Posted by Ben Proudlove on Tue, Mar 23, 2010 @ 02:05 PM
If you're involved in any aspect of catalyst characterisation please join the Catalyst Characterisation Group recently set up on Linkedin
This group is intended to be an open place for researchers to do some networking and discuss their latest techniques, new research findings, meetings and conferences or anything related to this subject field.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Dec 03, 2009 @ 09:18 AM
A very hot topic at the moment is the coversion of biomass (and I'll include in that coal) to synthetic fuel i.e. by gasification followed by conversion of the syngas to liquid hydrocarbons.
So these researching this area include the guys at Columbia I recently mentioned who are looking at incorporating CO2 into the gasification process to both utilise a waste gas and also improve process efficiency.
Also in the news currently is a big investment going on in Alberta Canada into developing a UCG (underground coal gasification) production site to utilise coal too deep to mine and turn it into liquid hydrocarbons for fuel usage. And you can bet there will be lots more going down this route, particularly when you consider the amount of coal reserves in the USA and their desire to limit their dependency on oil producing countries and also that the technology can be made relatively cleanly, using sunlight for the gasification process (potentially) and the synthetic fuel can be distributed and used using current set ups. 
So there are two main research areas that need looking at:
Biomass or coal to Syngas
and
Syngas to Liquid Hydrocarbons
We supply a range of systems that can be designed to suit a researchers exact requirements to meet all aspects of this research. As such I've set up a dedicated application page and a downloadable presentation detailing the systems and benefits they offer your research. Please visit our Biomass to Liquids application page.
Let me know if you have any questions or need further info - easiest is via our contact us page
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Dec 03, 2009 @ 05:47 AM
If you're involved in Fischer Tropsch or other related research please join the Fischer Tropsch Research Group recently set up on Linkedin
Its intended to be a place for researchers to discuss their latest techniques, research and also to highlight any upcoming meetings, conferences etc.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Tue, Dec 01, 2009 @ 12:17 PM
Further to their interview with Professor Kitagawa's group Science Watch have followed this up with an interesting Q&A session with Professor Kimoon Kim discussing the work at POSTECH in Korea looking at rigid and flexible MOFs for such applications as hydrogen or CO2 storage.
Metal Organic Frameworks (also known as Porous Coordination Polymers) can be designed and synthesised to meet many application demands and current research is pushing the boundaries in terms of being able to meet the hydrogen storage capacity requirements set by the US guidelines as well as being useful for the capture of CO2...
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 @ 06:59 AM
Really interesting interview with Professor Omar Yaghi on the Yaghi Laboratory Website.
Professor Yaghi is one of the leaders in the field of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and here he discusses their use for CO2 capture. The specific MOF he mentions 1g of the material has a surface area the size of 60-70 tennis courts! And this porous framework can be "designed" to selectively allow sorption of CO2 rather than other gases.
You may also be interested in having a look at our MOF research instrumentation page.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 11:20 AM
Researchers at Columbia University in New York have found that adding CO2 in place of 30% of the steam used for biomass gasification improves the efficiency of the process and also potentially means a a beneficial use for waste CO2 in the environment. Full details on the research can be seen on this Global Impact page.
So broadly speaking that means more efficient production of a new fuel source while at the same time make use of an unwanted material in the environment. A win/win situation????
For details of how our systems can be used for research into biomass gasification, and conversion of syngas to synthetic fuels please have a look at our biomass gasification page.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 06:51 AM
New press release on greenwisebusiness.co.uk detailing the work I mentioned by Professor Critoph's team at Warwick University on a new method using waste heat from car engines to power air conditioning units using adsorption technology.
The article highlights something I mentioned before about the energy saving benefits associated with powering air conditioning using waste heat rather than engine power "In car air conditioning systems, it is expected to reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by nearly five per cent."
The Rubotherm systems there allow them to carry out research on ammonia sorption without risk to the high precision balance so they can accurately investigate the effect of various conditions (including high pressures) on the ammonia sorption into activated carbon samples.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 @ 12:49 PM
Interesting paper recently published through the Journal of the American Chemical Society detailing work from the Kitagawa Group at Kyoto University and their research into porous coordination polymers.
Professor Kitagawa is well known to us as he's a good customer of Rubotherm and BEL both of which we represent exclusively in the UK and Ireland. I met him at the recent BZA (British Zeolite Conference) up in Ambleside where he presented on his work looking into Porous Coordination Polymers (PCPs) or Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs). They've recently been looking into frameworks that respond to a guest, in other words materials that can be unlocked/triggered by a guest molecule to facilitate a change in their structure changing the PCPs sorption profiles. So in simple terms materials that can be triggered to become more porous.
A brief question and answer section with Professor Kitagawa and his colleague on this subject can also be seen on ScienceWatch.com and further details seen on their group website
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Mon, Nov 09, 2009 @ 11:14 AM
The title of this article may be a bit vague, but just to let you know 
of a re-focus of this blog section of our website.
Every few days we'll be detailed current research being carried out by our customers in the UK, customers of our suppliers around the globe, and any other research findings that are related and of interest. So hopefully being a good and relevant source of information for you all.
We'll also include any related news and articles from around the web, so such things as Fischer Tropsch, Coal Gasification, Biomass Gasification, Catalyst Characterisation and other new energy research and general chemistry and chemical engineering research.
All new Merrow Scientific product news will be detailed in our latest products section
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Tue, Nov 03, 2009 @ 08:10 AM
Interesting website detailing the work being carried out by Professor Critoph and his team at the Warwick Energy Research at Warwick University. Using a range of equipment including the Rubotherm gravimetric sorption analysers they are looking at the research and development of adsorption cycle heat pumps, refrigerators and air conditioners.
One such system they are working on is using the waste heat from car engine exhausts to drive a modular thermal wave adsorption air conditioner. You'll find a great presentation on their site of the work they're currently researching.
Typically it's estimated current air conditioning units can lower the car's fuel consumption by over 10mpg, so having potentially quite an effect on the environment if every car owner drives around with their air conditioning on. I would assume that this new research from Warwick would potentially mean that in the future car drivers can keep cool in hot weather without any negative affects on their fuel economy, thus having huge potential benefits for the climate.