Fired heaters are used considerably in the chemical process industries (CPI), for heating crude oil in the petroleum refining and petrochemical sectors. Unfortunately, fired heaters are often taken for granted and neglected more than other equipment in terms…
A coal-gasification reactor that resembles a metals smelter and operates in two cycles (oxidation and reduction), alternately producing hydrogen and syngas, is being developed by Diversified Energy Corp. (Gilbert, Ariz.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6895-536) and Alchemix Corp. (Carefree, Ariz.). In the oxidation cycle…
The cost of producing ethanol promises to be reduced by 50% through a process being developed by TNO (Zeist, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-536). The reason for the dramatic cut is that ligno-cellulosic material is hydrolyzed in a single step, using concentrated sulfuric…
Cleaning the interior of firetubes in oil-, biomass- or coal-fired boilers is a time-consuming task that can normally be done only when a boiler is offline. Now, a system that can do the job automatically while the boiler is in…
Another online boiler-cleaning system, in this case for coal-fired watertube boilers, is offered by GE Energy (Kansas City, Mo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-539). GE's automated system, called Powerwave+, is more efficient and less expensive than sootblowing with high-pressure steam, the commonly used online…
Demonstration plants to test six processes for producing ethanol from non-food-based biomass will be built with support from the U.S. DOE (edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-543). Between them, the plants will produce more than 130 million gal/yr of ethanol from cellulosic feeds, including agricultural…
A fungus that is said to be more effective than baker's yeast for the conversion of waste to ethanol has been discovered by researchers at Boras University College (Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6894-544). The fungus, a saprophyte (of the zygomycetes order of fungi),…
The use of shell-and-tube heat exchangers is widespread in the chemical process industries (CPI). In applications where contact between shell- and tube-side fluids is not tolerable, it is important for the engineer to understand some of the design…
A more efficient process for producing synthesis gas (syngas; hydrogen and carbon monoxide) from natural gas has been developed by JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6893-541) in cooperation with Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan), as part of a national project…
Toyo Engineering Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6892-539) and BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6892-540) are cooperating to market and sell a gas-purification technology specifically designed to purify synthesis-gas (syngas) streams for integrated gasification, combined-cycle (IGCC) power plants. Tradenamed PuraTreat A, the technology…