Tag: chemistry

  • Graphene Oxide Absorbs Radioactive Material in Wastewater

    Researchers at Rice University in Houston and Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia developed a lab process with graphene oxide to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water. The team from the labs of Rice chemistry professor James Tour and Moscow chemist Stepan Kalmykov published their findings in a recent issue of the journal Physical Chemistry…

  • Battery Life Extended for Working Electric Locomotive

    Engineers at Pennsylvania State University in University Park wrote a new energy-reviving algorithm for lead-acid batteries that power an electric locomotive hauling freight for Norfolk Southern Railway. The team led by Penn State mechanical engineering professor Christopher Rahn describe their research, funded by Department of Energy, in this month’s issue of Journal of Power Sources…

  • University, Companies Partner on Air Cleaning Technology

    A chemistry professor at University of Copenhagen in Denmark is working with a Danish entrepreneur and waste processor to test a process for cleaning polluting particles from industrial emissions. Environmental chemist Matthew Johnson (pictured right) and the university have also patented the process he devised, which is based on on the natural ability of the…

  • University, Company Share Ion Detection Technology Patent

    University of Texas at Arlington and Dionex Corporation in Sunnyvale, California recently received a patent for a new process that detects the charge of ions in a solution, and can enable more sensitive testing for compounds in water, food, and chemicals. Patent 8,293,099 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was awarded in late October…

  • Synthetic Sugars Developer Lands $3.5M Venture Financing

    Proterro Inc. in Ewing, New Jersey, a developer of synthetic sucrose for biofuels and chemicals, secured $3.5 million in new venture financing. The company also says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice of allowance for the genetically engineered bacteria used in its production process. The company combines genetic engineering with chemical…

  • Nanotech Fibers Remove Sulfur from Petroleum Fuels

    Engineering and chemical researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign developed a nanoscale fiber that, when woven into a material, can adsorb sulfur from petroleum-based fuels more efficiently than current methods. The team from the labs of chemistry professor Prashant Jain and the late engineering professor Mark Shannon published their findings online in the journal…

  • Process Converts Greenhouse Gas into Useful Chemicals

    Chemists at University of Southern California in Los Angeles devised a method for changing fluoroform, a common yet potent greenhouse gas, into reagents for producing pharmaceuticals and agriculture chemicals. The team led by G.K. Surya Prakash, director of USC’s Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, published its findings in this week’s issue of the journal Science (paid…

  • Simple Process Developed to Remove Smokestack CO2 Emissions

    Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Québec City, Canada are developing an economical method for removing most carbon dioxide from emissions put out by large industrial plants. The project led by INRS environmental scientist Guy Mercier, is funded by a two-year, $300,000 grant from Carbon Management Canada, a federal Canadian…

  • New Technique Developed for Stem Cell Delivery to Eyes

    Engineers at University of Sheffield in the U.K. devised a new method for attaching stem cells to eyes that can lessen the need for tissue banks and reduce the growth of scar tissue on the eye. The technology, designed to treat damage to the cornea, the transparent layer on the front of the eye, is…

  • Nanotech Lights Improve on Fluorescent, LED, CFL Bulbs

    Physicists at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland developed a new type of electric lighting that improves on many of the current commercial and display lighting technologies. Professor David Carroll, director of Wake Forest’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, led the team that published its findings online in…