Researchers from the University of Sydney (Australia; http://www.usyd.edu.au) are developing structures, analogous to some sea creatures, for capturing carbon dioxide that is released when producing hydrogen from biomass. The project, funded by German energy company E.ON AG (Düsseldorf), will use…
Both carbon dioxide and sulfur components are removed from fluegas in a reversible process being developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, Richland, Wash.; http://www.pnl.gov). The process uses a solvent that combines liquid organic bases (amidine and guanidine) and alcohols…
An in-situ method that removes mercury from soil, sludge and other industrial waste has been patented (U.S. Patent 7 589 248) by scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL; Upton, N.Y.; http://www.bnl.gov). The method shows promise as a simple and inexpensive…
Nippon Shokubai Co. (Nisshoku; Osaka, Japan; http://www.shokubai.co.jp) is developing a process for making acrylic acid from glycerin directly obtained as a byproduct from biodiesel-fuel (BDF) production. In 2007, Nisshoku demonstrated, under a grant from the Research Institute of Innovative Technology…
A wastewater treatment process that consumes less energy, produces less sludge and makes available up to 75% of the water for reuse — including that of potable water quality — has been commercialized by Linde Gases, a division of The…
A team from Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Science at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia; www.pharm.monash.edu.au), has developed an approach — a hybrid mixing and milling process — for producing fine (1–20 µm) pharmaceutical powders with good flow and de-agglomeration properties. Team…
New industrial process-optimization software can be fully operational in seven days — months ahead of existing predictive monitoring systems, according to Slipstream Software (Alpharetta, Ga.; www.slipstreamrpm.com). The company’s proprietary data-modeling tools are responsible for the reduced setup time. By mining…
Over the past few weeks there has been a number of announcements on projects aimed to further develop algae-to-fuels technology (see also, “Pond Strength,” CE, September 2008, pp. 22–25). Plankton Power (Wellfleet; www.planktonpower.com) and the Regional Technology Development Corp. of…
Last month, BP Corp. (London; www.bp.com) signed a joint-development agreement with Martek Biosciences Corp. (Columbia, Md.; www.martek.com) to work on the production of microbial oils for biofuels applications. The two companies aim to establish proof of concept for large-scale, cost-effective…
Adding a rapid heat-treatment step to the process of making zeolite membranes improves separation performance by eliminating grain boundary defects, according to researchers from the University of Minnesota (UMN; Minneapolis, Minn.; www.umn.edu), who published their study in the July 31…