The main mineral component of our bones and teeth — hydroxyapatite [HAP; Ca10(OH)2(PO4)6] — has been used by a Chinese team to develop a highly flexible paper with high antibacterial activity. The paper, made from silver nanoparticle-decorated ultra-long HAP nanowires…
Last month, Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) said that the pilot plant of a new process for making substitute natural gas (SNG) has been successfully tested, signifying that the technology is ready for commercial application. The process, called Vesta Once-through…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) recently announced that it has completed validation of a new plastic film technology that can be recycled in existing processes for flexible polyethylene (PE) packaging, but that also performs well as an oxygen…
Each year, a large amount of plastic waste is generated, with 60% of the total plastic content of municipal solid waste composed of high-, low- and linear-low density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP). Existing methods for degrading…
Making more ARA Arcadia Biosciences Inc. (Davis, Calif.; www.arcadiabio.com) and Dupont Pioneer (Des Moines, Iowa; www.pioneer.com) recently completed field-trial validation for new safflower plants that produce high levels of arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, a high-value, specialty nutritional oil. The field…
By the end of this year, a demonstration plant will start up in the U.S. that uses an electrochemical process to recover phosphorus from wastewater, producing a fertilizer as struvite (NH4MgPO4·6H2O). Although the location and capacity of the plant has…
Polylactic acid (PLA) is a versatile biopolymer, but its applications are somewhat limited due to its brittleness. Now, an alternative bio-based composite material has been developed that overcomes this limitation. Developed by the industry-university consortium of Hitachi Zosen Corp. (HITZ;…
A proprietary technology and patented process from GreenMantra Technologies (Brantford, Ont., Canada; www.greenmantra.ca) that produces synthetic waxes from underutilized plastic recycling streams, including films and bags, has reached commercialization. The company’s first industrial-scale manufacturing plant started up in May, and…
Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov) have combined biology and 3-D printing to create the first reactor that can continuously produce methanol from methane at room temperature and pressure. The team removed enzymes from methanotrophs —…
Scientists from the National Chung Hsing University (Taichung, Taiwan; www.nchu.edu.tw), led by professor Ming-Yen Wey, have successfully developed an alternative route for recycling plastic solid waste. They used waste polystyrene to develop membranes suitable for processes such as carbon capture,…