Chemical Engineering April 2013 - 14

CHEMENTATOR
Production facility for stabilized
sodium slated for startup
A
new plant for manufacturing sodium silicide
(Na4Si4; diagram), a non-flammable,
air-stable powder that reacts with water to
generate pure hydrogen, is under development
near Niagara Falls, N.Y. by SiGNa
Chemistry Inc. (New York; signachem.com).
Scheduled for startup in the third quarter of
2013, the facility will produce 1,000 ton/yr
of sodium silicide using a proprietary thermal
process that was developed by SiGNa,
says CEO Michael Lefenfeld. The process
combines sodium metal and silicon powder
to create a stable, free-flowing powder that
can be handled easily in dry air. The nonpyrophoric
powder absorbs water slowly and
reacts without ignition to yield H2 gas and
the environmentally benign sodium silicate.
SiGNa's manufacturing process for sodium
silicide produces no waste and is exothermic,
which translates into low energy inputs for
manufacturing, explains Lefenfeld.
The stabilized sodium silicide powder is
used in several energy-related applications,
including tertiary flooding of oil-and-gas
wells to enhance recovery. In this application,
the powder reacts with water from
the well, producing H2 and heat to displace
heavy crude oil deposits. SiGNa has shown
that sodium silicide can more than triple
the amount of heavy crude oil that can be
recovered, compared to current tertiary oil
recovery technologies.
The material is also used as a source of
pure H2 for portable fuel-cell applications.
SiGNa currently has H2 cartridges on the
market for recharging consumer electronics.
It is also developing H2 cartridges for military
power, back-up power for industrial and
home uses, and portable power for disaster
relief efforts. SiGNa is also exploring the use
of sodium silicide cartridges to extend the
range of electric and fuel cell vehicles.
The company utilizes similar thermal-process
technologies to stabilize other reactive
alkali metals for use in industrial synthesis
of chemicals via Birch and Wurtz reductions,
and in other applications.
New GC based on resonating nanosensor
A
newly launched gas chromatography (GC)
device from Analytical Pixels Technology
(APIX; Grenoble, France; www.apixtechnology.com),
called GCAP, uses a nanoscale silicon-beam
resonator to detect mass. A piezoelectric
cross-beam initiates the vibration
of the nanoscale silicon resonator, and the
resonance frequency varies with the mass in
contact with the silicon resonator.
Because GCAP's architecture is highly
flexible, it can be used in a wide array of
applications. Among them are the detection
and precise quantification of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), including BTEX (benzene,
toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes), as
well as natural gas and " permanent " gases,
such as N2, O2, CO2 and H2, at concentrations
from sub-ppm levels to 100%.
The instrument achieves sensitivities not
possible with conventional GC devices, and
is compact and portable enough for use in
in-line process testing in an industrial or re(Continued
from p. 12)
mercialized a highly pure, 4
mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia
(4YSZ), a thermal barrier
coating material that has
" exceptional " properties for
withstanding extreme temperature
variations. Due to its low
thermal conductivity, only a
very thin coating is necessary,
thus the coating is suitable for
low-weight applications such
as turbines.
The 4YSZ has a melting
search setting. Further, the nanoscale measurement
mechanism can generate nearrealtime
gas-analysis results. GCAP can
handle a variety of carrier gases, including
He, H2, Ar, N2 and scrubbed air.
Because the system is miniaturized
compared to alternative GC technologies,
the instrument requires a significantly
lower power and sample volume and can
be deployed in a variety of settings, says
Jean-Pierre Braun, CEO of APIX. The
low-maintenance product is a large step
toward making GC technology ubiquitous,
says Braun.
The product arose out of a joint development
agreement with France's Atomic Energy
Commission (CEA) and the California
Institute of Technology (CalTech; Pasadena,
Calif.; www.caltech.edu). GCAP is currently
undergoing beta testing at customer sites,
and was recently demonstrated at PittConn
2013 (Philadelphia, Pa.; March 17-21).
14 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2013
point of around 2,700°C and
a hardness of 14 GPa. It has
been shown by CPT, an independent
center for thermal
spray technology, to demonstrate
the same thermal diffusivity
and corrosion resistance
as conventional coatings, but
at much lower thickness and
weight, says the company. The
powders are made using the
company's Emulsion Detonation
Synthesis (EDS) process.
Customized, sub-micron
powders are available in stable
aqueous or ethanol-based
suspensions for suspension
plasma-spraying applications,
as well as spray-dried granules.
A new composite
SGL Group (Wiesbaden, Germany;
www.sglgroup.com) has
developed a new type of highstrength
composite material
for industrial heat-treatment
applications. Dubbed SigraBond,
the carbon-fi berreinforced
graphite material is
said to have advantages over
alternative carbon-fi ber-reinforced
carbon materials. For
(Continues on p. 16)
http://www.signachem.com http://www.apixtechnol http://www.ogy.com http://www.sglgroup.com http://www.caltech.edu http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering April 2013

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