The university will develop advanced filaments for additive manufacturing and graphite for energy storage applications from mining wastes.

The Russ College of Engineering and Technology’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (ISEE) at Ohio University has been awarded $2 million for two projects by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop advanced filaments for additive manufacturing and graphite for energy storage applications from mining wastes.

Industry partners will also provide an additional $419,048 of cost-share. According to the university, both projects support the goals of the United States government to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2035.

“These awards build upon ISEE’s existing portfolio of innovative technologies to beneficially impact our society,” says Jason Trembly, Ph.D., Russ Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of ISEE. “I am excited for the multi-disciplinary experiential learning opportunities the projects will provide our students to develop sustainable carbon-based materials for manufacturing, building, and energy applications.

“I am also very proud of the leadership shown by Yahya Al Majali, who as a graduate student developed an original research idea which was selected through a nationally competitive review process,” he adds.

Trembly will serve as the principal investigator on the first project, which aims to utilize mining wastes and byproducts to develop graphite materials. These graphite materials, which are largely imported into the U.S., would be used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). LIBs are used widely in everyday items but gaining significant importance in reducing carbon emissions from the transportation sector.

Domestic sourcing of natural graphite materials for LIBs has historically been challenging, resulting in reliance upon foreign sources. By utilizing mining wastes and byproducts to domestically produce graphite materials, researchers say the United States has a path to greater energy and materials security.

The second project selected by the DOE, to be headed by Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate Al Majali, will use mining waste and convert it into 3D printable filament materials, aiming to create solid carbon structures. These materials can be used as a replacement for concrete in building and construction, tooling and casting materials for manufacturing, and alloys used in transportation and defense applications.

The company says the loader has 10 percent more horsepower and improved operating capabilities than previous models.

ASV Holdings Inc., a Grand Rapids, Minnesota-based manufacturer of compact track loaders and skid steers , has launched the MAX-Series RT-135 Forestry Posi-Track loader.   The non-Forestry version of the RT-135F, the RT-135, will also will be available. 

According to a news release from ASV, the loader has 10 percent more horsepower than previous models. The company says the 12,990-pound RT-135F gives operators the ability to maintain best-in-class machine performance while operating high-flow attachments. The upgraded loader is part of the MAX-Series lineup, including design features for comfort and ease of access.  

Outfitted with forestry-rated guarding and safety features, the loader is designed for brush cutting, mulching, land clearing and other high-flow applications, ASV says. 

“Operators have been clamoring for a MAX-Series version of the RT-120, but we’re giving them something even better,” says Buck Storlie, ASV Holdings Inc. product manager. “The MAX-Series RT-135F is a premium machine right out of the gate. We took all the comforts of the MAX-Series and combined them with a machine that’s ready to go to battle. It’s faster, stronger, more productive and is capable of keeping up with the ever-growing list of high-flow attachments used on today’s toughest jobs.” 

The machine features a Cummins engine and has 132 horsepower. That, combined with a 50-GPM maximum auxiliary flow and an oversized auxiliary pump capable of 66 GPM, allows the RT-135F to transfer more engine power to the attachment with no sacrifices to machine performance. The extra 16 gallons per minut within the pump means operators can run high-flow attachments like mulchers at full speed while moving the loader without slowing down the tool.  

ASV says contractors can use the machine longer with its 52-gallon fuel tank, 22 gallons more than the RT-120. The extra fuel means operators have an increased ability to work all day without refueling. 

Operators can lift more and be more productive with the RT-135F because of its up to 4,150-pound rated operating capacity, 10-mph top speed and 10.4-foot lift height. Contractors can further boost the operating capacity and reinforce the back of the machine with an optional rear bumper kit that extends over the tracks. 

The NWRA is seeking federal action to regulate mobile devices while people are driving.

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, recently sent a letter to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee urging action to reduce incidents of distracted driving caused by mobile devices. The NWRA says it hopes federal action will ultimately regulate mobile devices to prevent distracted driving.

“Although our efforts to reduce fatalities, injuries and accidents are making a difference, legislation combating addictive products is what is needed to make a beneficial impact for our workers and America’s drivers,” says Darrell Smith, president and CEO of the NWRA. “Implementing safe driving prevention technology in new cars is the indispensable solution that our industry, many like it and American drivers need to travel roads safely.”

According to a news release from the NWRA, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act mandates new passenger vehicles feature drunk driving/impaired driving prevention technology. The association says the same should be done for distracted driving prevention technology. 

The NWRA says Apple applied for a patent in 2008 and was granted one in 2014 for technology that limits iPhone usage by the individual in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. In Apple’s new operating software, iOS 15, the “Driving Focus” mode silences/limits text messages, calls and other notifications when you turn it on. Social media companies must work with phone developers and car manufacturers to make such technology the default setting for drivers in new cars.

U.S. Steel is considering a $3 billion expansion project in the northeast part of the state.

State lawmakers in Arkansas have passed a bill that will provide an income tax credit to projects in the state that use waste reduction, reuse or recycling equipment. Arkansas Sen. David Wallace filed SB10 Dec. 7.

According to the bill, recycling tax credits included in the bill would cost the state an average of $11 million a year for 14 years and $8.8 million a year if the state buys back the tax credits at a 20 percent discount.

According to a report from KATV ABC 7, Little Rock, Arkansas, on the legislation, Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is considering Arkansas for a $3 billion expansion project in Mississippi County, Arkansas.

The bill states, “Arkansas is one of the leading producers of steel in the United States, and Mississippi County, Arkansas, is ranked as one of the highest steel-producing counties in the United States. The steel industry in the United States is highly competitive, and there are presently rising prices and a high level of demand for raw materials in the domestic market."

The bill continues, “In order to continue to attract well-paying manufacturing jobs to the state of Arkansas and encourage continuing capital investment by steel producers in this state, adjustments in the recycling tax credit are appropriate to allow the recycling tax credit to be utilized more fully to accomplish the purpose for which the recycling tax credit is intended.”

After passing in both the state House and Senate, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB10 into law Dec. 9.

The bill provides an income tax credit for 30 percent of the purchase price of waste reduction, reuse or recycling equipment for a qualified steel manufacturer. To qualify for the tax credit, projects will need to have common ownership and be located on the site of or adjacent to an existing manufacturer of steel, have a total investment of at least $2 billion, create 700 new positions with average annual wages of $120,000 and create 200 independent direct positions with average annual wages of $60,000.

Arkansas serves as the home to Big River Steel, an EAF producer now owned by U.S. Steel. North Carolina-based Nucor Corp. also has high tonnage EAF mills in Arkansas.

The same article quotes an Arkansas state senator as saying “bringing in these big steel mills” has added to the prosperity of northeast Arkansas. KATV also reports the states of Alabama and Mississippi as neighbors who likewise are presenting incentives to U.S. Steel.

The order comes in response to lawsuits from contractors and seven states.

A federal judge has blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of federal contractors, reports the Associated Press.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker, in Augusta, Georgia, issued a stay to bar enforcement of the mandate nationwide.

The order came in response to a lawsuit from several contractors and seven states, which include Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia. It applies across the U.S. because one of those challenging the order is the trade group Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC), whose members do business nationwide.

Baker found that the states are likely to succeed in their claim that Biden exceeded authorization from Congress when he issued the requirement in September.

“The Court acknowledges the tragic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought throughout the nation and the globe,” wrote the judge, an appointee of former President Donald Trump. “However, even in times of crisis this Court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.”

A White House spokeswoman said the Justice Department would continue to defend the mandate.

“The reason that we proposed these requirements is that we know they work, and we are confident in our ability, legally, to make these happen across the country,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a Dec. 7 briefing.

A federal judge in Kentucky also had issued a preliminary injunction against the mandate, but it applied only to contractors in three states that had sued together—Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Biden issued an executive order Sept. 9 requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to comply with workplace safety guidelines developed by a federal task force. That task force subsequently issued guidelines that new, renewed or extended contracts include a clause requiring employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 18. That meant those receiving a two-dose vaccine must get their second shot by Jan. 4.

Limited exceptions were allowed for medical or religious reasons. The requirements would apply to millions of employees of federal contractors, which include defense companies and airlines.

“This is a big win in removing compliance hurdles for the construction industry, which is facing economic challenges, such as a workforce shortage of 430,000, rising materials prices and supply chain issues,” says Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs for ABC, in a statement.