China will likely achieve and may even exceed its target to obtain 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020, according to a new report released by the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org). If China's commitment to diversifying its energy supply and…
Better control of baghouses and cartridge-type dust collectors can pay dividends in energy savings, longer filter life and effort spent in tracking environmental compliance. That’s the message from Richard Kapcha, a control specialist with MikroPul (Charlotte, N.C.), which manufactures a…
As the chemical process industries (CPI) make the transition from communication protocols and systems that are cable-ready to those that are wireless, the conversation is changing. On the plant floor and in the executive suite, terms such as mesh network…
Steam traps are an integral part of steam systems in the chemical process industries (CPI). Steam is commonly used to add energy into a process through its latent heat (steam heat), while the resultant sensible heat (hot condensate) drains through…
To ensure the health and safety of workers, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in 1983. Initially designed to protect workers in the manufacturing sector, the HCS was expanded in 1987 to…
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released Appendix A of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), a critical element of its chemical security efforts. The appendix contains a list of chemicals that, if possessed by a facility…
While the Pennant ECS can be put to multiple applications, multi-bagger benefits accrue with its ability to convert both saturated and superheated steam into clean electrical energy. Typically, the ECS is used in parallel with a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)…
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6900-531) has acquired hydrotreating technology for desulfurizing motor fuels and hydrocracking intermediate refinery streams from Process Dynamics, Inc. (Fayetteville, Ark.). The IsoTherming Hydroprocessing Technology differs from other hydrotreating processes in that hydrogen is dissolved in the liquid…
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…