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Environment, Health, Safety & Security

Enzyme-based method could make CO2 capture economically viable

Codexis (Redwood City, Calif.; www.codexis.com) and CO2 Solution (Quebec City, Canada; www.co2solution.com) have jointly developed a cost-effective method for capturing carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. Solvent-based systems for capturing CO2 are relatively well-understood, but they have not been widely…

Toxicity under the microscope

Last month, two significant cracks were found in the cornerstones of conventional thinking about how chemicals in the environment make their way into the human body and other living organisms, possibly leading to damaging effects. The timing is particularly apropos,…

Letters: Texas cement plant ready to share award-winning process

On May 5, 2010 Texas Lehigh Cement (Buda, Tex.; http://www.texaslehigh.com) was awarded an Environmental Excellence Award by the state environmental agency Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ; Austin; http://www.tceq.state.tx.us). The company won for its alternative fuel project because of its…

Securing the Chemical Process Industries

As potential threats continue to make headline news around the world, it is clear that the need for security measures is an ongoing process, and that this process requires vigilance. The chemical process industries (CPI) are considered part of the…

Recover Waste Heat From Fluegas

Adding an organic Rankine cycle system to generate power onsite can help operators optimize the overall economics of combustion-related systems and emissions controls The ever-increasing cost of fuel and relentless push for environmental responsibility are constant factors in the profitability…

Control mercury emissions from coal-fired plants without treating the fluegas

ADA-ES, Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; www.adaes.com) and Arch Coal, Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.), the U.S.’s second-largest coal producer, have signed an exclusive development and licensing agreement for an ADA-ES process that reduces mercury emissions from coal-fired plants by pretreating the coal.…

Further comments on safety, ethics

June, Safety, ethics on the horizon, p. 5: As a thoroughly schooled, experienced engineer, I have read the news, watched television and listened to the radio for an engineering explanation of what went on as BP lost control of its…

Pressure relief: Oh What a Relief It Is!

In any given chemical processing facility, there may be literally hundreds of operational environments that require protection from excessive pressure. Both rupture disks and pressure relief valves, or the two used in combination, help protect against damage to equipment and…

Foolproofing Regulatory Document Generation

When it comes to managing regulatory documents such as product labels, bills of lading, and certificates of analysis (COA), virtually all manufacturers in the chemical process industries (CPI) face the same challenge — getting the right information into the right…

Aging Relief Systems — Are they Working Properly?

Relief systems are the last line of defense for chemical process facilities. Verifying their capability to safeguard equipment integrity becomes important as process plants age, increase their capacities to adjust to new market requirements, undergo revamps or face new environmental…