Latest Technologies
New sustainable materials from recycled carbon nanotubes
Recycling materials, such as plastics and metals, is an attractive, but challenging path toward sustainable material manufacture. Now, researchers have made a discovery that may have far-reaching implications in material manufacture by positioning carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers as a sustainable…
Carbon-neutral calcium carbonate process uses emissions from steel-making plant
Construction is imminent for a carbon-capture project aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from steel production while producing carbon-neutral calcium carbonate. At the U.S. Steel (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ussteel.com) manufacturing facility in Gary, Ind., a carbon-capture system designed by CarbonFree (San Antonio,…
Creating ultrathin gold films with the largest continuous area
Thin gold films offer a broad range of benefits for electronics due to their high electrical conductivity and transparency. Current manufacturing methods are unable to achieve gold films thinner than 10 nm, and are also limited in the area and…
Flow chemistry yields a more sustainable route to isocyanates
The wide range of performance properties of polyurethane foams makes them essential in many consumer goods. Thus, there is much effort going into creating a more environmentally friendly production process for polyurethane’s main building blocks, polyols and isocyanates. While much…
Pilot project planned for thermocatalytic ethanol-to-butene process
In December 2024, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; www.pnnl.gov) announced a three-year collaborative project with vehicle-tire manufacturer Bridgestone (Tokyo, Japan; www.bridgestone.com) to scale up a thermocatalytic process for converting renewably derived ethanol to n-butene. Conventionally, n-butene is…
Single-step process for electrified ethylene production
Developing sustainable pathways to ethylene — among the world’s most widely used chemicals — is a key element in decarbonizing the process industries. A new electrolysis technology developed by CERT Systems (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.co2cert.com) can produce ethylene from CO2…
Novel SAF production technology demonstrated in North Carolina
E-fuels company Lydian (Cambridge, Mass.) announced the successful pilot demonstration of its technology for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for commercial and defense applications. The pilot plant, which can produce up to 25 gallons of fuel per day, is located…
Syzygy Plasmonics and Lotte Chemical complete trial of world’s largest electric ammonia-cracking system
Syzygy Plasmonics (Houston) and Lotte Chemical (Seoul, South Korea) have commissioned and completed performance testing of the world's largest all-electric ammonia cracking system in Ulsan, South Korea with logistical support from Sumitomo Corp. of Americas (SCOA) and Sumitomo Corp. Korea.…
Carbon-cloth electrodes bring new possibilities to seawater desalination
Water desalination plants could replace expensive chemicals with new carbon cloth electrodes that remove boron from seawater, an important step of turning seawater into safe drinking water. A study describing the new technology has been published in Nature Water by…
Levidian, Baker Hughes and ADNOC start up novel CO2-to-graphene technology in Abu Dhabi
Levidian Nanosystems Ltd. (Cambriudge, U.K.) announced the successful installation of its patented LOOP technology at ADNOC Gas’ Habshan Gas Processing Plant in Abu Dhabi. Working in collaboration with energy technology company Baker Hughes, the installation is a world-first deployment of…