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Compressor book by Heinz Bloch reviewed by WorleyParsons’ Almasi

Compressors: How to Achieve High Reliability & Availability. By Heinz P. Bloch and Fred K. Geitner. McGraw-Hill. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Web: mcgraw-hill.com. 2012. 268 pages. $50.00.   Reviewed by Amin Almasi, WorleyParsons Services Pty.…

Mix extreme-viscosity fluids with this mixer

The KMX-V Static Mixer is designed to generate superior mixing per unit length for laminar-flow and high- and low-viscosity applications. For extreme-viscosity fluids and extreme volume ratios, the most common limiting factor in static mixer design is allowable length, this…

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A new catalyst enables lower-temperature H2 production using the sulfur-iodine cycle

Among the many different ways being investigated for making hydrogen “from water” is the so-called sulfur-iodine (S-I) cycle, which involves three chemical reactions whose net products are H2 and O2: the decomposition of sulfuric acid into SO2, H2O and O2;…

Volkswagen and BASF present the first Science Award Electrochemistry  

The first international “Science Award Electrochemistry” from BASF SE (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) and Volkswagen AG (Wolfburg; both Germany; www.volkswagen.com) goes to Dr.Naoaki Yabuuchi, Tokyo University of Science, Institute for Science and Technology (Tokyo, Japan). The jury of experts from BASF, Volkswagen…

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A concept for making gasoline from air

Air Fuel Synthesis Ltd. (AFS; Darlington, U.K.; www.airfuelsynthesis.com) has recently demonstrated a process for producing carbon-neutral liquid hydrocarbon (HC) fuel from air-captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The proof-of-concept demonstration facility, located at Teesside, England produces 5–10 L/d of liquid HCs.…

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Progress for making smart membranes

Last month marked the completion of the three-year, €3.6-million E.U.-funded research project, Self-assembled Polymer Membranes (SelfMem). Coordinated by the Institute of Polymer Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG; Germany; www.hzg.de), with twelve partners from industry and academia in Israel, Canada…

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New catalysts for Baeyer-Villiger oxidation reactions

Kazuaki Ishihara and his group at Nagoya University (Japan; www.ishihara-lab.net) have established a new, environment friendly reaction technology — using Baeyer-Villiger oxidations — for selectively oxidizing ketones into esters. The reaction uses hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant, and has potential…

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A little gold can reduce the Pt loading in fuel cells

A challenge in the development of polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells is the durability and electrocatalytic activity of platinum-based electrocatalysts. The sluggishness of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) causes the fuel cell performance to be limited by the cathodic reaction, and…

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This fully functional Li-ion battery is flexible

A team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kaist; Daejeon, South Korea: www.kaist.ac.kr) and Seoul National University (www.useoul.edu) led by Kaist’s professor Keon Jae Lee, claims to have developed the first prototype of a fully functional all-flexible…

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A nano cage made from a stack of benzenes

Professor Kenichoro Itami and his group at Nagoya University (synth.chem. nagoya-u.ac.jp) have synthesized a cage-type carbon nano-molecule, Carbon Nano-cage, composed of 20 condensed benzene rings — C120H78. The group used a procedure it developed four years ago to synthesize carbon…