Last April, Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany; www.siemens.com/energy) introduced the Siemens organic Rankine cycle (ORC) modules, which enable operators of industrial plants to generate power from low-temperature (around 300°C) waste heat. Unlike a conventional Rankine cycle, which converts water to steam,…
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, Japan; www.nedo.go.jp) and Global Water Recycling and Reuse Solution Technology Research Assn. (GWSTA) have developed a new water-treatment system that integrates seawater desalination with recycle water from a sewage treatment plant.…
An inexpensive and scalable composite catalyst that is said to outperform platinum for oxygen reduction in metal-air batteries and fuel cells has been developed by a research team led by professor Jaephil Cho from Ulsan National Institute for Science and…
Electrochem Technologies & Materials Inc. (Montreal, Canada; www.electrochem-technologies.com) has recently patented a process for recovering rare-earth elements (REEs) from mercury phosphor powders — a byproduct from recyclers of fluorescent lamps and light bulbs. This technology offers a sound and profitable…
Process monitoring in biotechnology processes is critical to maximizing product yield and optimizing nutrient consumption. Startup company Stratophase Ltd. (Romsey, U.K.; www.stratophase.com) is now offering the first realtime, in-situ micro-optical sensor for monitoring and control of bioprocesses involving both microbes…
A new plastic made from CO2 and butadiene has been synthesized by Kyoko Nozaki and her research group at the University of Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan; www.chembio.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/labs/nozaki). Although butadiene is already produced on a large scale for making synthetic rubber, it…
A biomass torrefaction plant run by New Biomass Energy LLC (NBE; Quitman, Miss.; www.newbiomass.com) is currently undergoing an expansion that will increase its annual production capacity to 250,000 tons of torrefied wood product. The company expects the expansion to be…
Scientists from the A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) Institute for Chemical and Engineering Sciences (Singapore; www.a-star.edu.sg) have shown that a copper catalyst can incorporate CO2 into organic molecules under mild conditions, opening the way to an inexpensive, nontoxic…
A nonionic surfactant that is derived from renewable chemicals can outperform common solvents in a range of applications, including industrial cleaning, adhesive removal, degreasing, paint and coating removal, and others. The molecule (N,N-dimethyl-9-decenamide), marketed as Steposol MET-10U, is the first…
The first phase of a study on the feasibility of producing methane from CO2 has been completed by Hitachi Zosen Corp. (Tokyo; www.hitachizosen.co.jp) and Daiki Ataka Engineering Co. (Daiki Ataka) a subsidy of Hitachi Zosen, in collaboration with PTT Exploring…