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.
Liquid bromine-based antimicrobial. This stable liquid bromine-based antimicrobial is safer and easier to apply than traditional chlorine or other solid bromine-based products. These conventional products are highly volatile, reactive, and hazardous. The use of liquid makes this novel product easy to feed and control. It has better performance at high pH, is more persistent than chlorine, and has fewer reactions with organic contaminants. The product also has low volatility, resulting in lower halogen feed rates, less odor, better tower fill fouling prevention, and lower air emissions.
Producing phenol from waste nitrous oxide. The adipic acid manufacturing process produces large amounts of nitrous oxide gas as waste. Nitrous oxide gas has high global warming potential and contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. This process takes waste nitrous oxide gas and reuses it as a reagent in hydroxylating benzene to phenol. This reduces nitrous oxide gas waste and reduces the raw materials involved in phenol production.
Polyester polyols made from byproduct of the phtahlic anhydride process. Byproducts from the phthalic anhydride process are usually disposed by incineration. Using these byproducts to manufacture polyester polyols reduces waste and its associated environmental impacts.
Olefin metathesis catalyst that converts renewable, natural oils into various products. Natural oil metathesis is a technology that transforms plant oils into high-performing, environmentally friendly specialty chemicals. This process uses a highly efficient, selective metathesis catalyst to derive value-added speacilty chemicals and olefins from natural oils. Compared to petrochemicals, this process reduces source pollution, energy consumption, production costs, and capital expenditures. The manufacturing process is low-pressure and low-temperature and can utilize virtually ant plant oil.
Economic production of 100% renewable chemicals and second-generation advanced biofuels from any cellulosic waste stream. This company converts lignocellulose to levulinic acid. The cellulosic waste feedstock consists of woody biomass, municipal solid waste, cellulosic crops, and recycled paper and cardboard. Levulinic acid is versatile and has the potential for downstream derivative production, such as biofuels and renewable chemicals.
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.
Carbon-negative pigment and ink products from algae. This product is a black algae-based pigment with a negative carbon footprint. Living Ink uses a by-product material from algae to make small black pigments in the form of dry powder or liquid dispersion. The product is bio-based, renewable, and resistant to UV-light exposure. The company's Algae Black is an alternative to carbon black; it can color ink, plastics, cosmetics, and textile products.
Polymeric halogen-free flame retardant. Halogen-free flame retardant composed of DPMP polymers is synthesized in a solventless reaction that only produces phenol as a major byproduct. This phenol can be used to produce more DPMP. Compared to traditional FRs, this product has superior performance and eliminates environmental and health risks. Traditional FRs are halogenated, enabling hazardous materials to migrate to the exterior of plastics and increase human exposure through contact. 60% of plastic formulations contained halogenated FR.
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.