Cellulosic ethanol Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has produced the first commercial cellulosic ethanol at its sunliquid production plant in Podari, Romania. The entire offtake is contracted with a multi-year agreement to Shell. Over the last six months, the plant…
A new membrane for separating emulsions is being fabricated using recycled carbon-fiber production scraps from aerospace manufacturing. “We think this is the first membrane of its type to be constructed from recycled carbon fibers,” explains Shuaifei Zhao, senior research fellow…
Biogas plants play an important role in defossilization — anaerobic bacteria in these plants break down biomass to form biogas which, on average, comprises up to 60% methane and more than 40% CO2. While the biogas is used to generate…
Platinum is widely used for many catalytic reactions, and because the precious metal is so expensive, efforts have been ongoing to reduce the amount of Pt required to perform reactions. Among these efforts are the use of nano-dispersions, clusters and…
A new steam-fed electrolyzer aims to bridge the gap between liquid-water electrolyzers, many of which require exotic materials and intricate membranes, and solid-oxide electrolyzers, which require superheated steam and temperatures as high as 800°C. This ‘symbiotic’ electrolyzer, developed by Advanced…
The olefin metathesis reaction produces new carbon-carbon double bonds by swapping the carbon atoms in olefins, and is important for producing a number of chemicals. Currently, the most popular catalysts for this reaction are made from the precious metal ruthenium…
Ammonia produced using renewable energy is poised to be a crucial part of the hydrogen value chain as a mechanism for storing and transporting hydrogen. By combining two state-of-the art technologies for ammonia production and hydrogen storage, Hydrofuel Canada Inc.…
As chemical manufacturers continue to seek renewable alternatives for fossil-fuel feedstocks, bio-based ethanol is poised to be a crucial raw material in the ethylene value chain for products from jet fuel to plastics. The range of novel-shaped alumina catalyst developed…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com) achieved measurable improvements in the STAR process, a proprietary dehydrogenation process from thyssenkrupp Uhde that can produce propylene from propane feedstocks, or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks. Beginning in…
Last month, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA; London, U.K.; https://gccassociation.org) revealed the first six startups that will be backed by its member companies as part of the first ever Innovandi “Open Challenge” in the race to achieve “net…