A method of decoloring an ionic liquid includes preparing a discolored ionic liquid, and decoloring the discolored ionic liquid through irradiation with UV rays. An ionic liquid that is discolored due to heat treatment upon purification is decolored and can thus be reused. The method of decoloring the ionic liquid is effective because an ionic liquid, which is discolored due to heat treatment upon purification, can be decolored in a simple manner and also because an ionic liquid, which is discolored and is thus difficult to apply to the purification of an organic material, can be decolored in a simple manner, and can thus be reused in the form of a high-purity ionic liquid.

A reverse-phase suspension polymerisation process for the manufacture of polymer beads comprising forming aqueous monomer beads of an aqueous solution comprising water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer or monomer blend and polymerising the monomer or monomer blend to form polymer beads while suspended in a non-aqueous liquid, recovering polymer beads, and then cleaning the non-aqueous liquid in which the process comprises providing the non-aqueous liquid in a vessel (1), forming a suspension of monomer beads from the aqueous monomer or monomer blend in the non-aqueous liquid, initiating polymerisation to form polymerising beads, removing a suspension of the polymer beads in non-aqueous liquid from the vessel and recovering, water soluble or water swellable polymer beads from the suspension, in which the non-aqueous liquid contains impurities which comprise particles, and then transferring the non-aqueous liquid from the suspension to a cleaning stage, in which the cleaning stage provides a cleaned non-aqueous liquid suitable for use in a reverse-phase suspension polymerisation process, which cleaning stage comprises removing particles from the non-aqueous liquid in at least one filtration step. The invention also relates to the apparatus suitable for carrying out a reverse-phase suspension polymerisation and polymer beads obtainable by the process or employing the apparatus. The invention further relates to a cleaned non-aqueous liquid obtainable by the process.

A light irradiation device includes a light source having a plurality of solid-state elements disposed on a substrate to be defined by a first direction and a second direction in a plurality of rows and irradiate the irradiation target with light from a third direction, an optical element refracting light from the solid-state elements, emitting the light and narrowing a spread angle of light to be emitted from the solid-state elements relative to the third direction, a first reflection portion having at least two first reflection surfaces on a downstream side in the third direction of the irradiation target and reflecting a part of light incident on the first reflection surface to the irradiation target, and a second reflection portion having a pair of second reflection surfaces disposed between the optical element and the first reflection portion and guiding light from the optical element to the first reflection surface.

The disclosure relates to a light irradiation device which can improve curability of photo-curable materials. A light irradiation device includes a first supply section having a porous portion, the first supply section being capable of supplying a gas to a photo-curable material through the porous portion; and an irradiation section disposed in alignment with the porous portion or disposed downstream from the porous portion, the irradiation section being capable of irradiating the photo-curable material with light.

Supported chromium catalysts with an average valence less than +6 and having a hydrocarbon-containing or halogenated hydrocarbon-containing ligand attached to at least one bonding site on the chromium are disclosed, as well as ethylene-based polymers with terminal alkane, aromatic, or halogenated hydrocarbon chain ends. Another ethylene polymer characterized by at least 2 wt. % of the polymer having a molecular weight greater than 1,000,000 g/mol and at least 1.5 wt. % of the polymer having a molecular weight less than 1000 g/mol is provided, as well as an ethylene homopolymer with at least 3.5 methyl short chain branches and less than 0.6 butyl short chain branches per 1000 total carbon atoms.

Catalyst preparation systems and methods for preparing reduced chromium catalysts are disclosed, and can comprise irradiating a supported chromium catalyst containing hexavalent chromium with a light beam having a wavelength within the UV-visible light spectrum. Such reduced chromium catalysts have improved catalytic activity compared to chromium catalysts reduced by other means. The use of the reduced chromium catalyst in polymerization reactor systems and olefin polymerization processes also is disclosed, resulting in polymers with a higher melt index.

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. For example, systems and methods are described that can be used to treat feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials, in a vault in which the equipment is protected from radiation and hazardous gases by equipment enclosures. The equipment enclosures may be purged with gas.

The invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen in a liquid and to a device for implementing the method characterized in that suspension 1.2 of graphene particles in the liquid is provided to reaction tank 1.1, and then the contents of the reaction tank are exposed to an electromagnetic radiation beam with a wavelength in the UV-VIS-FIR light wave range, which radiation is generated by emitter 1.5, after which the hydrogen liberated from the liquid is transferred through vent 7 outside the reaction tank.

This invention relates to cost-effective methods for synthesizing metallic nanoparticles in high yield using non-dendrimeric branched polymeric templates, such as branched polyethyleneimine. This invention also provides a high-throughput apparatus for synthesizing metallic nanoparticles under conditions that produce less waste than conventional nanoparticle synthesis methods. Also provided are metallic nanoparticles and multi-metallic nanoparticle compositions made by methods and high-throughput apparatus of the invention.

Methods and systems are described for processing cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials into useful intermediates and products, such as energy and fuels. For example, conveying systems and methods, such as highly efficient vibratory conveyors, are described for the processing of the cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials.