Chemical Engineering
Grace expands operating Unipol PP technology capacity in China with Oriental Energy
W.R. Grace & Co (Grace; Columbia, Md.) announced that Oriental Energy Co. Ltd. (Oriental Energy) has started up a new plant with Grace’s UNIPOL PP Process Technology. Located in Maoming, China, the new 400,000-ton/yr reactor line began producing high-quality homopolymers…
Lummus Technology licensing olefins, cumene and phenol technologies to Haldia Petrochemicals
Lummus Technology (Houston) announced Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL) will license its olefins conversion technology (OCT) and the Lummus/Versalis cumene and phenol technologies for a new plant in West Bengal, India. Once HPL's plant is complete, it will be India's largest cumene…
Veolia acquires waste-handling and recycling firm in the U.S.
Veolia North America announced that it has completed the acquisition of U.S. Industrial Technologies, a Michigan-based provider of total waste and recycling services that has managed industrial waste streams for automakers as well as other large manufacturers, medium and small…
Dow and Evonik start up hydrogen peroxide to propylene glycol pilot plant
Dow (Midland, Mich.) and Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) announced the successful start-up and operation of a pioneering hydrogen peroxide to propylene glycol (HPPG) pilot plant at Evonik’s site in Hanau, Germany. Collaboratively developed by Dow, the world’s largest producer…
The shortness of time . . .
As I get older, time seems to get shorter. Although many experience this feeling, the duration of time is not changing, only our perception of it. However, in the five decades I have been involved in science, the timescale at…
Management and Maintenance Strategies for Valves
Asset criticality and risk are primary among the many factors that must be considered to appropriately manage valves throughout their lifecycle Asset strategies usually define how assets will be treated in the different phases of an asset lifecycle, from acquisition…
A new heat-resistant membrane
Most polymeric membranes degrade during use, making them impractical for industrial separation processes. To solve this problem, researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo; www.buffalo.com), with cooperation for scientists at Rensselar Polytechnic Institute, have created…
Solids Flow Measurement in Specialty Chemicals: Seamless Integration
Continuous flow measurement is used at this Austrian specialty chemicals manufacturer for process optimization, as well as overload protection Sensing-plate weighing systems are often used for weighing free-flowing and very dusty bulk materials. Such solids flowmeters ensure reliable determination of…
Slurry-processing system produces dry solids, aqueous NH3 in a single step
A new technology designed for improving the environmental footprint associated with processing liquid waste streams containing suspended or dissolved solids has been developed by Sedron Technologies (Sedro-Wooley, Wash.; www. sedron.com) and tradenamed Varcor. The technology separates, dries and sterilizes solid…
Safely Operating a Heat-Transfer-Fluid System
Being aware of and understanding potential hazards are crucial for operating a heat-transfer-fluid system safely A significant number of industrial processes require heating or cooling with precise temperature control. Maintaining this temperature control can be achieved through several industrial practices,…