Using a diamond anvil cell to create high (up to 50 GPa) pressures, and a laser to create high (up to 2,000 K) temperatures, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5828-543), the Carnegie Inst. of Washington, and the…
At present, around 540 billion Nm3 of hydrogen is produced worldwide, and the trend is upward (Hydrogen: The Real Action Is Today, CE, February, pp. 28ff). The numerous chemical-process and other industrial applications of this colorless, odorless gas…
By combining a high-resolution scanning electron microscope and an ion-beam microscope into a single device, researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Iron Research (Düsseldorf, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5828-545) are able to “see” the inner structure of nanomaterials, biological matter, and high-performance…
Kokusan Co. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-531) has developed a new type of emulsifier that uses centrifugal force to drive mixtures through specially designed nozzles. The system is said to be less complex than conventional high-shear mixing devices, and operates at much lower…
BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-546) has developed a new process for producing chiral intermediates for pharmaceutical products. Without disclosing any details, BASF says the process is based on dehydrogenase enzymes for making optically active styrene oxides and aliphatic alcohols. The…
PolymersNet Co. Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-548) and Cyclics Corp. (Schenectady, N.Y.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-549) announced the first commercial application of CBT (cyclic butylene terephthalate) resin as a modified polycarbonate (PC). PC is used for making compact disks and automobile components, but…
A heterogeneous catalyst for producing the solvent methyl isobutyl ketone has been developed by graduate student Ferry Winter, who defended his chemistry Ph.D. thesis last month at Utrecht University (Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5827-550). The catalyst is based on activated hydrotalcite — a…
The conventional way to dye textiles is by the so-called dip process, whereby cloth is first immersed into a vat of the dying medium, then removed and dried. The dye is then thermally fixed to the textile by heating to…
The Technical University of Denmark (Lyngby; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-552) has received a grant from the A. P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to develop the world’s most powerful miocroscope. The so-called environmental transmission electron miocroscope is said to be five time…
The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT; Rajamäki; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5826-542) has developed a process to make natural paper additives from starch, which can be used for making high-quality paper that is completely recycleable. The starch-based pigments can be used in conventional…