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,…
Extraction of palm oil generates large amounts of lignocellulose-rich byproduct known as empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is usually wasted. A new process for utilizing this waste to make lactic acid has been developed by a team of researchers in…
Professor Takao Masuda and colleagues at Hokkaido University (Sapporo; www.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/labo/cse), in collaboration with Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Idemitsu; Tokyo; both Japan; www.idemitsu.com), have developed a two-step process that converts wood-based lignin into phenols. They believe the achievement could lead to an…
A metal-free catalyst system involving ionic liquids and doped carbon nanofibers can efficiently reduce carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, offering a cost-effective electrochemical route from CO2 to synthesis gas (syngas), and further, to liquid transportation fuels. A research group at…
A stabilized palladium catalyst system that can be used for making materials for organic solar cells and pharmaceuticals has been developed by the research groups of of Yoichi Yamada at Riken (Wako city; www.riken.jp) and Shigenori Fujikawa at the International…
Pressure vessels are common in the chemical process industries (CPI) and they range widely in size and complexity. Process engineers may be tasked with inspecting a new pressure vessel or with witnessing hydrostatic testing of a vessel. In addition, engineers…
A high-throughput method for synthesizing ionic-liquid-containing electrolytes developed by Boulder Ionics Corp. (Arvada, Colo.; www.boulderionics.com) has been refined to enable its use in commercial production. Boulder Ionics had previously piloted the continuous process for producing advanced ionic-liquid (IL) electrolytes at…
A new process for producing monoethylene glycol (MEG) from synthesis-gas-based feedstocks is nearing completion of extensive pilot plant operation, according to developers Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com) and Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies Ltd. (London, U.K.; www.davyprotech.com). The technology enables…
Low-grade nickel (less than 1.5 wt.%) laterite ores represent about 70% of global reserves but account for only 40% of nickel production. Increasing demand for nickel in recent years has created the need to process such ores. Atmospheric acid leaching…
Pilot plant operation has been completed for a process that produces the fertilizer potassium sulfate from the mineral polyhalite, a hydrated sulfate of potassium, magnesium and calcium. The process, developed by Intercontinental Potash Corp. (ICP; Golden, Colo.; www.icpotash.com), resurrects a…