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A nearly universal electrolyte chemistry for safer, longer-lasting batteries

The electrolytes used in nearly all lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries are carbonate-based, which makes them flammable and prone to degradation mechanisms, including side reactions, which can result in gas evolution and the formation of undesirable chemicals like hydrogen fluoride. A…

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Process for electrolytically converting CO2 to carbon materials to be scaled up

With a recent round of investment funding, UP Catalyst (Tallinn, Estonia; www.upcatalyst.com) plans to build a pilot plant for a process that converts waste carbon dioxide into a range of solid carbon materials, such as carbon nanotubes, (CNTs), graphite and…

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“Frugal” method adsorbs and destroys PFAS with photocatalyst

Removing per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) from surface and groundwater has become an environmental and public health imperative, but methods for doing so are often complicated and costly, and may not destroy the molecules. Researchers at the University of British…

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A low-cost method for bio-based production of acrylic acid

Acrylic acid, a commodity chemical used widely in superabsorbent polymers, paints, coatings, adhesives and more, is typically produced from fossil-based propylene at relatively high temperatures. As part of an initiative supported by the U.S. Dept. of Defense, funding was recently…

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Chementator Briefs

Tire recycling The Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG; Tokyo, Japan; www.mcgc.com) has demonstrated chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) using the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). The company is able to feed crushed ELTs as raw…

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Scaleup underway for super-efficient silver refining

A significant contributor to the cost, energy consumption and carbon footprint of silver production is in the refining steps to remove, recover and recycle zinc from Parkes Crust silver-zinc intermetallic compounds. A fundamental redesign of the silver process to improve…

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Scaling up brine electrolysis for high-purity lithium hydroxide

A significant portion of the energy and cost requirements in the production of lithium-ion batteries stems from the cost of converting lithium sulfate or lithium chloride into lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) of sufficient purity for battery use. Noram Electrolysis Systems,…

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A low-cost coating system designed to optimize water electrolysis

Seemingly small component changes can make a large impact on the productivity of electrochemistry systems, such as electrolyzers used for producing “green” hydrogen. For example, a new coating technology developed by Oxford nanoSystems Ltd. (OnS; Abingdon, U.K.; www.oxfordnanosystems.com), when applied…

Recyclable wind turbine blades

As wind energy takes a prominent role in the energy transition, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL: www.nrel.gov) have focused on manufacturing sustainable turbine blades that can be made from bio-derivable resources and then…

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Process for continuous production of MOFs plans scaleup

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great potential for a number of applications, including as carbon-capture materials, but their use commercially has been limited by production methods, which are generally expensive batch processes. With the development of a continuous process for…