High-temperature synthesis of ceramics and other materials normally requires a cost-intensive inerting atmosphere to prevent oxidation. Now, researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany; www.fz-juelich.de) have developed a process — the molten salt shielded synthesis/sintering (MS3) process — that used molten salts…
Plant Watch Arkema starts up photocure resin expansion in China April 11, 2019 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) started up the 30% capacity extension of its photocure liquid-resin production plant in Nansha, located near Canton, China. This new production line…
Microalgae have been investigated as a source of “bio-crude” — fatty acid molecules (lipids) that can be refined into renewable transportation fuels — but harvesting lipids from the algae cells economically remains the most challenging and energy-intensive step in the…
A catalyst that performs low-temperature reforming of methane with carbon dioxide (dry methane reforming) into synthesis gas (syngas) has been developed by Japanese researchers, led by Hideki Abe at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Tsukuba City, www.nims.go.jp), in…
A new energy-storage process has begun operations at a large-scale pilot plant in Berlin, Germany. At the combined heat and power (CHP) facility of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, SaltX Technology AB (Hägersten, Sweden; www.saltxtechnology.com) constructed one 0.5-MW/10-MWh energy-storage unit using…
‘Green’ steelmaking Seamlessly following the successful completion of the GrInHy project (Green Industrial Hydrogen via reversible high-temperature electrolysis) in February, the GrInHy2.0 project was launched last month at the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH steelworks (Germany; www.salzgitter-flachstahl.de). Together with partners Sunfire GmbH…
At PowTech 2019 this month (Nuremberg, Germany), Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH (Weimar, Germany; www.glatt.com) introduced a waste-free process that recycles the phosphorus from sewage-sludge ash to produce ready-to-use, high-quality fertilizers. The market-ready process fulfills the legal obligation of the German fertilizer…
Plant Watch Asahi Kasei plans LIB separator capacity expansions March 14, 2019 — Asahi Kasei Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) will enhance its manufacturing infrastructure for lithium-ion battery (LIB) separator products at the company’s existing facilities in Moriyama, Japan and North…
Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are one of the most powerful and versatile methods to synthesize a wide range of complex functionalized molecules. However, the development of solid-state cross-coupling reactions remains extremely limited. Now, Hajime Itoh, Koji Kubota and colleagues at Hokkaido…
A novel carbon-capture project at Michigan Technical University (MTU; Houghton, Mich.; www.mtu.edu) couples the collection of carbon dioxide from power-plant fluegas with a system to use the captured CO2 as a raw material to make oxalic acid, which can be…