Over decades of experimentation, molten-salt nuclear reactors have been shown to deliver high-temperature heat and extremely efficient electricity at reduced pressures. However, these reactors have yet to make the leap into widespread industrial adoption. Terrestrial Energy Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.; www.terrestrialenergy.com)…
A process for making pigments from cellulose for use in cosmetics, food and coatings applications has scaled up from a 1-ton/yr pilot unit to a process capable of generating multiple-hundreds of tons per year in a toll-manufacturing setting. The cellulose-derived…
Lubrizol (Cleveland, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) recently began producing chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin in commercial reactors equipped with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light source, instead of the conventional mercury lamps. The company’s LED reactor technology enhances the thermal stability of…
Direct battery-recycling methods, such as re-lithiation — where depleted lithium is replenished directly onto cathodes via a solid-state reaction — hold many benefits over indirect methods, such as those relying on hydrometallurgy or pyrometallurgy, where cathodic structures are destroyed in…
Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries offer a compelling combination of performance characteristics for stationary energy storage, including improved safety and longevity, when compared to other lithium battery chemistries, such as nickel- and cobalt-based formulations. However, there are limited recycling pathways dedicated to…
Synthesis of methanol from carbon dioxide is among the key goals for net-zero-CO2 production of chemicals and fuels. Previous investigation has suggested that indium oxide could serve as an effective catalyst for this reaction, but the structural details of the…
Conventional ethylene production via steam cracking of ethane or naphtha leads to the emission of 1 ton of CO2 for every ton of ethylene produced. Given the carbon intensity of the process and the annual volume of ethylene produced (300…
A team of researchers at Iowa State University (ISU; Ames; www.iastate.edu) have developed a new bioreactor concept that streamlines production of value-added bioproducts at smaller scales by integrating three process steps (fermentation, product extraction and separation) into a single, compact…
Ammonia cracking, decomposing ammonia into its constituent nitrogen and hydrogen molecules, is gaining traction as an emerging source for cleaner hydrogen. However, this reaction is very endothermic and requires heat and high temperature. In a proprietary technology developed by Duiker…
Nanomox (London, U.K.; www.nanomox.net) has invented a synthesis platform for metal oxides where multifunctional ionic liquids enable high selectivity for specialized morphologies. While the technology can be tailored for a large number of metals, the company is currently targeting zinc…