Gasoline-like fuel suitable for internal combustion engines can be obtained from the pyrolysis of plastic waste, according to a study conducted by a team of people from Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta, Indonesia; www.ugm.ac.id), University Sains Malaysia (Penang, Malaysia; www.usm.my), and…
Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) have developed a continuous process for generating crude oil from algae that they believe can lower the cost of producing algae-based fuel. The process works by combining hydrothermal liquefaction and…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…