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A low-temperature catalyst for dry methane reforming
A catalyst that performs low-temperature reforming of methane with carbon dioxide (dry methane reforming) into synthesis gas (syngas) has been developed by Japanese researchers, led by Hideki Abe at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Tsukuba City, www.nims.go.jp), in…
Nano-coated salts for energy storage
A new energy-storage process has begun operations at a large-scale pilot plant in Berlin, Germany. At the combined heat and power (CHP) facility of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, SaltX Technology AB (Hägersten, Sweden; www.saltxtechnology.com) constructed one 0.5-MW/10-MWh energy-storage unit using…
Converting CO2 to carbon at mild conditions
An international research team led by RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia; www.rmit.edu.au) has developed a technique for efficiently converting CO2 to carbon. The team included researchers from the University of Münster (Germany), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (China), North Carolina…
Enzyme engineering enables bio-based hydrogen peroxide
Borne out of a cancer research project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge; www.mit.edu), a new enzymatic process technology can co-produce gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide without the safety risks and complexity of typical large-scale peroxide-manufacturing processes. Solugen Inc. (Houston;…
This process improves blends of starch-based plastic with conventional polyolefins
Thermoplastic starch, a biodegradable polysaccharide, is an attractive material for environmentally friendly plastics, but its cost and molecular properties have prevented it from being used in thin films. A process for a new starch plastic resin allows the material to…
Process improves usefulness of carbon nanotubes for battery applications
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been touted as game-changing nanomaterials in a wide variety of areas, but their actual commercial success has been less than expected thus far. To a large extent, the difficulty has centered around the tendency of CNTs…
Protecting oxidation-prone materials with a crust of salt
High-temperature synthesis of ceramics and other materials normally requires a cost-intensive inerting atmosphere to prevent oxidation. Now, researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany; www.fz-juelich.de) have developed a process — the molten salt shielded synthesis/sintering (MS3) process — that used molten salts…
U.S. Refining Industry Reckons with Uncertain Energy Future
Many indicators point to current success and prosperity for U.S. petroleum refineries, but simultaneously, the industry is facing a future of massive changes in energy and transportation By many measures, the U.S. petroleum-refining industry is succeeding and prospering. According to…
Smart Sensors Enable Industry 4.0
Coupled with advanced analytics and networking capabilities, today’s smart sensors help processors optimize the facility Picture a piece of equipment not just monitoring its own health, but also automatically ordering the part it requires and, when it notes that the…
Focus on Weighing
This load cell is robust and hygienic The UltraPure single-point load cell (photo) is a comprehensive solution for hygienic process weighing and measurement of liquid level, mix ratios, dosage or batching, and is suitable for weighing on small hoppers and…