Metabolix, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6895-550) and ADM Co. (Decatur. Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6895-551) will jointly produce Mirel Natural Plastics — a family of high-performance natural plastics that are biobased, sustainable and completely biodegradable. Mirel is being commercialized through the companies’ joint venture,…
Many coal-fired power plants make gypsum and construction materials. But they should also consider manufacturing hydrochloric acid and ethanol. Furthermore, they should consider substituting biomass and waste organics for up to 10% of the…
A process that yields hydrogen by using solar energy to split water has received one-third of the €1 million Descartes prize, awarded annually for research financed by the European Commission (Brussels, Belgium). The process was developed under the Hydrosol project,…
Jet fuel, or other fuels, could one day be produced from cheap animal fats - byproducts of slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants - through a process being developed at North Carolina State University (Raleigh; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-542). So far, NCSU has tested parts…
Together with four partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT; Pfinztal, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-550) has developed an insulation material that is made entirely from renewable raw materials. The material has nearly the same insulating characteristics as conventional glass wool or…
A microfabricated device that concentrates pollutants, enabling them to be detected in very low concentrations, has been patented by Somenath Mitra, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark;…
China's tremendous economic growth and modernization has propelled the nation to a position where its consumption of energy imports outpaces its economy. As the world's third-largest oil importer, after the United States and Japan, China imported a record-high…
In a related story (see above), the EU and China are launching a project, initiated by Sintef (Trondheim, Norway; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6893-532), to cut global emissions of greenhouse gases. In the three-year, €3-million "Coach" project, Europe will receive emissions quota for CO2…
For developing a new technology that traps carbon dioxide and other pollutants so they can be removed, researchers from the University of Bath's Dept. of Chemical Engineering (edlinks.chemengonline.com/6893-551) have received the £185,000 Brian Mercer Award for Innovation from the Royal…
Occupational dangers in the chemical process industries (CPI) are many, with falls, respiratory hazards, and explosion risks confronted daily. One hazard, however, causes no pain nor visible scars. Its effects accumulate with each overexposure and can go unnoticed,…