Construction is underway of a prototype system designed to extract natural bioactive product compounds from plants using supercritical glycerin as the extraction solvent. The initial target for the process is to extract cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other active compounds…
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP; Potsdam-Golm, Germany; www.iap.fraunhofer.de) have developed a process for embedding active enzymes into plastics. This has been difficult before, since plastics are normally processed at temperatures above 100°C. The technology offers…
In order to handle the growing volume of waste textile materials, recycling processes must begin significantly scaling up. Lenzing AG (Lenzing, Austria; www.lenzing.com) and Södra (Växjö, Sweden; www.sodra.com) are joining forces to scale up the OnceMore textile-recycling process, which is…
A cyclic activated-sludge (AS) process, trademarked te-cyc, combines biological treatment and solids settlement in a single treatment step, thereby significantly reducing the footprint compared to a conventional AS plant, which requires three separate processes — primary settlement tanks, aeration tanks…
A technology that increases the heat-dissipating properties of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) to that of metals has been developed by Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan; www.toray.com). Applying this technology to CFRP dissipates heat effectively from their sources through thermal conduction paths…
A catalytic process to selectively break carbon-carbon bonds within the polymer chains of polyethylene and polypropylene could allow the use of waste plastics to make biodegradable surfactant molecules. Researchers led by the Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) at…
Although the oceans contain about 5,000 times more lithium than what is found on land, the low concentrations (about 0.2 parts per million (ppm)), as well as the predominance of other larger ions (sodium, magnesium and potassium) makes Li extraction…
Extracting Li Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Ltd. (Changwon, South Korea; www.doosanheavy.com) has developed technology for recovering lithium carbonate from waste batteries. Li2CO3 is a key material that is used in batteries in electronic devices, such as laptops and mobile…
Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries for storing large quantities of renewable energy (see Chem. Eng., September 2016, pp. 14–20), but they have always been too expensive for the mass market. Now, researchers at the…
The purification of seawater and wastewater for agriculture and human consumption is becoming increasingly important in water-scarce regions. Along with the removal of salt, rendering ocean water and wastewater suitable for humans and plants also involves removal of elements that…