http://www.che.com Chemical Engineering en-us 2010 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:02:00 EST As 2009 came to a close, the U.S. crossed a key milestone in the path toward regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nearly 10,000 facilities (Figures 1 and 2) — a significant portion of them in the chemical process industries (CPI) — became subject to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA; http://www.epa.gov; Washington D.C.) Final Mandatory Greenhouse Gases Reporting Rule. The rule requires that applicable facilities begin collecting data on January 1, 2010 for annual GHG emission reports that are due to EPA by March 31, 2011. Although the rule itself does not limit GHG emissions, the collected data will be used to inform future climate-change policies and programs, EPA says.... http://www.che.com/news/5491.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST Not long ago, single-use bioprocessing equipment, such as disposable bags and tubing, appeared on the scene as an alternative to stainless-steel components for high-purity processing applications. Due to a fistful of benefits — including reduced costs, lower cross-contamination risk and increased flexibility — the use of disposables began to grow into a real trend... http://www.che.com/news/5492.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST Many reactions, extractions, separations and other operations in the chemical process industries (CPI) involve the use of organic solvents. In addition to handling and disposal issues, organic solvents can pose a number of environmental concerns, such as atmospheric and land toxicity. In many cases, conventional organic solvents are regulated as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, certain organic solvents are under restriction due to their ozone-layer-depletion potential. Supercritical carbon dioxide is an attractive alternative in place of traditional organic solvents.... http://www.che.com/news/5449.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST As chemical production shifts to growth regions such as China and India, and moves closer to areas like the Middle East, where there are less expensive sources of feedstocks, North American and European chemical processors are under global pressure to... http://www.che.com/news/5450.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST 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/news/5376.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Most members of the highly regulated chemical process industries (CPI) are aware of the growing worldwide attention focused on the issues of climate change, air and water pollution and the supply and protection of natural resources. For this reason, air-pollution-control scrubbers play an integral role in most chemical processing facilities. However, the economic downturn caused... http://www.che.com/news/5377.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST In professional life, the influences that teach us, inspire us and drive us to succeed tend to come more from individuals than corporations. If you would like to bring recognition to someone... http://www.che.com/news/5394.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST 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/news/5303.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST Osmotic power; Chlorine production; direct polymerization; and more... http://www.che.com/news/5313.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST Drying as a process is one of the most energy-intensive unit operations on the planet. Add to that the fact that dryers are used extensively throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) and it becomes obvious that there ought to be more attention paid to reducing the energy consumption and upping the “green” ante of drying processes. Unfortunately, the current economy is putting any such projects and plans on hold for many processors. Drying equipment experts, however, say it doesn’t have to be this way a... http://www.che.com/news/5320.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST