Rotec Design Ltd. (Brisbane, Queens-land, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/ 6900-539), has filed a provisional patent application for an “Improved low heat rejection, high efficiency engine.” The engine is an improvement on the company’s Rotec EnviroDiesel Design (REDD), claimed to be the world’s…
Although halons (brominated or chlorinated fluorocarbons) are widely used as fire suppressants and foaming agents, they also contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion. However, halons are potentially valuable chemicals that should not be destroyed, but rather converted to reusable chemicals, says…
The Spanish subsidiary of the Global Power Group of Foster Wheeler, Ltd. (Hamilton, Bermuda; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-545) has signed an agreement with the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía for the technological development of an oxycombustion process and CO2-capture solution for a coal-fired…
Safety instrumented systems (SIS) are in the spotlight these days. More companies have come to recognize the importance of recently published consensus standards, and recent fatal accidents tied to the failure of instrumented safeguards have brought further attention.…
Climate change has become an important strategic issue for many operating companies throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). Public interest is increasing,1 shareholder interest continues to mount,2 and climate policy discussions are actively taking place at the state, regional,…
Lonza (Basel, Switzerland; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6898-553) has commercialized an online monitoring system, called PyroSense, for the automatic detection of endotoxins in water systems. The PyroSense system provides automatic, quantitative determination of endotoxin in water at selected intervals, using a standard assay system…
For the 12th straight year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized efforts in developing less-toxic alternatives to existing technologies and reducing or eliminating waste in the manufacturing process. The 2007 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, which are described…
What is billed as the world’s first plant to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from landfill gas is now being commissioned in Irvine, Calif., by Prometheus Energy Company (Seattle, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6897-540). The first module is expected to reach its capacity…
Emergency pressure relief is a dynamic event with rapidly changing physical properties. Available utilities aren’t always capable of handling the complex calculations commonly needed in the CPI. A simplified calculation technique is presented to address the issue of valve sizing…
Most columns shut down without fires. Yet most refineries and chemical plants at some time or another have experienced spontaneous or hot work ignitions in at least one column. When this occurs inside a column during or after…