In The News
Carbonized polymer membrane exhibits improved performance, stability
Organic-solvent nanofiltration (NF) uses membranes with tiny pores to remove dissolved molecules. “Although NF is more energy efficient than alternative separation methods, such as distillation, the majority of polymer-based membranes exhibit poor chemical stability,” says Rifan Hardian, a post-doctoral researcher…
CO2 reduction aided by DNA
Electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide offers a pathway to use CO2 as a feedstock, but the reaction is challenging because it requires catalyst molecules and dissolved CO2 to meet on the electrode surface. One approach to help this…
Rare-earth recovery from magnet scrap is being scaled up
Rare-earth materials are a crucial part of high-performance magnets in many electronic devices. Right now, only about 5% of these magnets are recycled, but tapping into end-of-life electronics is a promising and more sustainable source for rare-earth materials, the vast…
Engineering soybean plants to increase crop yield
For the first time, researchers have proven that multigene bioengineering of photosynthesis increases the yield of the major food crop soybean in field trials. An international collaborative team of the RIPE project (Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency), led by the University…
Batteries not required for this smart gas mask
Researchers from Chung-Ang University (Seoul, South Korea; https://neweng.cau.ac.kr) have developed a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is operable via breathing and can, therefore, be integrated into gas masks. The device is capable of powering LEDs and Bluetooth trackers, and can monitor…
Chementator Briefs [October 2022]
E-Cracking Last month, construction began on the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale, electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. The demonstration plant will be fully integrated into one of the existing steam crackers at BASF’s Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. It…
Evonik is scaling up membrane-based lithium recycling
Evonik Industries Ag (Essen, Germany) has announced progress to make the recycling of lithium simpler, more cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly. This metal is essential for the batteries used to drive millions of electric vehicles. At present, however, up to…
Silicate-rock-based material can replace flyash in cement, lowering costs and CO2
Flyash, a waste byproduct from coal burning, has been used effectively as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in Portland cement to displace a portion of the cement and lower the CO2 emissions associated with cement making. But because coal burning…
Business News: September 2022
Plant Watch Evonik’s Coating Additives business expands production capacity in Taiwan August 16, 2022 — The Coating Additives business line of Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is expanding production capacity for precipitated matting agents at its manufacturing facility in…
A new electrolyte supercharges sodium-ion batteries
Sodium-ion batteries have many advantages over lithium-ion batteries due to sodium’s abundance and low cost. However, there are several performance challenges to overcome with sodium-ion batteries because there is typically a tradeoff between energy density and lifecycle. Now, a research…