An industrial compressed-air system is expected to supply air of defined quality, required pressure and desired quantity to all the plant air and instrument air consumers. With air being one of the most critical utilities of a chemical plant, a…
The LEX3N-TZ is a high-performance, temperature-control trap for steam service that has a built-in scale-removal function. An auger is built into the steam trap to remove scale and solids buildup from the valve seat during operation, preventing steam leakage and…
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, Md.; www.nist.gov) have developed a relatively simple, fast and effective method of depositing uniform, ultrathin layers of platinum atoms onto a surface. The technique may lead to a…
A research team is using clusters of gold atoms at sub-nanometer sizes to enhance the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water. Sustainable H2 production from a non-fossil-fuel source could have significant environmental and energy-efficiency benefits. The scientists, from Stony Brook…
Plans are underway to field-test a process that removes more than 90 % of the carbon dioxide from power-plant flue gas, while reducing both the energy input and operating costs by 50 % compared to conventional amine-based CO2-scrubbing technology. The…
A small-scale ceramic membrane reactor to convert natural gas to transportable liquids in a single step is being developed by Ceramatec, Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah; www.ceramatec.com) under a $1.7-million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Advanced Research Project…
The research group of Masahiro Murakami at Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.sbchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp/murakami-lab) have synthesized a promising pharmaceutical precursor using only sunlight (as energy source) and CO2 (as co-reagent). The solar-driven process involves two consecutive reactions (diagram): first, light transforms an…
The new micro dosing unit Type 7615 is a high-precision diaphragm pump for exact dosing in the microliter range. Comprised of three valves, the dosing unit doses 5 µL in one stroke with an accuracy of ±2%. The maximum flowrate…
The portable, non-metallic Flex-I-Liner rotary peristaltic pump evacuates drums and totes containing acids, caustics, salts, chlorides and reagent-grade chemicals without corrosion of the pump or contamination of the fluid. The self-priming design of the Flex-I-Liner has no seals to leak…
Cationic polymers have been used in the petroleum industry as shale-control agents, demulsifiers, blocking agents, and filtrate reducers for drilling fluids, but process complexity and high cost have limited their application. Now researchers from Zhejiang Normal University (Jinhua; www.zjnu.edu.cn) and…