A promising method for producing hydrogen involves the gasification of biomass with steam. To enhance the concentration of Hâ‚‚ in the ensuing mixture of combustible gases, a carbon dioxide sorbent can be used in situ; calcium oxide is commonly…
Over the last three years, DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-552) has been developing technology to break down the complex sugar matrix of corn stover as a means for making ethanol from cellulose in high yield. Although there is more research to…
Last month, the American Chemical Society (ACS) celebrated its 19th annual National Chemistry Week, a community-based program that aims to communicate how chemistry benefits quality of life. The initiative goes hand-in-hand with the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) “essential2” advertising campaign,…
A new-type of polymer composite has recently been commercialized by Ceram Polymerik Pty Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6517-533) for passive fire-protection applications. Passive fire protection consists of using a material or structure that confines fires, giving people more time to escape…
Most of today's solar cells are made from silicon wafers cut from blocks of crystals. The wafers are typically 0.2-0.25-mm thick, yet most of the photon-to-electricity conversion takes place in the outermost 0.02 mm of the wafer. In an effort…
The need to maintain and increase safety is ever-present in the chemical process industries (CPI), but what exactly constitutes safety equipment? This roundup of products covers a broad range of equipment, from data buses to non-slip footwear, whose…
Richard Milner, a Honary Fellow at CSIRO Entomology (Canberra, Australia; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6517-541), has developed a rare native fungus, Metarhizium, into an environmentally friendly control for grass-hopper-type (including locust) agricultural pests. Metarhizium is a naturally occurring soil fungus that is genetically diverse;…
Stefan Jaronoski, an insect pathologist at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (Sidney, Mont.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6517-543) has discovered that a strain of the fungus Metarhizium anisoplia is effective in killing the sugar beet root maggot. Currently,…
Biomass has come center stage in the pursuit of reduced dependence on finite - not to mention geopolitically sensitive - quantities of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. And while ethanol produced from corn…
The ANSI/ISA-S84.01-1996 standard, which has guided North American users for the past decade in designing safety instrumented systems (SIS) has migrated to a new international standard based on the IEC 61511 and is now known as ANSI/ISA-84.00.01-2004 (IEC…