The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI, Palo Alto, Calif.; www.epri.com) has signed an agreement with Air Products (Allentown, Penn.; www.airproducts.com) to support the company’s development of a ceramic ion transport membrane (ITM) for air separation. The membrane is being tested…
A new correlation that matches most commercial trays The sieve tray has been in the distillation market place for many decades. It has been used extensively in distillation columns worldwide as a highly efficient vapor-liquid-contacting device. Many people have examined…
With the exception of Oslo-type crystallizers, the main commercial crystallizers are agitated systems that use an agitator [agitated tank or draft-tube baffle (DTB)] or a circulation pump [forced circulation (FC) crystallizers]. In such systems, however, large crystals become damaged by…
Aqueous Recovery Resources, Inc. (ARR; Bedford Hill, NY; www.suparator.com), has developed the Suparator, an oil/water separation system that involves no moving parts or media, for low operational costs and minimal maintenance. The separator (diagram) is based on the Bernoulli effect,…
Membrane polymers are packaged into a configuration, commonly called a device or an element. The most-common element configurations (figure) are tubular, capillary fiber, spiral wound, and plate and frame. Tubular Made from ceramic, carbon, stainless steel or a number…
CeraMem ceramic membranes are a proprietary technology platform provides ceramic membrane performance at comparable lifecycle costs to polymeric membranes. The design, which is a combination of unique materials of construction and novel membrane chemistry, allows the utilization of large-diameter ceramic…
Septron Bio-Safe is said to be the world’s first electro-deionization (EDI) module with an integrated membrane stage. It is based on proven and patented spiral-wound technology and has an additional membrane stage for removal of particles and bacteria. The EDI…
For separating two components with similar volatilities, extractive distillation is typically used, whereby a high-boiling, non-volatile solvent is added to "break the azeotrope" — a process that is both energy intensive and often involves the use of hazardous solvents. In…
Here, we present criteria needed for the intelligent, effective specification of trays for a distillation or stripping column. Among the key parameters and accessories during specification are column diameter, tray spacing, number of trays, number of passes, type of downcomers,…
Solvay Solexis S.p.A. (Bollate, Italy; www.solvaysolexis.com) has commercialized a new perfluorosulfinic acid (PFSA) polymer, tradenamed Aquivion, which was specifically designed for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Aquivion ionomer membranes are melt-extruded products based on the Short Side Chain (SSC)…