Catalysts are used in 90% of the world’s chemical processes to
produce 60% of its chemical products. These catalysts greatly increase
the rate of the chemical reactions without being consumed. In many of
these processes, the surface area of the catalyst is a critical property
that determines the efficiency of the overall process. Also important
to the process is the overall amount of catalyst that’s needed to
efficiently run the process.
Bryce Tappan, a postdoctoral research fellow at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, N.M., has developed a Metal NanoFoam Fabrication Technique
that produces materials that are significantly more efficient than competing
catalysts and also useful in other non-catalysis applications. Tappan’s
technique produces self-supporting, nanoporous metal foams with pore sizes,
surface areas, and densities comparable to those of silica aerogels, the
lightest known solids.
The surface areas the nanofoams are up to a thousand times larger than
those cited in data available for competing foams. This larger surface
area can improve the efficiencies of a number of chemical processes, including
those in solid rocket propellants, disinfectants, fuel cells, and oil
refining. The pore size of the nanofoams produced in this technique is
also about 100 times smaller than that in competing products. Competing
metal foam processes also are only available in five metals (Ni, Nb, Ta,
W, and Re)—Tappan’s nanofoams can be made from nearly any
transition metal.
The production process for creating the nanofoams is also relatively
simple, by igniting a pressed pellet of a high-nitrogen metal complex
in an inert atmosphere. The complexes are produced by a low-cost, high-volume
synthesis method developed by Tappan.
In addition to their use as catalysts, these materials are also being
considered for applications as electron sources in plasma TVs, radar absorbers,
structural composites, biological sensors, and environmental remediation
materials.
Modeling the behavior and dynamics of complex biological systems
has taken on greater significance over the last few years. SimPheny
(for Simulating Phenotypes) developed by Genomatica, Inc., San Diego,
Calif., is an enterprise-level software platform that enables the
development of predictive computer models of metabolism for organisms
from bacteria to humans.
SimPheny is a client/server application that can build virtual
cells from their basic molecular components and can simulate the
activity of the cell's complete reaction network. It also serves
as an advanced biological knowledge management system by allowing
the user to input various genomic data and allow for its analysis
and visualization through computer models.
Scientists can then use these computer models to drive research
and development efforts in a wide range of applications across medical,
industrial and agricultural biotechnology. These applications include
the engineering and design of microbial metabolisms and mammalian
cell lines as well as for the rapid discovery of antimicrobials
and toward enhancing current understanding of the human metabolic
system.
The purpose and promise of biotech research is that living organisms
can be enhanced and grown in a non-toxic environment. A team of
researchers at the Monsanto Co. in St. Louis, Mo., has taken that
axiom to heart in their development of the first hybrid biotechnology-based
corn with built-in protection against specific insect pests called
rootworms. These pests feed on the root systems of corn, depriving
the plant of moisture and soil nutrients and resulting in substantially
reduced yields. Conventional methods for controlling these pests
have been in multiple applications of expensive chemical insecticides.
A non-chemical solution that some farmers have used is to rotate
the crops with non-affected soybeans, thus starving the next generation
of rootworms. Unfortunately, some rootworms have evolved to offset
this solution by laying eggs that take two years to hatch, just
when the rotation period is back again for corn plantings.
Monsanto’s YieldGard Rootworm contains a protein derived
from a common soil microorganism called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
The protein is very specific, targeting only the corn rootworm pest.
It does not affect beneficial insects and is safe for human and
animal consumption. Also, by being applied to the seed, the hybrid
plants have season-long protection against the pests that are built
into the seed, resulting in less need for applications of additional
pesticides to control the pests.
YieldGard results in crop yields that are about 8% greater than
those treated with a leading soil-applied insecticide. In addition,
YieldGard is much easier to use and there’s no extra equipment
or applications issues.
Airline fire detectors have historically produced as high as a 200 to
1 rate of false alarms. For this reason, researchers from NASA Glenn Research
Center, Cleveland, Ohio, in a joint effort with Makel Engineering, Inc.,
Chico, Calif., Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, Ohio, and Ohio State
Univ., Columbus, have developed the Multi-Parameter, MicroSensor-Based
Low False Alarm Fire Detection System (MMFDS).
The MMFDS looks for increased concentrations of combustion gases along
with smoke to guard against falsely sensing a fire. It uses multi-sensor
packages to sense and then compare the concentrations of the various gases
and the particle sizes of the smoke to values characteristic of an actual
fire. The result is a fire detector system that quickly and reliably recognizes
the onset of a fire, while easily screening out false alarms. In this
way, the MMFDS provides important capabilities to improve the economy
and safety of our air transportation system.
