A process that produces renewable hydrogen from organic biowaste and reduces the economic and environmental burden of wastewater treatment is being developed by Chemergy, Inc. (Miami Fla.; www.chemergy.com). Introduced at last month’s AIChE Spring Meeting (April 22–26; Orlando, Fla.), Chemergy’s…
Petroleum refiners looking to upgrade low-octane naphtha have an additional option using a process that increases the higher-octane iso-paraffins and aromatic compounds at lower costs than currently available alternatives. Most refiners currently upgrade naphtha by hydrotreating followed by isomerization and…
A new fermentation-based technology aims to create leather materials from yeast rather than animal skin. Developed by Modern Meadow (Nutley, N.J.; www.modernmeadow.com), the process feeds sugar feedstock to yeast cells that have been engineered to create collagen. Some additional enzymes…
A group of Japanese researchers have developed a photocatalytic panel reactor with large area (1 m2) that splits water into H2 and O2 using only natural sunlight. The NEDO (www.nedo.go.jp)-supported project — which includes partners Japan Technological Research Association of…
Polysiloxanes are the main component of important industrial materials, such silicones and organosilicones. In recent years, demand has grown for higher-performance and higher-functionality of organosilicon materials, which require techniques that precisely control the structure of these materials. Although there are…
Polymer coatings are often used to mask the taste of pharmaceuticals, as well as to serve as moisture barriers to granules or tablets. However, the application of polymer solutions requires considerable time and energy for drying after the coating has…
In a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki, Japan; www.nedo.go.jp), a collaboration of six industrial, government and academic partners has developed a catalyst for reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from automobile exhaust. Because the…
Using a workhorse technology known as the gas-subcooled process (GSP), most natural gas plants recover between 85 and 90% of ethane in raw natural gas streams. Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) has developed a modular retrofit unit designed to…
Active surfactants are those that are responsive to an external stimulus, such as temperature, light, electric or magnetic fields or chemical agents. Scientists from the Institute for Basic Science (Daejeon, South Korea; www.ibs.re.kr) have developed surfactants based on functionalized nanoparticle…
It has been a challenge to find materials that can reliably detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxic gases in air at the parts-per-billion (ppb) level, or that can be used for therapeutic diagnosis from breath analysis. That’s because two…