Mobile Navigation

Processing & Handling

Member Exclusive

This pathway from cellulose to p-xylene eliminates saccharification step

A new chemical process is set to create bio-based p-xylene from cellulosic waste. Micromidas (West Sacramento, Calif.; www.micromidas.com) opened a pilot plant in December 2013 that converts cellulosic waste materials, such as rice hulls, switchgrass, sawdust and cardboard to bio-based…

Member Exclusive

A new spin on enzymatic reactions

A new process-intensification technology to accelerate the rate of enzymatic reactions has been developed by researchers from the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath (U.K.; www.bath.ac.uk). The so-called spinning cloth disc reactor (SCDR) is based on, but extends the…

Member Exclusive

Commercial debut for a low-cost stationary energy-storage system

A novel battery chemistry that uses a water-based electrolyte has allowed developer Aquion Energy Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.aquionenergy.com) to achieve a low-cost and safe battery with long cycle life for stationary energy-storage applications. The Aquion battery technology, now entering its…

Member Exclusive

A new low-temperature shift catalyst passes longterm testing

A new water-gas shift catalyst has undergone 1,000 h of successful operation in a demonstration carried out by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO, Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, both Japan; www.hitachi.com). The tests were performed…

Member Exclusive

A sorption-enhanced catalyst improves CO2 methanation

Converting CO2 into methane is a way to mimic the natural carbon cycle and close the energy cycle by producing synthetic hydrocarbons (see, for example, CO2 Utilization, Chem. Eng., July 2013, pp. 16–19). However, the Sabatier reaction (CO2 + 4H2…

Mixing in the spotlight

Pressure to become more flexible and provide shorter cycle times have prompted chemical processors to examine their mixing operations to determine whether there is a way to increase process efficiency via mixing equipment. And, they just might be onto something,…

Perform leak tests without wasting helium

This company has developed helium recovery units that make it possible to recover and recycle the gas used in leak detection. The recovery of used helium is useful for meeting the environmental certification requirements under DIN EN ISO 14001 and…

Member Exclusive

Compressible Fluid Flow Calculation Methods

Compressible gas flow with significant variation in density along pipes is commonplace in the chemical processing industries (CPI). In designing these pipes for compressible flow, it is important to calculate the pressure loss or maximum gas-handling capacity for safety and…

Member Exclusive

Quick Pipe and Duct Flow Calculations

Would you like to make a quick mental calculation to determine approximate flowrate, velocity, or pipe and duct sizes for many common situations? This article presents two methods for estimating flow characteristics without the aid of charts, tables, calculators or…

New on-line material-selection guide for valves  

A new online Material Selection Guide is available from DeZURIK (Sartell, Minn.; www.dezurik.com). This convenient web application makes it quick and easy to determine which metals or elastomers are suggested as suitable for valves in applications involving specific corrosive media,…