Separation Processes
Factors Affecting Screening Performance
Consider these points when selecting and specifying equipment that separates material according to particle size Screening is an integral part of many dry material processes, ensuring an end product that is free of fine or oversized material, or in some…
Selective extraction
MPI Technologies AB (Lund, Sweden; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-545) is expanding its production capabilities for making molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) so that batch quantities of 3–5 kg/wk will be possible. MIPs are stable polymers in which artificial receptor sites have been created to…
Hot CO2 separation
Researchers from the Center for Synthesis and Chemical Biology (CSCB; Dublin; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-551) have developed an ultrathin, nanoporous membrane that can separate carbon dioxide from nitrogen at 600°C; up to now, no membranes have been available to separate CO2 at temperatures…
Biopharm purification
GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-554) and BAC B.V. (Naarden, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6518-555) are collaborating to develop new affinity-ligand and chromatography media for human antibodies and adeno-associated virus (AAV) viral vector purification. The first products are expected to be commercially…
Dryers
Process small batches with this fluid-bed dryer The Circular Vibratory Fluid Bed Processing System (photo) dries small batches of bulk-solid materials at high temperatures. The self-contained system integrates an 18-in.-dia. fluid-bed processor with heater, blower, cyclone separator and…
Reducing the cost for pro-ducing high-purity hydrogen
It is well known that palladium membranes are ideal for purifying hydrogen because they allow only H2 to pass through (via diffusion of H atoms) while blocking all other molecules. Because contaminants cannot pass through this pore-free "filter", Pd membrane…
Optimization of Complex Distillation Columns
Distillation, based on differences in the volatility of components, is the most common unit operation for separating homogeneous mixtures. In simple distillation columns, a single feed stream is separated into two product streams. Complex columns are those that…
Solid-Liquid Separation Showcase
Solid-liquid separation is a key unit operation that processors look to for a wide-range of applications ranging from: the lowly removal of debris from cooling-fluid lines and products; through the recovery of product from solvents; to massive-scale dewatering…
These sturdy filters have designer pores for microfiltration
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (Umsicht; Oberhausen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/6516-533) are developing a new type of filter medium that can be manufactured with pores of precisely the same size (photo). The filter is made of…
This pressure filter helps soda-ash producers deal with waste sludge
Manufacturing soda ash by either the Solvay or Hou process produces a large amount of waste sludge. About 10 m3 of waste — mostly liquid with 2–8 wt.% solids — is generated per ton of soda ash produced, says Trevor…