Monthly Archives: March 2013

Mining asteroids: Eventual frontier for rare metals

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Peter Spitz

Readers of this blog know that there have been a number of posts about critical industrial metals in the production of which the U.S. needs to become more self-sufficient (Lithium, Rare Earths) and about the periodic table (The Disappearing Spoon, artists’ pictorial representations, the museum at … Continue reading →

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A gentle educator passes

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Peter Spitz

All of us who knew and loved Dr. Harold Witcoff  remember him fondly. He passed away a few days ago in his nineties. F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “there are no second acts in America”. Harold  proved him wrong. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemical Industry | 1 Comment

Help for U.S. coal miners while Europe regresses

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Peter Spitz

Here is a good example of the law of unintended consequences. When the EPA decided to apply strict emission standards to coal-fired power plants (using the Clean Air Act), a number of heavy polluters, particularly in Appalachia, decided to shut … Continue reading →

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Sea water desalination: becoming a reality here

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Peter Spitz

The technologies that can be used to make fresh water from sea water or partly salty bracking water have been used for a long time in locations where little fresh water exists (e.g. the Middle East).  The processes employed are … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemical Engineering, Chemical Industry | Tagged | Leave a comment