In The News
A new, more comprehensive electronegativity scale
The electronegativity of atoms is one of the most well-known parameters for explaining why chemical reactions occur. Now, Martin Rahm, assistant professor of physical chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden; www.chalmers.se), has redefined the concept with a new,…
Chementator Briefs
ANG fueling station Ingevity (North Charleston, S.C.; www.ingevity.com) has completed construction of a fueling station for low-pressure adsorbed natural gas (ANG) at its headquarters in North Charleston, S.C. The fueling station will supply natural gas to ANG bi-fuel vehicles outfitted…
Plant Watch: March 2019
Plant Watch Sasol begins operating LLDPE unit at Lake Charles site February 13, 2019 — Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa; www.sasol.co.za) announced that its new linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit in Lake Charles, La. has achieved beneficial operations. The LLDPE…
A single process to handle hydraulic fracturing produced water and offgases
Two major concerns in hydraulic fracturing operations are finding efficient ways to handle the massive amount of produced wastewater, and dealing with offgases from the well. A new technology developed by Ship & Shore Environmental Inc. (Signal Hill, Calif.; www.shipandshore.com),…
Gas analysis made easier for high-dust areas
A collaboration between Servomex (Surrey, U.K.; www.servomex.com) and FLO2R (Hadsund, Denmark; www.flo2r.com) has resulted in one of the industry’s first laser-based gas-analysis system for use in high-dust environments. Tunable diode laser (TDL) technology provides a much more rapid response than…
Accelerated electrons unlock sugars from cellulosic biomass
Obtaining sugars from cellulosic biomass cost-effectively is difficult because the predominant biopolymers in plant material evolved to protect these sugars. A process currently being scaled up for obtaining sugars from waste agricultural biomass employs beams of accelerated electrons to fracture…
Selective oxidation of methane makes formaldehyde, without generating CO2
Researchers from South Korea have discovered a high-performance catalyst for the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde. The study was conducted by staff from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Ulsan; www.unist.ac.kr), Ajou University (Suwon; www.ajou.ac.kr) and Hanyang University…
Mechanical CO2 sequestration improves algae production
A new, mechanical method for sequestration of carbon dioxide into water was evaluated at the University of Texas’ (Austin; www.utexas.edu) Bioproducts and Bioenergy Analytical Service Center and has revealed a pathway to economically improve algae growth for production of oils.…
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…
Co-electrolysis makes ‘green’ syngas in a single step
Last month, Sunfire GmbH (Dresden, Germany; www.sunfire.de) reported the successful startup and test run (more than 500 h) of a high-temperature, co-electrolysis system at its Dresden site since November 2018. The technology, called Sunfire-Synlink, is based on solid-oxide cells and…