The path to commercialization can be long and arduous, which means the engineers and chemists taking the path must have a good deal of patience, dedication and fortitude. To honor the efforts of those chemical engineers and their companies that…
Viscosity, power consumption, commercial availability and lifecycle cost analysis are all important considerations in pump sizing. An automated spreadsheet method helps engineers take those factors into account in centrifugal pump selection Many aspiring chemical engineers enter industry after university study…
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga. Tech; Atlanta; www.gatech.edu) have demonstrated a precision-machining technique to manufacture an entire pumping loop from materials that can withstand temperatures as high as 1,400–1,600°C. These materials are typically thought to be too…
A new process for producing lithium titanate oxide (LTO) anode materials could lead to smaller batteries with ultrafast recharging. LTO offers a significantly higher surface area than graphite anode materials, which enables rapid electron transit and, ultimately, much faster recharging…
This column is based on “Bio-Acrylic Acid Production from Glucose – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/acrylic-acid-production-cost. Acrylic acid is a moderately strong carboxylic acid, primarily used in the production of emulsion and…
The following are recently published titles relevant to the chemical process industries (CPI) Sustainable Water Management and Technologies, Vol. 2: Sustainable Water Technologies, By Daniel Chen, Taylor and Francis Group, 2017, 828 pages, $279.95. What Every Engineer Should Know About…
Silicon anodes are an attractive alternative to graphite anodes currently in use in lithium-ion batteries, because they can deliver up to five times higher capacities. However, silicon anodes have a limited charge-discharge cycle number. Their volume expands during each cycle,…
Reliable information about industrial crystallization can be difficult to find and to apply to new situations. The work process outlined here will help engineers approach crystallization challenges Project and plant engineers frequently face issues with crystallization processes, but often possess…
This column is based on “Calcium Hypochlorite Production via Sodium Method – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/calcium-hypochlorite-production-cost. Calcium hypochlorite, Ca(OCl)2, is among the few metal hypochlorites that is stable enough to be…
For petroleum refineries, the cost of converting hydrofluoric-acid-based alkylation units to the relatively safer sulfuric-acid-based alkylation process (diagram) has been cost-prohibitive and has lacked specific economic benefits. Now, DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) has developed a low-cost approach to converting existing…