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Coming soon, a new family of nanocomposites

Next year, DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-538) plans to introduce a new family of thermoplastic nanocomposites that yield “substantial improvements” in key, desirable properties. With proper dispersion in a polymer, small amounts of a naturally occurring material form nanoscale reinforcement structures…

Reduce energy needs by converting wastewater into biogas

Ecovation, Inc. (Victor, N.Y.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-539) has constructed a waste-treatment and renewable-energy-production facility for CoolBrands International (North Lawrence, N.Y.) — a cottage-cheese and yogurt production plant that will use Ecovation’s patented Mobilized Film Technology (MFT) to biologically treat wastewater containing cheese…

Bacteria may be a solution to stop uranium migration in groundwater

The U.S. DOE estimates that uranium contaminates more than 2,500 billion liters of groundwater nation wide; for the past 10 years, the agency has supported research into the ability of naturally-occuring microbes that can stop the underground migration of uranium…

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A propane-based AN process makes its commercial debut

This fall, Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-541), plans to start up a 70,000-m.t./yr plant for producing acrylonitrile (AN) at its 100% subsidiary Tongsuh Petrochemical Corporation Ltd., (Ulsan, South Korea). The plant will be a renovation of an existing…

The race to commercialize OLED displays

Last month, Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-542) signed an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of Connecticut (Storrs) enabling Air Products to develop and market materials covered by the university’s recently patented polymeric materials for producing longer lasting, polymer-based…

Organic deposition

(Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-544) launched a new temperature-controlled evaporation source for depositing sensitive materials used for producing organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic-chemical-based solar cells. The source enables greater control of deposition rate, which reduces material loss and associated costs, says…

Solar cells

At the end of July, Renewable Capital Ltd. (London, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-545) and Konarka Technologies, Inc. (Lowell, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-546) entered a licensing and joint-development agreement to scale up Konarka’s dye-sensitized solar-cell technology (CE, March 2004, p. 19). Renewable Capital has committed…

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White OLEDs

Universal Display Corp. (Ewing, N.J.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-547) has been awarded two new Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grants from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.) to enhance white OLED lighting technology. In the first grant, the company will…

BioOil

Last month, DynaMotive Energy Systems Corp. (Vancouver, B.C., Canada; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-548) announced the successful completion of an industrial-scale test burn of its BioOil as a replacement for natural gas in the lime kiln of a pulp and paper mill. The testing…

Cold asphalting

Researchers from the Physics of Fluids and Biocolloids group at the University of Granada (Spain; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-549) are developing a system in which bitumen emulsifies at room temperature, which facilitates transport and allows cold application. Because the bitumen does not need…