The range of synthetic biology tools available for manipulating microbial metabolic pathways has expanded significantly in the past decade, opening new routes to chemical products. But the development challenges associated with strain development, as well as scaling up effective fermentation…
Figure 1. Experts anticipate the new EPA standards regarding SO2 will likely increase capital and engineering costs SOLVAir Solutions Last June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.) strengthened the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for sulfur dioxide…
A complete, modular system for flow chemistry Syrris Launched last November at the First RSC/SCI Symposium on continuous processing and flow chemistry, the Asia range of flow chemistry systems (photo) is scalable and modular. Commercially available next…
Yeghnazar Hubbard Allard Dalton Way Clifford Johnson, formerly of NACE International, is now president of the Pipeline Research Council International (Falls Church, Va.).…
This level pressure transmitter is ideal for high-purity applications Endress+Hauser The Deltapilot FMB 70 hydrostatic, level pressure transmitter (photo) is particularly suitable for food, beverage, dairy and pharmaceutical applications. Its watertight pressure-measuring cell and 316L stainless-steel housing with polycarbonate…
Although plant safety should be a top priority every day, there are certain times when extra vigilance is needed to make sure that safety practices are being maintained. This article outlines three periods deemed to be “critical” for plant safety…
History is a constant reminder that accidents and catastrophic events can and do occur in process environments. As processes become more complex (for instance, allowing for greater operating temperatures and pressures to be used) and existing basic process control systems…
The reboiler generally supplies most of the energy required to effect component separation. If too much heat is supplied, the tower may flood; conversely, if too little heat is available, separation performance may decrease via poor reflux ratio (pinching), excessive…
Plant Watch Dow to increase ethane cracking capabilities December 3, 2010 — The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) plans to increase ethane cracking capabilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast and improve its ethane cracking capabilities by 20–30% over the…
Agglomeration is the process of converting fine powder particles into larger particles by the introduction of external forces. Agglomeration is often desirable because the process yields a product that has a higher bulk density, contains less dust, and has improved…