This company has engineered a purpose-built VM-450-gallon VersaMix (photo) that features three independently driven agitators, including a two-wing center-mounted agitator with contoured bottom and Teflon scrapers to efficiently motivate viscous product throughout the mixing zone, a long helical flight agitator…
For intelligent textiles to function effectively, they need to be strong, stretchable and electrically conductive. However, fabricating fibers that possess these three properties has been challenging. Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, an international team of…
Fluidized beds are used in a variety of industries for combustion, drying, catalytic cracking and other processes. However, the process that occurs inside a fluidized bed is extremely complex and — due to a lack of effective measurement techniques —…
Last month, Circa Group A/S (Oslo, Norway; www.circa-group.com) applied for patents for two new solvents for CO2 capture processes. The solvents, named Furatech:1 and Furatech:2, were developed over the last 12 months as part of the company’s platform molecule, levoglucosenone…
There are several established technologies to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, including membranes and adsorbents. However, such purification media can pose disposal challenges due to the potential for further PFAS contamination stemming from the spent media. Now,…
With the Texoversum (photo), Reutlingen University (Germany; www.reutlingen-university.de) has put into operation a training and innovation center for the textile industry that is unique in Europe. The almost 2,000-m2 textile-like façade of the new building combines the innovative power of…
Regular heat-transfer-fluid monitoring can prevent fluid problems that lead to equipment failure, costly downtime and repairs. Parameters to watch include viscosity, acid neutralization number, moisture, solid or residue content, thermal degradation and flash point. This one-page reference provides information on…
Henry Kister shares lessons learned from troubleshooting distillation towers During a course that I was presenting in Houston one year, a participant asked me the following at the end of one of the sessions: “Do you have experience with BX-type…
Chemical plants should not overlook the potential problems that can arise from damaged or malfunctioning lighting fixtures It is no secret that many chemical plants and industrial sites are prone to harsh environmental conditions that can wreak havoc on equipment…
Crushing and screening of solids are essential to many solids-handling processes, but engineers must be mindful about how those actions will affect flow behavior of the bulk material When it comes to processing bulk solids, (particle) size matters. Almost all…