A layered coating that acts as an organic semiconductor material allows building windows to generate electricity from direct, indirect, shaded, diffused and reflected sunlight, as well as from artificial light. Developer SolarWindow Technologies Inc. (Columbia, Md.; www.solarwindow.com) has designed and…
Passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act has created a long and challenging road ahead for U.S. EPA rulemaking On June 22, 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA) was signed into law with…
Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR; Singapore; www.a-star.edu.sg), led by Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, have provided another step toward replacing petrochemicals with renewable resources in the manufacture of synthetic fibers and plastics. The team has genetically modified Escherichia…
More intuitive software allows new users to address optimization and complex tasks Modeling and simulation software is finding more use in chemical processing facilities because software vendors are making it easier to use and, therefore, more accessible to a wider…
Plant Watch BASF expands global production capacity of Ultrason polyarylsulfone September 8, 2016— BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will set up an additional production line for Ultrason polyarylsulfone at its site in Yeosu, Korea. The new line will start up…
Researchers from Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.; www.cornell.edu) have developed an oxygen-assisted, Al/CO2 electrochemical cell that converts CO2 into a useful product while producing electricity. This represents a possible paradigm shift from most current carbon-capture models, says Lynden Archer, the James…
Developments in redox flow batteries are moving at a tremendous pace to meet the growing need for large-scale energy-storage systems, which are used for stabilizing electric power distribution The global energy-storage market is expected to double, from 1.4 GWh added…
Industrial mobile apps help chemical processors overcome process, maintenance and inventory issues Due to the portability and propagation of smartphones and tablets, mobility is all around us. Plugging in on the fly has become second nature in our personal lives…
Traditional classes of drying equipment are being adapted for use in a growing number of applications, and more complex analysis and process control are helping to optimize processes The chemical process industries (CPI) are full of processes in which a…
Spent invert drilling fluids, slop oil, rag layers, and tank bottoms often present as very tight emulsions having high brine and solids fractions that render them difficult and economically unfeasible to break and separate by traditional means, says Ron Drake,…