Chemistry

PPG HI-TEMP 1027 HD is PPG’s next generation ambient cure, high temperature Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) coating for carbon steel and stainless steel, reducing the risk of unexpected shutdowns. Corrosion costs the global economy an estimated $2.2 trillion annually. Ten percent of total annual maintenance costs are dedicated to repairing damage caused by CUI. In…

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Autonomous self-healing sealants self-repair microcracks and cuts, recover mechanical properties and adhere well to dusty surfaces. They are formulated by mixing a low-cost additive into commercial sealants according to a process developed at ORNL. The treatment increases sealant lifetime and energy savings by lowering air and water leaks in buildings. Even…

By Mark Jones In a normal world, vodka, nickel, palladium, and neon would have nothing in common. In our current world, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they do. All are currently experiencing supply chain disruptions due either directly to the fighting or to sanctions. Nickel and palladium come from mines. Russian mines produced about 10%…

Electric vehicles (EVs) have many advantages, including reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change and smog, improving public health and reducing ecological damage. However, electric vehicles pose a new fire risk that must be efficiently and cost effectively addressed to allow safe and widespread adoption. Electric vehicles require protection from external and internal fires.…

Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), an American hop supplier, has been awarded a US patent for its innovative hop processing technology used in manufacturing their Cryo Hops brand products, as they also celebrate the 5th anniversary since its launch to the brewing industry. YCH is known for its leading hop research and advanced products. With a…

By Becky Chambers Hennessy, contributing writer   If you haven’t heard the drumbeat from the American Chemical Society (ACS), April 17 marks the start of 2022 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, designed to promote “the positive role that chemistry plays in the world.” But as important as that role is, let’s face it: “Chemistry” has an…

By Mark Jones We are addicted. We know it is bad, but we can’t stop. It rusts our cars, destroys our bridges, damages our plants, yet, when it snows, we throw the salt. Ten inches of snow debilitated the Washington area in early January, closing a section of I-95. Snow closed roads, both in the…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending February 18, 2022, closed at 5,075.11 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -2.18% (or 113.00 basis points) from the week ending February 11, 2022. The stock of nine RDWI members gained value from 0.96% (Novartis) to 6.14% (Cisco). The stock of…

DuPont has launched a new online sales portal tailored to the needs of bioprocessing industry purchasers. The portal handles online sales transactions, with target lead times of less than one week. DuPont’s bioprocessing solutions enable sophisticated purifications and separations for therapeutics and diagnostics, with brands such as DuPont AMBERCHROM and DuPont AMBERLITE being well established…

Multi-functional Sorbent Technology (MUST), from Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Somerset International and The Dow Chemical Company, is a game-changing suite of sorbents that remove cationic (positively charged) and oxygen-containing anionic (negatively charged) heavy metals from aqueous and nonaqueous sources. Such versatility and low cost make MUST highly effective to clean contaminated…

Ubiquitous Water Wand (UWAW), developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and Chyi Ding Technologies, is an ultrahigh efficiency vapor/air separation equipment which extracts clean water from the air we breathe. It provides ultra clean drinking water without water sources, cooling media or water filters. In conjunction with an air-conditioner, UWAW can also provide buildings…

By Karen McNulty Walsh and Stephanie Kossman, Brookhaven National Laboratory Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory spans scales from the cosmic to subatomic, advancing our understanding of the world around and within us. Looking for discoveries that spark transformational technologies? Brookhaven has those, too! Here’s the 2021 recap of important…

The PhotoCube, from ThalesNano and ComInnex, is a multi-wavelength benchtop photoreactor designed for advanced photochemical reactions. Various configurations can be applied to a diverse set of batch, flow and stop-flow photochemical reactions. Options for multicolor and UV LEDs enable you to apply up to 7 wavelengths, in addition to white, even simultaneously. The combination of…

International Freezer Challenge honors Univ. of Illinois with 2021 “Winning Streak Award.” By Becky Chambers Hennessy, contributing writer (This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one, Facing sustainability in the lab, here.) The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is continuing a hot streak in arguably the coolest competition around. The university was recognized…

By Becky Chambers Hennessy, contributing writer Scientific research leaders are taking a long look in the mirror. They see their laboratories as home to beneficial scientific breakthroughs, in areas from epidemiology and the coronavirus to climate change and greenhouse gases. They’re also recognizing them as resource-intensive spaces with enormous carbon footprints. It’s an irony that’s…

By Mark Jones A century is how long it took for one bad chemistry choice to run its course. The end of August 2021 was the end of what can only be described as a sad century in the history of chemistry. At the end of August, headlines proclaimed the world finally stopped using leaded…

To help formulators develop high-performance, safer cosmetics and skin care products, AGC Chemicals Americas offers SOLESPHERE microsphere silica gels. When used in sunscreens, cosmetics and skincare formulations, the silica gels boost sun protection factor (SPF) and add performance properties. The silica gels can improve application smoothness, absorb oil and perspiration, give a matte appearance, minimize…

Howard University’s Chemical Engineering Department and Amgen, an independent biotechnology company, have designed an innovative academic-industry partnership meant to greatly expand opportunities for underrepresented minorities in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The partnership takes the form of a fellowship for master’s level graduate students and includes training in Amgen’s laboratories. The Chemical Engineering Department, in…

From the office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced plans to invest $25 mil in fundamental science to lay the groundwork for technology that finds reuses for plastic waste, makes strides toward addressing the global plastic waste crisis and reduces the climate impacts of plastic…

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University (SBU) and other collaborating institutions have uncovered dynamic, atomic-level details of how an important platinum-based catalyst works in the water gas shift reaction. This reaction transforms carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O) into carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen gas (H2) — an…

Versatile Cold Spray (VCS), developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, outperforms other cold spray and additive manufacturing techniques by depositing both ductile and brittle materials to any substrate of any shape without adhesives. The unique VCS nozzle and feed system preserves the functional qualities of brittle materials such as semiconductors, including thermoelectrics and magnets, achieving…

Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, could help decrease the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. But first, power companies need a safe, cost-effective way to store the energy for later use. Massive lithium-ion batteries can do the job, but they suffer from safety issues and limited lithium availability. Aqueous zinc-based batteries have…

The EcoPaintJet overspray-free paint applicator, invented by plant-engineering firm Dürr, plus novel decorcoat paint from PPG (the second color applied), represents the world’s first implementation of precision application of automotive coatings. The innovative overspray-free paint application process eliminates all overspray from the paint application process, maintains crisp edges after being applied and meets all automotive…

RHOBARR 320 Polyolefin Dispersion, from the Dow Chemical Company, is a unique solution to the global problem of waste management and recycling for single-use paper articles. It provides comparable liquid and grease barrier to incumbent technology but at lower raw material use, resulting in finished articles that are compatible with existing paper recycling infrastructure. Further,…

In an exciting new advance, a team of scientists from Hiden Isochema in the UK and Cleveland State University in Ohio have developed a new way of analyzing materials for separating gases. Although gas separation using porous materials is an established technology, analytical techniques for assessing the performance of materials tend to be slow and…