Latest News: Technologies
New heating method tackles PFAS contamination on spent treatment media
There are several established technologies to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, including membranes and adsorbents. However, such purification media can pose disposal challenges due to the potential for further PFAS contamination stemming from the spent media. Now,…
This fiber technology could revolutionize building construction
With the Texoversum (photo), Reutlingen University (Germany; www.reutlingen-university.de) has put into operation a training and innovation center for the textile industry that is unique in Europe. The almost 2,000-m2 textile-like façade of the new building combines the innovative power of…
New adsorbent removes radioactive cesium ions from nuclear wastewater
One of the major byproducts of the nuclear fission process used for power generation is 137Cs, a radioactive isotope of Cs that has a half-life of 30 years and is often removed from nuclear-power-plant wastewater via selective adsorption using ion…
A biomimetic process to make soft fibers for smart textiles
For intelligent textiles to function effectively, they need to be strong, stretchable and electrically conductive. However, fabricating fibers that possess these three properties has been challenging. Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, an international team of…
CO2-conversion catalyst for making ‘e-fuels’
Infinium (Sacramento, Calif.; www.infiniumco.com) recently announced that it has manufactured ton-level quantities of a proprietary catalyst that is integral in the company’s process for making liquid fuels from waste CO2 and hydrogen derived from renewable power. Infinium plans to manufacture…
Autonomous control of a distillation column
Eneos Materials Corp. (formerly the elastomers business unit of JSR Corp.; www.eneos.co.jp) and Yokogawa Electric Corp. (both Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) recently reached an agreement to officially adopt Yokogawa’s autonomous-control artificial intelligence (AI) technology for use at an Eneos Materials chemical…
Chemenator Briefs
Ore Benefication Last month, Torngat Metals Ltd. (Montréal, Que., Canada: www.torngatmetals.com) and Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.mogroup.com) signed a contract for large-volume, pilot-scale processing of ore. The focus of the agreement is to pilot test the beneficiation of ore extracted…
Lithium metal for next-generation batteries produced from Li2CO3 in pilot facility
In May, Li-Metal Corp. (Markham, Ont.; www.li-metal.com) announced the production of refined lithium metal from lithium carbonate salt using a new electrolysis process at the company’s pilot facility in Ontario, Canada. The lithium metal produced at the pilot plant is…
A photocatalytic platform for CO2 utilization
As more and more CO2 is finding its way into carbon-capture systems instead of the air, the demand for new technologies that actually utilize CO2 is also rising. A new photocatalysis platform developed by New Iridium (Boulder, Colo.; www.newiridium.com) can…
A new class of proton-conducting materials operates at lower temperatures
A new material could open the door to more effective protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). PCFCs are a promising energy source that employ specialized ceramic materials to conduct protons (instead of electrons) at much lower temperatures than typical solid-oxide fuel…