Chementator
Self-healing elastomers from waste lignin
Lignin — a component making up 25–35% of woody biomass — is underutilized as a byproduct of biofuels production and paper-making processes. Because of its abundance, low-cost and sustainability, lignin is being investigated as a raw material for making higher-value…
Magnetism gives water splitting a big boost
In a paper published last month in Nature Energy, scientists from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonie (ICIQ; Tarragona, Spain; www.iciq.org) describe how, for the first time, a magnet has been used to directly enhance the production of hydrogen…
European project aims to develop CCS technology on an industrial scale
Last month, a consortium of 11 European partners, including ArcelorMittal, Axens, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Total, launched a project to demonstrate an innovative process called DMX for capturing CO2 from industrial activities. It is part of a more comprehensive…
Disinfecting water with photocatalytic nanosheets
Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing; www.cas.cn) and Yangzhou University (Jiangsu, China; www.yzu.edu.cn) have developed a technique for disinfecting water by using graphitic carbon nitride sheets. They claim their technique purifies water in 30 minutes, killing more than…
Large-scale recycling of mixed plastics
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com) is ready to commercialize a new chemical-recycling technology that can handle a wide variety of mixed plastic waste, including plastic materials that cannot be handled by conventional recycling processes. “We are modifying the front…
Chementator Briefs
Sulfur control Preferential Oxidation Catalysis — a new catalytic solution from Haldor Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark: www.topsoe.com) — has been industrially proven to effectively remove undesired hydrogen sulfide in lean off-gases from viscose production at a significantly lower cost than…
A one-step route to bioplastic monomers
Aerobic oxidation of a biomass-derived substrate [5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural; HMF] in methanol and ethylene glycol produces monomers MFDC — the methyl ester of furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) — and HEFDC — the ethylene glycol ester of FDCA. These monomers are recognized as crucial…
Ultrafine dust has a big impact on the environment
An international study has found that coal-fired power stations emit more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and that those dust particles can modify rainfall patterns and can, in general, have considerable impact on the climate. The study found that…
These ‘imprinted’ resin beads selectively recover gold from leaching processes
In early April, 6th Wave Innovations Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah; www.6wic.com) and CyPlus GmbH (Hanau-Wolfgang, Germany; www.cyplus.com) signed a sales and marketing representative agreement for IXOS nanotech gold extraction resin for the mining industry. CyPlus will represent 6th Wave…
Isobutanol synthesis and extraction process could reduce energy compared to alternatives
Bio-based isobutanol is attractive as a renewable blendstock for gasoline because it has higher energy density than bioethanol, and does not impose vehicle-range penalties as a fuel additive, but thus far, processes to synthesize and isolate isobutanol have required a…