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Environment, Health, Safety & Security

Honoring Chemical Engineering Achievements

As part of its expanded seminar series this year, the Chem Show is hosting a session that highlights outstanding achievements in chemical engineering that have led to successful commercializations. The presenters are all finalists for the renowned Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering…

Accelerated decomposition of halogenated compounds

A new research partnership between the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WERF; Alexandria, Va.; www.werf.org) and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA; www.uta.edu) seeks to tackle one of the most challenging and persistent water contaminants — perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).…

The Greening of Chlor-Alkali Production

Environmental regulations and high energy costs are driving technology advances that make plants cleaner and more efficient For some, the production of chlorine and caustic has been considered a nasty business: not only are the products dangerous if not handled…

Valves: Emissions Standards and Current Practices

New industry standards aimed at reducing fugitive emissions have necessitated updates to valve-testing procedures and a renewed focus on high-performance sealing and packing technologies While reducing fugitive emissions is a leading concern in the fight against climate change, emissions continue…

Minimizing Leakage on Heat-Exchanger Girth Flanges

Thermal distortion in heat-exchanger internal components can lead to leakage, but several design measures can be taken to mitigate these concerns Leakage of bolted flange joints results in additional costs at any facility in the chemical process industries (CPI), and…

Chemical Engineering Magazine Booklist: September 2017

The following information describes recently published books relevant to the chemical process industries (CPI): Engineering Energy Storage, By Odne Stokke Burheim, 2017, Academic Press, 252 pages, $125.00. Energetic Materials: Advanced Processing Technologies for Next-Generation Materials. Edited by Mark Mezger, Kay…

Drones Take to the Skies in the Chemical Processing Industries

Drones are quickly entering the chemical processing space as more companies begin to embrace their use for inspection and monitoring tasks There is no doubt that drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), hold many promising opportunities for the chemical process…

This portable pesticide detector offers a quick check of produce

A micro portable pesticide detector for food analysis, called a Handheld Pesticide Residue Detector, has been developed by the Smart Microsystems Technology Center of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, Hsinchu City, Taiwan; www.itri.org.tw). The detector is based on the…

Spill Containment: An Often-Overlooked Hazard in Research

With proper planning, spills can be managed properly and the risk of secondary events — which may be more dangerous and costly — can be reduced Spills are probably one of the biggest problems any laboratory or pilot plant operation…

Awarding ‘green’ innovations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) has recently announced the winners of this year’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. This recognition is given for innovations that create business opportunities from solutions to potential environmental problems — endeavors…