Efficiency

Synthesis of biodiesel and NOBS (advanced bleaching system). This company's biodiesel comes from multiple sustainable feedstocks, including inedible corn oil, used cooking oil, degummed/crude soil oil, beef tallow, and pork lard. These feedstocks do not compete with food production. This company produces 89 million gallons of biodiesel per year and has an on-site liquid waste treatment facility. NOBS is a bleach activator that performs in cold water. Traditional stain removal ingredients, such as sodium hypochlorite, contain chlorine, which corrodes washing machines and destroys fabrics.

Develops and scales continuous processes using flow chemistry technology. Continuous flow reactors save energy through increased efficiency, development speed, selectivity, and flexibility compared to conventional batch reactors. Utilizing microreactor technology also increases efficiency by decreasing mass, heat transfer length, and reaction volume. Continuous flow reactors also require fewer operational steps, improving worker safety. 

Manufacturing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents. PCR is used in research, genetic engineering, forensics, infectious disease identification, food safety, and personalized medicine. The conventional production of key chemicals for PCR tests (such as deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates, or dNTP) is hazardous, inefficient, and not atom economic. This new method for the manufacturing of dNTP consists of only three steps in a single pot, eliminating hazardous reagents and solvents such as zinc chloride, triphenyl phosphine, aldrithiol, dimethyl formamide, and dichloromethane.

Uses photothermography to produce imaging technology that uses heat for medical imaging applications. The photothermography process consists of a latent image that is initially generated from the revelation of a sensitized emulsion to suitable light energy. The image is made visible by exposing it to heat. This process produces no liquid waste and does not require chemical developers and fixing solutions. This process eliminates large amounts of toxic chemicals and waste generated in traditional chemical photographic processing.

Toner made from soy and corn biomass. This toner uses polyester, polyamide, and polyurethane resins made from soy oil, protein, and carbohydrates extracted from corn. Conventional petroleum-based toners that use synthetic resins (such as styrene acrylates and styrene butadiene) are challenging to remove from papers during recycling. While toners that facilitate the de-inking process have been developed, they are much more expensive than traditional toners. Contrarily, these soy and corn-based toners have a more competitive price.

Replaces highly volatile organic liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries with advanced polymers that enable improved safety and performance. Utilizes a new solid and nonflammable electrolyte in batteries made from crystalline resins (polyester ether ketone, polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone, etc.). Conventional batteries use electrolytes from a solvent-based lithium salt solution that are highly flammable. This new electrolyte can be integrated into existing battery designs.

Higher quality quantum dots for LED screens that use much less toxic feedstock. This technology replaces the traditional centrifugation method with filtration and uses less toxic solvents. Conventional methods of producing LED screens make substantial use of toxic solvents and are inefficient. This new technology could potentially reduce the use of toxic solvents by 150,000 liters per year in the United States. This technology is also more efficient, reducing energy usage. 

Biocatalytic process for the synthesis of esters. Esters are important ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. Traditional esters manufacturing requires strong acids and potentially hazardous solvents and produces undesirable byproducts that require energy-intensive purification. Using immobilized enzymes at mild temperatures as an alternative, Eastmen saves energy and avoids dangerous chemicals. This process produces no undesirable by-products, and the enzymes are easily removable via filtration.