Latest News: Technologies
Chementator: Aseptic Filling
GEA Procomac, a Division of GEA Niro Inc. (Hudson, Wisc.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7372-551) has received a letter of non-objection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Washington, D.C.) for aseptic filling systems for low-acid, shelf-stable products. Used for filling PET containers,…
Chementator: Novel solar electrode
Unidym, Inc., (Menlo Park, Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-549) has entered into a joint development agreement with Nippon Kayaku (Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-550), to integrate their printable transparent electrodes into the Japanese firm’s thin-film photovoltaic cells. It’s expected that Unidym’s transparent, carbon-nanotube-based electrodes (…
Chementator: A new valve diaphragm
GEMÜ GmbH & Co. KG (Ingelfingen-Criesbach, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-551) has developed a new EPDM diaphragm for use at high temperatures and steam for the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries. Service life is said to be up to three times longer compared to…
Chementator: An ammonia-based CO2-capture process moves several steps closer to commercialization
Last month, the first pilot project that used chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide from the fluegas (FG) of a coal-fired power plant started operating at the 1,210-MW We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie power plant in Wisconsin. Alstom (Windsor, Conn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-531)…
Chementator: Diamond may be a pump’s best friend
Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc. (ADT; Romeoville, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-533) has launched a new family of mechanical seals to improve efficiency, save energy and reduce costs in fluid-pumping systems. The patented UNCD (ultrananocrystalline diamond) Seals provide the benefits of a diamond at…
Chementator: This composite combines the unique properties of two new forms of carbon
Of all known materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have the highest thermal conductivity and mechanical strength as well as the ability to withstand the highest electric-current density, making them an attractive material for electric wiring, heat dissipation, field electron emission, and…
Chementator: Halogenated activated carbon reduces mercury emissions from a coal-fired plant
In its first full-scale test on a coal-fired power plant, halogenated activated carbon (AC) made by ADA-ES, Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-537) has reduced mercury emissions by more than 90%. The significance of the results is that the plant burns western…
Chementator: A platinum-free catalytic converter
Nippon Steel Materials Co., Ltd. (NSM; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-538) has developed a new catalyst for combustion engines that contains 70% less precious metals than conventional catalytic converters. The catalyst is expected to not only lead to lower costs, but also…
Chementator: Switchgrass to syngas
Although theoretically promising 80% more energy than is required to grow and convert to cellulosic ethanol, switchgrass has proven to be a difficult fuel source to break down cost effectively. With $1 million from the U.S. Depts. of Agriculture (USDA)…
Chementator: Sugar-beet pulp may cut the cost of biodegradable plastic
Sugar-beet processors in the U.S. generate approximately 40 million tons of fiber-rich sugar-beet pulp every year as a byproduct of sucrose extraction. Most of it is used as livestock feed or in pet food. Researchers with the U.S. Agricultural Research…