Latest News: Technologies
Algae printing ink has safety and sustainability benefits
Scientists at Living Ink Technologies (Denver, Colo.; www.livinginktechnologies.com) have developed biodegradeable printing ink made from natural cyanobacteria and algae as a sustainable and non-toxic alternative to conventional petroleum-derived printing inks. Living Ink’s method involves using sunlight and carbon dioxide to…
A less expensive alternative to platinum for water electrolysis
A suitable catalyst for splitting water to make hydrogen must exhibit high H2-conversion efficiency, excellent durability, and must operate well under low voltage. For an efficient H2-evolution reaction, the catalyst must be able to trigger proton reduction with minimal overpotential…
New glass electrolytes yield safer, more efficient batteries
A glassy solid-state electrolyte (SSE) developed by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (UT; www.utexas.edu) will aid in the evolution of safer, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries. A major concern with the use of lithium- and sodium-ion batteries is the…
A pilot project to capture rainwater for wine production
A pilot project set up by the University of California Davis (UC Davis; Davis, Calif.; www.ucdavis.edu), GE Water & Process Technologies (Trevose, Pa.; www.gewater.com) and wine-industry service provider Winesecrets LLC (www.winesecrets.com) seeks to capture rainwater for use in wine production,…
Peltier refrigeration expands into untapped applications
When compared to traditional refrigeration cycles, Peltier (thermoelectric) technology has many benefits, including no moving parts and no hazardous refrigerant chemicals. However, it has not yet been widely adopted into large-scale industrial processes (due to poor efficiency, inability to scale…
Hydronium ions as charge carriers
Scientists at Oregon State University (Corvallis; www.oregonstate.edu) have for the first time demonstrated the use of hydronium ions (H3O+) as charge carriers. The research opens another avenue of exploration for high-power, sustainable batteries for stationary power-storage applications. The research team,…
Chementator briefs
Efficient distillation Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; Chiba, www.toyo-eng.co.jp) has completed construction for an energy-saving distillation system used in a project for Maruzen Petrochemical Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.chemiway.co.jp). This system, tradenamed SuperHIDiC, has achieved an energy saving of over 50% compared…
A new adsorbent for wastewater treatment
A team at the Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability (EEWS) of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, Daejeon; www.kaist.ac.kr), led by professor Cafer T. Yavuz has developed a water-treatment adsorbent that can selectively remove water-soluble…
Making bio-ethanol from cassava pulp
Sapporo Holdings Ltd. (SHL; Tokyo, Japan; www.sapporoholdings.jp) and Innotech Green Energy Company Ltd. (IGE) in Thailand are collaborating on a project to achieve the world’s first practical fermentation process to make ethanol from cassava pulp. The two companies have completed…
Chementator Briefs
Denox catalysts Last month, Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) announced its participation in ProNOx, a new four-year, $4-million research program to improve selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts. Together with two research teams from the Dept. of Chemistry and the Interdisciplinary…