Fermentation revolution?

Trash becomes treasure as bio-waste yields valuable acetone and isopropanol

07-Feb-2024 - In a major stride towards sustainable industrial fermentation, a team of researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in The Netherlands, has unveiled pioneering advancements in the purification of isopropanol and acetone from the fermentation of waste gases. The study, published in ...

Syensqo invests in Bioeutectics, a start-up producing green solvents

The investment will contribute to bring more sustainable products and processes to market

29-Jan-2024 - Syensqo Ventures, the group’s venture capital fund, participated in the $2.1 million financing round for Bioeutectics, alongside Fen Ventures ,Atento Capital and SOSV (IndieBio). Founded in 2019, Bioeutectics provides natural and high-performance solvents that make industrial products and ...

Circular economy: joint project aims to increase recycling rate of lithium-ion batteries

Recovery of non-metallic components for the first time?

12-Apr-2023 - Chemist Prof. Jan J. Weigand and his team at TU Dresden are partnering in a joint project aimed at improving the ecological footprint of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The project led by the start-up company Elyte Innovations GmbH is named "SWELL – Recovery of Electrolyte Salts and Solvents", and ...

Upcycled plastic membrane helps clean up waste

Plant-derived biosolvents enable the sustainable conversion of plastic waste into valuable membrane materials

10-Feb-2023 - Plastic waste can be used as a raw material for making high performance porous membranes. These could then be used in the chemical industry for the energy-efficient separation of complex chemical mixtures or to clean up waste streams, furtheradding to the environmental appeal of the ...

First ultra-pure solvents made from plastic waste

Clariter and TotalEnergies Fluids announce a world premiere

02-Feb-2023 - Clariter, a global cleantech company, and TotalEnergies Fluids, a division of TotalEnergies, have premiered the world’s first sustainable ultra-pure solvent made from plastic waste. Ultra-pure solvents are used in pharmaceutical, cosmetics and other highly demanding markets that require safe, ...

Key to chemical industries’ sustainable future?

The world’s first industrial model of a flow photo-on-demand synthesis system

25-Nov-2022 - Various chemical products, such as polymers and pharmaceutical intermediates, are currently synthesized with phosgene as their precursor or raw material. However, phosgene is highly toxic and this usage poses safety risks. Thus, there is demand for the development of new methods and substitutes ...

Tiny porous crystals change the shape of water to speed up chemical reactions

The new approach is poised to play a role in helping chemical manufacturers move away from harmful solvent catalysts in favor of water

22-Sep-2021 - Chemical engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign now understand how water molecules assemble and change shape in some settings, revealing a new strategy to speed up chemical reactions critical to industry and environmental sustainability. The new approach is poised to play a role ...

Brenntag acquires North American acetone specialist Matrix Chemical

04-Aug-2021 - Brenntag acquires all operating assets and business of Matrix Chemical, LLC (“Matrix”). The company is a solvents distributor and the largest distributor of acetone in North America with sales of around USD 200 million year to date in 2021. Steven Terwindt, Member of the Management Board of ...

Polypropylene recycling from carpet waste

Now possible thanks to a new process

04-Jun-2021 - A significant part of carpet waste consists of petroleum-based polypropylene. As a non-recyclable product, disposing of it has previously meant incineration or landfill. However, a new solvent is now making it possible to recover virgin-standard polypropylene from carpet waste — with no ...

Nanoparticle gel unites oil and water in manufacturing-friendly approach

Novel gel-creation method could open applications in water filtration, other applications

15-Feb-2021 - Oil and water may not mix, but adding the right nanoparticles to the recipe can convert these two immiscible fluids into an exotic gel with uses ranging from batteries to water filters to tint-changing smart windows. A new approach to creating this unusual class of soft materials could carry them ...