Chementator
Chementator Briefs
New PDH capability A new catalyst for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) that does not include precious metals has been developed by KBR Inc. (Houston, Tex.; www.kbr.com). The new catalyst is incorporated into KBR’s new PDH technology, known as K-PRO, which was…
A low-pressure process to leach metals from laterite ores
Queensland Pacific Metals (Brisbane, Australia), a subsidiary of Pure Minerals (Perth, Australia; www.pureminerals.com.au) will use Direct Nickel Projects’ (Perth, Australia) proprietary technology to process New Caledonian nickel and cobalt ore, following favorable test results. Core Metallurgy (Brisbane, Australia) has assessed…
A photocatalyst for reducing CO2 without precious metals
The research group of professor Osamu Ishitani at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan; www.titech.ac.jp), in collaboration with the Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), has successfully demonstrated highly efficient, selective and durable photocatalytic CO2-reduction systems that only…
A methane fuel cell that operates at lower temperatures
Existing methane fuel cells typically require high (750–800°C) temperatures to activate methane in a separate methane reformer that creates hydrogen gas. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; Atlanta; www.gatech.edu) have developed a solid oxide fuel cell…
A more efficient way to convert CO2 into chemicals via MER
Microbial electrochemical reduction (MER) of CO2 into value-added chemicals is a potential way to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. MER uses chemolithoautotrophs, which are microbes found in the deep sea, in caves and in hydrothermal vents. These bacteria get their…
Nano-engineered cellulose prevents scaling
Efforts to find more environmentally friendly anti-scalant approaches have yielded a new form of functionalized nanocellulose that can prevent the nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate, the most common component of industrial scale. Based on the biopolymer cellulose, the anti-scaling…
Making jet fuel from wood
Last month, construction began on a demonstration facility that integrates high-performance entrained-flow gasification technology and Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis for making jet fuel from woody biomass. The demonstration project is being carried out by a Japanese consortium, led by Mitsubishi Hitachi…
Transforming plastic waste into useful aerogels
Plastic-bottle waste is toxic and non-biodegradable, and has become a major environmental issue. It often ends up in the oceans, affecting marine life, or in landfills, contaminating groundwater and affecting land use. Now a team led by professors Nhan Phan-Thien…
Recovering rare-earth elements from coal byproducts
A team from the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.; www.uky.edu) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg, Va.; www.vt.edu) has set up a novel pilot plant to recover rare-earth elements (REEs) from coal-based sources, aiming to produce high-grade REE concentrates from coal-based…
A catalyst that mimics enzymes
A research team from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia; www.unsw.edu.au) and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Bochum, Germany; www.ruhr-universität-bochum.de) has succeeded in transferring structural characteristics of natural enzymes to metallic nanoparticles, achieving high catalytic activity. In the case of enzymes,…