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Removing harmful metals from wastewater with crab shells

Copper and cadmium exist naturally in the environment, but human activity can increase their concentrations to a point where they become a health hazard. Conventional wastewater treatment to remove those metals includes chemical precipitation, coagulation, flocculation, ion exchange, membrane filtration,…

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A very efficient heat exchanger for very hot applications

At the end of last year, Mino Ceramics Co. (Nagoya City, Japan; www.mino-ceramic.co.jp) began shipping its first commercial high-temperature heat exchangers, which were developed in a project by Thermal Management Materials and Technology Research Assn. (TherMAT, Tokyo, Japan; www.thermat.jp). Developed…

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Using air and hydrostatic pressure to store energy underwater

Consisting of a land-based mechanical facility and underwater pipelines and accumulators, the underwater compressed-air energy-storage (UCAES) system from Hydrostor Inc. (Toronto, Ont., Canada; www.hydrostor.ca) takes electricity (potentially excess solar or wind energy) and uses it to run a compressor, which…

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Oil-free compressed air at a fraction of the cost

The recently commercialized high-speed turbo (HST) compressors from BOGE Kompressoren Otto Boge GmbH & Co. KG (BOGE; Bielefield, Germany; www.boge.de) produce 100% oil-free (Class 0) compressed air at the highest degree of efficiency and with minimal maintenance effort, according to…

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Polymer-reaction monitoring

There are many critical parameters that are important to monitor and measure in industrial polymer reactions, including molecular weight, viscosity and residual monomer concentration. Typically, polymer reactions are characterized offline and intermittently in a quality-control laboratory, or via inferential models…

Optimize chemical addition in cloth-media filters

The IntelliPro filtration optimization system (photo) is a PC-based control system for this company’s cloth-media filters that uses realtime data to optimize chemical addition to meet phosphorus-removal objectives. The system features automatic, optimal-dose selection for metal salts, polymer and pH-adjusting…

New compact gear pumps fit into tight spaces

The UP2 family of self-priming, compact electric gear pumps (photo) are available in 12- and 24-V d.c. versions and with flowrates up to 2.6 gal/min for water (52.9 gal/h for oil). The UP2 Series is designed for applications with an…

These flowmeters are equipped with high-temperature sensors

For flowmeters, sensors limit the maximum operating temperature while the flow volume and direction of flow are registered by means of spindle rotation. In addition to the available standard model for temperatures of up to 125°C, the economically priced OMP…

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Flooded Condenser Controls: Principles and Troubleshooting

Flooded condensers are the prime tower pressure-control methods for total condensers that generate only liquid products, and although these control methods can be troublesome, a good understanding of their principles will help achieve improved, trouble-free operations Pressure is the most…

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Illuminating Process Vessels: Advantages of Diffused Light

Don’t panic — What appear to be scratches on a vessel may be an illusion caused by improperly applied LED lighting Imagine looking into a sight glass for a routine tank inspection, and seeing for the first time numerous scratches…