With the newly developed, high-precision 4090 pneumatic volume booster it is possible to amplify the air strength of the set point signal from the positioner to the actuator such that these control valves (depending on the nominal valve size)…
Kinki University (www.kindai.ac.jp) and Naniwa Roki Co. (both Osaka, Japan; www.naniwaroki.co.jp) have developed a continuous process for producing a next-generation solid fuel, called Bio-cokes. The process is being used at a new production facility located at Kinki University Research Institute…
Composite liquid and slurry boiler fuels have been produced from mixtures of various waste materials, such as biomass, coal- and crude-oil-processing residues, wood and other combustible substances, in a collaboration between researchers at the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, R.I.)…
A photocatalyst that reduces CO2 into carbon monoxide is being commercialized by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.tcichemicals.com/en/jp/index.html). Developed by Osamu Ishitani and his research group at Tokyo Institute of Technology (TiTech; Japan; www.chemistry.titech.ac.jp/~ishitani/index-jp.htm), the catalyst is a step…
A research group at Rice University (Houston; www.rice.edu) has developed a method for vaporizing water into steam using sunlight-illuminated nanoparticles, with only a small fraction of the energy heating the fluid. Sub-wavelength metal or carbon particles are intense absorbers of…
Under an ARPA contract Gas Technology Institute (GTI, Des Plaines, Ill.; www.gastechnology.org) is developing a process to convert natural gas directly into methanol and hydrogen. The process is much simpler and more efficient than the conventional high-temperature and capital-intensive steam-reforming…
An Indian team from the Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology (www.immt.res.in), and Utkal University (both Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; www.utkal-university.org) has achieved significant improvement in the recovery of nickel from lateritic ore by using oxalic acid produced by the fungus…
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…