Sodium chloride aerosols are widely used as part of bronchial provocation tests to identify people with asthma, and those who wish to enter military or police service. To maximize their effectiveness, salt aerosol crystals should be as small as possible…
At last month’s Achema conference (Frankfurt; May 15–19), Norbert Ullrich, chief engineer at Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-533) announced a first customer for and presented details about a new hydrogen-peroxide-based propylene oxide (HPPO) process, developed by Degussa AG (Düsseldorf, Germany;…
Professor Yasutaka Ishii, and colleagues from the Dept. of Applied Chemistry, Kansai University (Osaka, Japan; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-535), has developed a three-step production process to make epsilon-caprolactam (CPL) from cyclohexane. Compared to alternative methods, the process has a higher CPL yield, generates…
With funding from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.), Ramgen Power Systems (Bellevue, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-536) is developing a compact supersonic compressor that combines aspects of the shock-compression systems used in supersonic flight inlets with proven turbomachinery design practices…
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-537) have developed a ceramic-based coating for steel and superalloys that prevents corrosion, oxidation, carburization and sulfidization, which commonly occur in gas, liquid, steam and other environments. The low-cost, easy-to-apply material…
Warwick Effect Polymers (WEP; Coventry, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-540) has licensed patented technology from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburg, Pa.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-541) to exploit the commercial potential of atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). ATRP is a controlled “living” polymerization involving radicals that can grow, but…
Nippoh Chemicals Co. (Tokyo; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-539), is developing a continuous, vapor-phase process to produce hydroiodic acid as an alternative to the conventional liquid-phase batch process. Over the next few months, the company will test the new process in a 30-m.t./yr pilot…
An industrial group, composed of Honeywell, Adaptive Instruments, Endress + Hauser, Flowserve, Omnex Control Systems, 3e Technologies International, and Yokogawa, have joined the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA; Research Triangle Park, N.C.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-542) SP100 working group (chartered last year)…
Although many new biodiesel plants are sprouting up around the world, Perstorp Oxo AB’s (Stenungsund Sweden) 160,000 m.t./yr rapeseed-methyl-esters (RME) facility, now under construction at Stenungsund, will be the first to have a reactor made from duplex stainless steel. The…
Battelle (Columbus, Ohio; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-544) has licensed the Samms technology, developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Wash.), to Steward Environmental Solutions (Chattanooga, Tenn.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/5830-545). Samms (self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports) is a technology that can be tailored to selectively…