A triple-layer, porous membrane system developed at the Functional Materials Laboratory at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (www.fml.ethz.ch) can be fashioned into evaporative curtains to cool and humidify indoor spaces, potentially decreasing the energy demand for climate-control systems. Juxtaposing opposite forces…
Plant Watch Inovyn starts up KOH plant in Belgium October 13, 2017 — Inovyn (London, U.K.; www.inovyn.com) announced the completion of its new potassium hydroxide (KOH) production facility at its Antwerp/Lillo site in Belgium. The new plant uses membrane technology…
For petroleum refineries, the cost of converting hydrofluoric-acid-based alkylation units to the relatively safer sulfuric-acid-based alkylation process (diagram) has been cost-prohibitive and has lacked specific economic benefits. Now, DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) has developed a low-cost approach to converting existing…
Silicon anodes are an attractive alternative to graphite anodes currently in use in lithium-ion batteries, because they can deliver up to five times higher capacities. However, silicon anodes have a limited charge-discharge cycle number. Their volume expands during each cycle,…
The new bag-in-bag system quickly and reliably packs filled paper bags individually or in groups with a weather-resistant plastic film (photo). This protects the contents against moisture, dust, insects and other environmental influences during storage and transport. The bag-in-bag is…
A newly patented class of synthetic antimicrobial compounds is aimed at overcoming the limitations of existing industrial disinfectants, such as quaternary ammonium compounds and bleaches. “Bleaches are effective disinfectants on initial application, but they don’t work when they dry and…
In addition to large amounts of conventional dust, the new IVS 100 range of industrial vacuums (photo) also pick up hazardous, as well as combustible dust and coarse particles. The particles are vacuumed directly where they are generated and therefore…
Microbes inhabiting the extreme environments thousands of feet below the earth’s surface possess unique properties not encountered elsewhere. A research consortium of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT; Rapid City; www.sdsmt.edu), University of Oklahoma (Norman) and Montana State…
Soil bacteria that oxidize methane (methanotrophs) are important in capturing methane before it enters the atmosphere. Now an international team has isolated and characterized methanotrophic bacteria — obtained from a New Zealand volcanic field — that can grow on CH4…
The new TankJet 78 tank cleaner (photo) provides fast, high-impact cleaning of tanks up to 45 ft in diameter. TankJet 78 systems are available in single-hub (two-nozzle) or dual-hub (four-nozzle) designs. The unit is built to withstand extremely harsh chemicals…