Black mass is the powdered material resulting from shredding end-of-life lithium-ion vehicle batteries. For effective recycling, lithium must be efficiently separated from this material, but conventional methods, such as smelting at high temperatures or dissolving in strong acids, require large…
Several situations, including when takeaway capacity is limited at remote oil-well sites, result in methane flaring. To avoid wasting that resource, several strategies have been explored to convert methane onsite into commercially useful liquid chemicals. One of the approaches is…
A first-of-its-kind demonstration unit is showcasing hydrogen liquefaction using magnetocaloric cooling, a process that demands much lower energy consumption than conventional methods used in industry. A joint venture between Magnotherm Solutions GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany; www.magnotherm.com) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR; Dresden,…
A unique class of chlorine-resistant membranes is set to enhance the performance of processes requiring zero liquid discharge. NALA Membranes (Morrisville, N.C.; www.nalmembranes.com) has developed highly stable and durable membranes based on sulfonated polysulfone materials that overcome many of the…
Designing plastics that can be broken down easily after their use phase have often required a trade-off between stability and ease of deconstruction. Recent research by scientists at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.; www.rutgers.edu) opens a path to resolve that…
Fatty acids are indispensable ingredients in a broad range of high-value products, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food additives, industrial lubricants and many more. Current commercial production plants usually employ a thermal fat-splitting process that is often not economical for small- and…
Increased concern around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water is necessitating more robust mitigation techniques. There are many technologies that can effectively capture or destroy PFAS, but challenges remain surrounding large volumes of PFAS-laden solid waste and fluorinated byproducts.…
Palladium is widely used in membrane applications because of its extreme selectivity for hydrogen. However, conventional palladium membranes can be damaged at the high temperatures required for many processes that generate hydrogen for various subsequent uses, including the manufacture of…
By replacing traditional silicon or graphite anode materials with specially crystallized niobium, manufacturers can overcome some of the safety and power limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Echion Technologies Ltd. (Cambridge, U.K.; www.echiontech.com) has developed a proprietary mixed niobium-oxide active…
Siloxanes — synthetic chains of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms — are widely used in personal care products, soaps, pharmaceutical formulations and other products, but are notoriously difficult to manage in production- and waste-fluid streams. Current approaches, including flaring and…