In The News
Ultrafine dust has a big impact on the environment
An international study has found that coal-fired power stations emit more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and that those dust particles can modify rainfall patterns and can, in general, have considerable impact on the climate. The study found that…
These ‘imprinted’ resin beads selectively recover gold from leaching processes
In early April, 6th Wave Innovations Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah; www.6wic.com) and CyPlus GmbH (Hanau-Wolfgang, Germany; www.cyplus.com) signed a sales and marketing representative agreement for IXOS nanotech gold extraction resin for the mining industry. CyPlus will represent 6th Wave…
Isobutanol synthesis and extraction process could reduce energy compared to alternatives
Bio-based isobutanol is attractive as a renewable blendstock for gasoline because it has higher energy density than bioethanol, and does not impose vehicle-range penalties as a fuel additive, but thus far, processes to synthesize and isolate isobutanol have required a…
Chementator Briefs
Depolymerization Last month, DuPont Teijin Films Ltd. (DTF; Contern, Luxembourg; www.dupontteijinfilms.com) launched its new LuxCR depolymerization process, which upcycles post-consumer waste into a variety of biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) films. The LuxCR process depolymerizes mechanically recovered PET flake back…
Converting CO2 to carbon at mild conditions
An international research team led by RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia; www.rmit.edu.au) has developed a technique for efficiently converting CO2 to carbon. The team included researchers from the University of Münster (Germany), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (China), North Carolina…
Enzyme engineering enables bio-based hydrogen peroxide
Borne out of a cancer research project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge; www.mit.edu), a new enzymatic process technology can co-produce gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide without the safety risks and complexity of typical large-scale peroxide-manufacturing processes. Solugen Inc. (Houston;…
This process improves blends of starch-based plastic with conventional polyolefins
Thermoplastic starch, a biodegradable polysaccharide, is an attractive material for environmentally friendly plastics, but its cost and molecular properties have prevented it from being used in thin films. A process for a new starch plastic resin allows the material to…
Process improves usefulness of carbon nanotubes for battery applications
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been touted as game-changing nanomaterials in a wide variety of areas, but their actual commercial success has been less than expected thus far. To a large extent, the difficulty has centered around the tendency of CNTs…
Protecting oxidation-prone materials with a crust of salt
High-temperature synthesis of ceramics and other materials normally requires a cost-intensive inerting atmosphere to prevent oxidation. Now, researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany; www.fz-juelich.de) have developed a process — the molten salt shielded synthesis/sintering (MS3) process — that used molten salts…
Business News – May 2019
Plant Watch Arkema starts up photocure resin expansion in China April 11, 2019 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) started up the 30% capacity extension of its photocure liquid-resin production plant in Nansha, located near Canton, China. This new production line…