Mobile Navigation

Processing & Handling

A booster for quick, precise control of large valves

In most process control applications, larger valves tend to be fitted with pneumatic actuators that provide significant positioning forces. In these situations, the positioner is used to precisely position the valve by filling the actuator with the corresponding amount of…

A new catalyst for making SNG from biomass  

H.C. Starck GmbH (Goslar, Germany; www.hcstarck.com) and Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institut GmbH (Cutec; Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany; www.cutec.de) have joined forces to successfully develop a completely new generation of catalysts and process technology for the production of substitute natural gas (SNG) from biomass as a…

These plastic tanks can handle 50,000 gal

Large-volume polypropylene and polyethylene storage tanks from this company are available in capacities from 100 to 50,000 gal. The ready-for-installation tanks are made by extruding polypropylene or polyethylene around a steel drum mold. They are manufactured in various thicknesses, according…

These seals are for demanding applications

Metcar mechanical seal rings and seal faces are manufactured using highly engineered carbon-graphite materials for demanding high-speed or high-load applications. The seal rings are ideal for sealing liquids, such as water, hot water, acids, alkalis, fuels, heat-transfer fluids, liquefied gases,…

Member Exclusive

Biomass pretreatment

Cellulosic biomass pretreated with ammonia undergoes structural changes that make it more susceptible to enzymatic attack, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, N.M.; www.lanl.gov) and collaborators at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (Madison, Wisc.; www.glbrc.org) have found.…

These valve body lugs are permanently attached

This company’s Type 57IL Isolator Lug butterfly valve features a unique design in which the 316 stainless-steel lugs are inserted into the valve body during the injection-molding process. Doing so permanently combines the lugs and valve body into one unit.…

Member Exclusive

A simpler process to make PX from LCO

Anew process to make BTX (benzene, toluene and xylenes) from light cycle oil (LCO), an oversupplied product of petroleum refineries that can supplement the dwindling supply of BTX precursors, is being developed by JX Nippon Oil & Energy (JX Energy;…

High-pressure CO2 without an external cooling bath

The SFT-10 Liquid Carbon Dioxide pump features advanced thermoelectric technology that allows the generation of high pressure without the need for an external cooling bath. The SFT-10 can pressurize carbon dioxide up to 10,000 psi at flowrates from 0.01 to…

Member Exclusive

September Chementator Briefs

Phosgenation scaleup At the end of July, Bayer MaterialScience AG (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayerbms.com) successfully tested its new gas-phase phosgenation technology at a new plant being commissioned for making toluene diisocyanate (TDI) — a raw material for making polyurethane —…

Member Exclusive

Calculate Liquid Volumes in Tanks with Dished Heads

This article presents equations that allow the user to calculate liquid volume as a function of liquid depth, in both vertically and horizontally oriented tanks with dished heads. The equations accommodate all tank heads that can be described by two…