Business briefs

Jalapeno Paint Werx Inc. is accepting nominations for its second $5,000 Charity Paint Giveaway Event -- A Jalapeno Christmas.

The 2008 Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Award Winner will select one recipient, based on need, to receive $5,000 in free paint, labor and materials.

Submit nominations, including stories and/or pictures, to 5kgiveaway@jalapenopaintwerx.com no later than Dec. 4. Visit www.jalapenopaintwerx.com or call 630-527-1829.

"Styling Secrets for the Holidays: How to Decorate, Dazzle and Delight" will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 7 at the Ethan Allen Design Center in Naperville.

Admission is free, but RSVPs are requested. Call 630-961-3411. Ethan Allen is at 2960 Audrey Ave., Naperville.

A project of Naperville-based Nalco that uses an electrochemical process to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants is among 37 "transformational" projects to be funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The funding is among the first awarded through the DOE's new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Nalco is a partner in the project with Argonne National Laboratory near Darien.

The objective of this carbon capture program is to meet DOE goals of removing as much as 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from a power plant's flue gas while using less energy and at a lower cost than current technology.

More information is at www.nalco.com .