Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) running on hydrogen are an attractive proposition, particularly as a power source for motor vehicles. In situ release of the required H2 from a stable liquid ensures its safe storage and transportation before use.…
A new fuel-upgrading catalyst for petroleum refineries has several features that boost sustainability and minimize environmental impact. In March, specialty chemical maker Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) launched PolyMax 850, a new generation of its PolyMax catalyst series. The new catalyst,…
Biopharmaceutical companies — especially those involved in manufacturing vaccines — spend a lot of effort and money to remove host cell nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) impurities from fermentation batches. The total downstream processing costs can account for up to…
Graphene-oxide-based materials are lamellar carbon compounds that are approximately 1-nm thick, and are expected to show excellent properties for various functional materials, such as innovative battery materials, lubricants, water-treatment membranes and catalysts. However, because these materials have been synthesized by…
China has successfully brought onstream the world’s first demonstration plant that converts coal to ethanol, according to an announcement by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Located at Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum in China’s Shaanxi province, the plant uses process technology that…
Haldor Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) has recently introduced TertiNOx, a new catalyst for simultaneously reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) and oxides-of-nitrogen (NOx) emissions from the tailgas of nitric-acid production plants. The company estimates that this alternative to conventional abatement methods…
Today, ammonia continues to be manufactured by the Haber-Bosch process — an energy-intensive process that operates at high temperatures and pressures (above 400°C and 100 bars). For decades, researchers around the world have been looking for alternative routes to making…
United Technologies Research Center (UTRC; East Hartford, Conn.; www.utrc.utc.com) has been awarded a $2.7-million cooperative research agreement to further develop two technologies aimed at lowering the capital cost of flow batteries for electrical grid-energy storage. UTRC will lead the U.S.…
Scientists at Living Ink Technologies (Denver, Colo.; www.livinginktechnologies.com) have developed biodegradeable printing ink made from natural cyanobacteria and algae as a sustainable and non-toxic alternative to conventional petroleum-derived printing inks. Living Ink’s method involves using sunlight and carbon dioxide to…
A suitable catalyst for splitting water to make hydrogen must exhibit high H2-conversion efficiency, excellent durability, and must operate well under low voltage. For an efficient H2-evolution reaction, the catalyst must be able to trigger proton reduction with minimal overpotential…