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An inexpensive iron catalyst for efficient hydrogenation reactions

The research group of Yasuhiro Uozumi and Yoichi Yamada at Riken (Saitama, Japan; www.riken.jp), in collaboration with professor Audrey Moores of McGill University (Montreal, Que.), has developed a highly efficient catalyst for performing hydrogenation reactions, which are important in the…

Scaleup for a CO2 mineralization process

A pilot plant will be established at the University of Newcastle (Newcastle, Australia; www.newcastle.edu.au) to test a new technology for the sequestration of CO2 through mineral carbonation — the reaction with magnesium silicate minerals, such as serpentine, to form mineral…

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Solid-catalyst method for breaking down cellulosic biomass cuts costs

Fermenting sugar is at the heart of many bio-based chemical and biofuel processes, but obtaining sugars from cellulosic biomass at low cost is an ongoing challenge. A new process using a reusable solid catalyst is capable of breaking down a…

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A new catalyst promises to cut the cost of the Fischer-Tropsch process

When coal-derived synthesis gas (syngas) is converted to liquid fuel by the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, the initial product is mostly straight-chain waxy paraffins that can be upgraded by hydroprocessing to obtain diesel fuel and naphtha, which are used for gasoline…

A ‘new’ concept for CO2 capture: birds’ lungs

Researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI, Irvine CA; www.chem.uci.edu) have taken a cue from nature in devising a way to remove carbon dioxide from fluegas. They are developing a synthetic membrane based on the design and function of…

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Cross-coupling catalyst

A highly active nickel catalyst for performing cross-coupling reactions has been developed by the research group of professor Shu Kobayashi at the University of Tokyo (Japan; www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp). The researchers were able to immobilize nickel nanoparticles onto a polymer support matrix…

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October Chementator Briefs

  Strength with stress Shear forces usually break bonds in polymer materials, but a research team at Duke University (Durham, N.C.; www.duke.edu) has demonstrated for the first time synthetic polymers capable of forming new bonds in the presence of shear…

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These resins make tastier orange juice

A process from Dow Water & Process Solutions (DW&PS; Edina, Minn.; www.dowwaterandprocess.com) uses a unique adsorbent resin to improve the taste of orange juice. Amberlite FPX66 is a macroreticular, non-functionalized adsorbent resin with a pore structure designed to capture a…

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Control particle size and morphology with this technique

Lactose has been widely used as a pharmaceutical excipient, where the size and morphology of the particles of lactose significantly affect the functionality of the resultant drug product. Lactose particles produced by various methods exhibit various morphologies, such as spherical…

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Some bacteria are not inactivated by ultrasound; here’s why

Although the inactivation of bacteria by high-power ultrasound has been extensively studied, the relationship between the effectiveness of ultrasound to inactivate bacteria and their physico-chemical properties is not yet well understood, says Muthupandian Ashokkumar, professor at the University of Melbourne…