A group of organizations, lead by the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI; San Antonio, Tex.; www.swri.org) has begun a project to design a power-generation pilot plant featuring a flameless, pressurized oxyfuel combustion technology that allows the capture of 100% of the…
Starch is essential for imparting strength to corrugated cardboard boxes, but millions of tons of starch are lost in cardboard recycling processes annually because conditions are ripe for bacteria to thrive, and the microorganisms degrade starch by converting it to…
A new process for making long glass fiber polypropylene (LGF-PP) concentrates (glass-fiber-containing plastic pellets) allows a higher glass-fiber content than is possible with conventional processes. Plastics maker Trinseo (Berwyn, Pa.; www.trinseo.com) has developed the process, which is capable of making…
Bio foam control Last month, Novozymes A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark; www.novozymes.com) introduced Fermax, an enzyme protease that prevents foam development during the sugarcane ethanol fermentation process, while delivering improved control and replacing chemicals. For an average size plant, trialing partners experienced…
Scandium International Mining Corp. (Sparks, Nev.; www.scandiummining.com) is about to become the first company to achieve production from a primary scandium mine, with its project near the small town of Nyngan, New South Wales, Australia. The production of scandium from…
Demand for carbon fiber (CF), which can be used to make strong, lightweight composite materials for improving vehicle fuel economy and wind-power generation, has been growing. However, widespread use of these advanced composites has been limited by the high production…
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) has developed a hydrothermal liquification (HTL) process that converts sewage sludge directly into “biocrude oil,” which can then be refined by conventional methods into liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet…
The glass industry’s needs are extremely diverse, and manufacturers demand stability and precision in their furnace operations. Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com/glass) has released an advanced burner, the patent-pending Cleanfire HR e, which is said to be the first…
Last month, the first compact plant to produce synthetic fuels from solar energy and CO2 extracted from air was commissioned in Finland, as part of the Soletair project, which is coordinated by the Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT: Espoo;…
Cotton dyes Cotton Inc. (Cary, N.C.; www.cottoninc.com) and Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland) have collaborated to present what they believe is the first ever dye derived from cotton-plant residues. EarthColors is Archroma’s method of creating dyes in warm, ternary shades from natural…