Researchers from EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (St. Gallen, Switzerland; www.empa.ch) have developed organic phosphorous-containing compounds, called phosphoramidates, that show promise as non-toxic alternatives to conventional halogenated flame retardants, such as tri(chloropropyl)phosphate (TCPP) or polybrominated…
The petroleum refining sector in India plays a vital role in the country’s industrial development and provides a major source to meet India’s energy requirements. Today, the refining sector satisfies about 30% of the total energy demand of India […
New technology developed for air-operated, double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps can reduce consumption of compressed air by up to 60% without electronic components, while maintaining the same flowrates. The reduced air consumption translates directly to lower energy usage. Developed by Wilden Pump…
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing; www.cas.ac.cn) have found a way to transform polyurethane (PU) foam into a sponge that is strongly water-repellent and oil-absorbing, making it suitable for soaking up chemicals and petroleum from spills. One of…
Japanese researchers from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki City; www.nedo.go.jp), Waseda University, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (JX_NOE) and five other companies along with five more universities have developed an inorganic membrane that enables…
Technology originally developed for harvesting oil from algae has now been applied to sanitize water and remove ammonia from commercial aquaculture ponds. Electro Water Separation (EWS) technology, developed by OriginOil Technologies (Los Angeles, Calif.; www.originoil.com), applies pulses of tuned electromagnetic…
Sapphire Energy, Inc. (San Diego, Calif.; www.sapphireenergy.com) and The Linde Group (Munich; www.linde.com) have signed an agreement, with a minimum span of five years, to commercialize Sapphire’s process for producing crude oil from algae. The agreement expands an existing partnership…
CSIRO Minerals Down Under Flagship (Perth, Western Australia; www.csiro.au/MDU) has developed a method that uses hydrotalcite formation to simultaneously remove contaminants from mining and industrial wastewaters in a single step. Current wastewater-treatment processes typically produce lime-based slurries, often with large…
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (www.utexas.edu) and the University of Marburg (Germany; www.uni-marburg.de) are developing a process, called electrochemically mediated seawater desalination, that promises to be an inexpensive way to desalinate small volumes of water. The patent-pending…
A process that is expected to produce high-octane gasoline from non-food biomass for an average cost of $1.50/gal, depending on feed costs, will be commercialized by Cool Planet Energy Systems (Denver, Colo.; www.coolplanet.com). The company has tested the process in…