Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi.co.jp) will begin developing basic technologies for a triple combined-cycle power-generation system that integrates solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and a gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power generation system. Under the umbrella of the…
Theres a growing trend toward generating electricity from biogas (see pp. 15–17), but roughly half of the total energy content of the fuel is released as heat, which is dissipated into the atmosphere unused. To improve the overall efficiency, researchers…
India holds large reserves of low-grade sulfide copper ore containing 0.3 wt.% copper, which cannot be processed through conventional routes since the cut-off grade for treatment in concentrators is about 0.45 wt.%. India is in short supply of copper and…
At Achema 2012 (June 18–22; Frankfurt am Main, Germany), Union Engineering A/S (Fredericia, Denmark; www.union.dk) will be presenting its patented FlashCO2 process — both at the exhibition (Hall 9.1, Stand E29) and in a congress lecture (Monday, June 18th at…
The research groups of Masahiro Miyauchi at Tokyo Institute of Technology (www.eim.ceram.titech.ac.jp) and Kazuhiko Hashimoto at the University of Tokyo (www.light.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp) have developed a photocatalyst that is highly active for the destruction of volatile organic compoiunds (VOCs) using visible radiation.…
A partnership between Australian research agency CSIRO (Melbourne, Australia; www.csiro.au) and Lonza Group Ltd. (Basel, Switzerland; www.lonza.com), aims to market new insect silk products globally. Potential applications of insect silk include composite fibers for the aviation and marine industries, and…
Proterro Inc. (Princeton, N.J.; www. proterro.com) has demonstrated technology for directly producing sucrose as a feedstock for bio-based chemicals and biofuels that avoids the need for cellulosic biomass and energy crops. Using a genetically engineered strain of photosynthetic cyanobacteria and…
For the first time, researchers from Riken (Saitama, Japan; www.riken.go.jp) have synthesized stable crystals (photo) of a so-called heavy ketone — a compound in which the carbon of the C=O bond is replaced by Si, Ge, Sn or Pb. These…
Compressible flow in pipes is common in the chemical process industries (CPI) and is typically associated with density changes in gases that are subjected to pressure variations. Gas flow conditions can be described using an adiabatic or isothermal flow equation.…
Throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), the need to drain a tank or process vessel arises. In batch-type plants, it is a regular occurrence and is one factor that affects the total cycle time per batch and ultimately the entire…