Green is the color to describe environmentally safe technology.
Consumers, governments and business scrutinize for green tags on products that range from PCs to clothes. This trend towards
more environmental regulation and a healthier environment throughout the world has resulted in the most technically advanced
companies placing the environment on the top of their business plan list.
Raymor Industries Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RAR) has gone one
step beyond the realm of applying technology to minimize environmentally dangerous products and manufacturing processes. Raymor's
process, by contrast, consumes pollutants. In this case the process used to produce carbon nanotubes consumes methane, a greenhouse
gas, and then converts it to carbon nanotubes and hydrogen. Because the process uses methane, the company states that it helps
Canada meet its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. As well, because the byproduct of the process is hydrogen, the potential
exists for a source of emission-free hydrogen fuel. Besides these added benefits, the company reports that the nanotube process
is 25 times more efficient, less dangerous and less costly than other existing nanotube technology process.
Raymor's side wall carbon nanotubes (C-SWNT), which are
actually based on methane gas as the raw material, are reported to be 100 times stronger than steel, but only one-sixth the
weight. The company lists numerous areas where innovative applications of the technology can be found. These include automobile
and spacecraft components, biomedical components, chemical sensors, fuel cells, textiles and X-Ray machines.
The technology, because of its light-weight, could also
give rise to the age of self-propelled air flight. Stephane Robert, President of Raymor hinted at the technologies' potential,
"There is no question that single-walled carbon nanotubes will have enormous impact on our lives. This new process makes it
easier and safer to produce the high quality nanotubes needed for breakthrough technologies. Manufacturers around the world
are looking for sustainable and efficient ways to incorporate nanotechnology into their products. We've brought them one step
closer with this Raymor process."
Raymor's technology was obtained just recently through
an exclusive worldwide rights agreement with the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS).
