A dry adhesive technology inspired by the microscopic hairs on gecko’s feet is said to be the first of its kind to be commercialized. Known as Setex, the technology was developed by nanoGriptech Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.nanogriptech.com), a company spun…
Alkylate — the main component in high-octane gasoline — is produced by catalytic reaction of C3–C5 olefins with isobutane in the presence of strong acid catalyst. Although there has been progress in the use of solid-acid catalysts (see, for example,…
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).…
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,…
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…
Acoustic wave separation (AWS) technology can improve cell-culture clarification in biopharmaceutical applications by enabling high-efficiency, continuous removal of cells in a closed system without centrifugation. Developed by FloDesign Sonics (Wilbraham, Mass.; www.flodesign.org) and licensed to Pall Corp. (Port Washington, N.Y.;…
Scientists at Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia; www.flinders.edu.au) have synthesized a new polymer that is extremely effective at binding to mercury for removal from water and soil. The new material — called sulfur-limonene polysulfide — is created from a reaction (diagram)…
Last month, Zeon Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.zeon.co.jp) started up the worlds first mass-production plant for high-grade carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at its Tokuyama facility in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The plant produces CNTs with more than 99% purity using the…