The research group of professor Shigeki Matsunaga at Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Japan; www.oia.hokudai.ac.jp), in collaboration with associate professor Takeshi Sakata at Hoshi University, has developed an inexpensive cobalt-based catalyst that can synthesize useful chemicals with fewer reaction steps and reduced…
A new composite-membrane distillation process capable of removing salt, toxic elements and microorganisms from water is being offered commercially for the first time this month. The process, known as NanoClear, was developed by Dais Analytic Corp. (Odessa, Fla.; www.daisanalytic.com) for…
A novel solvent can reduce the costs of capturing and recovering carbon dioxide from gas mixtures compared to the use of amine-based solvents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA). The solvent, along with an associated cyclic absorption-desorption process, was developed by Carbon…
Biodiesel fuels are made by the transesterification of plant-derived triglycerides (fats and oils), a process that generates impure glycerin as a byproduct while consuming fossil-fuel-derived methanol. Although there have been efforts in recent years to utilize the large volumes of…
Organomagnesium compounds have become a highly important class of reagents in organic chemistry since the discovery of the Grignard Reaction more than 100 years ago. These compounds are powerful and inexpensive reagents that can be readily prepared from metallic magnesium…
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology’s Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (Caltech JCAP; Pasadena, Calif.; www.caltech.edu) have reported the first system for generating hydrogen gas from water using solar energy that simultaneously achieves high efficiency and oxidative stability along…
Last month, Innsep AS (Trondheim; Norway; www.innsep.com) and EagleBurgmann Norway (Skedsmokorset;www.eagleburgmann.no) began a collaboration to develop Innsep’s Lynx Separator technology for protection of EagleBurgmann’s Dry Gas Seal systems for compressors. Lynx is a new technology for removing entrained liquids much…
Li-S Battery Storage Anesco Ltd. (Reading, U.K.; www.anesco.co.uk) and OXIS Energy (Abingdon, U.K.; www.oxisenergy.com) have begun a collaboration to commercialize OXIS Lithium Sulfur Technology for battery storage for commercial and residential renewable installations. The new battery storage units will be…
Japanese companies INPEX Corp. (Tokyo, www.inpex.co.jp), Chiyoda Corp. (Yokohama; www.chiyoda-corp.com), and Metawater Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, all Japan; www.metawater.co.jp) have been commissioned to build a small-scale demonstration facility that will use ceramic membrane filtration for treating produced water for Japan Oil,…
During casting of aluminum alloys, degassing is required to remove hydrogen from the molten metal in order to prevent porosity in the solid metal that deteriorates its properties and performance. Currently, the so-called argon rotary degassing is used, where a…