Scaling API-first – The story of a global engineering organization
Design decisions: Don't leave economics to chance
1. January Wastewater
2010 Treatment
Page 34
www.che.com
Boosting
1
Catalyst
Productivity
Capital And Production Costs • wastewater treatment
Pipe Sizing
Rules
Focus on
Weighing
Audiosonic
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Cleaners
Recognizing
Your Colleagues
Page 26
Pressure
Relief
Systems
Facts At Your Fingertips: Newest
Vol. 117 No. 1 January 2010
Low-Pressure Scrubbing
Measurement Technologies
•
01_CHE_010110_COV.indd 1 12/22/09 9:23:54 AM
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5. JANUARY 2010 In This Issue Volume 117, no. 1
Commentary
5 ditor’s Page
E
New HART award
aims to spark
progress across
the CPI The HART
www.che.com Innovation Achieve-
ment Award, given
in recognition of
Cover story
exceptional achieve-
26 over Story Capital And Production
C ment, ingenuity and
Costs: Improving the Bottom Line De- innovation in using
cisions made in early phases of a project HART communica-
affect production costs for years to come. tion, is unveiled
The disciplined method described here taps
into potential savings
departments
news
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
11
Chementator Recovering energy from
fluegas; Large-diameter reverse osmosis Bookshelf. . . . . . . . . . 8
product lowers cost and reduces footprint; Who’s Who. . . . . . . 25
.
“Super boiler” achieves higher efficiency 51 olids Processing A 'Sound' Solution
S
through the recovery of waste heat; A new Reader Service
to Material Flow Problems Audiosonic
electrochemical process for making potas- page. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
acoustic cleaners use high-energy, low-fre-
sium ferrate; Sound water treatment delivers quency sound waves to eliminate particu- Economic
environmental and economic benefits; Com- late buildup, without damaging equipment Indicators. . . . . . 63, 64
mercialization is set for a new distillation
technology; and more
equipment services advertisers
17 ewsfront Boosting Catalyst Produc-
N 24D-2 New Products Services (Domestic
tivity Companies are finding different Italian Section. . . . 24I-1
Edition) Protect braided hoses with these
pathways to increase catalysts’ ability to sleeves; Harsh environments will not harm Product Showcase. . 56
.
produce these pressure transmitters; Unbreakable Classified
20 ewsfront Recognizing Your Col-
N switch technology finds application in key- Advertising. . . . . 57–61
leagues Consider nominating a deserving boards; Stainless-steel external trim is stan-
colleague for the 2010 Personal Achieve- dard with these ball valves; Use this pump Advertiser Index . . . . 61
ment Award. Entries are due April 15 to evacuate liquid storage terminals; Spe-
cialty motors certified for hazardous duty; coming
21 ewsfront Are You Ready? With stricter
N
in februARY
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rizon, now is the time to examine the new- 24I-12 New Products Services Look for: Feature
est scrubbing technologies (International Edition) Reduce rubber Reports on Doing
contamination in food with these elas- an Energy Audit; and
Engineering tomers; Ceramic membranes help filter Distillation Debottle-
surface-treatment effluents; A family of necking; an Environ-
24 acts At Your Fingertips Low-Pressure
F mental Manager
products for WirelessHart communication;
Measurement This one-page guide out- article on Electronic
Monitor fermentation in realtime with this
lines techniques for measuring low pres- Valve Actuators:
probe; A new version for this flowsheet
sures, or vacuum an Engineering
simulation software; Disposable respirators
34 eature Report Wastewater Treat-
F for protection against aerosols; This globe Practice article on
ment: Energy-Conservation Opportuni- valve now comes in smaller sizes; and Selecting Variable
ties Consider these options to improve more Frequency Drives for
energy efficiency and reduce the cost of Centrifugal Pumps;
treating wastewater 54 ocus Weighing This weigh belt helps
F Focus on Mixers;
minimize material buildup; Measure bulk News articles on
42 ngineering Practice Pressure Relief
E material flows with no moving parts; This
Requirement During External Pool-Fire Supercritical carbon
scale is suitable for potentially hazardous dioxide; and Engi-
Contingency A practical overview of the areas; This weigh-batch system can loosen
important factors that need to be consid- neering Software;
bulk material before blending; Handle Facts at Your Fin-
ered when designing a pressure relief system eight load cells with this crane weighing gertips on Pumps;
48 ngineering Practice Updating the
E system; Use this network interface for and more
Rules For Pipe Sizing The most eco- fast transfer of time-critical information;
nomical velocity in piping continues to shift Handle a wide range of feedrates with this Cover:
downward weigh feeder; and more David Whitcher
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010 3
02_CHE_010110_TOC.indd 3 12/22/09 9:51:40 AM
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7. Winner of Eight Jesse H. Neal
Awards for Editorial Excellence
Editor’s Page
Published since 1902 New HART award aims to
spark progress across the CPI
An Access Intelligence Publication
Publisher Art Design
Mike O’Rourke DAVID WHITCHER
N
Publisher Art Director/ umber six on this magazine’s list of twelve tips for clearer technical
morourke@che.com Editorial Production Manager
dwhitcher@che.com writing is “When writing about concepts that are new, unfamiliar or
Editors
Production abstract, try to include examples.” This principle, as articulated in an
Rebekkah j. Marshall
Editor in Chief MICHAEL D. KRAUS informative article by former CE Editor-in-Chief Nicholas P. Chopey (CE,
VP of Production Manufacturing
rmarshall@che.com
mkraus@accessintel.com
July 2003, pp. 73–75), is admittedly simple but can nevertheless be pivotal.
Dorothy Lozowski Steve Olson Without effective examples, it would take many innovative solutions far
Managing Editor
dlozowski@che.com
Director of Production too long to saturate their intended outlet and reach their full potential.
Manufacturing
GERALD ONDREY (Frankfurt) solson@accessintel.com With that reality in mind, CE has the exclusive media privilege of un-
Senior Editor John Blaylock-CookE veiling that the Evonik Degussa GmbH (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.
gondrey@che.com Ad Production Manager
jcooke@accessintel.com
com) Methacrylates Complex, at the Multi User Site (MUSC) in Shang-
Scott Jenkins
Associate Editor Marketing hai’s Chemical Industry Park, has been selected as the winner of the
sjenkins@che.com
Holly Rountree HART Innovative Achievement Award. The new award is presented by
Contributing Editors Marketing Manager
hrountree@accessintel.com
the HART Communication Foundation (HCF; Austin; www.hartcomm.
SUZANNE A. SHELLEY
Audience org) in recognition of exceptional achievement, ingenuity and innovation
sshelley@che.com
Development in using HART communication in realtime applications to improve opera-
Charles ButcheR (U.K.) Sylvia sierra
cbutcher@che.com Senior Vice President,
tions and maintenance. The project and the award itself illustrate how
Paul S. Grad (Australia) Corporate Audience Development the CPI’s pioneers can both inspire and be inspired by winning techno-
ssierra@accessintel.com
pgrad@che.com logical applications.
Tetsuo Satoh (Japan) John Rockwell
tsatoh@che.com Vice President, Although the HART communication protocol is certainly not new, its
Joy LePree (New Jersey)
Audience Development Chemical full capabilities can seem abstract to chemical engineers whose process
jrockwell@accessintel.com
jlepree@che.com
Laurie Hofmann
control training is too often limited to Laplace transforms or basic control
Gerald parkinson Audience Marketing Director theory. Even for engineers who have practical control-system training
lhofmann@Accessintel.com
(California) gparkinson@che.com and experience, the widescale adoption of HART — or any other com-
Terry Best
Editorial
Audience Development Manager munication bus, for that matter — is much easier to visualize and justify
Advisory Board
tbest@accessintel.com with the help of compelling success stories.
John Carson George Severine
Jenike Johanson, Inc.
Fulfillment Manager
Indeed, the Shanghai facility’s achievement begins with yet another ex-
David Dickey gseverine@accessintel.com ample. At the start of its project, Evonik read an application story posted
MixTech, Inc. Jen Felling on the HART Website about how a BP facility saved money installing
Mukesh Doble List Sales, Statlistics (203) 778-8700
IIT Madras, India j.felling@statlistics.com smart valve positioners to help identify which valves needed to be re-
Henry Kister Conferences paired during plant shutdowns. Before the use of HART to identify valve
Fluor Corp. Dana D. Carey conditions at BP, a certain number of valves were removed and repaired
Director, Global Event Sponsorships
Trevor Kletz
dcarey@chemweek.com
at every shutdown, whether the valve actually needed repair or not.
Loughborough University, U.K.
Peck Sim Evonik then decided to design-in the use of HART to help reduce its own
Gerhard Kreysa (retired)
DECHEMA e.V. Senior Manager, maintenance costs and now has over 2,000 HART-compatible instruments
Conference Programming
Ram Ramachandran psim@chemweek.com and valves from multiple global manufacturers. “Our technician can now
BOC
Beatriz Suarez quickly and more efficiently access device calibration, integrity and wiring
Director of Conference Operations
Information
bsuarez@chemweek.com
information in order to check that the entire control loops are performing
services
Robert Paciorek Corporate according to the process design,” says the plant representative. “As a di-
Senior VP Chief Information Officer Steve Barber rect result of this implementation, we managed to cut loop-check time and
rpaciorek@accessintel.com VP, Financial Planning Internal Audit
sbarber@accessintel.com
costs by 25% compared to the traditional method based on conventional
Charles Sands
Senior Developer Brian Nessen handheld devices. As well, daily troubleshooting of instruments is now
Web/business Applications Architect Group Publisher mainly performed from the safety and convenience of the control room.”
csands@accessintel.com bnessen@accessintel.com
The team is now initiating a predictive maintenance program, in which
Headquarters
priority equipment such as key control valves and safety instruments re-
110 William Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10038, U.S.
Tel: 212-621-4900 Fax: 212-621-4694 ceive immediate attention. “Once they experienced first-
European Editorial offices hand the power, performance and reliability of HART
Zeilweg 44, D-60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany technology, they decided to use HART in additional ap-
Tel: 49-69-2547-2073 Fax: 49-69-5700-2484
plications.,” says Ed Ladd, HCF director of Technology
Circulation Requests:
Tel: 847-564-9290 Fax: 847-564-9453
Programs. “This application is a model for new plants
Fullfillment Manager; P.O. Box 3588, of all types — that HART is the right communication
Northbrook, IL 60065-3588 email: clientservices@che.com
choice to lower maintenance and operation costs.”
Advertising Requests: see p. 62
We invite you to visit www.che.com for more about
For photocopy or reuse requests: 800-772-3350 or info@copyright.com
For reprints: chemicalengineering@theygsgroup.com the award and this exemplary application. ■
Rebekkah Marshall
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010 5
03_CHE_010110_ED.indd 5 12/22/09 9:59:44 AM
8. Letters
Underground storage tanks
November 2009, Facts At Your Fingertips “Aboveground
and Underground Storage Tanks”: It is articles like
this one that cause me a major headache. Our company
deals in assisting clients with their regulatory compli-
ance. When I see a client who has an underground tank
my first question is “Why?”. The answer is “We need the
above ground space.” There is a third option, overlooked
by most and that is to place the tank in a vault. The
result is that the tank is regulated as an above ground
tank, with all of the advantages of an underground tank.
Their next comment is, “But no one told me.” Yes, the ini-
tial cost is a little more, but the savings over the long run
are considerable.
George Moczulski
Ambient Engineering
Help transform the energy landscape
Do you have an idea to transform the energy landscape
by a 10x Engineering Factor? The American Institute of
Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) 10xE Competition is open
for you to realize your idea potential.
Submit your concept to Alan Fuchs and Alok Pradhan
by January 31, 2010, at: 10xE@aiche.org
The 10xE competition will focus on radically efficient
designs of processes and devices that dramatically reduce
energy and resource consumption. The submitted con-
cepts should focus on capturing the methodology behind
radically efficient designs of processes, devices and mate-
rials and highlight the results.
All can participate. Entrepreneurial teams as well as
individual engineers will submit case study papers of
their designs and the top entries will be announced at
Circle 07 on p. 62 or go to adlinks.che.com/29246-07
the Energy Efficiency Plenary by Amory Lovins during
the AIChE Spring Meeting, March 23, 2010, San Antonio,
Tex.
An expert judging panel lead by Amory Lovins of the
Rocky Mountain Institute will select the winning papers.
The winning concepts will receive the following awards
and recognition:
• ree AIChE Spring Meeting registration
F
• n AIChE Energy Efficiency Award Certificate
A
• ase study review by Amory Lovins at the Energy Ef-
C
ficiency Plenary
• ress coverage
P
• ublication in RMI 10xE Casebook
P
In addition, review by investors is planned and a limited
number of travel stipends will be made available.
To learn more about the challenge, visit www.aiche.org/
Energy/GetInvolved/10xEChallenge.aspx
Postscripts, corrections
December 2009, Focus on Level Measurement and Con-
trol, pp. 51–53: On p. 52, the Website address for Tec-
mark Corp. was listed incorrectly. The correct address is
www.tecmarkcorp.com. ■
04_CHE_010110_LET.indd 6 12/21/09 9:45:18 AM
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10. Bookshelf
The Nalco Water Handbook, 3rd ed. By wastewater. The material on reclaimed water could have
Daniel Flynn. McGraw Hill Co., 1221 been expanded to include water reuse, given its increasing
Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY importance. The section concludes with chapters on sludge
10121. Web: www.mcgrawhill.com. disposal, emulsions and wet scrubbing of gases.
2009. 1,280 pages. $125.00. Section 3 is devoted largely to reducing energy usage,
through lower electric use in motors and other equipment,
Reviewed by Brad Buecker, as well as improved aeration and process upgrades.
Technical support specialist, The third edition wisely retains a set of industry-
AEC PowerFlow, Kansas City, Mo. specific chapters that appeared in earlier versions of the
book. The set includes chapters on the paper, power, chem-
T
he third edition of Nalco’s comprehensive manual ical, petroleum, aluminum, steel, coal, food and municipal
on water and water treatment is an effective re- water industries.
placement to the previous version as well as an ex-
cellent information source for those seeking to learn about Wiley Guide to Chemical Incompati-
industrial water treatment and improve plant operation bilities. 3rd ed. By Richard P. Pohanish
and efficiency. The opening section covers fundamental and Stanley A. Greene. Wiley Sons
water chemistry, and provides useful information for plant Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030.
personnel who may encounter a steep learning curve with Web: www.wiley.com. 2009. 1,110 pages.
regard to industrial water treatment. $175.00.
Section 2 includes chapters on the removal of impurities
from raw water makeup and conditioning of the water to The Science and Engineering of
minimize corrosion, scaling or other problems downstream. Cutting. By Tony Atkins. Butterworth-
The section contains a comprehensive discussion of water Heinemann, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite
clarification and multimedia filtration — technologies that 400, Burlington, MA. 01803. Web: www.
have been the backbone of primary water pretreatment elsevier.com. 2009. 432 pages. $64.95.
for years — as well as discussions of ion exchange and
membrane separation technologies. Although the order of Citizen Engineer: A Handbook for
the chapters could have been reversed, the ion exchange Socially Responsible Engineering.
chapter contains much useful information, including a good By David Douglas, Greg Papadopoulos
discussion of how primary exchange resins function. and John Boutelle. Prentice Hall, One
The three pages devoted to micro- and ultra-filtration Lake St., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.
may not be enough, given the potential for these systems Web: www.prenhall.com. 2009. 292
to replace clarifiers and sand filters in many applications. pages. $27.00.
Discussion of reverse osmosis, which has proven to be an
excellent pretreatment technology, was comprehensive. Effective Alarm Management Sys-
A portion of the section covers the widely utilized process tem Practices. By The ASM Consor-
of steam generation in detail, and includes an informative tium. CreateSpace, 100 Enterprise Way,
discussion on a number of industrial boiler designs. A chap- Suite A200, Scotts Valley, CA 95066.
ter on boiler feedwater treatment focuses on deposits that Web: www.createspace.com. 2009. 106
foul steam generators, and ways to prevent scaling and pages. $150.00.
fouling. A short chapter on turbines is a new and welcome
addition to the book, given turbines’ integral role in power Crystal Structure Analysis: Princi-
generation and wide use at other industrial plants. Another ples and Practice, 2nd ed. By Alexan-
chapter investigates problems that can be caused by oxygen der Blake and others. Oxford University
and carbon dioxide in condensate return systems, which Press Inc., 198 Madison Ave., New York,
can be relatively complex for industrial applications. NY 10016. Web: www.oup.com/us. 2009.
Section 2.3 is devoted to cooling water processes and 387 pages. $59.95.
chemistry. Chapter 14 offers a good review of the types
of cooling water systems, with much discussion on open Design for Environment: A Guide to
recirculating systems that use cooling towers. Notable are Sustainable Product Development,
useful chapters on mechanisms of fouling and corrosion, 2nd ed. By Joseph Fiksel. McGraw Hill Co., 1221 Av-
others on cooling water system monitoring, as well as sev- enue of the Americas, New York, NY 10121. Web: www.
eral chapters on cooling water biology. mcgrawhill.com. 2009. 410 pages. $125.00.
A major portion of the book addresses wastewater treat-
ment, a complex process that is handled in an informative Advanced Regulatory Control: Applications and
manner. An outline of wastewater system designs and Techniques. By David Spitzer. Momentum Press LLC,
treatment methods is followed by a helpful discussion of 222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017. Web: www.mo-
dissolved air flotation as well as the removal of ammonia, mentumpress.net. 2009. 145 pages. $49.95. ■
phosphorous, suspended solids, and heavy metals from Scott Jenkins
8 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010
05_CHE_010110_BKS.indd 8 12/22/09 2:45:52 PM
11. B:8.125”
T:7.625”
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f over
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automate more processes
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ll to re er rs
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12. RO-2111C Tom Di -Industrial Ad for Chemical Eng. size: 7.875” x 10.75” (Bleed: 8.125” x 11.5”) 4-c date: 10/08/07 (SCD#07ROSS026)
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13. Edited by Gerald Ondrey January 2010
Heat source Recovered Dilute
Recovering energy Heater Fan
water spent liquor
from fluegas To stack Warm water
Countercurrent
A lcoa of Australia (www.alcoa.com.au) has
developed a process to recover sensible
and latent heat from the fluegas (FG) pro-
contacting
tower Flash
vapor to
Quench Hot water
duced by Bayer alumina calciners, and use Calciner condenser
Indirect
the heat to evaporate Bayer spent liquor. fluegas
condenser
Peter Hay, of Alcoa’s Technology Delivery Pump
Falling
Group, at Alcoa’s Kwinana Refinery, in film Heat
evaporator sink
Western Australia, says the recovered heat ery process (flowsheet) are: fluegas quench
can also be applied to seawater desalination. to cool the FG to its dew point and to wet Condensate
Calcination consumes 25 to 40% of the refin- and discharge the fugitive dust in the FG;
ery’s total energy input, and produces large counter-current contacting tower to heat
quantities of FG that is generally vented to water and cool the FG; induced draft fan to Concentrated
the atmosphere, says Hay. overcome pressure losses in the FG circuit; spent liquor
Energy is recovered from the FG by pro- indirect exhaust FG heater to ensure fluegas
gressive cooling. Only sensible heat is re- buoyancy and dispersion; falling film evapo-
covered between 165°C and the dew point. rator, to exchange heat between the heated Aiding crystal growth
Below the dew point, the energy recovered water in the shell with the spent liquor film Scientists at Brookhaven
is mainly the latent heat of the water con- flowing inside the tubes thereby evaporat- National Laboratory (BNL;
densed. The higher-grade, sensible heat is ing the spent liquor; and indirect heat ex- Upton, N.Y.; www.bnl.gov)
have patented a method for
only about 10% of the practical recoverable changer, to condense and recover high qual-
absorbing hydrogen fluo-
energy, considering 50°C to be the heat sink ity condensate from the evaporated liquor. ride gas to enhance crystal
practical limit. Water is recovered after the For every metric ton (m.t.) of smelting- growth. HF is commonly
dew point is reached. Since considerable re- grade alumina produced, about 0.2 GJ of added to precursors to trans-
fining infrastructure is invested to collect sensible heat is recovered from FG exit tem- fer crystalline order from a
and store fresh water — an essential raw peratures between 85 and 165°C, and about substrate to a growing mate-
material for the Bayer process — any pro- 0.6 m.t. of water is recovered from FG exit rial, but buildup of the gas can
cess that can reduce fresh water usage has temperatures between 57 and 82°C. Hay slow down or even stop the
significant value to the refining operation, and co-inventor Dean Ilievski, also of Alcoa’s reaction. Simply venting the
says Hays. Technology Delivery Group, have applied for HF is not practical because
other necessary gases may
The basic components of the heat recov- a patent on the process.
be present, and also pressure
variations cause non-unifor-
Large-diameter reverse osmosis product mity in crystals.
The BNL method features
lowers cost and reduces footprint a solid material that selec-
tively absorbs HF, leaving
K och Membrane Systems Inc. (KMS; Wilm-
ington, Mass.; www.kochmembrane.com)
recently unveiled large-diameter reverse
get into the range of tens of millions of gal-
lons per day, plants can realize cost savings
of 30% and footprint reductions of 50%” with
behind oxygen, water vapor
and other gases that may
be necessary for the reac-
osmosis (RO) elements and pressure ves- the larger-size product, Jaferey adds. tion. The method has been
demonstrated for grow-
sels for seawater desalination that offer The economics and smaller space require-
ing crystals of a common
cost savings and reduced footprints. The ments become increasingly important as yttrium-barium-copper-oxide
new RO element and pressure vessel com- seawater desalination plants seek more ca- (YBCO) superconductor. The
binations have an 18-in. dia. and a 60-in. pacity and are located in more densely pop- YBCO crystal growth rate
length, rather than the standard 8-in.-dia., ulated areas with limited land space. The was faster when using a bar-
40-in.-long size that has been commonly product has installation advantages as well ium-oxide HF absorber than
used. The larger size translates to an effec- because it is available in pre-engineered when conventional methods
tive membrane area of 17,500 ft2 per ves- packaged plants that require less fieldwork were used, says BNL. The
sel, compared to 2,800 ft2 for conventional to install. As desalination requires pressures technology — available for
8-in. elements. of up to 1,200 psi to drive the RO process, licensing or commercializa-
“The larger diameter becomes cost-effec- KMS also had the challenges of designing tion — is expected to find
tive at capacities of around 1-million gal/d,” larger diameter pressure vessels that could applications in superconduc-
tors, optical devices and
says Imran Jaferey, Koch’s vice-president meet ASME code requirements, and deliver-
microelectronics.
for water and wastewater. “Once capacities ing them cost-effectively.
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number
on p. 62, or use the website designation. Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010 11
06_CHE_010110_CHM.indd 11 12/21/09 9:17:53 AM
14. C hementato R
Tube side TMC membrane cross section Shell side
TMC element with pore sizes of the layers TMC element
60 to
‘Super Boiler’ achieves higher efficiency Water-vapor
°
80 A °
500 A ~0.4µm
through the recovery of waste heat laden Hot water
Capillary condensation of water
fluegas inlet outlet
occurs in the surface pores
A n advanced heat recovery system
(AHRS) that boosts the fuel-to-steam
efficiency of firetube boilers by as much
uses a transport mem-
brane condenser (TMC)
to capture and use sen-
as 15% will be produced by Cannon sible and latent waste Water (and heat) flow
Boiler Works Inc. (New Kensington, Pa.; heat via the water vapor
www.cannonboilerworks.com) through from fluegas. The Super
a license agreement with the Gas Tech- Boiler consists of a two-
nology Institute (GTI, Des Plaines, Ill.; pass, high-pressure- Water-vapor
www.gastechnology.org). Cannon ex- steam firetube boiler depleted Cold boiler
feed water
pects to have its first commercial units and an AHRS (diagram), fluegas outlet
available late this year, for incorpora- an integrated unit that
tion into new boilers or retrofitting onto includes the TMC and low- and high- the tubes. The flowing water draws the
existing boilers. pressure economizers. Fluegas flows hot, moist fluegas through the mem-
The technology has been proven for through the economizers, where sensible brane to join the flow, thereby recover-
high-pressure-steam systems by three heat is removed, then passes to the TMC ing heat. About 30–50% of the water in
field demonstrations at various types for recovery of sensible and latent heat. the fluegas passes through the mem-
of industrial plants over the past three The TMC consists of hundreds of brane and is recovered as pure water,
years, says Curt Bermel, GTI’s business nanoporous ceramic tubes. Cold boiler says Bermel, while the passage of un-
development manager. The complete feedwater flows through the tubes, wanted contaminants, including CO2
system, which GTI calls “Super Boiler,” countercurrent to the fluegas outside and O2, is blocked.
A new electrochemical process
for making K2FeO4
A new process for producing the oxi-
dizing agent potassium ferrate (VI)
(K2FeO4) can routinely generate multi-
and engineers at Battelle. The other
key innovation, they say, was varying
the power across the anode, which elim-
gram yields were achieved on a single,
commercial-scale cell, but the cells are
modular, and can be replicated to scale-
kilogram quantities per day, say sci- inates the accumulation of unstable up, notes Andy Wolter, chief operating
entists. Ferratec (St. Louis, Mo.; www. or solid intermediates and keeps the officer of Ferratec and parent company,
theincubationfactory.com) and partner anode from “passivating” — a problem The Incubation Factory.
Electrosynthesis (Lancaster, N.Y.; www. that has plagued past efforts to produce Initially, Ferratec is targeting a hand-
electrosynthesis.com) have licensed the ferrate electrochemically. ful of the many applications for the pow-
process technology from Battelle (Co- Advantages of the new process include erful oxidizer, including use as a broad-
lumbus, Ohio; www.battelle.org) and a high-purity (95%), highly stable (tol- spectrum disinfectant, a water quality
are looking toward commercial-scale erates 70°C) product and a small and tool and for selective oxidations in fine
ferrate production. relatively clean waste stream. The kilo- chemical syntheses.
The common laboratory method for
making the compound involves chlorina-
tion of ferric salts, a process that makes Sound water treatment delivers
only gram quantities and has not been
found to be scalable. The new process is
environmental and economic benefits
based on an electrochemical cell with an
iron anode in a strong caustic medium. As
low voltage is applied, the cell produces
A two-year collaboration between Ash-
land Hercules Water Technologies
(AHWT; Wilmington, Del.), a commer-
phosphate treatment requiring pH ad-
justment through sulfuric acid dosing
— with Ashland’s Enviroplus scale-and-
K2FeO4 as a slurry, and hydrogen gas. cial unit of Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.; corrosion inhibitor, in conjunction with
The ferrate is removed continuously from www.ashland.com), and BASF Neder- an Ashland Sonoxide ultrasonic water-
the circulating electrolyte and isolated by land B.V. (Nijehaske, the Netherlands) treatment system.
solid/liquid separation. Recovered elec- has demonstrated that a combination of Enviroplus uses natural, biodegrade-
trolyte is recycled back to the cell. ultrasonic microbial control and corro- able and renewable ingredients (BCA-
Relying on electrochemistry rather sion inhibitors not only enhances envi- polymers and low phosphorous PSA
than chlorination synthesis methods ronmental performance, but also leads to phosphonate), and eliminates the need
was a key technology development in as- a dramatic reduction in total operating for sulfuric acid. The patented Sonox-
sembling a viable process and enabling costs for cooling water treatment. BASF ide technology works by passing water
high yields, explain Bruce Monzyk and opted to replace its complete cooling-wa- through an ultrasonic chamber where
Mike von Fahnestock, process chemists ter-treatment program — a conjugated (Continues on p. 14)
12 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010
06_CHE_010110_CHM.indd 12 12/21/09 9:21:31 AM
16. C hementato R DME to propylene
JGC Corp. (Yokohama; www.
Downcomer jgc.co.jp) and Mitsubishi
Chemical Corp. (Tokyo, both
Commercialization is set for Japan; www.m-kagaku.co.jp)
a new distillation technology Stage
spacing
are investing ¥2.6 billion ($29
million) in a pilot plant to fur-
Separator ther develop a new process to
A new distillation device developed by UOP
LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) will
make its commercial debut in an ethylene
make propylene from diverse
feedstock, such as methanol
and dimethyl ether (DME) —
separation column at LG Chem, Ltd.’s pet- made from coke-oven gas
rochemical plant in Yeosu, South Korea. — and underutilized olefins
Coflow channel from naphtha crackers. The
Scheduled for startup in the near future,
the revamped column is expected to process two firms have been working
Modular on different aspects of this
twice as much ethylene as it previously did width
technology since 2007. JGC,
with conventional distillation trays.
for example, has developed a
The capacity of conventional sieve or fixed DME-to-propylene (DTP) pro-
valve trays is limited by the froth height and two vapor-liquid separators. The latter are cess, which uses a modified
the amount of liquid entrainment that can located on opposite sides of the downcomer, ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst. The
be achieved, notes Greg Wisniewski, prod- forming two vapor-liquid coflow channels DTP process is said to have a
uct line manager for UOP process equip- between the downcomer and the separa- high selectivity for lower ole-
ment. UOP’s technology, called SimulFlow, tors (see diagram). Downflowing liquid is fins, with propylene yields of
avoids frothing by entraining all the liquid distributed through spouts at the bottom of 70% achieved. The pilot plant,
in the vapor at each column stage. Its high the downcomer and is entrained in upflow- located at Mitsubishi Chemi-
cal’s Mizushima Plant, is
capacity is achieved by simultaneous cocur- ing vapor. The two phases are mixed, then
scheduled to come onstream
rent liquid and vapor flow, within a contact- split up by the separators. In the case of
at the end of July.
ing channel, and by efficient vapor-liquid the LG Chem plant, a mixture of primarily
phase separators. ethylene and ethane is fed to the column.
SimulFlow differs from a sieve deck tray High-purity ethylene is obtained from the
Biomass-to-liquids
in that it has multiple horizontal contacting top and the ethane is condensed and recov- The Karlsruhe Institute of
ered from the bottom. Technology (KIT; Germany;
modules. Each includes a downcomer and
www.kit.edu) has received
€11 million in German federal
and state funding to extend
Sound water treatment rates (measured on steel corrosion coupons) KIT’s pilot plant for developing
(Continued from p. 12) were shown to be reduced from 0.3–0.4 mil/ its bioliq process — a four-
bacteria cells are exposed to a combination yr to 0.23 mil/yr. Compareing with BASF’s stage process for converting
of low-power, high-frequency ultrasound previous water treatment costs to those biomass (straw or wood) into
and micro-bubble aeration. This reduces associated with the Sonoxide system, en- liquid fuels. The funding will
the overall bacteria levels and eliminates gineers found that operating costs were enable KIT to add the last two
biofilm formation within the entire cooling reduced by 80%, chemical use was reduced stages — gas cleaning and
fuel synthesis — to its pilot
water system, says Olaf Pohlmann, AHWT’s by 90% and feed water savings of 20% were
plant. The first stage of the pilot
Sonoxide commercial leader EMEA. achieved. Results also show a preliminary
is flash pyrolysis of biomass
After two years of operation, not only was savings of €20,000/yr from feed water and
microbial control demonstrated, corrosion chemical use reductions, says Pohlmann. (Continues on p. 16)
These nanotube membranes promise superior performance for less cost
C arbon nanotube membranes are
being developed for water desalina-
tion and carbon dioxide sequestration
Porifera’s chief technology officer and a
former team leader at LLNL. She adds
that the membranes will enable an en-
controlled within a range of 1–10 nm.
The height or length of the tubes,
which determines the membrane
by Porifera Inc. (Hayward, Calif.; www. ergy reduction of up to 70% in desali- thickness, is currently 3–5 µm. Work-
poriferanano.com) under an exclusive nation, compared to the use of conven- ing membranes are assembled by em-
license from Lawrence Livermore Na- tional RO membranes. bedding the nanotube structure in a
tional Laboratory (LLNL, Livermore, The nanotubes are produced by porous polymeric or ceramic substrate,
Calif.). Porifera, a new company, ex- chemical vapor deposition from ethyl- with the nanotubes forming the pores
pects to commercialize desalination ene or other carbon-bearing gases at of the membrane.
membranes within two years. 800–850°C, under low or atmospheric Porifera is also developing mem-
Laboratory tests indicate that the pressure. The carbon deposits onto branes that are tailored to separate CO2
membranes will have “something like multiple iron-based nanoparticle cata- from fluegas. This project, which is at an
10 to 100 times the flux of polymeric lysts, forming an integrated miniature early stage, is being carried out under a
reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, due forest of nanotubes. The dimensions of $1 million-plus grant from the U.S. Dept.
to a nanofluidic effect unique to car- the tubes can be precisely controlled, of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects
bon nanotubes,” says Olgica Bakajin, says Bakajin. The diameters can be Agency (Washington, D.C.).
14 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2010
06_CHE_010110_CHM.indd 14 12/21/09 9:24:45 AM
17. VEBE_0906259_DragH_US_200x273.qxd:_ 5/08/09 11:51 Page 1 TAF • BAT
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