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Environment, Health, Safety & Security

Engineering Practice: Discharge Coefficients and Flow Resistance Factors

This article presents the fundamental concepts of the discharge coefficient, KD, of a relief valve or a safety relief valve, and flow resistance factor, KR, of a rupture disk, and their proper use in sizing an emergency relief system. When…

Chementator: A process that requires less energy to treat sludge efficiently  

A new activated-sludge-treatment process that promises to slash energy consumption is being developed by Sanki Engineering Co., Ltd., (Tokyo, www.sanki.co.jp), in cooperation with Ebara Corp., (Tokyo) and Touhoku University (Sendai, all Japan), and the support of NEDO (New Energy &…

Chementator: Eye washing takes a new direction  

Since the original invention of the steady-stream eyewash over 50 years ago, the accepted practice in the chemical process industries (CPI) and other industrial circles has been to flush the eyes with two, separate, arc-shaped water streams, each one flowing…

Chementator: A faster way to decontaminate soil  

Liberty Engineering (Hamburg, N.Y.; www.libertypsa.com) has developed a bioremediation system that fully removes carcinogens from soil in 90 days. The process is based on microbial oxidation of organic compounds by petrophyllic pseudonomads in an oxygen-rich environment. The bacteria are specifically…

September Bookshelf

Handbook of Chemical Technology and Pollution Control. Third Edition. By Martin B. Hocking. 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. Web: wiley.com. 2006. 830 pages, $95.95. Reviewed by V. N. Lad, S. V. National Institute of Technology, Gujarat, India…

Chementator: Dow and NREL Join Forces in a Biomass Gasification Project  

A thermochemical process for converting biomass to ethanol, other biofuels and chemical intermediates will be developed jointly by Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) and the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, Golden, Colo.; www.nrel.gov). Under the…

Chementator: Taking Advantage of Landfill Gas    

Dow Chemical (Midland, Mich; www.dow.com) has started using a renewable energy source — methane from landfill gas — at its Dalton, Ga., plant where carpet latex is manufactured. As a result, carpet-backing products manufactured with the so-called Dow Lomax technology,…

Chementator: Plastics: A New Use for an Ethanol Coproduct    

Corn residue left in fermenters after ethanol production could find a future use as a filler in plastics through research being done at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory (Brookings, S.D.; www.ars.usda.gov). The granular residue, called…

Chementator: EPA Delays GHG Action    

On July 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.) released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) soliciting public input on the effects of climate change and the potential ramifications of the Clean Air Act in relation to…

Finding the Right Gloves To Fit the Application  

Workers in the chemical process industries (CPI) would certainly benefit from the "perfect" glove that would be thick enough for thermal insulation, thin enough to promote dexterity and tough enough to protect workers from cuts and abrasion. The glove would…