Processing & Handling
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…
New ceramic membranes for oxygen separation
Researchers from Curtin University’s Fuels and Energy Technology Institute (Perth, Western Australia; www.curtin.edu.au), led by professors Gordon Parkinson and Chun-Zhu Li, have won the Mitsubishi Corp. Western Australia Innovator of the Year award for creating a new membrane that speeds…
More than beer is brewing
This year, the recipient of the Othmer Gold Medal is Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon Ltd. (Bangalore, India; www.biocon.com). The award, which will be presented at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF; Philadelphia, Pa.; www.chemheritage.org) in May, honors…
Mix steam and water for safe wash-downs
The CSF Steam Water Mixer provides a reliable source of hot water that is delivered at the correct temperature and pressure. The mixer is a safe and easy-to-use device for most cleaning, or wash-down applications in just about every industry,…
These fume exhaust fans have no belts or couplings
New Mono-Stack fume exhaust fans provide pollution abatement, re-entrainment prevention, odor control and energy recovery in chemical, pharmaceutical and wastewater-treatment facilities. Incorporating functional nozzle design and high plume dispersion, these fans are low-maintenance and direct-drive, with no belts or couplings.…
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…
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…
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…