In The News
Accelerated decomposition of halogenated compounds
A new research partnership between the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WERF; Alexandria, Va.; www.werf.org) and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA; www.uta.edu) seeks to tackle one of the most challenging and persistent water contaminants — perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).…
Ferro-coke utilization promises to reduce energy consumption in ironmaking
JFE Steel Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.jfe-steel.co.jp) plans to build a pilot plant for using ferro coke in the ironmaking process at its Fukuyama area of West Japan Works, with support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO;…
Getting more value from recycled polystyrene
Although polystyrene has been adopted into a large number of end products, it remains one of the least-recycled plastic waste streams — an estimated 95% of polystyrene materials are discarded after a single use. Employing a proprietary thermo-catalytic process, GreenMantra…
High-performance aluminum-cerium alloy
A newly developed aluminum-cerium alloy is exceptionally stable at high temperatures, and is highly corrosion-resistant, allowing its use in components for advanced engines and for other aerospace, automotive and power-generation applications. Co-developed by Eck Industries (Manitowoc, Wis.; www.eckindustries.com) and Oak…
Liquid metal membranes improve on Pd membranes for separating hydrogen
A liquid metal membrane with liquid gallium (Ga) sandwiched between two porous silicon carbide supports offers a pathway to improve the currently available membranes of solid palladium (Pd) metal for separating hydrogen after the steam reforming of methane. Pd metal…
The Greening of Chlor-Alkali Production
Environmental regulations and high energy costs are driving technology advances that make plants cleaner and more efficient For some, the production of chlorine and caustic has been considered a nasty business: not only are the products dangerous if not handled…
New Performance Materials Solve Industrial Challenges
From additives to polymers to coatings to 3-D printables, new materials improve performance High-performance materials are intended to make consumer goods, industry and the world, in general, function better. Inventive performance materials can be found in all categories, from additives…
Bioethanol from bagasse
Tsukishima Kikai Co. (www.tsk-g.co.jp) and JFE Engineering Corp. (both Tokyo, Japan; www.jfe-eng.co.jp) have demonstrated a process that produces bioethanol from bagasse, a waste product in the production of sugar from sugarcane. With support from NEDO under a four-year, $10-million project,…
Business News – September 2017
Plant Watch $8-billion phosphate megaproject starts up in Saudi Arabia August 11, 2017 — Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) announced that the Ma’aden Wa’ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Co.’s Umm Wu’al Phosphate Project in Saudi Arabia has started production. Fluor is providing…
Chementator Briefs
Polyesters Customizing the macroscale properties of polyesters by using sidechain chemical groups is difficult, and is limited for commercially available polyesters. Now, researchers at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.; www.vt.edu) have developed a novel method for synthesizing polyesters that may expand…