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Chementator: A New Valve Seat  

Flowserve Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.flowserve.com) has introduced the Valtek Valdisk high-cycle seat, claimed to be a "breakthrough" seat design for Valtek butterfly valves. The new seat design is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, and offers an ANSI/FCI 7-0-2 class…

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Chementator: Tiny Buckyball Crystals    

Researchers at the University of Surrey (U.K., www.surrey.ac.uk) have discovered a method to make ultra-small, pure crystals of buckminsterfullerene (C60). Lozenge-shaped crystals can be made with widths of 80 nm — much smaller than the 400 nm minimum size predicted…

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Chementator: Magnetic nanoparticles  

Researchers at the U.S. Dept.of Energy’s Ames Laboratory (Iowa; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-538) have developed a new method for synthesizing various magnetic nanoparticles by mimicking bacteria that produce nano-scale magnetite (Fe3O4) naturally. Despite commercial applications ranging from localized drug delivery to magnetic inks…

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Chementator: Making esters with microwaves    

A simple, fast and clean process to make esters without a catalyst is being developed by Chemicrea Inc. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-539) with the support of New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization (Kawasaki), and Gifu University (Gifu, all Japan). The process…

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Chementator: A cost-effective deprotection catalyst    

The use of palladium on carbon powder supports (Pd-CP) has traditionally been a commercially viable means of catalyzing deprotection reactions, despite also requiring substantive quantities of precious metal and limiting the selection of solvents due to low hydrogenation activity. However,…

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Chementator: New enzymes  

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-542) has developed a new class of enzymes, called enoate reductases, which can be used for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral intermediates, such as esters and aldehydes. The modified biocatalysts, which the company has patented, are…

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Chementator: A new solvent  

The Dow Performance Fluids, a business of Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-546) has introduced a new high-temperature cleaning solvent for cleaning polymer-process reactor vessels, pipelines, heat exchangers, pumps and other equipment impaired by polymer residue. Dow HT-Solve 515 —…

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Chementator: Nanobatons trap oil . . .  . . .  as does nanopaper    

Scientists at Rice University (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-547) have shown how baton-shaped nanoparticles of metal and carbon can trap oil droplets in water by spontaneously assembling into tiny sacs. The particles — composed of hollow carbon nanotubes (hydrophobic) with a short…

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Newsfront: Material Marvels  

  Much as the chemical process industries (CPI) themselves are always evolving, so too are the engineering materials that play a role behind the scenes. While they may not always make headlines as groundbreaking scientific technologies tend to do, new…

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Facts at your Fingertips: Vacuum Pumps

Vacuum is any system of reduced pressure, relative to local (typically atmospheric) pressure. Achieved with a pump, vacuum systems are commonly used to: Remove excess air and its constituents Remove excess reactants or unwanted byproducts Reduce the boiling point Dry…