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Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Researchers from the University of Warwick and the University of Cambridge have developed sensors made from frozen smoke. They claim the sensors can detect extremely low concentrations of formaldehyde. Significantly, the results may contribute to a new era of air quality monitoring.  Formaldehyde — what is it? Formaldehyde is a commonly found air pollutant in indoor environments. Household items like wallpapers, pressed wood products, paints, and  tobacco smoke  emit it. High concentrations of formaldehyde exposure can lead to respiratory irritation, headaches, respiratory symptoms, and an increased risk of certain cancers. Current indoor   air quality   sensors lack the sensitivity to detect formaldehyde at such low levels. This is what the researchers focused on.  The team used 3D printing techniques to develop sensors made from aerogels, also known as  frozen smoke . These sensors can detect  extremely  low lev...

Clariant and its process partner Lummus Technology have been selected by Huizhou Boeko Materials to provide their CATOFIN catalyst and process technology for the dehydrogenation of isobutane at the new plant in Huizhou City, China. The process technology is exclusively licensed by Lummus Technology, while the tailor-made catalyst is supplied by Clariant. It is the first time Huizhou Boeko will license the CATOFIN technology at one of their sites. Yielding Superior Annual Production Output: The scope of the current award includes the technology license and basic engineering. Once complete, the plant will produce 550,000 metric tons per annum (MTA) of net isobutylene. It will serve as feedstock for the downstream production of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). The highly efficient CATOFIN process uses fixed-bed reactors and operates at optimum reactor pressure and temperature to maximize catalytic dehydrogenation of isobutane for high yields of isobutylene at low investment and ope...

CRP Technology's 3D printed orthoses made of glass-fiber reinforced thermoplastic, Windform® GT material, have been selected to be exhibited at the SuperPower Design exhibition. The event will be held from March 24 to August 25, 2024 at the Center for Innovation and Design (CID) in Grand-Hornu, Belgium. An orthosis is a medical device applied externally to the human body. It is used to assist, restrict, control, or limit movement for specific body segments. Integrated Framework of Mass Customization for Orthoses: The orthoses that will be showcased in Belgium include one leg orthosis for drop foot and one hand orthosis. They were created and manufactured using an innovative approach and procedure. CRP Technology and MHOX, in collaboration with medical professionals, developed an integrated framework of mass customization for generative orthoses. The system is based on three phases: bodyscan of the patient, generation of a 3D model of the orthosis, and 3D printin...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share World First: Manufacturer Runs 128-Cavity Mold in 1.9-second Cycle Time A 128-cavity mold will produce 26-mm water closures in a cycle time of 1.9 seconds in a live experience at Netstal’s booth at NPE 2024. Netstal’s CAP-Line 4500 is identical to two production systems being used by Alltrista, a contract manufacturer based in Greer, SC. The line features an all-electric clamping unit with 4,500 kN of force and a dry cycle time of 1.4 seconds. An optimized barrier screw allows for a smaller injection unit with higher plasticizing performance and better homogenization, Netstal expained. More than three billion closures produced annually "Alltrista is the first in the world to produce with 128 cavities and a cycle time of 1.9 seconds,” said Horst Kogler, head of Netstsal’s caps and closures business unit. “They produce more than 3.1 billion closures with two lines [annually]. More output per square meter of production area is currently not possible."...

In nanomaterials, shape is destiny. That is, the geometry of the particle in the material defines the physical characteristics of the resulting material. “A crystal made of nano-ball bearings will arrange themselves differently than a crystal made of nano-dice and these arrangements will produce very different physical properties,” said Wendy Gu, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, introducing her latest paper which appears in the journal Nature Communications . “We’ve used a 3D nanoprinting technique to produce one of the most promising shapes known – Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons. They are micron-scale tetrahedrons with the tips lopped off.” In the paper, Gu and her co-authors describe how they nanoprinted tens of thousands of these challenging nanoparticles, stirred them into a solution, and then watched as they self-assembled into various promising crystal structures. More critically, these materials can shift between states in minutes sim...