Water electrolysis is widely used for hydrogen production, but there are still high costs associated with manufacturing advanced electrolysis catalysts, which may involve high temperatures and pressures or chemical vapor deposition. Extending research conducted at the University of Kansas’ Bioscience…
A recently announced joint development agreement (JDA) between Enerkem Inc. (Montreal, Que.) and NOVA Chemicals (Calgary, Alta.) is aimed at developing recycling technology to allow difficult-to-recycle plastics (specifically #3–7 polymers), as well as other municipal solid waste (MSW), household waste…
A team of researchers from Idaho National Laboratory (INL; Idaho Falls; www.inl.gov) has developed a new electrode material that simplifies hydrogen generation and energy storage via protonic, ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs). Conventional electrolysis technologies use electricity to efficiently split water,…
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; Seoul, South Korea; www.kist.re.kr) led by Seongpil Jeong have developed a pre-treatment method for membrane distillation desalination processes that involves adding magnesium to seawater to prevent scale formation (anti-fouling) on…
The Agave tequilana plant, which is native to Mexico and used to make the popular drink tequila, promises significant advantages over sugarcane and corn as a source of bioethanol. The Agave plant is now being grown as a biofuel source…
Biofertilizer + biogas Three new biofertilizer-biogas facilities will be built in the Zachodniopomorskie region of Poland. The plants are being built by Ductor Oy (Helsinki, Finland; www.ductor.com), a Finnish-Swiss biotechnology company funded by Esperotia Investments Ltd. The plants will use…
Chemists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL; Switzerland; www.epfl.ch) have developed “sponges” designed to capture various target substances, such as gold, mercury and lead, dissolved in solution. Now, they have developed one for capturing toxic hexavalent chromium…
Because of its abundance, light weight and easy alloying, magnesium metal has great potential for components in the automotive, aerospace and military industries. However, the two existing magnesium production processes — the Pidgeon process from ore and electrolytic process from…
The presence of moisture — even in very small amounts — can be extremely detrimental the manufacture of many products, including semiconductors. Removal of moisture from a contaminated process is a labor-intensive process that requires large volumes of high-purity gases.…
Although Li-ion batteries are currently the dominant technology in the rechargeable-battery sector, sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries possess many benefits in terms of sustainability, safety and costs, and are poised to greatly expand their commercial usage. Sodium-ion battery specialist Faradion Ltd. (Sheffield,…