Mobile Navigation

Processing & Handling

Dose chemical reactors at ‘high’ flowrates with this syringe pump

The Atlas Syringe Pump XL allows automated volumetric dosing from 100 µL/min to 200 mL/min. The pump features two syringes that can be independently controlled or combined to enable continuous flow at pressures up to 6 bars. The pump is…

Member Exclusive

Integrated energy-efficient design boosts aromatics production

A Samsung petrochemicals facility in South Korea will be the first to feature a suite of energy efficiency technologies developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill., www.uop.com) for improved aromatics production. A number of UOP aromatics-processing design features and materials…

Member Exclusive

This new PET process eliminates production steps

A new process for generating sheets of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) eliminates several production steps used in the traditional process, offering greatly reduced energy use and improved polymer properties. Developed by Octal Petrochemicals LLC FZC (Muscat, Oman; www.octal.com), the direct-to-sheet PET…

Member Exclusive

Biobutanol to be produced at retrofitted ethanol plant

The first commercial-scale biobutanol plant using the Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT) process is set to come online in mid-2012 at the former site of an ethanol facility in Minnesota. In late January, Gevo (Englewood, Colo.; www.gevo.com) was awarded a…

Member Exclusive

Nanosized zeolite catalyst shows promise for improving naphtha cracking

A naphtha-cracking process with improved yield, reduced coking and longer catalyst life is being developed in a five-year Japanese project led by professor Takashi Tatsumi at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TiTech; www.titech.ac.jp), with participation from the National Institute of…

Member Exclusive

Improved heavy-crude conversion process boosts diesel yields

A proprietary nanoscale catalyst and an updated engineering design have allowed higher conversion rates for transforming the heaviest fractions of crude oil, known as vacuum residue, into high-value transportation fuels, such as diesel. Developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.;…

Member Exclusive

A fine filter

Last month, W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore; Elkton, Md.; www.gore.com) introduced what is claimed to be the worlds first 20-nm-rated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filter that is available in a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cartridge. Compared to conventional filtration media, this new…

Member Exclusive

Biobutanol to be produced at retrofitted ethanol plant

The first commercial-scale biobutanol plant using the Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT) process is set to come online in mid-2012 at the former site of an ethanol facility in Minnesota. In late January, Gevo (Englewood, Colo.; www.gevo.com) was awarded a…

This ball valve has a one-piece cast body

KTM Unibody EB700 ball valves have a one piece, cast body to minimize potential leak paths and improve safety compared to split-body designs. The EB700 series has a rugged design with a seat made from a co-polymer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)…

Member Exclusive

Adding gallium to biomass pyrolysis catalyst increases BTX yield

A new catalyst design, in which gallium atoms are integrated into the zeolite catalyst structure, can increase yields of aromatic compounds from biomass by 40% in a catalytic fast-pyrolysis process. The higher yields of benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX), as…