A newly developed process for manufacturing cyclohexasilane (CHS; Si6H12) offers a lower-cost and safer pathway to a material whose molecular architecture allows a wider range of material possibilities than alternative starting materials for several important silicon-based products. CHS can be…
Last month, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, Japan; www.nedo.go.jp) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Innovation Agency (NIA; Bangkok, Thailand; www.nai.or.th) to work jointly on a project to demonstrate a manufacturing system…
Modified yeast Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org) have developed a genetically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is capable of utilizing both glucose (a six-carbon sugar), and xylose (a five-carbon sugar) when presented with plant…
An innovative H2S-scrubbing process employs iron particles to catalyze reactions that convert H2S to elemental sulfur. The new approach improves upon traditional H2S-scrubbing processes that constantly consume reagents (like NaOH and bleach) and generate sulfate-laden wastewater that must be treated.…
Professor Masafumi Unno and colleagues at Gunma University (Kiryu City, Japan; element.chem-bio.st.gunma-u.ac.jp) have developed a simple method for the synthesis of “Janus cubes,” which are nano-sized organosilicons with two different substituents (diagram). These nanoparticles — named after the two-faced Roman…
Last month, AVA-CO2 AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.ava-co2.com) started up a pilot plant to further develop its AVA cleanphos process. The process recovers valuable phosphorus from “biocoal,” which is being produced from municipal wastewater sewage sludge through the company’s patented hydrothermal…
The research group of professor Shiro Saka at the Dept. of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.ecs.energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp) has developed a new process that efficiently produces bioethanol from non-edible lignocellulose resources, without generating carbon…
Mixtures of rare-earth metals (REMs) are notoriously difficult to separate, but a team of researchers from Harvard University (Cambridge, Ma.; www.seas.harvard.edu) has developed a method for efficiently extracting REMs with a high level of selectivity. By taking advantage of the…
The main mineral component of our bones and teeth — hydroxyapatite [HAP; Ca10(OH)2(PO4)6] — has been used by a Chinese team to develop a highly flexible paper with high antibacterial activity. The paper, made from silver nanoparticle-decorated ultra-long HAP nanowires…
Last month, Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) said that the pilot plant of a new process for making substitute natural gas (SNG) has been successfully tested, signifying that the technology is ready for commercial application. The process, called Vesta Once-through…