A modular processing system for the Husab uranium mine in Namibia, Southwest Africa, has been designed and developed by Adelaide Control Engineering (ACE; Australia; www.adlcontrol.com.au). The company’s managing director, Glenn Jobling, says innovative technology and advanced modular design have enabled…
The research group of professor Shigeki Matsunaga at Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Japan; www.oia.hokudai.ac.jp), in collaboration with associate professor Takeshi Sakata at Hoshi University, has developed an inexpensive cobalt-based catalyst that can synthesize useful chemicals with fewer reaction steps and reduced…
A new composite-membrane distillation process capable of removing salt, toxic elements and microorganisms from water is being offered commercially for the first time this month. The process, known as NanoClear, was developed by Dais Analytic Corp. (Odessa, Fla.; www.daisanalytic.com) for…
A novel solvent can reduce the costs of capturing and recovering carbon dioxide from gas mixtures compared to the use of amine-based solvents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA). The solvent, along with an associated cyclic absorption-desorption process, was developed by Carbon…
Li-S Battery Storage Anesco Ltd. (Reading, U.K.; www.anesco.co.uk) and OXIS Energy (Abingdon, U.K.; www.oxisenergy.com) have begun a collaboration to commercialize OXIS Lithium Sulfur Technology for battery storage for commercial and residential renewable installations. The new battery storage units will be…
Japanese companies INPEX Corp. (Tokyo, www.inpex.co.jp), Chiyoda Corp. (Yokohama; www.chiyoda-corp.com), and Metawater Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, all Japan; www.metawater.co.jp) have been commissioned to build a small-scale demonstration facility that will use ceramic membrane filtration for treating produced water for Japan Oil,…
During casting of aluminum alloys, degassing is required to remove hydrogen from the molten metal in order to prevent porosity in the solid metal that deteriorates its properties and performance. Currently, the so-called argon rotary degassing is used, where a…
A new technology for treating cooling tower water is designed to control scale formation and provide corrosion protection without using phosphorus-containing compounds. Phosphorus from wastewater discharge is known to be a major factor in fueling algae blooms and excessive aquatic…
Currently, the active components of most pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals are synthesized by multiple batch reactions, in which all starting materials are mixed in reaction vessels and the desired compounds are extracted and purified after each reaction has finished. Such…
Last month, Johnson Matthey Process Technologies (JMPT; London, U.K.; www.matthey.com) and Rennovia Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.; www.rennovia.com) successfully started-up a fully integrated mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose using jointly developed technology. The mini-plant is located at the…