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Separation Processes

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Facts at Your Fingertips: Crystallization

Crystallization is a method of solid-fluid separation in which pure chemical crystals are formed. Crystallization kinetics consists of three major phenomena: nucleation (the birth of a crystal), transfer of the solute from the supersaturated solution to the crystal surface, and…

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Chementator: Single-column SMB    

Vogelbusch GmbH (Vienna, Austria; www.vogelbusch.com) has developed a patent-pending distributor system that it claims makes possible the adaption of simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to this, SMB use has been limited to the…

Focus On: Filtration  

A Filter Bag for Food, Drug and Beverage Applications Introduced by the manufacturer as the first series of filter bags specifically designed for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries, Cleargaf filter bags (photo) promise full compliance with U.S. and European…

Technology Showcase: Reverse Osmosis  

Market demand for water purification is driving reverse osmosis forward Increasingly, water has become one of the hottest topics of the decade. Estimates indicate that water usage has increased tenfold in the last ten years. A recent United Nations report…

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Chementator: Drying at the speed of light    

After several years of proven operation in the food- and nutritional-products industry, a patented drying technology is now ready to be applied for any liquid or slurry product. Developed by MCD Technologies, Inc. (Tacoma, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-535), the Refractance Window (RW)…

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Chementator: Scaleup is set for a natural-gas-treating process that freezes out CO2    

ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7373-537) plans to spend more than $100 million on a commercial demonstration of its Controlled Freeze Zone (CFZ) technology for removing carbon dioxide from natural gas. The plant, to be located at the company’s Shute Creek…

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Facts at your Fingertips: Random Tower Packing

Packed Columns [1] A packed column is a vertical, cylindrical pressure vessel containing one or more sections of a packing material over whose surface the liquid flows downward by gravity, as a film or as droplets, between packing elements. Vapor…

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Facts at Your Fingertips: Membranes

Separation by a membrane is achieved by creating a boundary between different bulk gas or liquid mixtures. As different solvents and solutes flow through a membrane at different rates, separation is achieved. Here, we will focus on three filtration techniques:…

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Chementator: A promising nanosieve for dehydrating solvents and biofuels  

Although nanoporous silica membranes are promising systems for the molecular separation of gases and liquids, they lack microstructural stability in the presence of water at temperatures as low as 60°C. Prolonged exposure to water causes hydrolysis, resulting in the formation…

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Chementator: New ceramic-membrane system doubles rate and slashes cost for dehydrating ethanol  

Hitachi Zosen Corp. (Hitz; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7369-531) is commercializing a new membrane for a hybrid-distillation system (HDS) that is especially suitable for dehydrating ethanol and isopropanol. The HDS can produce 99.7 vol.% ethanol from ethanol-water mixtures with 10 vol.% H2O…