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…
Showa Denko K.K. (Tokyo; www.sdk.co.jp/html/english) has developed a platinum-substitute catalyst system for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO; Kawasaki, Japan) project led by professor Kenichiro Ota of Yokohama National University. The…
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…