Impending standards requiring that cellulosic ethanol be used in gasoline blending have focused attention on building a capacity for bioethanol from non-food sources. In a development that may begin to meet that need, a plant employing a unique method for…
China produces about 98% of the world’s electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), a vital ingredient used in specialty steels, aluminum and electronics. In contrast, the U.S. produces no EMM, says Nick Weir, an executive with U.S. American Manganese Inc. (AMY; White…
A huge market for lithium ion batteries is expected to develop as car makers move toward electric vehicles. However, improvements in the batteries’ energy and power density are needed. It is also desirable to replace the common, high-cost lithium cobalt…
An underground coal-to-liquids (UCTL) technology is undergoing pilot testing at Oak Park, near Melbourne Australia, where a metric ton of brown coal is expected to yield about one barrel of oil suitable for use as refinery feedstock on an oil-parity…
A technique that improves the efficiency of ethanol plants by lowering the cost of dewatering the byproduct stillage (a slurry of corn solids and water) from the fermentation process has been developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s…
Professor Yuki Taniguchi at the Chemicals Research Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan, www.res.titech.ac.jp/~gosei/taniguchi/index.html) has developed a new catalyst system that decomposes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at lower temperatures than that required by conventional catalysts. The SILP (supported ionic liquid…
H.C. Starck GmbH (Goslar, Germany; www.hcstarck.com) and Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institut GmbH (Cutec; Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany; www.cutec.de) have joined forces to successfully develop a completely new generation of catalysts and process technology for the production of substitute natural gas (SNG) from biomass as a…
Large-volume polypropylene and polyethylene storage tanks from this company are available in capacities from 100 to 50,000 gal. The ready-for-installation tanks are made by extruding polypropylene or polyethylene around a steel drum mold. They are manufactured in various thicknesses, according…
A new pump model DB5.5 (photo) has been added to the range of Finish Thompson DP Series of plastic magnetic-drive, sealless centrifugal pumps. This new model DP pump covers flowrates up to 5 m3/h and differential heads of 6.5 m.…
This company has extended its series of dry-running Mink claw vacuum pumps, with a module designed to achieve suction capacities of up to 900 m3/h and more. These Mink MP vacuum modules were designed for applications that require high suction…