A scaled-up version of an electrochemical cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes has been introduced, and the system treats wastewaters containing difficult-to-oxidize dissolved pollutants. Known as Diamox, the electrochemical oxidation cell was developed by Element Six (www.e6.com), a designer and manufacturer…
An all-weather solar cell that generates electricity by both sunlight and rain has been developed by researchers led by professor Qunwei Tang from the Institute of Material Science and Engineering at Ocean University of China (Qingdao; http://eweb.ouc.edu.cn) and professor Peizhi…
Regulation of water content in polymeric membranes is important in several applications, including proton-exchange fuel cell membranes. Normally, this is achieved either by external regulation or by operating the cells at higher temperatures. Now a team from CSIRO (Melbourne, Australia;…
Biomass to sugar Plans are underway to build a commercial-scale sugar-production facility that uses a novel process for converting corn stover into high-purity glucose. The 95%-pure glucose syrup produced there will be used as a raw material in the production…
Shell Thiogro (www.shell.com/sulphur/thiogro) and Uhde Fertilizer Technologies (UFT; www. uhde-fertilizer-technology.com), part of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany), have established a partnership to integrate UFT’s fluidized-bed (FB) granulation technology with Shell’s Urea-ES (enhanced sulfur) technology, which was introduced in May…
A design-of-experiments (DoE) approach has resulted in better-performing fluids for metal grinding, cutting and machining applications. These fluids serve to lubricate cutting surfaces, remove heat, prevent corrosion and carry away fine particulates that can distort machined surfaces. In recent years,…
The Clark-Reliance Corp. (Strongsville, Ohio; www.clark-reliance.com) has been awarded a U.S. Patent for its Eye-Hye SmartLevel system for remote indication of water level for industrial boilers. The patent recognizes the uniqueness of the system’s self-diagnostic technology, which intelligently monitors the…
A novel food-packaging material that is free from chemical additives and that can slow down fungal growth — doubling the shelf-life of perishable foods — has been developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (www.nus.edu.sg). The researchers used…
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, Mass.; www.mit.edu) have demonstrated a two-stage process to convert synthesis gas (syngas) into lipids that can be used in biodiesel production. Eventually, such a process could be used to convert waste…
A Korean team, headed by professor Sang Yup Lee of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, South Korea; www.kaist.ac.kr), has obtained various forms of PLGA [poly(lactate-co-glycolate)] from natural sources, allowing plastics to be made in an environmentally…