Latest News: Technologies
Chementator briefs
Isononyl alcohol Last month, Dow, Inc. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) and Johnson Matthey (London, U.K.; www.matthey.com) announced that Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical Ltd. (QXTD; Linzi district, China; en.qxtdgf.com), has selected LP Oxo Technology to produce isononyl alcohol (INA) at its new…
Na-ion battery design eliminates crystal formation
Researchers at Washington State University (Pullman, Wash.; www.wsu.edu) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) have created a cathode material and electrolyte system for a Na-ion battery that overcomes limitations observed with previous approaches to Na-ion batteries. Na-ion batteries…
High-resolution 3D-printing makes small, structured parts
Manufacturing of centimeter-sized test specimens for material characterization according to ISO standards has now been achieved for the first time with a technology that allows 3D-printing a feature size of 200 nm. UpNano GmbH (Vienna, Austria; www.upnano.at) succeeded in printing…
Pilot plant produces apatite from mine waste
In a project called ReeMAP, LKAB Minerals AB (Luleå, Sweden; www.lkabminerals.com) is developing technology to recycle mine waste to produce phosphorus mineral fertilizers, rare earth elements (REEs), fluorine and gypsum. The first step is to use the mine waste to…
Producing hydrogen (and more) from biomass
A new electrochemical system that uses biomass-derived lignin to produce hydrogen has been developed by a team from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Ulsan, South Korea; www.unist.ac.kr), led by…
Improved catalyst production lowers electrolysis costs
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…
Commercial-scale deployment of sodium-ion battery technology
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,…
Thermal energy-storage system using phase-change materials
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Ill.; www.anl.gov) have developed a thermal energy-storage system for industrial processes that can capture and store typically wasted heat for later use. Originally conceived as a way to store…
Progress on a longer-lasting catalyst for coke-free CO2 reduction
One of the main problems in the conversion of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, into liquid fuel or hydrogen is the development of coke- and sintering-resistant catalysts. Nickel on magnesium oxide (Ni/MgO) has long been identified as…
This self-sustaining cell makes electrolysis more practical
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,…