A process that converts methane into hydrogen and carbon black has been developed by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS; Potsdam; www.iass-potsdam.de) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; Karlsruhe, both Germany; www.kit.edu). In a joint project…
A new desalination membrane has been developed by an industry-academia collaboration team, led by professor Toshinori Tsuru at Hiroshima University (Japan; http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/membrane/en/index.html). The work is the culmination of a five-year project that began in 2011 with support from the Japan…
A refinery pilot test was successfully completed on the Kvanefjeld rare-earth (RE) project located in the southern tip of Greenland, about 10 km from Narsaq. The project is wholly owned by Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd. (Perth, Western Australia; www.ggg.gl).…
Increased use of ethane from shale deposits as a feedstock for ethylene production has focused attention on the growing need for on-purpose production of butadiene, which has traditionally been produced primarily as a byproduct of conventional ethylene production from naphtha.…
Scientists from Yonsei University (Seoul, South Korea; www.yonsei.ac.kr) led by Prof Eunkyoung Kim, have developed a hybrid solar cell to enhance the photo-conversion efficiency of a solar cell with a thermoelectric device operated by photothermally generated heat. The efficiency was…
Ultrafiltration A new ultrafiltration fiber can increase permeability by 35% compared to previous generation fibers for wastewater treatment, according to developer Dow Water & Process Solutions (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com). The XP Fiber was incorporated into the companys commercial UF modules,…
A new self-cleaning filter from Spiral Water Technologies Inc. (San Rafael, Calif.; www.spiralwater.com) can efficiently treat water with 25,000 mg/L total suspended solids (TSS). According to Spiral Water CEO Ashwin Gulati, the filters use much less energy — reportedly just…
A patented thermochemical regenerator system developed by Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has been demonstrated at its first industrial site, a glass-making facility in Mexico. The system, known as the Optimelt heat-recovery system, lowers fuel consumption in oxy-fuel furnaces, which…
Chemists at the University of Amsterdam (UvA; the Netherlands; www.uva.nl) have discovered a new catalytic method for removing cyanide ions from industrial wastewater. The heterogeneous catalyst — discovered jointly by Paula Oulego Blanco, Raveendran Shiju and professor Gadi Rothenberg from…
Ecoult Energy Storage Solutions (Sydney, Australia; www.ecoult.com) is entering the commercial and residential energy-storage markets with an “ultrabattery,” which was developed by CSIRO (www.csiro.au), with contributions from Furukawa Battery Co. (Yokohama, Japan; www.furukawadenchi.co.jp) and funding from the Australian and Japanese…