Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an area of technology that has received national and international attention. CCS is seen by some as a way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere and thereby decrease the threat…
To many, the concept of a "smart plant" involves integrating critical process subsystems and instrumentation with the goal of streamlining operations, increasing production and, simply put, making more money. But looking at the bigger picture, the true goal of having…
Most common acids can be stored in horizontal or vertical ASME-type tanks, as shown in the figures to the right, or vertical API-type tanks. Horizontal, carbon-steel ASME-type tanks of 10,000 — 40,000 gal capacity should have a plate thickness of…
As spring approaches, the woods around Frankfurt are beginning to get green again. Taking in this annual transformation, it seems like a good time to reflect on how the meaning of the word "green" has changed — through misuse or…
Investment, production and consumption of biofuels are booming, thanks mainly to American and European governments’ subsidy and promotion. In part this is driven by fear of environmental enemy number one — global warming. The simple, conventional wisdom is that biofuels…
While it may be one of the oldest chemical processes known to mankind, fermentation is getting a high-tech face lift as industrial biotech firms put a fresh spin on the age-old technology in an effort to develop advanced products…
A good understanding of the reaction chemistry is needed for a safe process design It is a fact that safety-related incidents do occur in the chemical process industries (CPI). These incidents have, in part, led to increased attention to reactive-chemical…
Last month, the first pilot project that used chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide from the fluegas (FG) of a coal-fired power plant started operating at the 1,210-MW We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie power plant in Wisconsin. Alstom (Windsor, Conn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-531)…
In its first full-scale test on a coal-fired power plant, halogenated activated carbon (AC) made by ADA-ES, Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-537) has reduced mercury emissions by more than 90%. The significance of the results is that the plant burns western…
Nippon Steel Materials Co., Ltd. (NSM; Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-538) has developed a new catalyst for combustion engines that contains 70% less precious metals than conventional catalytic converters. The catalyst is expected to not only lead to lower costs, but also…