Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWM; Halle, Germany; www.fraunhofer.de) have developed ceramic membranes with uniform pore structure and tight pore-size distribution, which makes them more stable and delivers considerably higher flowrates than existing ceramic membranes, which…
Strata Technology Ltd. (Sunbury-on-Thames, U.K.; www.stratatec.co.uk) has commercialized the Cambridge Multipass Rheometer (MPR), which was developed by professor Malcolm Mackley at the Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge University (www.ceb.cam.ac.uk) for advanced studies of the rheological properties of melts,…
ADA-ES, Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; www.adaes.com) and Arch Coal, Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.), the U.S.’s second-largest coal producer, have signed an exclusive development and licensing agreement for an ADA-ES process that reduces mercury emissions from coal-fired plants by pretreating the coal.…
Graphene Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI; Troy, N.Y.; www.rpi.edu) have developed an inexpensive way to produce large quantities of graphene. Using acid treatment and ultrasound, the method is a step toward mass production of the atom-thick, honeycomb-shaped nanomaterial,…
Last month, Great River Energy (Maple Grove, Minn.; www.greatriverenergy.com) dedicated its patented DryFining coal enhancement system at its power-generating plant, Coal Creek Station, N.D. The system, developed by Great River Energy, uses waste heat to reduce the moisture level of…
Torrefaction of biomass Last month, the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN; Petten; www.ecn.nl) and Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden; www.vattenfall.com) established a partnership to scale up ECNs BO2 technology — a process for upgrading biomass into a high-grade…
The Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI, www.itri.org.tw) is conducting a 10-m3/d pilot-plant project to test the performance of its A2O membrane system for municipal wastewater treatment. The project, which is nearing completion, has already supplied important data, including capital…
This Fall, Vantec Co. (Tochigi Prefecture, Japan; www.vantec-jp.com) plans to commercialize a water electrolyzer that incorporates electrodes with a ten-year lifetime — nearly twice that of conventional technology, says the manufacturer. The long-lasting electrodes are expected to reduce the cost…
Nippon Steel Corp. (Tokyo; www.nsc.co.jp) and Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Kobe, Japan; www.kobelco.com) plan to begin construction of a plant to recycle steel-mill dust — a byproduct from the steelmaking process — into direct reduced iron (DRI). The two companies will…
Professor Keiichi Tomishige and colleagues at Tohoku University (Sendai City, Japan; www.che.tohoku.ac.jp/~erec/) have developed a high-performance catalyst for synthesizing 1,3-propanediol (PDO) — a raw material for highly functional poly(trimethyleneteraphthalate) (PPT) fibers — from glycerin as starting material. The catalyst —…