For intelligent textiles to function effectively, they need to be strong, stretchable and electrically conductive. However, fabricating fibers that possess these three properties has been challenging. Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, an international team of…
Last month, Circa Group A/S (Oslo, Norway; www.circa-group.com) applied for patents for two new solvents for CO2 capture processes. The solvents, named Furatech:1 and Furatech:2, were developed over the last 12 months as part of the company’s platform molecule, levoglucosenone…
ISOPROPANOL Cepsa Química, S.A. (Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain; www.cepsa.com) is constructing the first production plant to produce isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol), from renewable or circular materials, which the company says will make it the most competitive, innovative and environmentally…
It is well known that mercury is not only toxic, but is also highly mobile. As a result, Hg emissions from both industrial processes (gold mining, combustion of fossil fuels, cement production, waste incineration and more), as well as natural…
When a sliding interface experiences a coefficient of friction (CoF) below 0.01, the situation is said to have superlubricity. In the past, superlubricity has been limited to the microscale in controlled environments, and to ceramic surfaces with polar-fluid lubrication. Now,…
Fluidized beds are used in a variety of industries for combustion, drying, catalytic cracking and other processes. However, the process that occurs inside a fluidized bed is extremely complex and — due to a lack of effective measurement techniques —…
Earlier this year, Salinity Solutions Ltd. (Coventry, U.K.; www.salinitysolutions.co.uk) signed an agreement with Te-Tech Process Solutions (Totton, Southampton, U.K.; www.te-tech.co.uk) to manufacture commercial water-purification systems based on batch reverse-osmosis (RO). This technology, originally characterized and developed at the University of…
Infinium (Sacramento, Calif.; www.infiniumco.com) recently announced that it has manufactured ton-level quantities of a proprietary catalyst that is integral in the company’s process for making liquid fuels from waste CO2 and hydrogen derived from renewable power. Infinium plans to manufacture…
Eneos Materials Corp. (formerly the elastomers business unit of JSR Corp.; www.eneos.co.jp) and Yokogawa Electric Corp. (both Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) recently reached an agreement to officially adopt Yokogawa’s autonomous-control artificial intelligence (AI) technology for use at an Eneos Materials chemical…
Ore Benefication Last month, Torngat Metals Ltd. (Montréal, Que., Canada: www.torngatmetals.com) and Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.mogroup.com) signed a contract for large-volume, pilot-scale processing of ore. The focus of the agreement is to pilot test the beneficiation of ore extracted…