In Malaysia, about 2-million metric tons (m.t.) of rice husk are produced each year, and the rice husk is either burned or disposed of as waste. Now this waste may find application as a non-leachable building material thanks to a…
Results of 12-mo immersion tests in biodiesel and bioethanol of a range of elastomer polymers typically used in fuel-handling equipment show that the seals are prone to significant swelling, which leads to failure in valves and other equipment, according to…
A new process for producing the oxidizing agent potassium ferrate (VI) (K2FeO4) can routinely generate multi-kilogram quantities per day, say scientists. Ferratec (St. Louis, Mo.; www.theincubationfactory.com) and partner Electrosynthesis (Lancaster, N.Y.; www.electrosynthesis.com) have licensed the process technology from Battelle (Columbus,…
A two-year collaboration between Ashland Hercules Water Technologies (AHWT; Wilmington, Del.), a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.; www.ashland.com), and BASF Nederland B.V. (Nijehaske, the Netherlands) has demonstrated that a combination of ultrasonic microbial control and corrosion inhibitors not…
A new distillation device developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) will make its commercial debut in an ethylene separation column at LG Chem, Ltd.’s petrochemical plant in Yeosu, South Korea. Scheduled for startup in the near future, the…
Carbon nanotube membranes are being developed for water desalination and carbon dioxide sequestration by Porifera Inc. (Hayward, Calif.; www.poriferanano.com) under an exclusive license from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL, Livermore, Calif.). Porifera, a new company, expects to commercialize desalination membranes…
An economical method for producing glucaric acid from glucose was successfully scaled up three-fold to a 6-L reactor by its developer, Rivertop Renewables (Missoula, Mont.; www.rivertop.com). The company is planning to assemble a pilot-scale process capable of producing 3-million lb/yr.…
A device for the mass production of lactic acid oligomers, polylactic acid (PLA) and other polymers has been developed by Japanese researchers from the Renewable Plastics Group of the Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced…
Haldor Topsøe (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) will demonstrate a new technology that converts wood to liquid fuels, as part of a $25-million project funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov). Among the partners in the project are…
Aiding crystal growth Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL; Upton, N.Y.; www.bnl.gov) have patented a method for absorbing hydrogen fluoride gas to enhance crystal growth. HF is commonly added to precursors to transfer crystalline order from a substrate to…