A sensor that detects volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at levels of 10–100 parts per million (ppm) is being developed by Peratech Ltd. (Richmond, U.K.; www.peratech.com), with collaboration from the University of Durham (U.K.; www.dur.ac.uk). The so-called Electronic Nose is based…
For the first time, researchers from Riken (Saitama, Japan; www.riken.go.jp) have synthesized stable crystals (photo) of a so-called heavy ketone — a compound in which the carbon of the C=O bond is replaced by Si, Ge, Sn or Pb. These…
A new process for removing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from industrial foul-air and cool combustion exhaust uses ClO2 in a unique way to remove over 99% of both NO and NO2 with a single scrubbing stage. The reaction vessel is…
A variety of performance problems can arise in distillation towers during startup. Many are caused by equipment, hardware or process conditions. Hardware issues may be related to instrumentation, tower internals or ancillaries. Instrumentation malfunctions are also common during startup and…
A host of conditions, including globalization of industry, expanding access to information and a shifting workforce profile present challenges for university chemical engineering departments as they prepare aspiring engineers for work. To address the challenges, the educational system for chemical…
After eight years of R&D work, Inflotek B.V. (Beringe, The Netherlands; www.) is now commercializing a range of metal screens made with a proprietary, waterjet-cutting technology. Compared to conventional waterjet-cutting methods, Inflotek’s process can reliably make hundreds of perforations per…
India holds large reserves of low-grade sulfide copper ore containing 0.3 wt.% copper, which cannot be processed through conventional routes since the cut-off grade for treatment in concentrators is about 0.45 wt.%. India is in short supply of copper and…
Electrochemical and chemical-precipitation technology from New Sky Energy (Boulder, Colo.; www.newskyenergy.com) allows the conversion of salty wastewater and CO2 from fluegas into valuable process chemicals, such as soda ash, calcium carbonate, sulfuric acid, bleach and other chemicals. New Sky’s customizable…
Plant Watch Outotec’s EOS process is selected for sinter project in India May 14, 2012 — Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has been selected by Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. (BPSL) to design and deliver technology for a new iron-ore…
Metals recovery Dinnissen Process Technology B.V. (Sevenum, The Netherlands; www.dinnissen.nl) has developed a purpose-built system to recover valuable metals — such as chrome and molybdenum — from highly viscous residual waste from the petrochemical industry. Such waste, which is often…