Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland) announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai Boiler Works, a full subsidiary of Shanghai Electric, specializing in energy conversion and the development of new energy applications, to jointly foster innovation in sustainable…
Linde plc (Dublin, Ireland) announced it has commissioned one of the world’s largest helium-storage caverns, further strengthening long-term reliability in this critical global market. The storage facility, located in Beaumont, Texas, has a capacity of more than three billion cubic…
Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, and Acea Ambiente, a subsidiary of Acea operating in integrated waste management and energy recovery sectors, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis, and Gabriele Di Cintio, CEO…
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB; Washington, D.C.; www.csb.gov) is sending a team to investigate the fatal explosion at the Horizon Biofuels facility in Fremont, Nebraska, that occurred on July 29. The facility is approximately 30 miles…
A patent-pending material developed at the Technical University of Munich (TUM; www.tum.de) has achieved the fastest-ever conductivity of lithium ions, and is now poised to significantly improve the efficiency of future solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries, often seen as a more…
In the catering industry, refined cooking oils (those that have undergone a process to remove lower-boiling-point impurities) are used and re-used in frying. Despite the refining process, high temperatures cause the oils to oxidize, creating polar compounds that degrade the…
Magnesium metal is a critical ingredient for aluminum alloys and it is widely used for desulfurization in steelmaking processes. Most magnesium metal is produced in China via high-energy-consumption processes. Now, technology company Magrathea (San Francisco, Calif.; www.magratheametals.com) has developed a…
Wastewater from dairy processing facilities can be extremely challenging to treat — not only does the effluent usually contain high volumes of solids, minerals and organic matter, these loads can vary widely from hour to hour. A large cheese-processing facility…
Due to rising demand and widespread supply-chain turmoil, researchers around the world are investigating creative methods to obtain rare-earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals and metals (CMMs). The ash from combusting coal has previously been seen as a potential…
The growing need for energy-storage solutions for a gamut of applications from electronic devices to large-scale energy systems has spurred an increase in research for innovative technologies. Considerable attention is being given to new chemistries beyond the widely used lithium-ion…