Tim Probert visited the recently commissioned Mogalakwena North
platinum mine in South Africa to find out how Anglo American has
improved output at the largest single stream platinum concentrator in
the world.
The introduction of nanoclay to polyurethane improves properties such as
strength and stability in the resulting foam. Sara Tabandeh from
Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, outlines studies
into the synthesis process.
A team of researchers from The University of Bath are developing a new
nano-imprint process that could improve on the established techniques
such as lithography, ablation and etching.
Naturally-occurring nanoscale materials have been in the environment for
millions of years, yet little is known about their occurrence and inputs.
With an emerging nanotechnology industry, a proper appraisal of their
potential risk is well overdue.
Dr Steve Barrett from the University of Liverpool, UK, has been studying
rare earth metals for 20 years. Here he explains how preparation of the
surface layer is crucial to the functionality of these scarce elements.
There are constant warnings about the risks of exhausting supply of
vital resources, including the impact on our way of life. Professor
Animesh Jha, from the Institute for Materials Research at the University
of Leeds, UK, examines the sources of rare earth elements and the
research driving their use in emerging technologies.
Dr Alex Finlay from the Geochemical Reclamation of Industrial Minerals
and Elements (GRIME) research group at Durham University, UK, outlines
plans for the investigation and development of unconsidered waste
materials as a green rare earth element resource.
The range of uses rare earth ions provide for technological development
are seemingly endless. Professor Daniel Hewak, head of the Novel Glasses
for Optoelectronic Devices Research Group at The University of
Southampton, UK shows how this valuable commodity is already changing
the world.
