This letter is in reference to the article, Forces Acting on a Gasket [ Chem. Eng. October, 2014, p. 32a]. I need to clear my understanding on the seating stress required for the proper sealing. As per the article, seating…
Construction has begun on a unique refinery project that will convert Canadian bitumen into ultralow-sulfur diesel while producing high-purity CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and subsequent carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The project, located near Edmonton, Alta. and run…
A high-temperature pressure-swing-absorption (HT-PSA) process that reduces energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional PSA technology is being developed by Tokyo Gas Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.tokyo-gas.co.jp), with support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).…
Last month, Veolia Water Technologies (Birmingham, England; www.veoliawaterst.co.uk) introduced a new generation of biofilm carriers for moving-bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs). Trade-named AnoxKaldness Z-MBBR, the new carrier is the result of two decades of development work, says the company. Unlike conventional…
The research group of Masatsugu Morimitsu at Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan; www.doshisha.ac.jp) has developed an “evolutionary” electrowinning process for the production of rare and base metals that promises to reduce both the power consumption and environmental burden. The process features…
Reed Resources Ltd. (Perth, Western Australia; www.reedresources.com) has advanced its Barrambie Titanium Project — about 600 km northeast of Perth, Western Australia — with the construction (now in its final stages) of a mini-pilot plant in Canada to demonstrate a…
Scientists at Kao Corp. (KAO; Tokyo, Japan; chemical.kao.com) have discovered an enzyme that has the potential for producing large quantities of medium-chain (C12) fatty acids (FAs), which are the main components of natural oils, such as palm-kernel and coconut-palm oils.…
Last month in Ovadan-Depe, Turkmenistan, construction began on a plant that will produce gasoline from natural gas. When the plant starts up approximately four years from now, it will produce 15,500 barrels per day (bbl/d) of synthetic gasoline using the…
Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST; Tsukuba City, Japan; www.aist.go.jp), with support from New Energy and Industry Technology Development Org. (NEDO; Kawasaki City; Japan; www.nedo.go.jp) have developed a technology to efficiently synthesize tetra-alkoxy-silane —…
A commercial prototype perovskite solar cell that is less expensive than current thin-film solar cells is under development by a team from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore; www.ntu.edu.sg), in collaboration with Dyesol Ltd. (Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia; www.dyesol.com) and professor Michael Grätzel…