A process for in-situ oxidation of hydrocarbons in low-quality oilfields, and subsequent gas separation, offers a path to generating hydrogen for fuel and chemicals that avoids any greenhouse gas emissions. Known as Hygienic Earth Energy (HEE), the process has been…
Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons and oxygenates on copper involves reduction to a carbon monoxide adsorbate followed by transformation to hydrocarbons and oxygenates. To ensure the sustainability of the process, the electrochemical CO2 reduction is typically conducted in…
High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a chiral stationary phase (CSP) is the most effective method for separating enantiomers of chiral molecules. However, the limited number of CSPs available puts a constraint on applying this technology universally. Now, researchers from the…
Membrane-based forward osmosis (FO) desalination could be a lower-cost alternative to conventional reverse osmosis (RO) technology, which can desalinate ocean water effectively, but requires electricity to drive the separation, and so remains expensive. Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL;…
Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF; Tampa, Fla.; www.usf.edu) have developed a microbial metabolic pathway that allows enzymatic conversion of one-carbon compounds into multi-carbon intermediate chemicals. The bioconversion process, which takes place in genetically engineered bacteria, could enable…
Long used for discrete manufacturing, robots are now making their way into product-development laboratories and even production sites Unlike some industrial sectors, such as mining and discrete manufacturing, where the use of robotics continues to streamline operations at the expense…
Removal of phosphorus and other nutrients from wastewater is critical to preventing harmful algal blooms in coastal waters. Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) — which relies on microbial communities that consume phosphate, reducing its concentration in the wastewater — has…
Modernized pumps and advanced controls improve accuracy and repeatability of liquid-dosing systems Whether the application is dosing chemicals for process or water treatment, whether it’s batch or inline dosing and whether it’s continuous or intermittent flow, at its heart, successful…
Because of their large surface area per unit mass, nanoparticles of additives can have a big impact on the properties of plastics, such as changing the crystallization temperature, and improving heat transfer, electrical properties (conductivity) and mechanical properties, as well…
Linde Engineering (Pullach, Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) has developed a process to recover helium, hydrocarbons and purified carbon dioxide from natural gas, while conditioning the natural gas for pipeline transport by adjusting the water and heavy-hydrocarbon dew point and the CO2 concentration.…