A catalyst for making amides from alcohols and amines under aerobic conditions has been developed by Professor Shu Kobayashi and his research group at the University of Tokyo (Tokyo, www.chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/synorg/index_e.html). The catalyst — nano particles (2.4-nm dia.) of gold and…
Using an array of lamps inside a highly reflective chamber, the optical cavity furnace (OCF) takes advantage of photonics effects to help manufacture solar photovoltaic cells with higher efficiency than those made by conventional rapid-thermal-processing (RTP) methods. In addition, the…
Last month at the Namur Annual General Meeting in Bad Neuenbahr, Germany, the first working prototype of FDI (field device integration) was demonstrated. FDI device packages were used to integrate Foundation Fieldbus, HART and Profibus field devices of various manufacturers…
Using gene recombination technology, Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC; Toyota City, Japan: www2.toyota.co.jp/en) has developed a new strain of yeast that achieves one of the highest ethanol-fermentation density levels in the world — approximately 47 g/L with 87% yield (based on…
In combustion, the ratio of fuel to air is key to efficiency, emissions control and stable performance of the combustion system. Adjusting this ratio to accommodate variability in fuels — due to the use of different fuels, and the variability…
For the first time, an organic compound has been synthesized from water, carbon dioxide and sunlight — without any other external energy or reagents. The achievement, which was demonstrated by researchers at Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories, Inc. (Toyota…
A facility that produces high-purity lithium carbonate for use in the growing market for electrolytes in electric-vehicle batteries has begun commercial operations in Imperial Valley, Calif. The 500-ton/yr plant, operated by Simbol Materials (Pleasanton, Calif.; www.simbolmaterials.com), is the only producer…
Sugar is a critical feedstock for many emerging bio-based-chemical and biofuel processes, but harvesting sugar from low-value, nonfood biomass cost-effectively and at large scale remains a challenge. Renmatix Inc. (King of Prussia, Pa.; www.renmatix.com) has developed a process that uses…
New block copolymer Nexar is the tradename of a block copolymer product recently commercialized by Kraton Performance Polymers (Houston; www.kraton.com) that has unique water-transport properties. Building on its earlier work in anionic polymerization of styrene-butadiene block copolymers, the company…
To date, the difficult-to-treat contaminants and their related biological inhibition in petroleum refinery wastewater have defied efforts to bring predictive and mathematical process control to biological wastewater-treatment systems. Now, for the first time, engineers at Refinery Water Engineering & Associates…