The Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS) is a compact solid-waste disposal system that is designed for energy-efficient operation onboard naval vessels, in forward-operating military bases and in other isolated installations. Developed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR; Arlington, Va.;…
Pressure relief valves and rupture disks are critical safety devices for protecting personnel and processing equipment from overpressurization situations. Presented here are several engineering practices that can help to identify and address common problems with the pressure relief systems of…
The following letter originally appeared in Chemical Engineering, December 2011, p. 6. The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) flawed and unwarranted ruling that styrene poses a health hazard continues to stir opposition from respected scientists, manufacturing leaders,…
Last month, this company released its new Tofino Scada Security Simulator (TSSS), part of the Tofino Industrial Security Solution. The product is a complete control system in a box, designed to demonstrate the vulnerability of Scada and PLC (programmable logic…
(From November 2011, Letters) Perhaps enough has been written about the questionable science underlying recent U.S. government pronouncements concerning formaldehyde and human cancer of the lymphohematopoietic system (“LHPs—including the leukemias and the lymphomas)*. Now, suppliers of formaldehyde-containing product must face…
To date, the difficult-to-treat contaminants and their related biological inhibition in petroleum refinery wastewater have defied efforts to bring predictive and mathematical process control to biological wastewater-treatment systems. Now, for the first time, engineers at Refinery Water Engineering & Associates…
One of the biggest issues related to dust collection is compliance with U.S. Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations regarding combustible dusts and air quality. And as both agencies up the ante with tighter…
With a unique adhesive bottom, the Grippy Mat stays in place under a wide range of conditions, and peels up easily without leaving a residue on the floor. The absorbent mat soaks up leaks, drips and oversprays without bunching, curling…
A 60% reduction in the sludge volume was achieved at the sewage treatment plant of Noboribetu City, Hokkaido, Japan, after installing a Bio-Diet SBD-1200 system from Nippon Steel Kankyo Engineering Co. (NSKE; Tokyo, www.nske.co.jp). The demonstration unit, developed at the…
A rapid pressure-swing-adsorption (rPSA) system to separate carbon dioxide from fluegas is being developed by W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbus, Md.; www.grace.com) and three partners under a $3 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov).…