Processing & Handling
NACE-compliant check valves for high pressures
This new range of high-pressure check valves is constructed of corrosion-resistant materials that are compliant with the National Assn. of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) MR0175/ISO15156 standards, which makes them suitable for harsh-duty applications, such as chemical injection in oil-tool applications. The…
Gas-Liquid Mixing: Physical Considerations
Gas-liquid reactors in the chemical process industries (CPI) have increasingly been designed to handle larger manufacturing scales. Since gas-liquid reactors can represent substantial capital and operating costs for the user, optimizing mixing and maximizing productivity are critical. The need for…
Single-use bioreactors for cell culture applications
UniVessel SU (photo) is a single-use bioreactor with 2-L working volume for small-scale protein expressions or process-optimization studies involving mammalian, insect and plant-cell cultures. The reactor is irradiated prior to delivery and is designed to the same safety standards required…
A glass flow reactor is now available in ceramic
Last month, Corning SAS (Avon, France), a subsidiary of Corning Inc. (Corning, N.Y.; www.corning.com), introduced the Advanced-Flow G4 Ceramic Reactor — the latest addition to the company’s line of glass flow reactors. The G4 is made of sintered-ceramic fluidic modules…
Low-cost process for bioethanol fuel demonstrated in Japan
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, www.mhi.co.jp) says it has established technology to produce bioethanol for automobile use by using soft-cellulose, such as wheat straw and rice straw, as raw materials. MHI estimates the fuel cost for a full-scale production…
A new way to grow functional MOFs
A team from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering (Melbourne, Australia; www.csiro.au) has developed a new technique for growing smart materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which can be used in pollution control, or as catalysts, or for transporting drugs in…
Commercial production of ‘Bio-cokes’
Last month, construction was completed on the world’s first commercial plant to produce a next-generation solid fuel, called Bio-cokes, at Takatsuki, Japan. The renewable material is produced from forest residues and can be used as an alternative to coal-based coke…
A comprehensive zeolite database
A team led by Rice University (Houston; www.rice.edu) researcher Michael Deem has assembled a database of 2.6 million possible unique zeolites — porous silicate minerals often used as catalysts or molecular sieves. The database of potential structures could inform efforts…
Flow Profile for Reciprocating Pumps
Reciprocating pumps are often used in the chemical process industries (CPI) because of their ability to generate high pressures at low velocities. A subcategory of positive-displacement pumps, reciprocating pumps act through the recipricating motion of a piston, plunger or diaphragm.…
Lightweight diamond aerogel
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL; Livermore, Calif.; www.llnl.gov) have created a nanocrystalline diamond aerogel. The new aerogel was produced by compressing a standard carbon-based aerogel precursor in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, which consists of two opposing diamonds.…