Modern temperature instrumentation simplifies technician access, calibration, and SIL procedures. By Keith Riley, Endress+Hauser As temperature instrument technology has matured, there is less focus on the actual measured value and more on added value. Accuracy and stability are considered basic…
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards — a program that is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA; www.epa.gov) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, and co-sponsored by the American Chemical Society…
Synhelion S.A. (Lugano, Switzerland; www.synhelion.com) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa; Dübendorf; www.empa.ch) are conducting a joint research project, co-funded by the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse, to further develop a high-temperature energy-storage technology that is…
Hydrogenation is an important reaction in many sectors of the chemical process industries (CPI), but H2 gas is not only expensive, its use requires considerable safety measures to prevent explosions. Significant cost savings could be achieved if hydrogenations did not…
Toxicology testing The world’s first toxicology-testing strategy without animal testing has been approved by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; Paris, France; www.oecd.org). The testing strategy consists of three so-called alternative methods. They can be used to predict…
Next year, construction will begin on an industrial-scale pilot plant to further develop a new process that decomposes methane into H2 and carbon. The process uses a thermo-catalytic decomposition (TCD) technology developed by Hycamite TCD Technologies Oy (Kokkola, Finland; www.hycamite.com).…
A family of oxidation catalysts known as TAML has been revamped to increase activity by several orders of magnitude, even at very dilute catalyst concentrations. Developed by Sudoc (Cambridge, Mass.; www.sudoc.com), these peroxidase-mimicking catalysts present a more environmentally sustainable option…
Buildup of biofouling on membranal surfaces necessitates treatments with corrosive chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid, and even replacement of membrane cartridges, which can be costly in desalination operations. A new coating, developed in the laboratory of Ran Suckevereine at Kinneret…
The new 703-U and 703-UJ Series of UL-rated, explosion-proof pressure switches (photo) are suitable for gaseous or liquid fluid systems in hazardous applications, including offshore exploration, petrochemical processing and oil-and-gas pipelines. The 703-U and 703-UJ Series have a corrosion-resistant stainless-steel…
Detailed plans for handling hazardous materials should be a central part of any chemical plant’s disaster preparedness plan Over the past year, many chemical facilities managed to overcome extreme circumstances. One instance of an extreme event was the winter storm…