Professor Shigeru Yamago and colleagues at the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University (Japan; www.scl.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~yasuyuki/) have synthesized [8]cycloparaphenylene for the first time. The 11-nm-dia. molecule consists of eight benzene molecules linked together in a closed chain. The compound has a…
A patented (WO 2008/053174), fluidic-oscillator-driven device that generates microbubbles has been shown by researchers from the University of Sheffield (U.K.; www.shef.ac.uk/cpe), in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Prague; www.cas.cz/en), to improve the performance of air-lift…
In Malaysia, about 2-million metric tons (m.t.) of rice husk are produced each year, and the rice husk is either burned or disposed of as waste. Now this waste may find application as a non-leachable building material thanks to a…
Results of 12-mo immersion tests in biodiesel and bioethanol of a range of elastomer polymers typically used in fuel-handling equipment show that the seals are prone to significant swelling, which leads to failure in valves and other equipment, according to…
A newly marketed portable reactor system for generating hydrogen is capable of generating 1,000 L of the gas in 20 min. The volume is sufficient to fill a 5-ft-dia. weather balloon, which is the first market targeted by the system’s…
Researchers from the Center for Membrane Technology, Beijing University of Technology (China; www.bjut.edu.cn) have developed a new spiral-wound membrane module for use in oxygen-enriched combustion. A pilot-scale system with five membrane modules has been built and tested in a 4-ton,…
Water reclamation Last month, a new water-reclamation process for the oil-and-gas industry was launched by HBC Systems, a newly created joint venture between Hydration Technology Innovations (HTI; Scottsdate, Ariz.; www.htiwater.com) and Bear Creek Services, LLC (Albany, Ore.; www.bearcreekservices.com). The…
Plant Watch Outotec to deliver precious-metals plant in China January 25, 2010 — Outotec Oy (Espoo, Finland; http://www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with Baiyin Non Ferrous Group for the design and delivery of a new precious metals plant in Gansu…
Bayer MaterialScience (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayermaterialscience.com) has opened a new pilot facility for the manufacture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at Chempark Leverkusen. The company has invested some €22 million in the planning, development and construction of the facility, which is…
AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) is investing almost €10 million to further boost the innovative power of the U.K. site where performance coatings that now protect many of the world’s iconic structures and ships were first developed. A fire…