By immobilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within polymer membrane pores, scientists at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT; Newark, N.J.; www.njit.edu) were able to significantly improve the efficiency of desalination via a membrane distillation process. Somenath Mitra and colleagues at…
Spider silk has many unique properties that make it suitable for applications such as coatings and medical products. As a protein, the silk is remarkably stable and is only destroyed physically or digested and recycled by the spider. However, an…
The Stratus PTFE (polytetraflouroethylene) hose is lined completely with PTFE, and designed to minimize the chance for entrapment of material and contamination in a flexible hose assembly. Ideal for the aseptic environment of pharmaceutical and biological product manufacturing, the Stratus…
Charles Ross & Son The VersaMix has three agitators working in tandem, each driven separately. The equipment features a high-speed disperser that quickly draws powders into the liquid batch through a powerful vortex. Depending on the nature of the products…
Michael Smith Engineers The EFS Series pump in stainless steel (photo) is the latest addition to the Finish Thompson range of drum-emptying pumps. Suitable for pumping corrosive chemicals, light oils, caustic cleaners, solvents and other liquids, the EFS pump is…
Assured Automation The FK Polypropylene Butterfly Valve Series offers superior strength and chemical resistance in highly corrosive environments. The special trapezoidal shape of the linear and serrated body cavity guarantees a bubble-tight seal while keeping break-away torque at an absolute…
Georg FischerPiping Systems Developed for water supply applications where it is highly valued for its reliability and long service life, the new iJoint compression joint product mix (photo) includes couplings, reducers, tees, elbows, threaded adapters and end caps in the…
Last month, at the AIChE Spring Meeting in Chicago, Henry Kister, director of Fractionation Technology at Fluor Corp. (Aliso Viejo, Calif.; www.fluor.com) presented a patent pending process (U.S. Patent Application WO/2011/016797) that promises to cut energy demand and capital costs…
Last month, Brain AG (Zwingenberg; www.brain-biotech.de) and Dechema e.V. (Frankfurt am Main, both Germany; www.dechema.de) began a collaboration in the biotechnological production of perillic acid — a patented natural monoterpene owned by Brain, with promising applications as a bioactive compound…
Ube Industries, Ltd. (UBE; www. ube-ind.co.jp) and HighChem Co. (both Tokyo; www.highchem.co.jp) will license their technologies for transforming coal-derived synthesis gas (syngas) into manufacturing ethylene glycol (MEG) — a polyester feedstock — to Qianxixian Qianxi Coal Chemical Investment Co. (Guizhou,…