ESCO Technologies Boiler-tube expanders with precise torque control A full line of air-powered tube expanders and rolling motors for creating steel-to-steel mechanical seals in boilers, heat exchangers and condensers is available for sale or rent from this company. The Millhog…
The research group of Kazuo Tajima at Kanagawa University (Yokohama, Japan; apchem2.kanagawa-u.ac.jp) have developed a new emulsification process that enables biodiesel fuels (BDFs) to be used without any purification process, thereby reducing production costs by one fourth. Tajima estimates that…
OVERVIEW Indirect heating of processes by organic thermal-liquid fluids offers highly reliable operation, and the heat transfer systems are generally treated as low-maintenance utilities. Occasionally, the heat transfer fluid can become contaminated, resulting in the formation of sludge particles, or…
Acoustic coupling in industrial furnaces is an issue that appears to have become more prevalent as designs increase the volumetric heat density of furnaces, and burner technology is required to meet more-stringent emission requirements. The problems associated with acoustic coupling…
Like other aspects of chemical processing, cooling operations are being closely examined for ways to reduce costs and resource usage. Whether it’s cooling towers or industrial gases, experts say embracing new technologies makes it possible to get more bang for…
In late March, the world’s first demonstration plant for converting sugars directly into gasoline started up at the Madison, Wisc., facilities of Virent Energy Systems, Inc. (www.virent.com). The demonstration plant — part of a joint R&D collaboration of Virent and…
Honeywells UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) has developed a process that makes a renewable, “drop-in” jet fuel from sustainable oils, including camelina, tallow, jatropha or algae. Similar to the the UOP/Eni Ecofining process for making Green Diesel fuel (CE,…
Co-processing of biomass-derived feed with petroleum feed for the production of diesel fuel is a tricky business, given that the former (unlike petroleum) contains oxygen. The oxygenates can be removed by hydrotreating, which converts the biofeed to normal paraffins, but…
Less than two years ago, U.S. petroleum refiners were in the middle of an expansion and modernization program that was designed to add more than 1-million bbl/d to meet the growing demand for fuels, especially diesel fuel. Much of the…
Last year (2009) was a record year for U.S. ethanol production, with 200 biorefineries producing an estimated 10.6-billion gallons, according to the Renewable Fuels Assoc. (RFA; Washington, D.C.; www.ethanolrfa.org) in its recently published report, The 2010 Ethanol Industry Outlook. An…