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Cement kiln operators who are making use of hazardous waste as a partial substitute for fossil fuel now have a better engineering foundation for determining what is going on in the kilns and how to optimize their operations. A just-released study by a scientific advisory board of experts commissioned by the Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition (CKRC) in Washington, D.C., has provided an indepth look at such operations and finds the practice to be a "fundamentally sound" technology. Long residence times and high temperatures in cement kilns maximize the combustion efficiency for waste-derived fuels, according to the study report. The scientific advisory board notes that all organic compounds can be destroyed in a kiln at 99.9999% efficiency. Also, the behavior of metals in cement kilns can be readily measured, predicted, and controlled, it says, concluding that cement kilns are extremely efficient in reducing metals emissions. The two-year study was carried out by a work group of ...

One of the longest running shows of chemical "magic" is the holiday performance of University of Wisconsin, Madison, chemistry professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri: "Once Upon a Christmas Cheery, In the Lab of Shakhashiri." In its current evolution, the show—which just completed its 23rd edition—also exemplifies recent efforts by the chemical community to more broadly reach the general public to help in increasing public understanding of science, especially chemistry. The 1992 show again went on a road tour, expanding to eight performances from five a year earlier. In 1991, the show was videotaped and broadcast for the first time over the Public Broadcasting System and the videotape made available to the general public. The 1992 show was videotaped for broadcast, as well, and is also now available for sale to the public. In addition, changes made in the 1992 show to increased the variety of household chemicals used so the general public would ...

With several contracts recently being awarded, the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium now has it`s development program underway. The program`s long-term goal: to develop batteries that would allow electric vehicles to perform and be cost competitive with current gasoline powered vehicles by the late 1990`s. Research being conducted at Sandia, Argonne and Idaho National Engineering laboratory will complement the new contracting efforts.

Negotiations for cooperative agreements for two projects to be funded in the fourth round of the Department of Energy's clean-coal technology program have been completed. One demonstration project, Self-Scrubbing Coal, is an integrated approach to clean air by Custom Coals International, Stoystown, Pa. The other, demonstration of pulse combustion in an application for steam gasification of coal, is a project of ThermoChem Inc., Gillette, Wyo. The clean-coal technology program was initiated in 1986 by DOE to aid in the commercial demonstration of new environmentally clean coal use technologies. Projects are selected through nationwide competitions, and government funding for the projects is limited to half the total cost of each project. So far, four rounds of competitions have been held, and 41 projects are active. Project proposals for the fifth and final scheduled round are due at DOE by Dec. 7. The $81.7 million (46.5% from DOE) Custom Coals International project will demonstrate production and use ...

Research on embedding chemical compounds in porous glass, carried out in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has reached the point of commercialization. The university is now seeking licensees for the results of the research, which could lead to applications in areas such as analytical sensors and catalyst carriers. The goal is to facilitate a transition for the research from the science to the technology, according to David Avnir, a chemistry professor in the Institute of Chemistry who has spearheaded the university's work on sol-gel glass. Working with Avnir have been Michael Ottolenghi, also of the Institute of Chemistry, and Ovadia Lev of the division of environmental sciences of the university's Graduate School of Applied Science & Technology. One of the features that has stimulated research on sol-gel glass at the Israeli university and elsewhere is that it can be produced at room temperature, about 70 °F. This makes it possible to embed chemical compounds, ...

The fifth and final round of the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Technology (CCT) demonstration program is under way. DOE is soliciting proposals for the round, putting emphasis on superclean, high-efficiency, coal-based systems. DOE notes that improved environmental performance is likely to become increasingly important as utilities and other energy companies seek ways to meet expected growth in energy demand while complying with the more stringent emissions standards going into effect. For example, the 1990 Clean Air Act permanently caps electric utility sulfur dioxide emissions nationwide in the year 2000. "In stressing these ultraclean power systems, we are setting our sights more on the long-range future of coal," says James G. Randolph, DOE assistant secretary for fossil energy. "Earlier rounds of the program," he explains, "focused on technologies that addressed the more near-term emission standards, which were dictated largely by concerns over acid rain." Now, he adds, "we are attempting to ensu...

The ability of scientists to access chemical information has moved to a new dimension. A cooperative agreement between Molecular Design Ltd. (MDL) and Chemical Abstracts Service now makes it possible for scientists to use a single system in dealing with both in-house and public databases. "A leap forward," is how James V. Seals, director of marketing and corporate development at CAS, terms the agreement. "The past 10 years have seen steady improvements in our ability to place scientific information in the scientist's hands economically and efficiently," he says. The agreement "increases not only the pool of available information but also the usability of the information." Under the agreement, MDL's new Integrated Scientific Information System—ISIS—will be able to offer broad access both to public databases through STN International as well as to in-house databases. The approach thus solves the problems of accessing and integrating data from different sources. It has been necessary until now for anyone ...

A second round is now under way in the grant process for the advanced technology program (ATP) run by the National Institute of Standards & Technology. NIST is seeking proposals for some $20 million in grants for projects, with the aim of helping U.S. industry develop promising generic technologies. ATP was created by the Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988. Administered by NIST, an agency of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, the program provides support for U.S. companies, either individually or in joint ventures, in their development of what the program terms precompetitive generic technologies, ones with significant commercial promise. The program is not restricted to any particular fields of technology. It is, in fact, broad enough to cover such areas as materials. The first set of ATP awards was announced last March. High-temperature superconductivity as well as electronics and computer software were among the 11 projects targeted for grants. NIST points out that ATP emphasizes ...

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has completed the first phase of a research program to use risk-based methods for developing inspection requirements and guidelines for systems and components subject to catastrophic failure. Nuclear power plants, fossil-fuel generating plants, and petroleum and chemical processing facilities are among those systems that could benefit. The initial report of an ASME task force, "Risk-based Inspection—Development of Guidelines: Volume 1, General Document," is about to be published. So, too, is a companion document that will apply that methodology to light-water reactor nuclear power plants. Similar documents are planned for other types of facilities, including petroleum and chemical, over the next two years in a second phase of the program. Recent catastrophic structural failures, ASME notes, have highlighted the need for vigorous safety inspection programs. By identifying concerns that may lead to failure, the results of such a program can assist in determining ...

New chemical software from a number of companies debuted in Washington, D.C., last month at the exposition held in connection with the American Chemical Society's national meeting. One new entry involves chemical research information management; others add to or update software in the area of molecular modeling. Molecular Design Ltd., San Leandro, Calif., introduced its substance module. The new software is part of the company's MACCS-II system for managing chemical research information. The MACCS-II system consists of MACCS-II (from molecular access system) and several modules and databases, all of which handle information on the basis of twodimensional molecular structures and three-dimensional models. MACCS-II is designed to store and search proprietary databases, as well as a number of databases available from Molecular Design. The substance module adds a new dimension to the type of chemical research information a firm can handle with an information management system. It goes beyond 2-D structures an...

From the ACS meeting Computational chemistry is growing up. No longer simply a rambunctious technology with promise, it is moving into the mainstream of the chemical enterprise. Core computational ...

Laser spark spectroscopy, demonstrated in a lab setup (right), is the technique underlying a new approach for monitoring toxic metals in emissions from manufacturing plants, incinerators, or power plants. The lab arrangement—in which a pulsed laser beam is shown vaporizing metal-containing particles—was used by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Livermore, Calif., facility to develop a prototype continuous emissions monitor (CEM). That unit successfully underwent testing last fall and is now the basis of ongoing work toward an improved second-generation design. Laser spark spectroscopy, which has the potential for measuring emissions directly in a smokestack, employs a focused, pulsed laser beam to energize the metal atoms present to provide spectral data that give an indication of the concentrations. The prototype detects and measures target species, including the 11 metals regulated under the Clean Air Act to ensure compliance. In the test, a Sandia team worked with researchers in South Caroli...

Oxford Molecular Group has agreed to acquire CAChe Scientific in a move with potential for reshaping the computational chemistry landscape. The computer-aided molecular design software firms complement each other in both products and markets. Oxford Molecular, based in Oxford, England, has an array of software products for use in pharmaceutical research, especially drug discovery, and a strong market position in Europe. CAChe Scientific of Beaverton, Ore.—which has focused on the research chemist—has market strengths in the U.S. and Japan. "We have a very clear vision emerging of a company which can provide the total software requirements of research, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals," A. F. (Tony) Marchington, Oxford Molecular's chief executive officer, tells C&EN. "We are some way from that at the moment, but that's definitely where we're headed. And CAChe for us represents another very important part of that jigsaw." Last September, Oxford Molecular acquired IntelliGenetics of Mountain View, Calif., ...

A new form of glass fiber based on fusion of two different components has been developed by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Toledo, Ohio. The first product to use the fiber, called Miraflex, is a home attic insulation that will be introduced this month in selected North American markets. The material is "the most exciting technology breakthrough and new material development in the history of Owens-Corning since the discovery of fiberglass," says company chairman and chief executive officer Glen H. Hiner. The fiber resulting from the new bi-component technology is composed of two different forms of glass fused together in a single filament. When the fiber cools, interaction of the two different glass compositions gives the fiber a random, irregular twist. It's the twist that provides the fiber with properties significantly different from those of traditional fiberglass. Most important for many applications is the fiber's inherent resilience. The fiber is volume-filling, expanding to occupy unconstrained spa...

Proposals are being sought by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) for research on drinking water. The foundation has ear-marked $4.7 million for more than 20 new proje...

The mathematics community is providing a glimpse of how a current effort to reform precollege math and science education is developing. A report issued last week by the National Research Council (NRC) presents some prototype methods for educational assessment, addressing one of three legs of the educational triad for which reformers must find solutions—curriculum standards, instruction standards, and assessment. Called "Measuring Up: Prototypes for Mathematics Assessment," the report contains 13 prototypical tasks that can be used to assess the math skills and knowledge of fourth graders. The tasks encompass many of the goals developed as standards for mathematics instruction for kindergarten through 12th-grade students and published in 1989 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The assessment prototypes were developed by a group of mathematics educators, teachers, and mathematicians convened by NRC's Mathematical Sciences Education Board to address a challenge issued in April 1991 by...

For the chemistry department at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H., the move must have seemed long overdue. But the department is now settling into its new quarters in Burke Laboratory, following dedication ceremonies held late last month. The department had been feeling the constraints of overcrowding and obsolescent facilities. Most of its programs had been housed at Steele Hall, which had been constructed in 1922 and was last renovated more than 30 years ago. "Burke Laboratory ensures Dartmouth's future as a nationally recognized center for chemistry teaching and research," says chemistay department chairman Russell P. Hughes. "It represents a tremendous commitment on Dartmouth's part to the future of science education at the undergraduate and graduate levels." Hughes expresses delight that the building is named Burke Laboratory rather than Burke Hall. It says that science is performed in the building, he explains. Among the features in the $26.5 million building are an open design to encourage ...

A new science competition for precollege students was launched last week in Washington, D.C., by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Japan's Toshiba Corp. Emphasizing technology and future innovations, the contest will be open to students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. In particular, the sponsors stress, it will be aimed at all students, not just those especially oriented toward science. Called the Toshiba/NSTA Explora Vision Awards, the program adds a touch of spice to current efforts by national science organizations and others to reach precollege students with "science for all" (C&EN, Sept. 21, page 27). Says NSTA executive director Bill G. Aldridge, "We must encourage all students to understand and appreciate science to ensure the technological growth of our society." Tadao Taguchi, chairman and chief executive officer of Toshiba America adds, "As an employer of more than 7000 people in the U.S., Toshiba is actively aware of the importance of improving ...

Development work is proceeding on an electromagnetic technique for cleaning sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the stack gases resulting from coal combustion. The process makes use of high-frequency electromagnetic waves (microwaves). Work on the process is being led by Chang Y. Cha, president of Cha Corp., Laramie, Wyo., who is also a chemical engineering professor at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. It is one of the programs sponsored by the Department of Energy's program for Small Business Innovation Research, DOE coal utilization division project manager Soung S. Kim told the Division of Petroleum Chemistry. Coal-fired utility plants, Kim points out, currently provide about 55% of all electricity generated in the U.S., and produce 65% of all sulfur dioxide emissions. In the new process, Kim says, sulfur dioxide is absorbed in an activated char bed and decomposed under the microwave energy field to sulfur, whereas the nitrogen oxides are decomposed directly under the microwaves to ...

A strategic partnership in the area of scientific computing and molecular modeling will team Molecular Simulations Inc. with Digital Equipment Corp. Under the arrangement, the companies will work together to provide three-dimensional molecular modeling applications software for Digital's new Alpha workstations and servers, including massive parallel computers. They will jointly market the combined software and hardware to commercial and academic laboratories. The Alpha program is an effort being applied by Digital across all product areas to create a generation of systems based on the company's totally new, open, 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computer) computing architecture. Current workstations are based on 32-bit microprocessors. The first Alpha systems, including workstations, will likely be introduced this fall. Eventually, the plan is for the architecture to be applied across the board, from palmtop to supercomputers. According to Molecular Simulations, the new Alpha architecture provides ext...

Heather Spear, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was one satisfied user last semester of a novel test device designed by chemistry professor Arthur B. Ellis. She found it helped ...

With activity at Boston College's Eugene F. Merkert Chemistry Center officially in full swing following the facility's recent dedication, the faculty is able to start assessing what has been created. The center, says chemistry professor and department head David McFadden, "represents Boston College's commitment to science at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It also represents a commitment to build BC into a nationally recognized research university." The $31 million center more than doubles BC's space for chemistry research and increases space for teaching by 20%. It is named for a philanthropist who built a multimillion-dollar food service business from scratch. The philosophy underlying its design is to draw students deeper into chemistry and spark their interest in pursuing advanced degrees. Among the center's features is its thorough computerization. "We're absolutely in the forefront," says McFadden. "I don't know of any other department that ...

Materials researchers who have had to travel to Europe to gain access to an instrumental capability needed in their work can start casting an eye toward Gaithersburg, Md. Instruments are beginning to phase in there at the National Institute of Standards & Technology's new Cold Neutron Research Facility (CNRF). With the inauguration earlier this month of a 30-meter small-angle neutron scattering spectrometer (SANS), CNRF has passed a significant milestone on the way to full implementation by 1993. When fully implemented, the facility will have 15 experimental stations available to qualified researchers from industry and the academic community. Funding for construction of five of the stations is being provided by outside groups called Participating Research Teams, or PRTs, which get exclusive use of three fourths of the available research time. Of these PRT stations, the $1.5 million SANS is the first to start up. It was designed and built by a joint venture of NIST, Exxon ...

Applicants are being sought by the Department of Energy for summer research appointments it will offer to some 200 mathematics and science teachers. To be eligible for the appointments, made annually, teachers must be teaching in grades seven through 12 and have the teaching of math or science as their primary responsibility. The research takes place at 21 DOE national laboratories located throughout the U.S. A stipend of $550 per week for eight weeks, a housing allowance of up to $1000, and a travel allowance are available. For the 1992 Teacher Research Associates (TRAC) program, applications must be received no later than the fourth Friday in October. Application materials are available from DOE TRAC, Associated Western Universities, 4190 South Highland Dr., Suite 211, Salt Lake City, Utah 84124. Information is available from John Ortman at (202) 586-1634 or Linda Crain at (202) 586-8949. ...

Molecular biologists at the University of Wyoming have sequenced the DNA coding for the protein structures that give one form of spider silk its combination of incredible strength and elasticity. If the silk were available in commercial quantities and at low enough cost, it could have significant applications. In the medical field, for example, it might find use in artificial tendons or sutures, since it isn't rejected by the body. It could be used as reinforcing fibers for composites, or if the cost were low enough, in fabrics. At this stage of development, such uses are most likely a good way off. But "there are no theoretical barriers that we can see," says Wyoming professor of molecular biology Randolph V. Lewis. Cloning of the silk, made possible by the DNA sequencing, could lead to an economical way to mass produce it. The silk in question is dragline silk, one of six forms with different properties ...

If ever a new instrument company appeared to be off to an auspicious start, TopoMetrix Corp., of Sunnyvale, Calif., would seem to be it. Visitors to the Pittsburgh Conference & Exposition on Analytical Chemistry & Applied Spectroscopy in Chicago early this month had a chance to view the company and its first product, a scanning probe microscope system. First the management. Founded last October to design, manufacture, and market scanning probe microscopes worldwide, the company was started by Jack M. Gill, now chairman of TopoMetrix, a former director of research and engineering at Varian Aerograph, a senior executive at Spectra Physics, and founder of a leading venture capital firm; Paul E. West, now a vice president of TopoMetrix and chief technical officer, who built one of the world's first scanning tunneling microscopes during postdoctoral work under California Institute of Technology chemistry professor John D. Baldeschwieler; and David J. Ray, now TopoMetrix's vice president of engineering, ...

A new foundation—the only grantmaking foundation devoted solely to energy issues—has been formed. Called the Energy Foundation, its aim is to promote energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy supplies in the U.S. Planning for the new foundation has been under way for a year by the John D. and Catherine T. Mac- Arthur Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. The three organizations have made an initial three-year commitment of $20 million to the new organization. "The goal of this foundation is to promote the transition to a sustainable energy future," according to Hal Harvey, executive director of the Energy Foundation. "Such a transition," says Harvey, an energy engineer with a background in energy research and policy analysis, "is imperative if the U.S. is to strengthen its economy, improve its environment, and reduce its dependence on foreign oil sources." The Energy Foundation is based in San Francisco. It is operating temporarily ...

When National Manufacturing Week takes to the floor at McCormick Place in Chicago next April 8-11, the environment will be part and parcel of the group of manufacturing industry trade shows brought together under that name. Joining seven other shows will be a new Environmental Technology Exposition & Conference (ETE). ETE has a number of unusual aspects. It is designed to have a broad base, bringing together technologies that range across the issues of air and water pollution, solid waste management, recycling, and hazardous waste management. According to ETE '91 show manager Jill Vanderlin, the exposition—65% booked at this point, with some 300 exhibitors expected— will be augmented with a conference package of papers, short courses, and workshops. ETE is being produced by Cahners Exposition Group, a member of Reed Exposition Companies. Among the other shows making up the National Manufacturing Week event are the National Plant Engineering & Maintenance Show & Conference and the ...

TA Instruments—the recently formed Wilmington, Del., company that has taken over from the former Du Pont Thermal Analysis Instruments—is now in business and has launched its first new model. It is a low-cost thermogravimetric analysis system, the TGA 50. The TGA 50 is aimed at what the firm sees as an evolving segment of the thermal analysis market: labs with limited testing needs requiring thermal modules that provide good performance at a lower cost. A $33,000 system that includes the Thermal Analyst 2000 computer/controller, the TGA 50 is a companion product to the DSC-10, an entry-level differential scanning calorimetry system introduced last year. TA Instruments is now an employee-owned company representing a partnership between the management and employees of the former Du Pont business and Chemical Venture Partners, a New York City-based investment group. Du Pont sold the unit this past summer in a move to focus more closely on other core businesses. ...

"The supertanker [of environmental bureaucracy] is going and it's very hard to turn around," says biochemist Bruce N. Ames, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Ames is among those who have been prodding and pulling in an effort to get the ship to change direction. The latest prod came last week in Washington, D.C., at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Ames and F. Henry Habicht II, deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, spoke at the presidential plenary, a session dealing with risk assessment and the public perception of chemistry. "There is a major difference between perception and the real world," ACS president Paul G. Gassman, chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota, said at a press conference in explaining his choice of the theme for the plenary. The public is told it's at risk for one thing or ...

New products or services were introduced recently by several companies at the exposition held in conjunction with the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston: new molecular modeling software from BioDesign Inc., a new educational service from Tripos Associates, and a new minilab pilot plant from Herzog-Hart Corp. BioDesign announced the commercial availability of Version 2.1 of its Polygraf software that makes it possible to model amorphous as well as crystalline polymers. The Pasadena, Calif., company notes most industrial polymers are semicrystalline— a typical polyethylene, for example, might be 40% crystalline and 60% amorphous. Designed to provide reasonable representations of the amorphous portion of a polymer and the amorphous/crystalline interface, Polygraf 2.1 also calculates electrostatic charges based on the conformation of the molecule and polarization effects by neighboring atoms. Dynamic charge equilibration, the company says, provides a more accurate representation of th...

Product and corporate initiatives launched early this month by BioDesign Inc., a molecular simulation software firm, aim at bringing the combined power of molecular modeling techniques and nuclear ...

The Soviet Union is placing a high priority on science as perestroika, or restructuring, proceeds. In fact, according to Guriy I. Marchuk, president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, science is the only area that has not suffered from government budget cuts. Marchuk made his remarks on science and perestroika in Washington, D.C., last week, when he and a delegation of Soviet scientists met with counterparts from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The meeting was held to review implementation of the Agreement on Scientific Cooperation, signed in January 1988, and to make plans for cooperation during 1990. According to Marchuk, the Soviet Union is now on an austerity course that will last for the next two years, following a decision by the Supreme Soviet to cut the U.S.S.R.'s budget deficit of 120 billion rubles (nearly $200 billion at the official exchange rate) by 50% in 1990 and another 50% in 1991. Science, however, received ...