XstalBio Ltd. (Glasgow, U.K.; www.xstalbio.com) has recently been issued a patent (US 8,932,715) covering the use of precipitation-stabilizing additives for the manufacture of dry powders of therapeutic proteins, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Compared to lyophilization, the XstalBio precipitation process offers…
Earlier this year, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/chemicals) has developed a new process for making diphenyl carbonate (DPC), a monomer used for making polycarbonate (PC) resins. This new route to DPC uses only an alcohol, phenol and CO2…
This summer, GFBiochemicals Green Future S.r.l. (Milan, Italy; www.gfbiochemicals.com) will start commercial-scale production of bio-based levulinic acid using its proprietary, continuous-production process. The company says it will produce 2,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) at its plant in Caserta, Italy…
Photosynthesis is one of the best ways to convert carbon dioxide into renewable energy and at the same time, reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. In plants, there are two main steps in photosynthesis: First, water is split…
Last January, Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby; www.topsoe.com) and FLSmidth A/S (Copenhagen, both Denmark; www.flsmidth.com) began a joint, global effort to commercialize a new catalytic filter-bag technology, which the partners have developed over the past four years. Tradenamed EnviroTex, these filter…
Two new proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolysis systems have debuted, targeting applications that require large volumes of hydrogen. Prior to the launch of Proton OnSite’s (Wallingford, Conn.; www. protononsite.com) M1 and M2 modular H2-generation systems, the largest capacity commercially available from PEM…
A new type of CO2-capture media based on permeable polymer microcapsules has been developed by teams of scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov), Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; www.harvard.edu) and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (www.illinois.edu). The materials have…
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO, Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and partners IHI Corp. (Tokyo; www.ihi.co.jp), Kobe University (www.kobe-u.ac.jp) and Neo-Morgan Laboratory Inc. (NML; Kawasaki, all Japan; www.neo-morgan.com) have completed construction on an outdoor test site with 1,500-m2 of…
Perfluorinated compounds — firefighting foams — such as perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS) have been used as fire suppressants, but some of them, such as perfluoroalkyl acids have been associated with serious environmental contamination. Also, several new fluorinated surfactants have been developed…
Takahiro Yamashita and colleagues at the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO, Tsukuba, Japan; www.naro.affrc.go.jp) have developed an aerobic bioreactor that can reduce nitrous oxide emissions by nearly 90% in the treatment of…