Latest News: Technologies
A more stable way to upcycle waste plastics
A new advanced recycling process simplifies the task of breaking down polymer chains and stabilizing the resulting fragments. The Hydrochemolytic technology (HCT), developed by Aduro Clean Technologies, Inc. (Sarnia, Ont., Canada; www.adurocleantech.com), involves processing waste plastic with water, an inexpensive…
Hydrothermal synthesis of cobalt-free lithium-ion-battery cathodes
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) have developed a hydrothermal-synthesis method for high-voltage lithium-ion battery cathodes that avoids several key issues with traditional battery processing. Key…
Harvesting hydrogen from humid air
Chemical engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL; www.epfl.ch), in collaboration with scientists from Toyota Motor Europe (Zaventem, Belgium; www.toyota-europe.com), have invented a photoelectrochemical (PEC) “artificial leaf” that splits water vapor into H2. The technology features a…
Quantum-based tool searches quadrillions of materials to optimize catalysts
For the first time, a quantum-computing-inspired tool has been used for catalyst discovery — specifically for the investigation of a new catalyst for the production of hydrogen via electrolysis. Created jointly by scientists from Fujitsu Ltd. (Tokyo; www.fujitsu.com) and the…
Carbon sequestration in synthetic construction aggregate
Blue Planet Systems (Los Gatos, Calif.; www.blueplanetsystems.com) and Sulzer Chemtech Ltd. (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.sulzer.com) have announced a partnership to accelerate development of Blue Planet’s process for mineralizing carbon dioxide gas into construction aggregate for concrete. By sequestering CO2 into the…
Capture ammonia reversibly with this new MOF
Production of ammonia by the Haber-Bosch process not only requires a lot of energy for the high-temperature (300–500°C) synthesis of NH3 itself, but the recovery of ammonia takes place by condensation at –20°C. As a result, large changes in both…
A colorful new way to visualize gaseous properties
Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS; Ibaraki, Japan; www.nims.go.jp), along with Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; www.harvard.edu) and the University of Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.; www.uconn.edu), have designed a new imaging device that uses structural colors — visible colors that change…
A new tool to capture ‘microbial dark matter’
Microorganisms populate nearly any habitat, no matter how hostile it is. Their great variety of survival strategies is of huge potential in biotechnology. However, most of these organisms are unknown, because they cannot be cultivated. To make better use of…
Converting waste paper into better battery anodes
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg) have developed a technique to convert waste paper, from single-use packaging, bags and cardboard boxes, into electrodes, which can be made into rechargeable batteries that power mobile phones, medical equipment and…
A step closer to bio-based secondary diols in polyester synthesis
Isosorbide is a glucose-derived, rigid, secondary diol monomer that can impart favorable mechanical, barrier and thermal properties to condensation polymers, such as polyesters. However, for the past two decades, it has not been possible to synthesize fully bio-based poly (isosorbide…