Like other aspects of chemical processing, cooling operations are being closely examined for ways to reduce costs and resource usage. Whether it’s cooling towers or industrial gases, experts say embracing new technologies makes it possible to get more bang for…
In late March, the world’s first demonstration plant for converting sugars directly into gasoline started up at the Madison, Wisc., facilities of Virent Energy Systems, Inc. (www.virent.com). The demonstration plant — part of a joint R&D collaboration of Virent and…
Honeywells UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) has developed a process that makes a renewable, “drop-in” jet fuel from sustainable oils, including camelina, tallow, jatropha or algae. Similar to the the UOP/Eni Ecofining process for making Green Diesel fuel (CE,…
Co-processing of biomass-derived feed with petroleum feed for the production of diesel fuel is a tricky business, given that the former (unlike petroleum) contains oxygen. The oxygenates can be removed by hydrotreating, which converts the biofeed to normal paraffins, but…
Less than two years ago, U.S. petroleum refiners were in the middle of an expansion and modernization program that was designed to add more than 1-million bbl/d to meet the growing demand for fuels, especially diesel fuel. Much of the…
Last year (2009) was a record year for U.S. ethanol production, with 200 biorefineries producing an estimated 10.6-billion gallons, according to the Renewable Fuels Assoc. (RFA; Washington, D.C.; www.ethanolrfa.org) in its recently published report, The 2010 Ethanol Industry Outlook. An…
Gooch Thermal Systems Spiral plate heat exchangers are ideal for cooling slurries and viscous fluids. The performance of these units is characterized by increased turbulent heat transfer, reduced fouling, greater ease of maintenance, and more compact size compared to many…
As heat exchangers age, their tube thickness decreases because of erosion, corrosion or a combination of both. Installing thin sleeves in tubes in which the tube walls have become so thin that failure is imminent is a maintenance technique useful…
Biodiesel, the methyl ester of fatty acids, has been accepted as a renewable-sourced alternative to fossil-derived diesel fuel. Today in many parts of the world, biodiesel is already blended with diesel fuel up to about 5%. Presently the demand for…
Oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) is the most common process in the chemical process industries (CPI) for removing diluted emissions of VOCs and carbon monoxide from stationary air- pollution sources. Thousands of RTOs operate…