Latest News: Technologies
Commercial debut slated for redox flow batteries
A new concept for large-scale redox-flow batteries (RFB) for energy-storage applications has been developed by ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com). The system is based on the oxidation and reduction of vanadium ions (diagram, top) for either storing electrical…
A faster way to determine pKa values
Researchers from the University of Tasmania (Hobart, Australia; www.utas.edu.au) and the University of Barcelona (Spain; www.ub.edu) have found a method to drastically speed up capillary electrophoresis (CE) for measuring pKa values (acid dissociation constants). This is especially valuable for pharmaceutical…
Ethanol-based fuel cells get a boost with a new catalyst
Hideki Abe and colleagues at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Tsukuba City, Japan; www.nims.go.jp), in collaboration with the Global Research Center for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials Science (GREEN) and Tohoku University, have developed a new catalyst…
Generate steam by solar heating with nanoporous graphene
Researchers, led by professor Mingwei Chen at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR) of Tohoku University (Sendai City, Japan; www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp), have developed a material that efficiently generates steam by solar heating. In laboratory trials using simulated solar radiation, the…
This scale inhibitor uses steric dispersion principles
With the commercial release of a new scale inhibitor — called ScaleTreat FeS 13805 — researchers at Clariant Oil Services (Houston; www.clariant.com/oilinnovation), in collaboration with academia, have improved upon existing scale-treatment chemistries, adding a newly patented copolymer to the industry.…
Upgrading extra-heavy crude oil using supercritical water
Earlier this year, JGC Corp. (JGC; Yokohama, Japan; www.jgc.com), in partnership with Japan Oil, Gas and Minerals National Corp., commenced pilot-scale testing of their Supercritical Water Cracking (SCWC) process. The pilot has a capacity of 5 barrels (bbl) per day…
Chementator Briefs
Concrete Admixture Advanced concrete mixes often demonstrate a higher viscosity due to their low water contents. Although having a high level of workability, the concrete often appears harsh, sticky and therefore difficult to pump and process. To overcome these challenges…
‘Nanoboxes’ promise to boost energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries
Researchers from Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN; www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg) and Hydro-Quebec’s Research Institute (Montreal, Canada; www.hydro.qc.ca) have synthetized silicate-based “nanoboxes” that could greatly increase the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries as compared to that of conventional phosphate-based cathodes. IBN’s…
Startup for a new coal-gasification process
IHI Corp. (IHI; Tokyo, www.ihi.co.jp) has commissioned its first prototype Twin IHI Gasifier (TIGAR) plant, which IHI designed and built at the Kujang Factory of PT Pupuk Indonesia Holding Co., Indonesia’s largest state-owned fertilizer company, 75 km southeast of Jakarta.…
Two new product families offer help for biofuel producers
Two families of newly developed products from specialty chemical maker Solenis (Wilmington, Del.; www.solenis.com) — a portfolio of fermentation aids and scale inhibitors — have the potential to improve the production of bioethanol and related fermentation processes. Solenis fermentation aids…