This company now offers its new SQEx.2 part-turn actuator — the explosion-proof version of its SQ actuator, which was introduced at the beginning of 2013. In line with qualification requirements for hazardous environments, the SQEx.2 meets the European ATEX and…
This multi-port valve block from the iComLine Series is made of ultra-pure PVDF and features innovative seat-diaphragm technology with PTFE. This combination allows very heavy-duty switching cycles and temperature resistance up to 150°C — features that are not possible with…
These vacuum inlet traps protect pumps across many applications, from laboratory settings to scalable production systems. The inlet vacuum traps feature user-selectable filter elements for removing the corrosive gases and abrasive particles created by processes that use volatile organic compounds…
How big can a fermenter get? And what would the biggest fermenter look like? The answers to these questions depend upon how the requirements of heat transfer, mass transfer (gas-to-liquid), and momentum transfer (mixing) are met. In an earlier article…
Construction is underway in France on a pilot plant for what is believed to be the first fermentation process capable of directly producing the light olefin isobutene. Global Bioenergies (Evry, France; www.global-bioenergies.com) expects to begin operations of a 500-L fermentation…
A new chemical process is set to create bio-based p-xylene from cellulosic waste. Micromidas (West Sacramento, Calif.; www.micromidas.com) opened a pilot plant in December 2013 that converts cellulosic waste materials, such as rice hulls, switchgrass, sawdust and cardboard to bio-based…
A new process-intensification technology to accelerate the rate of enzymatic reactions has been developed by researchers from the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath (U.K.; www.bath.ac.uk). The so-called spinning cloth disc reactor (SCDR) is based on, but extends the…
A novel battery chemistry that uses a water-based electrolyte has allowed developer Aquion Energy Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.aquionenergy.com) to achieve a low-cost and safe battery with long cycle life for stationary energy-storage applications. The Aquion battery technology, now entering its…
A new water-gas shift catalyst has undergone 1,000 h of successful operation in a demonstration carried out by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO, Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, both Japan; www.hitachi.com). The tests were performed…
Converting CO2 into methane is a way to mimic the natural carbon cycle and close the energy cycle by producing synthetic hydrocarbons (see, for example, CO2 Utilization, Chem. Eng., July 2013, pp. 16–19). However, the Sabatier reaction (CO2 + 4H2…