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Separation Processes

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Facts at your Fingertips: Filter Aids

Cake filtration is a common operation across many sectors of the chemical process industries (CPI). In cake filtration, the solid being filtered acts as a screen so that particles of the suspension are retained by the medium, resulting in the…

Extending Membranes’ Reach Across the CPI

Advances in next-generation materials and assembly techniques have enhanced membranes’ effectiveness in numerous applications Membranes are one of the primary technologies used for separations. While they may be best known for their use in water-treatment operations, advances in membrane technologies…

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Multilayer membrane for climate control

A triple-layer, porous membrane system developed at the Functional Materials Laboratory at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (www.fml.ethz.ch) can be fashioned into evaporative curtains to cool and humidify indoor spaces, potentially decreasing the energy demand for climate-control systems. Juxtaposing opposite forces…

2017 Chem Show Exhibitors Get the Word Out

The event's Exhibitor Equipment & Technology Showcase offers broad range of opportunities for attendees to learn about exhibitor products The complement to the 2017 Chem Show’s non-promotional Best Practice Seminar series (see above story) is a full slate of 49…

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Extracting lithium without roasting

Lithium Australia NL (Perth, Western Australia; lithium-au.com) has generated 99.8% (battery-grade) lithium carbonate from lithium-bearing silicates, such as spodumene, using its Sileach process — a hydrometallurgical process that does not require an energy-intensive roasting step. The company says Sileach has…

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Liquid metal membranes improve on Pd membranes for separating hydrogen

A liquid metal membrane with liquid gallium (Ga) sandwiched between two porous silicon carbide supports offers a pathway to improve the currently available membranes of solid palladium (Pd) metal for separating hydrogen after the steam reforming of methane. Pd metal…

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Facts at your Fingertips: Air Separation Processes

The components of air (Table 1), especially nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2), are critical for many modern industrial processes. Primary metals production, chemical manufacturing, gasification processes, clay, glass and concrete production, welding and other processes depend on O2 from air,…

Chemical Engineering Magazine Booklist: September 2017

The following information describes recently published books relevant to the chemical process industries (CPI): Engineering Energy Storage, By Odne Stokke Burheim, 2017, Academic Press, 252 pages, $125.00. Energetic Materials: Advanced Processing Technologies for Next-Generation Materials. Edited by Mark Mezger, Kay…

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Ammonia as a H2 carrier enabled by a catalytic membrane

A major challenge in using hydrogen to power motor vehicles is the difficulty in transporting H2 to refueling stations. Researchers at CSIRO Energy (Melbourne, Australia; www.csiro.au/energy) have responded to the challenge by converting H2 to NH3 and then using existing…

Reboiler Circuit Debottleneck with No Hardware Changes

 With a thorough investigation and proper problem diagnosis, an entire gas plant limited by a deethanizer reboiler circuit was successfully debottlenecked This article describes a case study of a gas plant (designed by others) that was bottlenecked by the reboil…