Li-ion batteries Over the course of several battery charge/discharge cycles, microscopic fibers of lithium, called dendrites, sprout from the surface of the lithium electrode and spread across the electrolyte until they reach the other electrode. An electrical current passing through…
Scientists from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (Seoul; www.kist.re.kr) and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST; Ulsan, both Sout Korea; www.unist.ac.kr), led by UNIST’s professor Hyunhyub Ko, have developed smart adhesive pads — in the form…
Alcoa Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.alcoa.com) has developed a hybrid technique, called Ampliforge (diagram), that combines additive manufacturing (3-D printing) and advanced forging techniques to improve the performance and reduce the cost of metal aerospace components. The company has produced prototype…
Researchers from Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.; www.cornell.edu) have developed an oxygen-assisted, Al/CO2 electrochemical cell that converts CO2 into a useful product while producing electricity. This represents a possible paradigm shift from most current carbon-capture models, says Lynden Archer, the James…
Modified yeast Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org) have developed a genetically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is capable of utilizing both glucose (a six-carbon sugar), and xylose (a five-carbon sugar) when presented with plant…
The research group of professor Shiro Saka at the Dept. of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.ecs.energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp) has developed a new process that efficiently produces bioethanol from non-edible lignocellulose resources, without generating carbon…
Mixtures of rare-earth metals (REMs) are notoriously difficult to separate, but a team of researchers from Harvard University (Cambridge, Ma.; www.seas.harvard.edu) has developed a method for efficiently extracting REMs with a high level of selectivity. By taking advantage of the…
The main mineral component of our bones and teeth — hydroxyapatite [HAP; Ca10(OH)2(PO4)6] — has been used by a Chinese team to develop a highly flexible paper with high antibacterial activity. The paper, made from silver nanoparticle-decorated ultra-long HAP nanowires…
Last month, Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) said that the pilot plant of a new process for making substitute natural gas (SNG) has been successfully tested, signifying that the technology is ready for commercial application. The process, called Vesta Once-through…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) recently announced that it has completed validation of a new plastic film technology that can be recycled in existing processes for flexible polyethylene (PE) packaging, but that also performs well as an oxygen…