for the…
PCM (Paris, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-541) has introduced what is claimed to be the world’s first all-metal progressing cavity pump (PCP). PCM Vulcain is capable of pumping extremely hot (350°C) and viscous fluids, making it particularly suitable for the thermal recovery of…
Royal DSM N.V. (Heerlen, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-542) and the French starch and starch-derivatives company Roquette (Lestrem, France; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-543) have joined forces to implement and commercialize the fermentive production of biorenewable succinic acid. A demonstration plant with a capacity of several hundred…