Hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers will be crucial technologies as the global energy transition progresses. However, both devices are often hampered by issues with durability and material costs — mainly associated with their membrane elements — which have slowed their…
Hydrogen chloride is an important byproduct of the chemical industry, with over 9-million ton/yr generated by industrial chlorination processes, such as the production of chloromethanes and polymers (polyurethanes and polycarbonates). Although HCl can be easily recovered by gas scrubbing with…
Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt (www.uni-frankfurt.de) and Kiel University (both Germany; www.uni-kiel.de) have developed a new sensor for the detection of bacteria. It is based on a chip with a surface coating that ensures only very specific microorganisms, such as…
Nanocellular graphene (NCG) is a specialized form of graphene that achieves a large specific surface area by stacking multiple layers of graphene and controlling its internal structure with a nanoscale cellular morphology. Although the material has the potential to improve…
The production and processing of cathode active materials (CAM) are among the largest contributors to the cost of lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Typical CAM manufacture involves multiple, multi-phase steps in a co-precipitation process that requires a large amount of water and…
Bipolar plates (BPPs) are a key component in electrolyzers and fuel cells. BPPs include two key components: the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), in a fuel-cell system; and the catalyst-coated membrane (CCM), in an electrolyzer. In a fuel-cell stack, for example,…
Membranes are widely used in a variety of industrial separation processes, but the polymeric materials that make up many membranes are not durable enough to handle extreme conditions, such as processes with low pH or hazardous-metal content. Membrion, Inc. (Seattle,…
Much of the planet’s lithium is contained in brine, but the concentration is often quite low, making it difficult to efficiently extract lithium — typical extraction technologies may only demonstrate 30–60% yield. Adionics (Les Ulis, France; www.adionics.com) has developed a…
CO2 liquefaction Last month, Linde Engineering (Pullach, Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) signed a contract with Yara International ASA (Oslo, Norway; www.yara.com) to build a world-scale carbon dioxide liquefaction plant in Sluiskil, the Netherlands. The Sluiskil project forms a key part of Yara’s…
Researchers at Lund University (Sweden; www.lth.se) have succeeded in converting worn-out cotton sheets into new viscose fibers using a process that — for the first time — enables all of the viscose to be recycled. Current recycling methods often require…