January 2019

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The 2019 Kirkpatrick Award: Nominations are now open
As chemical engineers, many of us work on developing new…

COVER STORY

An Investigation of Premature Flooding in a Distillation Column
Surprising observations regarding flooding in the upper fractionation trays of…

IN THE NEWSNEWSFRONTS

Power-to-X: Batteries Not Required
As renewable energy becomes increasingly available (and less expensive), Europeans…

The Balanced Burner
Modern combustion technologies help processors safely meet emissions standards, while…

CHEMENTATOR + Show More

Chementator Briefs
Renewable jet fuel At the end of last October, euglena…

Recovering rare-earth elements from coal byproducts
A team from the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.; www.uky.edu)…

A catalyst that mimics enzymes
A research team from the University of New South Wales…

A more efficient way to convert CO2 into chemicals via MER
Microbial electrochemical reduction (MER) of CO2 into value-added chemicals is…

Making jet fuel from wood
Last month, construction began on a demonstration facility that integrates…

A methane fuel cell that operates at lower temperatures
Existing methane fuel cells typically require high (750–800°C) temperatures to…

Transforming plastic waste into useful aerogels
Plastic-bottle waste is toxic and non-biodegradable, and has become a…

Simpler, more selective scandium recovery
Rare-earth elements (REEs), such as scandium, are in high demand,…

Nano-engineered cellulose prevents scaling
Efforts to find more environmentally friendly anti-scalant approaches have yielded…

BUSINESS NEWS

Business News - January 2019
Plant Watch Neste moves forward with expansion of renewable products…

TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL

Cost Engineering: Equipment Purchase Costs
A methodology and examples for estimating equipment costs are presented…

FEATURE REPORT

Commercializing Process Technologies
New technologies can provide competitive advantages compared to established processes,…

FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Facts at your Fingertips: Pressure Measurement for Real Gases
The ideal gas law ( PV = nRT), relating molar…

TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

Technology Profile: HDPE Production via Slurry-Loop Process
This column is based on “HDPE Production via Slurry Loop…

ENGINEERING PRACTICE

Accelerating Six Sigma Research with the Definitive Screening Design (DSD) Technique
DSD is a new design-of-experiments (DOE) technique that is expected…

EQUIPMENT & SERVICESFOCUS

Focus on Handling Powders and Bulk Solids
Vibrator-mounting system requires no welding or bolting This versatile mounting…

NEW PRODUCTS + Show More

FTIR spectrometer features newly engineered optical system
The Nicolet iS20 FTIR spectrometer is an upgrade over the…

This AODD pump has multiple mounting orientations
This company has extended its line of specialty air-operated double-diaphragm…

A new generation of valve positioners
At Valve World Expo (Düsseldorf, Germany; November 27–29), this company…

Slash the total cost of ownership with this new aseptic valve
Reducing the total cost of ownership is paramount for manufacturers…

Fast, simple and accurate on-the-go steam-trap testing
The SAGE UMT (photo) is a wireless, hand-held steam-trap-testing solution…

A new control system for smart control of separators
The new Metris addIQ (photo) is a state-of-the-art digital control…

This new digital float switch uses transistors instead of reeds
Said to be the first instrument of its kind, this…

Highlights The 2019 Kirkpatrick Award: Nominations are now open Cost Engineering: Equipment Purchase Costs Accelerating Six Sigma Research with the Definitive Screening Design (DSD) Technique Technology Profile: HDPE Production via Slurry-Loop Process Facts at your Fingertips: Pressure Measurement for Real Gases

Comment

High-pressure rupture discs now have extended service life

By Chemical Engineering | September 1, 2018

Rembe

Since this company’s engineers have modified the standard rupture-disc design, its high-pressure rupture discs (photo) have become significantly more durable. The welding seam of the rupture disc is not stressed as usual, in terms of shearing and bending, but only in terms of pressure. Through the geometric separation of the stress spike and the welding seam, the rupture disc is longer-lasting and allows the lowest rupture tolerances of up to±3% at pressures of up to 5,000 bars and temperatures up to 400°C. — Rembe GmbH Safety + Control, Brilon, Germany

www.rembe.de

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