Latest News: Technologies
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…
JDA to advance conversion of syngas to ethylene
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…
FOG separation technology expands to new application areas
Fats, oil and grease (FOG) waste can create environmental problems for water-treatment and sewage systems, but can be a potential resource if collected and separated efficiently. A technology originally developed by Downey Ridge Environmental Co. (Lansing, W.Va.; www.greasezilla.com) to separate…
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…
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,…
Anti-fouling pre-treatment for membranes
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…
An alternative crop for bioethanol
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…
Chementator Briefs
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…