Chemical Engineering November 2014 - 15

ChementatoR
Slash energy costs with this new electrowinning anode
T
he research group of Masatsugu
Morimitsu at Doshisha University
(Kyoto, Japan; www.doshisha.ac.jp)
has developed an " evolutionary "
electro-winning process for the production
of rare and base metals that
promises to reduce both the power
consumption and environmental burden.
The process features a hybrid
anode, called MSA (Morimitsu Smart
Anode), which is composed of nanoparticle
oxides dispersed in an oxide
matrix. The MSA enhances the catalytic
activity up to ten times while
reducing the electrowinning voltage
by 700 mV, which corresponds to energy
savings of up to 36%, compared
to traditional lead-alloy anodes. The
generation of metal sludge is also
said to be suppressed.
The MSA features a bifunctional
electrocatalyst composed of nanoparticles
of metal oxides uniformly
dispersed in an amorphous matrix.
The catalyst is very active for the
evolution of oxygen or chlorine gas,
while suppressing side reactions
caused by thermal decomposition.
Doshisha University has licensed
the technology to Republic Alternative
Technologies (Strongsville,
Ohio), which was acquired by Outotec
USA, Inc. (Denver, Colo.; www.
outotec.com) last April. Full-scale
production of electrowinning electrodes
is now underway. The first
commercial application of the new
anode is the Cobre del Mayo Copper
SXEW plant, located south of Hermosillo,
Sonora province in Mexico,
which produces 30,000 ton/yr of
copper. Since then, electrowinning
companies in twelve countries are
moving forward to install this anode
technology, says the university.
change spontaneously when exposed
to toxic substances, potentially providing
a new method for disease detection.
Ultrasound enzyme hydrolysis
aiming to understand the nature of the
synergistic effect of ultrasound and
enzymes in the production of fermentable
sugars from lignocellulosic biomass,
researchers from the Institute of
Chemical Technology (Mumbai, India;
www.ictmumbai.edu.in) have studied
the ultrasound-assisted enzymatic
hydrolysis of waste newspaper. Waste
newspaper has a high cellulosic content,
making it a potential feedstock for
bioethanol production.
The researchers found that the
sugar yield from enzymatic hydrolysis
was increased by a factor of 2.4 with
sonication (60 W power), producing
27.6 g/L of sugar (substrate load of 3
wt.%) after 6.5 h. In contrast, conventional
enzymatic hydrolysis (without ultrasound)
produced 11.6 g/L after 72 h.
according to the researchers, the
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http://www.doshisha.ac.jp http://www.ictmumbai.edu.in http://www.outotec.com http://www.burkert.com http://adlinks.che.com/50982-08

Chemical Engineering November 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2014