Current efforts toward process efficiency and environmental innocuousness have placed more demands on catalysts to produce more with less. Industrial catalyst manufacturers are pursuing several pathways to maximize their products ability to boost output for those who use them. Several recent examples show how employing alternate catalyst material or new manufacturing methodology has helped users realize manufacturing advantages.... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/catalysis/Boosting-Catalyst-Productivity_5376.html
Last month at the Chem Show, Chemical Engineering had the pleasure of honoring this year’s finalists and the winner of the 2009 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award, a biennial prize that the magazine has bestowed continuously since the early 1930s. The award recognizes the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized anywhere in the world during 2007 or 2008.... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/40th-Kirkpatrick-Award-Announced_5303.html
The desire to move from batch to continuous processes for the production of high-value organic molecules has become more widespread in recent years as evidenced by the increasing number of related studies published in the literature. The benefits of continuous flow include increased product yield, increased utility and energy utilization, improved safety and greater automation. A quest to improve the overall production economics for smaller organic molecules and many inorganic chemicals forced this change on the bulk chemicals industry many decades ago. But strong interest has not yet translated into the widespread use of continuous processes for specialty chemicals, fine chemicals and pharmaceutical manufacturing. This article proposes that the use of small-scale reactions can provide the missing link that brings continuous operation within practical reach.... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/reaction_engineering/Millichannel-Reactors-A-Practical-Middle-Ground-for-Production_5316.html