News

Ethylene Glycol without Ethylene Route

2009-04-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

A route for making ethylene glycol without starting from ethylene is under development. Shell Chemical is a leading provider of ethylene glycol (EG) process technology. The conventional process for making EG is hydrolysis of ethylene oxide (EO), which is made by oxidizing ethylene over a silver catalyst.

For many years, the selectivity of the ethylene oxidation has been no better than ~85%; however, lately Shell has developed catalysts that are capable of achieving 90% selectivity. EO hydrolysis is typically carried out noncatalytically in a large excess of water. The selectivity to EG is only ~90%; diethylene glycol, and triethylene glycol are the byproducts. As one remedy, Shell now offers a two-step process for converting EO to EG via an ethylene carbonate intermediate that produces EG in almost 100% selectivity.

A. Lenero and colleagues at Shell are working on a different route to EG—one that does not begin with ethylene. Their method proceeds by hydroformylating formaldehyde to give glycolaldehyde, which can undergo hydrogenolysis to make EG. The first step is the difficult part, and the key to this invention is an improved catalyst for the hydroformylation step.

In one example, 0.15 mol of formaldehyde (in the form of 37% aqueous formalin), 37 mL (0.22 mol) of N,N-dibutylacetamide, 7.5 mL of water, 0.49 mmol of Rh(acac)(CO)2, 0.96 mmol of 2-phospha-2-(ethyl-N,N-dimethylamido)-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-6,9,10-trioxa-tricyclo[3.3.1.1{3,7}]-decane, and 9.1 mmol of trimethylbenzoic acid are added to an autoclave. After the air is flushed out, the autoclave is pressurized to 3 MPa with CO and heated to 90 °C for 5 h. The conversion of formaldehyde is 90%, and the yield of glycolaldehyde is calculated to be 90%. In a separate example, glycolaldehyde is easily converted to EG by hydrogenolysis at 40 °C over Raney nickel. (Shell Oil [Houston]. US Patent 7,511,178

Source: CAS Patent Watch

Flavoring Compound Synthesis by Enzymatic Esterification

2009-03-10T02:14:00.000-07:00

cis-Pellitorin (1) is isolated from the tarragon plant. It used as a pungent flavoring to give a “hot” taste to foods and oral hygiene products. I.-L. Gatfield and co-inventors describe a method of preparing synthetic 1 by the reaction of ester 2 and i-BuNH2 in the presence of an enzyme catalyst.

The crude product is purified by silica gel chromatography and isolated in ~80% yield with a GC purity of 99.4%. The patent claims do not mention a specific enzyme catalyst, but specify that it must have lipase activity and is on a support. The enzyme used in the examples is Chirazyme L-2 from Roche.

The examples indicate that the reaction can be carried out without solvent or in toluene. The concentration of the enzyme is ~40 wt% of the amount of ester 2. Much of the discussion in the patent relates to plants or molecules with similar pungent taste properties. There are also details on the preparation and the testing of flavors for chewing gum, mouthwash, and toothpaste using 1. 1H and 13C NMR data for 1 are given. The patent does not provide a preferred method for isolating and purifying 1 on a commercial scale, although one example mentions molecular distillation

Source: CAS & Patent Watch

Variable Compression Engine

2009-02-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

Lotus Engineering has been hard at work developing new engine technologies that allow the use of sustainable alcohol fuels. It's recent Exige 270E Tri-Fuel concept showed that the British firm knows how to make an engine run on various fuels, including gasoline, ethanol and methanol. In fact, the 270E Tri-Fuel concept was the most powerful Exige ever conceived by the Hethel-based company and made its highest power output using synthetic methanol fuel. Lotus has started a new research project called the OMNIVORE engine -- cleverly indicating that it will run on anything -- that uses a single cylinder with direct injection and a variable compression ratio in order to maximize power and efficiency while running on various alcohol fuels. The higher octane rating of alcohol fuels will allow the engine to run with higher compression, thereby offering more power, while also toning itself down to run on lower-grade fuels as well. Read Full article here.

Source - AutoBlog.com

Small Scale BioGas

2009-01-31T01:02:00.000-08:00

Cornell plant scientists have invented a new method that uses manure and other farm byproducts to remove toxic hydrogen sulfide from biogas -- a renewable energy source derived from the breakdown of animal waste.

Hydrogen sulfide can combine with water to cause acid rain and to corrode engines. Its removal makes biogas a more viable alternative fuel source. The new method will be marketed under the name SulfaMaster.

"SulfaMaster has a very large potential application for distributed bioenergy production at small sites around the country," said Gary Harman, professor of plant biology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.

Harman and Terry Spittler, a retired analytical chemist at Cornell, own Terrenew, a small company at Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva that will market the product. In addition, Terrenew markets two other products that also use agricultural waste to help clean up environmental contaminants, including oil spills and heavy metals, from water.

With more than 9 million dairy cows in the United States, each producing on average more than 120 pounds of manure daily, biogas is already a key energy source for many sustainable farms. It's created by anaerobic digestion -- a process by which microorganisms break down manure and other organic matter in the absence of oxygen. The resulting biogas contains high levels of methane and carbon dioxide, but also a small amount of hydrogen sulfide.

Most methods for hydrogen sulfide removal require expensive industrial scrubbers that are not feasible for smaller farms.

"In most cases, these methods are meant for oil refineries and are not suited to small-scale use," Harman said.

On the other hand, Terrenew's process uses manure as a major component of a special medium, which is placed in barrels. "The gas is then piped into the bottom of barrels, [and as it] passes through the medium, the hydrogen sulfide is removed," Harman explained. "The resulting clean methane (plus carbon dioxide) can then be used for energy."

Harman estimates that the SulfaMaster medium can be reused up to six times before it needs to be replenished in the biogas mixture.

The new product also has promise off the farm. Biogas is prevalent in sewage treatment plants and landfills, especially those that accept construction and demolition waste. These sites can capture cleaner biogas and use it to power their operations.

Terrenew, using partial funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, demonstrated the product last summer at El-Vi Farms in Phelps, N.Y., and found promising results. The company plans to run another test to remove hydrogen sulfide from a landfill before releasing SulfaMaster. Last month, the Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization filed a patent on the technology that will be licensed to Terrenew

However, I have a better option to remove Sulfur from biogas.

Source: Cornell University

New Process for Propylene Oxide Manufacturing

2009-01-20T01:08:00.001-08:00

Propylene oxide (PO) production technology is undergoing something of a renaissance. After 1974, when the first propylene oxide–styrene monomer technology plant came on stream, no new PO technology was put into use until 2003, when Sumitomo Chemical started up its new coproduct-free route to PO that was based on cumene hydroperoxide as the propylene epoxidizing agent.

This innovation spurred others to develop alternative ways to make PO, such as direct-oxidation and H2O2-based routes. Another method is the so-called hydro-oxidation route, in which propylene is exposed to a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. This route has been plagued by low productivity because of very low conversions per pass.

H. Abekawa, T. Kawabata, and M. Yako disclose a technique in which the productivity of propylene hydro-oxidation is increased and selectivity to PO is maintained at relatively high levels. The key to the inventors’ method is adding polycyclic compounds such as anthracene, naphthalene, tetracene, and pyrene to the reaction solvent in the presence of titanium silicalite and supported palladium catalysts. For example, a propylene oxide reaction was carried out in an autoclave at 60 °C and 0.8 MPa pressure by feeding a 4:4:10:82 propylene–oxygen–hydrogen–nitrogen gas mixture at 20 L/h and a H2O–MeCN 20:80 w/w solution containing 0.7 mmol/kg of anthracene and 0.7 mmol/kg of NaH2PO4 at 108 mL/h. Ti-silicalite (0.133 g) and Pd/C (0.33 g) activated carbon were added to the reaction mixture. PO was made in 87% selectivity based on the amount of propylene consumed; almost all of the remaining propylene was converted to propane. Productivity, defined as the amount of PO made per unit weight of titanium catalyst, was 33.5
Source: CAS Patent Watch

Propylene Oxide Process

2009-01-20T01:08:00.000-08:00

New PET process uses ethylene oxide

2009-01-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been the fastest growing polymer in the petrochemical business for the past ~20 years. The original PET business was the manufacture of fiber, essentially synthetic cotton; but now the fastest growing part of the PET industry is making bottle resin, primarily for carbonated soft drinks but also for noncarbonated beverages, including juices and water. This business has grown rapidly, but it has not been particularly profitable because it is plagued by many competitors; capital investment for PET production facilities is relatively inexpensive and good polymerization process technology is available from several sources.

PET is a technically mature and cost-competitive product. Eastman Chemical, one of the world’s largest PET producers, has launched an effort focused on reducing costs all along the PET value chain to restore some measure of profitability to this business area. A. W. White and colleagues at Eastman disclose a process in which a PET prepolymer is formed by the reaction of terephthalic acid with ethylene oxide instead of ethylene glycol, the conventional comonomer.

The prepolymer is further polymerized to PET with ethylene glycol by conventional means. The Eastman process has the potential to save raw material and heating costs.
Several experiments described in the patent demonstrate the efficacy of making prepolymer with ethylene oxide instead of ethylene glycol.

In one example, terephthalic acid (60 g), toluene (600 g) and triethylamine (1.8 g) were added to an autoclave. The autoclave was heated to 200 °C, ethylene oxide was added, and the autoclave was maintained at a pressure of 1700 psi. After 30 min, the solid prepolymer was recovered by filtration in yields up to 96% with low b* color and low diethylene glycol levels, both important quality parameters in PET manufacture. The prepolymer (31.9 g) was then fully polymerized by adding ethylene glycol (3 g) and 35 ppm Ti(O-i-Pr)4 catalyst and heating in stages from 225 °C to 285 °C over 75 min under vacuum.
Source: CAS Patent Watch

Alkylating benzene with 2-butene boosts phenol prospects

2008-12-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

Almost 98% of the world’s phenol is manufactured by the cumene-based acetone coproduct process. In this process, cumene is formed by alkylating benzene with propylene, followed by air oxidation to form cumene hydroperoxide (CHP). Concentrated CHP is cleaved to yield coproducts phenol and acetone, which are further purified in a downstream fractionation section.

This kind of technology is called a "two-for-one" process. These processes are generally considered to be low-cost routes, but the market demand for both products must grow in the same ratio as they are produced.

In the case of phenol and acetone, there is concern that the phenol market will outpace the acetone market because of the strong growth of bisphenol A for manufacturing polycarbonate. (Bisphenol A requires 2 equiv of phenol for every 1 equiv of acetone.) Thus, to keep up with phenol demand too much acetone would be produced, causing the price of acetone to decline. Declining acetone prices will penalize phenol costs because acetone is taken as a byproduct credit.

To overcome this problem, Shell Chemical announced its intention to commercialize a new phenol process in Asia that will mitigate the problem of acetone oversupply. This process is believed to involve co-oxidation of cumene and sec-butylbenzene (SBB) to give phenol with acetone and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as byproducts. SBB can be made by alkylating benzene with n-butenes. However, very little information is reported in the literature about using solid catalysts to perform this alkylation. Solid catalysts are routinely used in the production of cumene from benzene and propylene.
Source: CAS

Acrylic & Methacrylic monomers from Alkanes

2008-12-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

Current methods for manufacturing acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and the corresponding nitriles are two-step gas-phase oxidation processes that start with propylene or isobutylene feedstocks.

Alkanes are more readily available and less expensive feedstocks than alkenes; and, according to inventors A. M. Lemonds and D. L. Zolotorofe, it would be more desirable to oxidize alkanes directly to unsaturated carboxylic acids or nitriles in a liquid medium. In addition to specifying solvents and reaction conditions for their liquid-phase process, the inventors describe a long list of molybdenum- and tungsten-based catalysts.

In one example of the process, a perfluoropolyether solvent with negligible vapor pressure is used in the oxidation of propane to acrylic acid. A continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor capable of pressurized operation is completely filled with the solvent, and 30 mL of an insoluble catalyst, an oxide of MoV0.3Te0.23Nb0.37Pd0.01, is placed in a steel basket that is continuously rotated during the reaction. The solvent is heated to 190 °C at atmospheric pressure and a feed gas comprising 7 mol% propane, 14 mol% oxygen, and 79 mol% nitrogen is fed at 10–100 mL/min. Propane conversion is 33.0%, with selectivity to acrylic acid of 45.2%.

At higher pressures (up to 10 atm), conversion is about the same or slightly higher, but selectivities are considerably lower. The inventors do not report how long the reactions are run.

Additional examples are given for lower boiling fluorocarbon solvents—which require higher operating pressures—and for increased feed concentrations. The solvents can be recycled, but it remains to be seen whether the lower feedstock costs offset the higher solvent costs and low conversions and selectivities.
Source: CAS and Rom & Haas

Crack Ethane to Ethylene - without a catalyst

2008-10-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

The heart of the modern petrochemical industry is the steam cracker, whose function is to convert gaseous hydrocarbons (e.g., ethane and propane) or liquid hydrocarbons (e.g., naphtha) to olefins, primarily ethylene.

This cracking reaction is carried out in the absence of catalysts at extremely high temperatures, making it a very energy-intensive process. Much research has been devoted to improving the cracking process by performing it catalytically with the hope of being able to use lower temperatures. However, catalyst deactivation problems have prevented the commercialization of this method.

I. R. Little and I. A. B. Reid of Ineos describe the autothermal cracking of ethane to ethylene without the need for catalysts.

In one example, a feed stream comprising methane and oxygen was passed to a first reaction zone over a promoted palladium catalyst at 400 °C. The resulting product stream, containing H2, CO, CO2, and H2O at 1200 °C, was passed to a mixing zone where a second stream containing C2H6 and O2 at 450 °C was added. The residence time in the mixing zone was <5 ms. The mixed feed stream at 610 °C was maintained at an absolute pressure of 1.8 bar. The product stream exited the second reaction zone at 770 °C and was cooled with a water quench to 600 °C within <50 ms of formation. The conversion of ethane was 68.1%, and the selectivity to ethylene was 77.2%

Source: CAS - Patent Watch

Compact Turbine Pumps

2008-10-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

for pumping applications such as boiler feed, high pressure cooling, refrigeration and CIP chemical feed, the mTh range available from Pump Engineering, is the ideal choice. mTh regenerative turbine pumps, available as direct drive, bareshaft, magnetic drive and canned rotor pumps, include all the important benefits of this type of pump, such as a low flow at high pressure, very low NPSh for high temperature or low vapour pressure, long-life and a smooth, balanced performance, housed in a neat and very compact design.

The regenerative turbine pump is characterised by its unique impeller design, where the impeller has a large number of blades machined into its periphery. Typically, a row of blades is located on each side of the impeller to minimize axial thrust. In a traditional centrifugal pump, fluid enters the impeller at its outside diameter
and is accelerated through approximately 330 degrees of rotation and exits the pump, at, or near the same radius as the inlet. An area of about 30 degrees separates the inlet from the outlet and in this area the casing walls parallel to the impeller shroud are situated very close to the rotating impeller. This in effect, is two impellers in one, operating within identical channels on the casing and the cover.

This allows the impeller to float freely and find its own equilibrium ensuring long-life, smooth and balanced performance and effectively minimizes leakage between the high pressure exit and impeller inlet.

Another advantage of the regenerative turbine pump is its ability to generate a very steeply rising head curve between minimum and maximum flow which ensures very accurate flow control and very stable operation.

The standard range of MTH pumps includes models which cover capacities from 1 to 150
gallons per min and pressures up to 1000psi. Construction materials include, iron, bronze and 316 stainless steel.

Source: Process Industry Informer.

Regeneration of Hydrochloric Acid Pickling Liquors

2008-10-06T04:55:00.000-07:00

The PHAR® hydrochloric acid regeneration system is an innovative method of regenerating spent hydrochloric acid from steel pickling. Conventional pickling technology generates 1.5 billion gallons of spent pickle liquor nationwide each year, resulting in costly and energy-intensive handling, treatment, and disposal.

This new technology eliminates the disposal problem, significantly reducing operating, environmental, and capital costs. The process uses sulfuric acid to restore hydrochloric acid for reuse. Salable ferrous sulfate heptahydrate is a by-product.

Source: EERE ITP Program

Sorbents for Gas Separation

2008-09-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

A new technology based on oxygen-selective sorbent materials and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) could cost-effectively produce industrial gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen. Purification applications where oxygen is removed from argon, helium, and nitrogen streams offer early potential commercial opportunities. This technology potentially requires less energy for gas separation compared to conventional techniques and can provide
high-purity gases at lower cost.

Source: ITP Program of EERE

Low-Cost, Robust Ceramic Membranes for Gas Separation

2008-09-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ceramic membranes offer great potential for industrial gas separation. While ceramic membranes can improve the productivity for many reactions and separations in the chemicals and refining industries, they are costly.

A low-cost, robust ceramic membrane has overcome the cost barrier and targets applications involving hydrogen production, water and energy recovery from fuel, and CO2 removal in natural gas processing. Significant energy savings are possible because the new membrane eliminates cooling prior to gas separation. In addition, this low-cost membrane is currently under consideration as substrate for a wide range of thin films that can be used in industrial gas separations; and without the gas separating layer, the membrane has been used commercially for a wide range
of liquid-phase separations.

Source: EERE ITP Program

Now acrolein is a “green” chemical

2008-09-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

Biodiesel-derived glycerol continues to receive interest as a renewable feedstock for making chemicals that are normally derived from petrochemical feedstocks. For instance, the conversion of glycerol to propylene glycol is under development by Dow, UOP, Huntsman, and others. In a separate initiative, Dow and Solvay have independently developed technology for converting glycerol to epichlorohydrin. Now, Arkema is developing techniques to convert crude glycerol to acrolein. Acrolein has a small market as a commercial product; it is more important as an intermediate in acrylic acid production.

J.-L. Dubois, C. Duquenne, and W. Holderich of Arkema describe a process for manufacturing acrolein by dehydrating glycerol in the presence of oxygen. In the patent’s examples, the reaction is carried out in a tubular reactor maintained at 300 °C. The feed stream consists of glycerin, water, and oxygen in a mol ratio of 4.5:89.5:6.0; contact time over the solid catalyst bed is 2.9 s.

One of the catalysts tested was zeolite HZSM-5. Glycerin conversion ranged from 83 to 96%, and molar selectivity to acrolein ranged from 42 to 45%. Byproducts included hydroxyacetone, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and acetone. Once acrolein is separated, it can be converted to acrylic acid via oxidation using conventional means

Source: CAS

Methanol to Olefins - MTO

2008-09-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

The methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process—discovered by Mobil in the mid-1980s—continues to receive much attention as a potential alternative for manufacturing ethylene and propylene. The conventional technology for producing olefins is steam cracking ethane and propane from natural gas or naphtha from crude oil. As natural gas and petroleum prices continue to increase, lower cost routes to olefins are being sought.

T. Xu and co-inventors disclose a catalyst system and operating conditions that significantly boost the selectivity of MTO to the desired products, ethylene and propylene, and allow control of the ethylene/propylene ratio. Using a gallium-substituted bound zeolite, H(Ga)ZSM-5, and mixing methanol in various proportions with aromatic cofeeds maximizes olefin production and gives some control over the C2/C3 ratio.

In one example, when methanol alone is passed over H(Ga)ZSM-5 at 275 kPa and 450 °C, ethylene and propylene are made in 5.9 wt% and 49.8 wt%, respectively, at 100% methanol conversion. However, if the methanol is diluted with 50 wt% p-xylene, ethylene selectivity is boosted significantly to 44 wt% and propylene selectivity declines to 33.5 wt%. Overall, total ethylene–propylene production increases from 55.7 wt% to 77.5 wt%.

If the methanol/p-xylene weight ratio is 10:90, the total ethylene–propylene selectivity increases to 89.8 wt%, with 72.7 wt% ethylene. There is a tradeoff between maximizing olefin selectivity and increasing capital expense because diluting the methanol with an aromatic hydrocarbon increases the size of the equipment needed for a given output of ethylene and propylene

Source: ACS Patent Watch

Corn Based Polymer

2008-09-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Each year, 60 billion pounds of thermoplastics are produced from imported and domestic oil to make industrial and consumer products. Because oil is an increasingly limited resource with negative impacts on the environment, reducing dependence on oil in all areas is important, including product manufacturing.

Polylactide (PLA), derived from annually renewable corn, can be used in place of petroleum-based thermoplastics in many applications such as compostable packaging, film, and fibers for apparel, carpeting, and other fabrics. With financial assistance from DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory along with Cargill Dow LLC and the Colorado School of Mines developed and refined a process to use PLA in manufacturing. Substituting PLA for petroleum-derived polymers reduces fossil energy use by 20% to 50%. The PLA plastics also result in reduced emissions of CO2 compared with the petroleum-based thermoplastics.

Projections are that 10% of the U.S. nonrenewable plastics packaging can be replaced with polylactide polymer.This project assisted in expanding the PLA market by developing two new processing technologies. Both technologies yield semi-crystalline PLA articles that have improved physical properties. Other project tasks helped to better understand the relationship between polymer molecular structure and physical properties, which is useful information for improving process control.

Benefits
Energy Saving of 18 Billion BTU/Year
Carbon reduction of 394 Te/Year

Improved Diesel Engine by Cummins

2008-08-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

KIVA allows designers to see the effects of alterations to engine geometry without actually building the engine. Cummins Engine Company has used KIVA to make piston design modifications and other modifications to diesel engines for heavy trucks. In a cooperative effort with DOE, Cummins has also improved engine breathing, pulse-preserving manifolds, and turbocharger design. Cummins has improved the diesel engine sufficiently to increase the mileage by nearly one-half mile/gallon. With millions of trucks and buses currently on the road, this improvement in engine efficiency yields a significant savings in fuel.Energy savings from this development are based on the number of trucks (class 7 and 8) powered by Cummins engines. This value, multiplied by the savings per mile and the number of miles driven per year, results in the estimated annual energy savings.

Benfits are Huge

Helps the automotive industry strengthen its competitiveness.
Reduces time required from engine design to production.
Optimization in engine performance considerably reduces emissions, including unburned hydrocarbons.

Energy Saving of 82 Trillion BTU/year
Carbon Reduction of 1.8 Million TPA

Ethanol from Garbage

2008-08-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Two Canadian companies have won government backing for what they say will be the world's first facility to convert municipal solid waste into ethanol on an industrial scale.

The $70 million plant will be built in Edmonton, Alberta, by GreenField Ethanol, Canada's largest ethanol producer, and Enerkem, a Quebec-based biofuels technology company. The city of Edmonton and the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) will contribute $20 million and the two companies the rest. The city will also put $50 million into separate waste processing and research facilities.

The technology comes from Enerkem, which has research ties to Quebec's University of Sherbrooke. Enerkem's ethanol process sorts and gasifies municipal waste and purifies the gases into the mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen known as syngas. It then catalytically converts syngas into ethanol and methanol. The company claims a cost advantage over competing second-generation ethanol production techniques that use enzymes to break down cellulose into sugars for fermentation into ethanol.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel says the plant, set to open in late 2010, will help reduce greenhouse gases and make the city the first in North America to divert 90% of its residential waste from landfills.

John J. Murphy, president of Catalyst Group Resources, a consulting firm that monitors catalytic biofuel processes, says AERI's backing is a sign that Enerkem's process is technologically sound. He notes, however, that government monetary backing is a sign that the plant may not be financially sound.

"Support from an ExxonMobil or a ConocoPhillips would give it more economic credibility," he says. "Return on investment is not measured the same when taxpayers are paying as it is when shareholders are paying

Source - C&EN News site

Recovery of Acids & Salts from Pickling liquor

2008-08-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Steel fabrication processes often use pickling (immersing steel in acid) to remove oxide layers from recently heated steel. Technology for recycling the sulfuric acid has been available for large installations for some time. The Green Technology Group, in collaboration with DOE’s Inventions and Innovation Program, developed the Pickliq® process to make sulfuric acid recovery cost-effective for smaller facilities.

The Pickliq process combines diffusion dialysis, energy transfer, and low-temperature crystallization technologies to efficiently recover acids and metal salts. It has demonstrated significant gains in production capacity, quality control, and productivity by maintaining pickling tank acid and iron concentrations at preset levels.

Bath uniformity and predictable performance raises output and minimizes rejects and rework. To manufacturers, these benefits are even more important than the simple cost savings from eliminating waste. Additional benefits include reduced demand for virgin acids and elimination of chemicals to neutralize waste acid, as well as energy and cost savings associated with acid transportation and disposal.

The Green Technology Group has recently improved the technology, and the new system called Pickliq Hydrochloric Acid Regeneration (PHAR®) will soon be commercially available.

Benefits

Continuous Process
Recovery of HCl, H2SO4, HF, HNO3
Recovery of metal salts in saleable form
Energy Saving
Overall Cost reduction

Biomass to Alcohols in Vapor phase

2008-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Nonfermentation routes to Ethanol and higher alcohols are under development. Using corn- or sugarcane-based Ethanol as an additive for gasoline or as the major constituent in automotive fuel consumes a major food crop. This issue is especially serious as food prices around the world rise sharply.

To circumvent the “food versus fuel” debate, researchers are racing to develop organisms capable of fermenting the cellulose in biomass. This approach is problematic because it is difficult to develop organisms that can attack cellulose, and it is even more difficult to carry out this fermentation at fast enough rates to make the overall process economical.

An alternative is to gasify the biomass to synthesis gas (a CO–H2 mixture) and convert the syngas to higher (C2+) alcohols. C. Iordache-Canza and K. Smith disclose catalyst formulations that convert syngas to mixtures of MeOH, higher alcohols, and hydrocarbons. Some of these catalysts can produce substantially more C2+ alcohols than MeOH.

In one example, a Pd0.002 Mo0.7 CeZrK0.29 catalyst dry-impregnated on to a silica support was loaded into a tubular reactor. Syngas was passed over the catalyst at 275 °C, 68 atm, and a gaseous hourly space velocity of 5,925 h-1. The selectivity to products was MeOH, 23%; C2+ alcohols, 75%; and hydrocarbons, 2%.

This method can be used with any source of syngas—including natural gas, naphtha, or coal—in addition to biomass.

Source: Syntec Biofuel & USPTO - 7384987

CO2 - Eco Friendly Refrigerant for Heat Pumps

2008-07-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

CO2 Technology has become a talk of the future and we should be on the side of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, rather than intensifying them. The recent developments have open the door for the use of CO2 in refrigeration sector where lot of energy & environmental benefits can be achieved.

Itomic company has made the world's first Eco-Cute heat pump model for facilities in need of large volumes of hot water. Itomic’s leading heat pumps offer high efficiency, reliability, and safety, as well as low running costs.

Itomic's CO2 water heater produces large volumes of 90°C hot water, being the optimal choice for school dining, restaurants, hotels, shower rooms, swimming pools or hospitals. Even at outside temperatures of -20°C, it operates reliably, with overall energy savings of up to 30% compared to other combustion water heaters. While reducing the space for installation through its compact storage tank size, it achieves a Coefficient of Performance of 3.8.

In addition, it saves large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions by not only working more efficiently but also by using the natural refrigerant CO2 with a Global Warming Potential of 1 compared to that of 1,700 of Freon.

The world's first industrial CO2 water heater features state-of-the-art safety and easy operation through an advanced control technology. The model does not require certified staff for operation, disposing of automatic boiling, timer controlled operation, and temperature management with 6 sensors. On top of that, it reduces running costs significantly by using off-peak electricity at night.

Main features

Heating ability: 26.3 kW to 30.1 kW
Standard tank capacity: 3000 Liter
Unit weight: 620 kg
Water volume: 4 l/min to 8 l/min

Chemicals for Increasing wood pulping yield

2008-07-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

Unevenly processed wood chips in the pulp industry result in poor-quality pulp, often requiring reprocessing. ChemStone, Inc., in cooperation with the NICE3 Program, has demonstrated a cooking aid that reduces the amount of virgin wood feedstock needed to process wood chips. It also increases pulp yield and quality.

The cooking aid is a molecule that remains soluble in the highly alkaline and hot environment for cooking pulp. The molecules help pulp-cooking liquors penetrate the chips, resulting in more uniform cooking. The rate of penetration into the chips enables the mill to produce a more uniform fiber in less time and with less energy. This chemistry eliminates overcooking the external chip to effectively cook the internal chip and eliminates the need to reprocess the uncooked portion.

The reduction in cooking time translates into an energy savings of 125 thousand Btu per ton of wood clips processed.The process greatly reduces sulfur-based emissions, such as hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptans. Approximately 1-million tons of emission gases are eliminated. Eleven United States mills are currently using this novel chemistry either full time or for part of their production. ChemStone is establishing a distribution network in South Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Canada, and Mexico.

Benefits
1. Reduction in sulfur based emissions.
2. Results in 2-5% yield per MT of wood.
3. Reduction in rejected pulp depending on current processes.
4. Reduction in fiber required for paper quality.
5. Use of less bleaching chemicals.
6. Energy Saving 1.1 Trillion BTU/year.
7. Carbon reduction 17300 MT / year.

New Generation Dry Cleaning

2008-07-20T01:55:00.000-07:00

DryWash is an entirely new CO2-based system for dry cleaning of fabrics. Current dry-cleaning practice uses perchlorethylene as the cleaning solvent to loosen and remove dirt from the fibers of clothing material. However, the dry-cleaning industry must eliminate its use of perchlorethylene because both the atmospheric emissions and the chemical itself have significant environmental impacts.

Based on the desirable characteristics of CO2 – it is inert, stable, non-corrosive, and non-flammable – the DryWash system introduces a new generation of technology to the dry cleaning industry. DryWash uses liquid CO2-based fluid (not generic CO2) as the base solvent, but adds a new surfactant (dirt removing detergent additive), and then applies this new combination of cleaning liquids with a unique spraying device and agitation mechanism – all in a self-contained system.

The DryWash process soaks the clothes in a liquid CO2 filled tub at a pressure of 700 to 750 pounds per square inch and 54°F to 58°F. The load is agitated and at the end of the cycle, the dirt and oily residue drop out and CO2 pressure is lowered, allowing for the efficient recycling of CO2.

Global Technologies LLC began introducing the DryWash system in Europe in the fall of 1998 and started marketing in the United States in mid-1999. Commercial systems are now being sold by Alliance Laundry Systems LLC and SailStar USA.

Benefits
1. Reduces time cycle by 50%.
2. Lower operating cost.
3. Environmental benefit.

Energy Saving - 0.01 Trillion BTU/year
Carbon Reduction - 155000 Te/Year

Aqueous Phase Reforming for Hydrogen Production

2008-07-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Aqueous-phase reforming (APR) produces hydrogen from biomass-derived oxygenated compounds such as glycerol, sugars and sugar alcohols. APR is unique in that the reforming is done in the liquid phase. The process generates hydrogen without volatilizing water, which represents major energy savings.

Furthermore, it occurs at temperatures and pressures where the water-gas shift reaction is favorable, making it possible to generate hydrogen with low amounts of CO in a single chemical reactor. By taking place at low temperatures, the process also minimizes undesirable decomposition reactions typically encountered when carbohydrates are heated to elevated temperatures. In another mode, the reactor and catalysts can be altered to allow generation of high-energy hydrocarbons (propane, butane) from biomass-derived compounds.

A multitude of technologies handle the separation of carbohydrates from biomass, and the appropriateness of a feedstock for this process depends on determining the proper separation technology. Some feedstocks, like those listed above, are already aqueous carbohydrate streams. Unlike other hydrogen-producing technologies, APR requires no non-renewable resources and is emissions neutral, and unlike steam reformation processes, APR produces hydrogen from liquid-phase solutions, resulting in considerable energy savings.