Ultrathin (less than 100 nm) hydrophobic coatings on alloys and other engineering materials could enhance heat and mass transfer in a range of processing applications, but achieving lasting durability for such thin coatings in real-world settings has been a major…
UOP, LLC, a Honeywell company (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) and Wood plc (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodplc.com) are now licensing a combined technology suite that brings together UOP’s Ecofining renewable-fuels process with Wood’s Terrace Wall hydrogen-reforming furnace, with the aim of substantially…
The latest generations of computer chips are only a few nanometers in size and are becoming ever more energy-saving and powerful as a result of progressive miniaturization. Since the etching processes traditionally used in chip production are increasingly reaching their…
A recently announced business collaboration between Fluence Analytics (Houston; www.fluenceanalytics.com) and Yokogawa Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) will significantly expand the availability of the latest generation of Fluence’s technology for continuous, real-time monitoring of polymerization processes. Under the agreement, the two…
The ability to precisely control the molecular structure of polymer membranes could expand their use in challenging separations, such as the purification of xylene isomers. Using highly selective membranes that can be operated at ambient conditions to separate such hydrocarbons…
Last month, Climeworks (Zurich, Switzerland; www.climeworks.com) started operations of Orca, said to be the world’s first and largest climate-positive direct air capture (DAC) and storage plant. Located in Hellisheiði, Iceland, the Orca plant has a capturing capacity of 4,000 ton/yr…
A feasibility study is underway for the world’s first commercial facility that integrates direct air capture (DAC) of atmospheric carbon dioxide with gas fermentation of CO2 and production of aviation fuels. LanzaTech (Chicago, Ill.; www.lanzatech.com) and Carbon Engineering (Squamish, B.C.;…
Runaway polymerizations of acrylic monomers can lead to catastrophic fires and explosions in production plants and storage terminals, as well as during transportation. Special chemical products called shortstop inhibitors are used to minimize the likelihood of runaway polymerization reactions. A…
Until now, manufacturing polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that are small, light and capable of mechanical movement has been challenging using conventional methods. PEMFCs are composed of end plates, bipolar plates, gaskets, membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and other assembly parts, of…
Conventional processes for manufacturing battery electrodes use toxic solvents and require a lot of space and energy. In contrast, DRYtraec — a new dry-coating process developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS; Dresden, Germany; www.iws.fraunhofer.de) —…