Latest News: Technologies
This paper has antibacterial activity
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…
Pilot trials completed for a new substitute-natural-gas process
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…
Chementator Briefs
Making more ARA Arcadia Biosciences Inc. (Davis, Calif.; www.arcadiabio.com) and Dupont Pioneer (Des Moines, Iowa; www.pioneer.com) recently completed field-trial validation for new safflower plants that produce high levels of arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, a high-value, specialty nutritional oil. The field…
Selective conversion of plastics to waxes
A proprietary technology and patented process from GreenMantra Technologies (Brantford, Ont., Canada; www.greenmantra.ca) that produces synthetic waxes from underutilized plastic recycling streams, including films and bags, has reached commercialization. The company’s first industrial-scale manufacturing plant started up in May, and…
A 3-D printed polymer with enzymes turns methane to methanol
Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov) have combined biology and 3-D printing to create the first reactor that can continuously produce methanol from methane at room temperature and pressure. The team removed enzymes from methanotrophs —…
Recycling waste polystyrene into membranes
Scientists from the National Chung Hsing University (Taichung, Taiwan; www.nchu.edu.tw), led by professor Ming-Yen Wey, have successfully developed an alternative route for recycling plastic solid waste. They used waste polystyrene to develop membranes suitable for processes such as carbon capture,…
Fuel-cell-based carbon capture system can augment power generation
Post-combustion carbon-capture processes that are based on adsorption of CO2 by amine compounds reduce the power output of coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants largely due to the energy required to regenerate the CO2 from the adsorbent material. In another approach,…
A glass for all colors
Colloidal glasses develop structural color through constructive interference. The color can be tuned by adjusting interparticle distance, making the colloidal glasses attractive for use as color pigments for use in coatings, displays, colorimetric sensors and optical barcodes. While colloidal crystals…
Computational approach streamlines industrial enzyme development
Computational technology from Arzeda Corp. (Seattle, Wash.; www.arzeda.com) can streamline the development of novel enzymes, as well as improve existing enzymes, for industrial fermentation. The company’s proprietary computational platform, known as Archytas, uses advanced algorithms to design and screen a…
Making H2 from aluminum composite waste
Last April, a demonstration plant started up for the production of hydrogen from aluminum-based composite waste. The startup marks the culmination of a project, supported by NEDO, in which Alhytec Inc. (Takaoa City, Japan; www.alhytec.co.jp) developed the process to separate…