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Hot-melt coating for pharma applications
Polymer coatings are often used to mask the taste of pharmaceuticals, as well as to serve as moisture barriers to granules or tablets. However, the application of polymer solutions requires considerable time and energy for drying after the coating has…
Improved deNOx zeolite catalyst promises to reduce fuel consumption
In a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, Japan; www.nedo.go.jp), a collaboration of six industrial, government and academic partners has developed a catalyst for reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from automobile exhaust. Because the…
Retrofit unit boosts ethane and propane recoveries in natural gas plants
Using a workhorse technology known as the gas-subcooled process (GSP), most natural gas plants recover between 85 and 90% of ethane in raw natural gas streams. Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) has developed a modular retrofit unit designed to…
Mimicking cell behavior with functionalized surfactants
Active surfactants are those that are responsive to an external stimulus, such as temperature, light, electric or magnetic fields or chemical agents. Scientists from the Institute for Basic Science (Daejeon, South Korea; www.ibs.re.kr) have developed surfactants based on functionalized nanoparticle…
Gas sensors get a big boost in sensitivity
It has been a challenge to find materials that can reliably detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxic gases in air at the parts-per-billion (ppb) level, or that can be used for therapeutic diagnosis from breath analysis. That’s because two…
Chementator Briefs
Waste to chemicals A consortium of companies, including Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com), AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com), Enerkem Inc. (Montreal, Canada; www.enerkem.com) and the Port of Rotterdam, has signed a project development agreement covering initial investments in…
These batteries can handle the cold
Lithium-ion batteries based on intercalation compound electrodes exhibit poor performance at temperatures below 0°C. Insufficient ionic conductivity and freezing of the electrolyte are generally seen as the main reasons for the poor performance of rechargeable batteries at low temperatures. Although…
Business News – April 2018
Plant Watch Evonik to construct new polyamide 12 plant at Marl Chemical Park March 14, 2018 — Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is planning to build a new production complex for polyamide 12 (PA 12). The group intends to…
Lithium Battery Demand Drives Process Evolution
An explosion in battery demand has fostered a welcoming environment for innovations in sourcing and processing lithium and cobalt The drive for higher capacity and enhanced performance from lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), in conjunction with skyrocketing demand for electronic devices and…
Level Measurement: One Size Does Not Fit All
Today’s level measurement instruments are smarter, easier to use and designed to meet the challenges of the CPI When it comes to level measurement, chemical processors long for a “silver bullet” technology that works in every application. Unfortunately, there isn’t…