Mobile Navigation

Latest News: Technologies

Member Exclusive

A new low-temperature shift catalyst passes longterm testing

A new water-gas shift catalyst has undergone 1,000 h of successful operation in a demonstration carried out by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO, Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, both Japan; www.hitachi.com). The tests were performed…

Member Exclusive

Rare-earth magnets enhance filtration of engine lubricants

FilterMag International (Scottsdale, Ariz.; www.filtermag.com) has developed neodymium magnetic devices that can boost the performance of lubricant filters for mining vehicles and industrial machinery. When the device is in place, filters retain 50–75% of contaminant particles that would otherwise be…

Member Exclusive

A sorption-enhanced catalyst improves CO2 methanation

Converting CO2 into methane is a way to mimic the natural carbon cycle and close the energy cycle by producing synthetic hydrocarbons (see, for example, CO2 Utilization, Chem. Eng., July 2013, pp. 16–19). However, the Sabatier reaction (CO2 + 4H2…

Member Exclusive

February Chementator Briefs

  Cellulose nanocrystals New research from Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.; www.purdue.edu) has shed some light on the physical properties of cellulose nanocrystals. The nanocrystals, which are about 3-nm wide and 500-nm long, have historically been difficult to analyze, but…

Member Exclusive

Optimized carbon-adsorbent material for natural gas storage

Techniques for manufacturing carbon adsorbent materials with highly tuned pore properties have been developed by EnerG2 Technologies Inc. (Seattle, Wash.; www.energ2.com). The technology platform produces carbon adsorbents that enable the storage of natural gas at significantly lower pressures than those…

Member Exclusive

Engineered wetlands technology now available for wastewater treatment

Water treatment technology from Alcoa Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.alcoa.com) that includes engineered areas of natural wetland vegetation is now available commercially for the first time. The engineered wetlands technology can lower capital and operating expenses, as well as energy consumption,…

Bacteria and algae team-up to tackle arsenic-contaminated water

Australian researchers have developed a method of cleaning arsenic out of contaminated water by combining the effects of bacteria and microalgae. Professor Megh Mallavarapu and his team, from the Cooperative Research Center for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment…

Member Exclusive

Advanced battery electrolytes made with low-cost, high-throughput method

A high-throughput method for synthesizing ionic-liquid-containing electrolytes developed by Boulder Ionics Corp. (Arvada, Colo.; www.boulderionics.com) has been refined to enable its use in commercial production. Boulder Ionics had previously piloted the continuous process for producing advanced ionic-liquid (IL) electrolytes at…

This graphite burner enables on-demand treatment of offgases

Offgases containing compounds of chlorine or fluorine are typically burned to enable the recovery of HCl or HF and prevent release into the environment. However, conventional combustion chambers require a long time to heat up, and thus are typically run…

Member Exclusive

Bacteria make lactic acid from palm waste

Extraction of palm oil generates large amounts of lignocellulose-rich byproduct known as empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is usually wasted. A new process for utilizing this waste to make lactic acid has been developed by a team of researchers in…