In The News
Refineries Explore IIoT Tools to Maximize Profits
New IIoT- and cloud-enabled digital tools and services give petroleum refiners new avenues to increase profitability and safety, but also require greater attention to cybersecurity While several forces are creating conditions in which U.S. petroleum refiners can thrive in 2017…
Debut of a coal-to-ethanol plant
China has successfully brought onstream the world’s first demonstration plant that converts coal to ethanol, according to an announcement by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Located at Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum in China’s Shaanxi province, the plant uses process technology that…
Remove pollutants from wastewater with this nano-tailored coating
Researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore; www.a-star.edu.sg) have developed low-cost, environmentally friendly iron-hydroxide coatings with unique fin-like shapes that absorb large amounts of pollutants, such as dyes, from drinking water, by means of a simple…
A quest for making ammonia at moderate conditions
Today, ammonia continues to be manufactured by the Haber-Bosch process — an energy-intensive process that operates at high temperatures and pressures (above 400°C and 100 bars). For decades, researchers around the world have been looking for alternative routes to making…
Award to lower costs for flow-battery membranes and reactants
United Technologies Research Center (UTRC; East Hartford, Conn.; www.utrc.utc.com) has been awarded a $2.7-million cooperative research agreement to further develop two technologies aimed at lowering the capital cost of flow batteries for electrical grid-energy storage. UTRC will lead the U.S.…
Algae printing ink has safety and sustainability benefits
Scientists at Living Ink Technologies (Denver, Colo.; www.livinginktechnologies.com) have developed biodegradeable printing ink made from natural cyanobacteria and algae as a sustainable and non-toxic alternative to conventional petroleum-derived printing inks. Living Ink’s method involves using sunlight and carbon dioxide to…
A less expensive alternative to platinum for water electrolysis
A suitable catalyst for splitting water to make hydrogen must exhibit high H2-conversion efficiency, excellent durability, and must operate well under low voltage. For an efficient H2-evolution reaction, the catalyst must be able to trigger proton reduction with minimal overpotential…
Business News – April 2017
Plant Watch SNC-Lavalin wins EPC contract for ammonia plant in Oman March 9, 2017 — SNC-Lavalin (Montreal, Que., Canada; www.snclavalin.com) has been awarded a contract by Salalah Methanol Co. LLC (SMC) for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of an…
New glass electrolytes yield safer, more efficient batteries
A glassy solid-state electrolyte (SSE) developed by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (UT; www.utexas.edu) will aid in the evolution of safer, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries. A major concern with the use of lithium- and sodium-ion batteries is the…
A pilot project to capture rainwater for wine production
A pilot project set up by the University of California Davis (UC Davis; Davis, Calif.; www.ucdavis.edu), GE Water & Process Technologies (Trevose, Pa.; www.gewater.com) and wine-industry service provider Winesecrets LLC (www.winesecrets.com) seeks to capture rainwater for use in wine production,…