TECHNOLOGY
Genetic Algorithm: An evolutionary Algorithm for chemical engineering economics
Genetic Algorithm (GA) is the stochastic search procedure, which mimics the principles of natural genetics and natural selection to constitute search and optimization procedures. It follows the Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. GA is emerging as excellent tool for optimization and can handle multivariable, non-linear, complex objective function In present ..............
- S L Pandharipande, S I Satai |
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INTERVIEW
"Product-focused R&D is no longer the only formula for success"
Donna Perry's association with Dow Corning began with Research and Development for the Rubber Group in 1990 in Barry, UK. During her career at Dow Corning, she has held positions in development, technical service, technical management and new business development for various markets. Dow Corning India Pvt Ltd was established in February 2000 after acquiring its former joint venture company. Donna Perry joined Dow Corning India in November 2006 as Manager for Science & Technology. Her role is to help develop technical capabilities further in India and South Asia and coordinate collaborations with universities and institutes. The company's R&D center at Pune provides its customers in the region access to latest technologies, said Donna Perry in an interview to Balakrishnan Nair. Excerpts:
- Donna Perry, Manager S & T, Dow Corning |
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POLLUTION CONTROL
Catalyst materials for high temperature combustion
Introduction of a catalytically active surface, where the fuel and air react, lowers the adiabatic flame temperature below the threshold temperature for most pollutants. Noble metal Palladium stabilized by Platinum is the preferred catalyst for it is abundant, less volatile and highly active. For longer life times, high temperature stable materials such as Spinels, Hexaaluminates and Garnets are used....................
- R Sai Kiran Singh, Varun Bhalla, K S Kulkarni and A R Bhalerao |
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FILTRATION & SEPARATION
Liquid-liquid extraction using hydrotropes
Hydrotropic agents are metal salts of organic acids, which at fairly high concentrations considerably increase the aqueous solubility of organic substances normally slightly soluble in water. The chemical structure of the conventional hydrotropic salts (prototype, sodium benzoate) consists generally of two essential parts, an anionic group and a hydrophobic aromatic ring or ring system. The anionic group is obviously involved in bringing about high aqueous solubility, which is a prerequisite for a hydrotropic substance .........................
- P Muthu Samy, S K Masud Hossain and N Gagendra Gandhi |
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EQUIPMENT
Internal reboiler in distllation column
For economical separation of ethanol from water, selection of reboiler is main criteria. Selection of reboiler depends on space utilization factor, steam requirement and service life..................
- B A Bhanvase, M P Deosarkar, S R Shirsath and R W Gaikwad |
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EVENT REPORT
"REACHing" out in India
Mumbai: Creating awareness on the basics of REACH and its implications for those companies who use chemicals manufactured in the EU, export chemicals to EU or sell their products to customers who export into the EU is a major task. A recent seminar titled "REACH - Guiding you through the tighter regulations for chemicals" hosted by Clariant Chemicals (I) Ltd aimed at sharing information on this new regulation. .................................. |
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INTERVIEW
"India is the ideal market for us"
COADE Inc, one of the world's leading engineering software companies, revolutionized pipe stress analysis with CAESAR II software twenty two years ago. The program's flexibility, sophistication and simplicity of operation quickly swept the worldwide market. The company followed this success with industry-leading programs for the design and analysis of vessels and oil storage tanks as well as plant design and automation. COADE set world standards for engineering and design software solutions. Thomas J Van Laan, President, COADE, Inc, who was recently in India, spoke to Bernard Rapose about the company's plans for growth in the country. Excerpts:
- Thomas J Van Laan , President , COADE , Inc ,
U. S. A
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PROFILE
Committed to quality services
Toyo Engineering India Ltd (Toyo India) today is one of the leading engineering and contracting companies in India for setting up chemical process plants predominantly for oil and gas, refinery, petrochemical, fertiliser and chemical sectors. It is one of the biggest subsidiaries of Toyo Engineering Corporation / Global Toyo group, Japan
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TECHNOLOGY
Vinyl ester resins based on diglycidyl ether of respropiophenone-
Novel vinyl ester resins (VERA) were prepared by reaction between diglycidyl ether of respropiophenone (DGE-RPP) and various acrylic acid derivatives. All the vinyl ester resins were characterized by elemental analysis, viscosity, unsaturation and IR spectral studies. Curing characteristic of DGE-RPP and their mixture with vinyl monomers was monitored by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal stability of cured materials was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The glass and carbon reinforced composites of these resins were prepared and characterized by chemical, electrical and mechanical properties
- Bharat Z Dholakiya, K D Patel, D J Desai, V A Patel and Y S Tilak
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INTERVIEW
"Our water management enables efficient manufacturing while protecting water and reducing usage rates"
Lawrence C Hale is vice-president Asia Pacific for Ashland Water Technologies, Drew industrial water treatment business. He is general manager for Ashland's Singapore and Australia operations and is director for Chembond Drewtreat Ltd, Drew Ameroid (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Drew Korea Ltd and Drew Ameroid (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Hale has been in the water treatment business for the past three decades. "We are continuously developing new technologies that enable our global customers to comply with ever tightening environmental regulations," said Lawrence Hale in an interview to Balakrishnan Nair. Excerpts:
- Lawrence C Hale, Vice-President, Asia Pacific, Ashland Water Technologies |
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Process
Effect of gas velocity and bed mass on liquid minimum fluidization velocity in a three-phase fluidized bed with cylindrical particles
Three-phase fluidized beds have been applied successfully in the bio-oxidation process for wastewater treatment in which various low to moderate density solid particles of different shape and size are used as cell support. Ceramic raschig ring possess moderate density and high surface area due to its hollow cylindrical structure. Thus can be used as solid support for microorganisms, where higher mass transfer rate can be achieved. In this study the hydrodynamic characteristics, viz, the pressure drop, bed expansion and liquid minimum fluidization velocity of a co-current gas-liquid-solid three-phase fluidized bed have been studied using liquid as the continuous phase and gas as the discontinuous phase. Bed pressure measurements have been made to predict the minimum liquid fluidization velocity and the effect of gas velocity and bed mass on it has been studied..........................
- H M Jena and G K Roy |
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DESIGN
Vapour-liquid equilibrium study for multi-component system
In today's industrial world, where many chemical industries are facing the problem of separating various phases of multicomponent system, vapour-liquid equilibria is proving to be an ideal practical approach to overcome this tedious work. The actual industrial work requires separation of more than three or four components. For separation of components the system needs to attain equilibrium and this is the most challenging task that is being faced during analysis. Some extent of equilibrium can be achieved when components have similar chemical properties. Pairing of component and then analyzing is the easiest solution for multicomponent system. The fabrication of vapour-liquid equilibrium equipment requires extensive thermodynamics data of components used, thermodynamic property measurement tools and composition analysis tools. For composition analysis, we can use gas chromatography, mass spectroscopy method and abbe's refractometer, etc. Calculation of vapor-liquid equilibria problems requires knowledge of phase equilibria, UNIQUAC, flash vaporization, dew point, bubble-point, raoult's law, henry's law and azeotropic mixture, etc..........
- Kumar Amitabh, Navin Kr Ojha, Gaurav Sharma and V A Shinde |
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