PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Using a form of 'ice that burns' to make potable water from oil and gas production

2013-08-28
(Press-News.org) In the midst of an intensifying global water crisis, scientists are reporting development of a more economical way to use one form of the "ice that burns" to turn very salty wastewater from fracking and other oil and gas production methods into water for drinking and irrigation. The study on the method, which removes more than 90 percent of the salt, appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Yongkoo Seol and Jong-Ho Cha explain that salty wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production, including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. These methods use water and produce as a byproduct almost 10 barrels of salty water for every barrel of oil. That water could help people in water-stressed regions. But it can't be desalinated economically with traditional methods. Seol and Cha knew that an alternative called "gas hydrate desalination" showed promise. A gas hydrate consists of only water and a gas such as methane, the stuff of natural gas. Thus, when hydrates form, salts and other impurities are left behind. When the hydrate breaks down, the gas and pure water are released. However, forming the gas hydrate used in desalination required costly chilling of the water to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Seol and Cha sought to develop a less costly version of the method, which involves a variation on methane hydrates, chunks of ice retrieved from deep below the sea that burst into flame when brought to the surface.

They describe development and laboratory testing of a new type of gas hydrate desalination technique. They formed the hydrates from water and carbon dioxide with the gases cyclopentane and cyclohexane, which made the method work more efficiently. It removed more than 90 percent of the salt compared to 70 percent with the previous gas hydrate technique. And the process works at near-room temperature, reducing the need for chilling.

###

The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Follow us: Twitter Facebook


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Producing hydrogen from water with carbon/charcoal powder

2013-08-28
In the latest advance in efforts to find an inexpensive way to make hydrogen from ordinary water — one of the keys to the much-discussed "hydrogen economy" — scientists are reporting that powder from high-grade charcoal and other forms of carbon can free hydrogen from water illuminated with laser pulses. A report on the discovery appears in ACS' Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Ikuko Akimoto and colleagues point out that traditional approaches to breaking down water, which consists of hydrogen and oxygen, involve use of expensive catalysts or electric current passed through ...

Remembering a famous debate 400 years ago and water's still-unsolved mysteries

2013-08-28
For online and print audiences deep into lazy late-summer-day reading, yearning for diversions from everyday cares, how about a glimpse 400 years back in time at a famous clash between Galileo and an arch-enemy over why ice floats on water? That debate, between a giant in the history of science and a little-remembered naysayer who challenged Galileo's idea that Earth revolves around the sun, is the topic of a story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Sarah ...

Canada has strength in industrial R&D, says expert panel

2013-08-28
VIDEO: The Council's report, The State of Industrial R&D in Canada, provides an in-depth analysis of research and development activities in Canadian industries. While many reports have documented Canada's historical weakness... Click here for more information. Ottawa (August 28, 2013) – A new expert panel report on research and development in Canadian industry has found that, despite Canada's historically poor performance in industrial R&D, four sectors of national strength ...

4 alcohol brands dominate popular music mentions

2013-08-28
Four alcohol brands—Patron tequila, Hennessy cognac, Grey Goose vodka, and Jack Daniel's whiskey—accounted for more than half of alcohol brand mentions in the songs that mentioned alcohol use in Billboard's most popular song lists in 2009, 2010 and 2011, according to a new study from researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, published online by Substance Use & Misuse and the first to examine the context of specific brand mentions in ...

Rim Fire update Aug. 28, 2013

2013-08-28
The Los Angeles Times reports: "The Rim fire spread deeper into Yosemite National Park on Tuesday with flames racing unimpeded to the east even as firefighters shored up defenses for communities on the western edges of the blaze. The fire was 20% contained by Tuesday evening, with almost all of the containment coming on the fire's southwest edge. On the east, the fire has a relatively flat, clear path farther into Yosemite and the 3,700 firefighters battling the blaze have fewer options to control it. The blaze has destroyed 111 buildings, including 31 residences, and ...

NASA tallies Tropical Storm Fernand's massive rainfall from space

2013-08-28
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, also known as TRMM has the ability to measure rainfall from space. When Tropical Storm Fernand formed near Mexico's Gulf coast earlier this week, TRMM gathered data on the storm. Heavy rain with Tropical Storm Fernand generated mudslides. According to the Latin Times, a total of 13 people died as the result of mudslides from Fernand's heavy rainfall. Nine people died in the municipality of Yecuautla, while three people died in Tuxpan and one person in Atzalan. TRMM precipitation data are used to calibrate rainfall ...

Benefit of PET or PET/CT in oesophageal cancer is not proven

2013-08-28
The patient-relevant benefit of positron emission tomography (PET) in oesophageal cancer, alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT), is not proven due to a lack of comparative studies. In terms of their diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, it also remains unclear whether these diagnostic techniques can detect the spreading of tumours better than conventional diagnostics. This is the conclusion of the final report of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 20 August 2013. More reliable diagnosis ought to improve treatment About ...

Univ. of Maryland research could result in new approach to prevent diabetes-induced birth defects

2013-08-28
Baltimore, MD – August 28, 2013 – A research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has identified a cell signaling pathway which plays a significant role in causing developmental defects of the fetal spinal cord and brain in babies of women with diabetes. Using an animal model of disease, the team's results point to a potential new therapeutic target for preventing these defects in pregnant women having preexisting diabetes. The results of this study are published in the August 27th issue of Science Signaling. "Providing the best possible care for women ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists identify ALS disease mechanism

2013-08-28
(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – August 28, 2013) Researchers have tied mutations in a gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders to the toxic buildup of certain proteins and related molecules in cells, including neurons. The research, published recently in the scientific journal Cell, offers a new approach for developing treatments against these devastating diseases. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Colorado, Boulder, led the work. The findings provide the first evidence that a gene named VCP ...

GSA Today science: Biofilms, MISS, and stromatolites

2013-08-28
Boulder, Colorado, USA – In the September issue of GSA Today, Nora Noffke of Old Dominion University and Stan Awramik of the University of California, Santa Barbara, describe the interaction of carpet-like communities of benthic microorganisms (biofilms) with sediment dynamics at the sediment-water interface to form distinctive sedimentary structures called microbialites. The best known microbialite structures are stromatolites -- multilayered microbialites up to meters in thickness, built up by repetitive binding, biostabilization, baffling, and trapping of sediment ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Evolution of fast-growing fish-eating herring in the Baltic Sea

Cryptographic protocol enables secure data sharing in the floating wind energy sector

Can drinking coffee or tea help prevent head and neck cancer?

Development of a global innovative drug in eye drop form for treating dry age-related macular degeneration

Scientists unlock secrets behind flowering of the king of fruits

Texas A&M researchers illuminate the mysteries of icy ocean worlds

Prosthetic material could help reduce infections from intravenous catheters

Can the heart heal itself? New study says it can

Microscopic discovery in cancer cells could have a big impact

Rice researchers take ‘significant leap forward’ with quantum simulation of molecular electron transfer

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

How everyday activities inside your home can generate energy

Inequality weakens local governance and public satisfaction, study finds

Uncovering key molecular factors behind malaria’s deadliest strain

UC Davis researchers help decode the cause of aggressive breast cancer in women of color

Researchers discovered replication hubs for human norovirus

SNU researchers develop the world’s most sensitive flexible strain sensor

Tiny, wireless antennas use light to monitor cellular communication

Neutrality has played a pivotal, but under-examined, role in international relations, new research shows

Study reveals right whales live 130 years — or more

Researchers reveal how human eyelashes promote water drainage

Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows

DFG to fund eight new research units

Modern AI systems have achieved Turing's vision, but not exactly how he hoped

Quantum walk computing unlocks new potential in quantum science and technology

Construction materials and household items are a part of a long-term carbon sink called the “technosphere”

First demonstration of quantum teleportation over busy Internet cables

Disparities and gaps in breast cancer screening for women ages 40 to 49

US tobacco 21 policies and potential mortality reductions by state

AI-driven approach reveals hidden hazards of chemical mixtures in rivers

[Press-News.org] Using a form of 'ice that burns' to make potable water from oil and gas production