Mitsubishi i-MIEV battery electric vehicle was rated highest in latest environmental rankings provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. See story below. Credit: Mitsubishi.

Here is what we are hearing:

DOE to launch new Energy Innovation Hub focused on advanced batteries and energy storage

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced plans to launch a new Energy Innovation Hub for advanced research on batteries and energy storage with an investment of up to $120 million over five years. The hub, which will be funded at up to $20 million in fiscal year 2012, will focus on accelerating research and development of electrochemical energy storage for transportation and the electric grid. Letters of Intent to apply are due on March 1, 2012 with full applications due on May 31, 2012. Universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms are eligible to compete and are encouraged to form partnerships when submitting their proposals. The award selection is expected this summer.

Commission clears acquisition of joint control of Maxam by Advent, investors

The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of joint control of the Spanish company MaxamCorp Holding S.L. by US-based Advent International Corp. and approximately 110 individuals including Maxam’s current managers, technical experts, other employees and co-investors. The Commission examined the vertical links created by the proposed transaction and concluded that the merged entity would continue to face sufficient competition. Advent manages a number of investment funds. It also controls H.C. Starck GmbH, which is active mainly in refractory metals and advanced ceramics, and OXEA S.a.r.l., which primarily produces chemicals.

Hot news on advanced materials from Harper

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Nanocerox redesigns new analytical lab (pdf)

Nanocerox recently invested in a new analytical lab at its corporate headquarters located in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Nanocerox continues to invest internally in our infrastructure to ensure the quality of our nanopowders,” says Todd Stefanik, vice president of technology. “As a result of our recent construction of a cleanroom facility for processing nanopowders into transparent ceramic parts, we realized significant improvements in the optical quality of optical parts produced at Nanocerox. With this redesign of our analytical laboratories, we allow ourselves to measure ceramic powder, slurry and transparent part characteristics to ensure consistent production of high optical quality laser, window and scintillator components.”

Webcast of Ceradyne Inc. presentation at Cowen and Company’s 33rd Annual Aerospace/Defense Conference available

Ceradyne CEO Joel P. Moskowitz spoke at Cowen and Company’s 33rd Annual Aerospace/Defense Conference in New York on Feb. 8, 2012. He addressed the company’s business fundamentals and growth strategies. Ceradyne develops, manufactures, and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel, and commercial applications. In many high performance applications, products made of advanced technical ceramics meet specifications that similar products made of metals, plastics or traditional ceramics cannot achieve.

U.S. Silica goes public after 111 years

Shares of U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. started trading Feb. 1, 2012, as the mining firm with roots going back more than a century raised $200 million in its initial public offering. The producer of silica used in hydraulic fracturing and solar panels was acquired in 2008 by affiliates of Golden Gate Private Equity Inc. It ranks as the second-largest producer in the United States after Unimin, a unit of Belgium-based Sibelco Group. The company originated in West Virginia as a supplier of raw material for glass used in the manufacturing sector in Pittsburgh, before it moved to its current headquarters in Frederick, Md. The company’s growth prospects are tied partially to the rise in domestic shale oil and gas production, which uses sand to break up rock underground to free-up fossil fuel in the hydraulic fracturing process, also known as fracking.

Electric car tops out greenest vehicle list

For the first time in the 12-year history of the Greencars.org Greenest Vehicle List, an electric vehicle has topped the list, based on the 14th annual comprehensive environmental rankings provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The Mitsubishi i-MIEV battery electric vehicle claimed the top spot from the Honda Civic Natural Gas, which, up until this year, had held the top spot for 8 years running. The i-MIEV scored a high score of 58, the highest Green Score ever awarded since the ACEEE rankings were started back in 1998. The Mitsubishi i-MIEV managed a combined city and highway fuel economy of 112 miles per gallon equivalent.

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Demonstration of the flexibility of cellulose–silica composite aerogel. Credit: J. Cai et al.; Angewandte Chemie.

This sounds like the type of breakthrough aerogel fans have yearning for.

A newly published paper in Angewandte Chemie reports on an Asian group’s success at using cellulose fibers as a scaffold/template for a resultant silica aerogel that delivers a product that has great mechanical strength and flexibility, while retaining a large surface area and semitransparency.

Aerogel has been something of a tease for many years. It has incredible insulating abilities, but the one enormous problem for silica aerogel is that it is frustratingly brittle and difficult to work into practical applications. Some developers have found limited success via hybridization techniques with support materials such as polyurethane, polystyrene or even nanofibrillar bacterial cellulose and microfibrillated cellulose gel.

However, with support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science’s Foreign Researcher Fund of Japan and the National Basic Research Program of China, researchers at Wuhan University, China, and University of Tokyo, took a different cellulose-based route. They already knew that they could exploit “cellulose II” crystallinity  (dissolution and then regeneration/reassembly of fibrils) to form aerogels with good mechanical strength, light transmittance and high porosity — characteristics that they suspected would make it an effective substrate for silica aerogel.

In brief, the group, led by Lina Zhang, impregnated a sample of nanoporous cellulose gel (with its interconnected nanofibrillar network) with a silica precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate. According to the paper, “The resulting composite gels were dried with supercritical CO₂ to give cellulose–silica aerogels with low density, moderate light transmittance, a large surface area, high mechanical integrity and excellent heat insulation.”

They then went one step farther and used calcination to remove the cellulose matrix, leaving a silica-only aerogel. The key point here is that this silica aerogel’s structure is much different than pure silica aerogel. In the latter, primary silica nanoparticles form and then randomly coagulate resulting in an isotropic 3D network. “In contrast,” again quoting from the paper, the authors say, “the formation of silica nanoparticles in the cellulose gel seems to cause their deposition onto the cellulose fibrils. As a result, removal of cellulose by calcination results in the nanofibrillar silica network.”

The group compared a variety of aerogels, including silica-only and cellulose-only aerogels; cellulose-silica composites, with varying levels of silica; and cellulose-templated silica aerogel.

What they found at the macroscopic level is that the composite aerogels didn’t inherit the fragility of the silica, but instead seem to inherit the flexibility and strength of the cellulose network (see knotted sample of one of the composites, above).

While the tensile modulus and strength of the cellulose–silica aerogel were less than pure cellulose aerogel, “the compression modulus of the composite (7.9MPa) is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of silica aerogel, and about 50 times higher than that of the aerogel prepared from bacterial cellulose.”

Because of the cellulose content, the composite aerogels break down when used above 300°C. However, below that temperature, the cellulose-silica aerogel retained strong heat insulating properties. Thermal conductivity of the prepared samples ranged from 0.025 W m^-1 K^-1 to 0.045 W m^-1 K^-1.

These numbers compare favorably with polystyrene foam (0.030 W m^-1 K^-1), however, the researchers note that the ability of the cellulose–silica aerogels to perform up to 300°C give it a leg up on insulation materials made of polymer that soften and breakdown at similar temperatures.

“Thus,” according to the authors,”the cellulose–silica composite is potentially useful as heat insulating material with high mechanical stability, together with processability to form sheets, fibers, or beads. … [They] retained the mechanical strength and flexibility, large surface area, semitransparency, and low thermal conductivity of the cellulose aerogels. The ease of preparation and wide tuneability of composition/properties with this method are expected to form the basis for the development of various advanced nano-porous materials.”

The paper, ”Cellulose-silica nanocomposite aerogels by in situ formation of silica in cellulose gel,” (doi:10.1002/ange.201105730) is written by Jie Cai, Shilin Liu, Jiao Feng, Satoshi Kimura, Masahisa Wada, Shigenori Kuga, and Lina Zhang.

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This is part of the chart USGS’s W. David Menzie presented today at a hearing in Washington, DC. Credit: USGS.

Not totally surprising, but I hadn’t seen these number aggregated like this before.

From today’s hearings in Washington by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on the topic of “China’s Global Quest for Resources and Implications for the United States” (emphasis added).

(Testimony (pdf) by W. David Menzie, chief of the Global Minerals Analysis Section, USGS) If one compares China’s per capita mineral consumption in 2010 with that of the United States in 2000, (the last year of domestic consumption data preceding the recent economic downturn) one can form some idea of how far China has increased its consumption. For a few mineral commodities (cement, steel, tin, and zinc), China’s 2010 consumption already equals or exceeds that of the United States in 2000. With the exception of tin, these minerals find a significant proportion of their use in the construction sector.

For many other commodities (aluminum, copper, lead, salt, soda ash), China’s 2010 consumption is less than half of that of the United States in 2000. It would be reasonable to suggest that China’s consumption of these minerals is likely to continue increasing for some time to come. These minerals find their uses in a variety of manufactured products (aluminum, copper, and lead) and in industrial chemicals (salt), and glass manufacture (soda ash). The resulting production and consumption is likely to support continued high prices for many mineral commodities, and continued investment in and competition for mineral projects and companies. The increased mineral consumption is also likely to be accompanied by a significant increase in environmental impacts from mining, processing, and consuming the minerals, particularly in the vicinity of these activities.

Menzie also said:

For the United States a particularly worrying trend is the declining domestic consumption of a number of processed metals (aluminum, copper, lead, finished steel, tin, and zinc), both in terms of absolute consumption and in terms of per capita consumption. The declines in per capita consumption follow decades in which the per capita consumption of many metals was stable. These declines may reflect a decline in U.S. manufacturing of goods that use these metals.

I am not sure I fully agree with the speculation in his last sentence. The drop in per capita consumption, in part, is also likely due to the fact that in the US, household income is now less than in 2000 or 1990.

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Framework for new report by a committee of the National Research Council for the National Academies. Credit: NRC.

Nano environmental health and safety is clearly an important topic and one that is frequently referenced at materials conferences I have attended. But despite all the balloon juice, it seems to me that work over the last few years on research, documentation and development of databases on the safety and health of various nanomaterials hasn’t gone very far.

Good people at NIST, NIH and other institutions have been working for at least five year on trying to get some momentum going, and I do get that the nano EHS work is complicated (and that there yet seems to be even a common language among various researchers and between the research and industry communities) and expensive, but unfortunately, it feels like there is little substantial progress being made.

I think the National Academies agrees:

The committee that wrote the [a new report from the National Research Council] found that over the last seven years there has been considerable effort internationally to identify research needs for the development and safe use of nanotechnology, including those of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which coordinates US federal investments in nanoscale research and development. However, there has not been sufficient linkage between research and research findings and the creation of strategies to prevent and manage any risks. For instance, little progress has been made on the effects of ingested nanomaterials on human health and other potential health and environmental effects of complex nanomaterials that are expected to enter the market over the next decade. Therefore, there is the need for a research strategy that is independent of any one stakeholder group, has human and environmental health as its primary focus, builds on past efforts, and is flexible in anticipating and adjusting to emerging challenges, the committee said.

The committee recommends four research categories “which should be addressed within five years:”

• Identify and quantify the nanomaterials being released and the populations and environments being exposed;
• Understand processes that affect both potential hazards and exposure;
• Examine nanomaterial interactions in complex systems ranging from subcellular to ecosystems; and
• Support an adaptive research and knowledge infrastructure for accelerating progress and providing rapid feedback to advance research.

Will Washington fund such efforts? It’s hard to know given the political environment, and the NRC warns, “[A]ny reduction in the current funding level of approximately $120 million per year over the next five years for health and environmental risk research by federal agencies would be a setback to nanomaterials risk research.”

NRC also says other public, private and global resources will be needed in the areas of “informatics, nanomaterial characterization, benchmarking nanomaterials, characterization of sources and development of networks for supporting collaborative research.”

I haven’t had a chance to read the 200+ page report, but the summary seems to contain a fairly thorough strategy, with one exception: It’s not very helpful in suggesting how to implement the strategy, which always has seemed to me to be the weakness in these discussions. Someone logically has to be given the power and resources to wrangle all of the stakeholders.

What about the NNI? Can it spearhead the effort? The committee astutely puts the kybosh on that notion, at least with the current configuration of NNI agencies:

The committee said that the current structure of the NNI — which has only coordinating functions across federal agencies and no top-down budgetary or management authority to direct nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety research — hinders its accountability for effective implementation. In addition, there is concern that dual and potentially conflicting roles of the NNI, such as developing and promoting nanotechnology while identifying and mitigating risks that arise from its use, impede application and evaluation of health and environmental risk research. To carry out the research strategy effectively, a clear separation of management and budgetary authority and accountability between promoting nanotechnology and assessing potential environmental and safety risks is essential.

Its not clear to me if the NRC/NAS has an alternative to the NNI leadership in mind, or just a restructuring of NNI, but the committee says whatever group is in charge will require “sufficient management and budgetary authority to direct development and implementation of a federal EHS strategy across NNI agencies and to ensure integration of federally supported EHS research with research undertaken by the private sector, the academic community and international organizations.” In other words, the dual NNI responsibilities of simultaneously promoting nanomaterials and assessing their EHS effects generates lots of conflicts and therefore accountability for the two should be clearly separated.

Addendum from Eileen: The Danish have taken a first stab at addressing exactly this issue, according to a press release published today. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Technical University of Denmark and the National Research Centre for the Working Environment collaborated on developing a database concept for cataloging and evaluating the risks associated with nanomaterials. The Executive Summary of the report (pdf) explains:

Through this project, DTU Environment and the National Research Centre for the Working Environment have initiated the development of a screening tool, NanoRiskCat (NRC), that is able to identify, categorize and rank expo- sures and effects of nanomaterials used in consumer products based on data available in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and other regulatory relevant sources of information and data. The primary focus was on nanomaterials relevant for professional end-users and consumers as, as well as nanomaterials released into the environment.

They used nanosized TiO₂ (used in sunscreens) and C₆₀ (used in lubricants) as demonstration materials for the database.

To make it easy to evaluate risks quickly, a color coded five-dot system was developed, where the first three dots “refer to potential exposure of professional end-users, consumers and the environment,” and the last two dots “refer to the hazard potential for humans and the environment.”

The color code scheme is the universally recognized red, yellow and green, corresponding to high, medium and low risks. In cases where the risk is unknown, the dot is grey.

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Here is what we are hearing:

Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers are, once again, the largest presence at the trade fair

February 7-10 are the dates for the 30th edition of the International Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Equipment Fair, CEVISAMA at the Feria Valencia centre. The fair is already an international point of reference for the industry involved in coverings for interiors. Spain’s ceramic tile sector is once again the largest presence at the event, with a large number of ASCER member companies showcasing their products and latest developments.

North American tile industry establishes product sustainability certification program

The Tile Council of North America is pleased to announce the establishment of “Green Squared,” the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials. ”With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Bill Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.

Streaming continuous data at up to 96 MSamples per second

More and more applications require high sampling rates, but due to computer processing and bus limitations, in the past, special AD cards with large on board memories had to be used. And, with these ‘scope-like’ cards, only triggered blocks of data could be captured, so if the trigger was not set correctly the event could be lost forever. All Dewetron instruments are able to acquire 5GB per minute continuously, and dedicated Dewetron transient systems can capture up to 11GB per minute, where only the hard disk drive size is the limitation of your recording length.

Kyocera introduces new Megacoat cermet cutting tools in grade PV7025 for general machining of steel

Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation’s Cutting Tool Division has introduced its new PV7025 PVD-coated cermet grade of indexable cutting tool inserts for general machining of steel. Featuring Kyocera’s new proprietary Megacoat PVD* coating technology, PV7025 offers extraordinary wear resistance and heat resistance, providing superior durability in high-speed machining. When combined with a super micrograin cermet substrate, the result is an exceptional cutting tool material for steel machining.

ECN grants Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles license on HybSi membrane technology

Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles, as one of the market leaders in inorganic membranes, has obtained a license for the commercialization of the HybSi membrane technology from ECN. The HybSi nanosieve allows the purification of various industrial solvents at a reduced cost and at an enhanced efficiency. It further combines an outstanding performance with unprecedented long term stability. Important fields of application can be found in the production of bio-fuels and in the separation of azeotropic mixtures. The HybSi membrane technology was originally developed by ECN, in collaboration with the Universities of Twente and Amsterdam.

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