Chemical Engineering December 2016 - 10

the second column, the remaining
lipids are converted
into fuel over an anionic resin.
A 100% yield is achieved in a
single pass, because byproducts
(water in the first column
and glycerin in the second)
are simultaneously separated
by adsorption on the resins,
thereby driving the reactions
to completion. This design
also eliminates the need to
add excess alcohol, and is
driven by waste heat.
ENHANCED FERTILIZER
Last month, Solvay S.A.
(Brussels, Belgium; www.
solvay) and Petrovietnam
Ca Mau Fertilizer Joint
Stock Company (PVCFC;
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam;
www.pvcfc.com.vn) signed
a Memorandum of Under(Continues
on p. 11)
Additives retain starch in cardboard recycling
S
tarch is essential for imparting
strength to corrugated cardboard
boxes, but millions of tons of starch
are lost in cardboard recycling processes
annually because conditions are
ripe for bacteria to thrive, and the microorganisms
degrade starch by converting it to
glucose for food. In addition to the lost raw
material, degraded starch also causes problems
in the cardboard recycling process,
and increases biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD) in wastewater treatment.
Newly patented additives from specialty
chemical maker Solenis (Wilmington, Del.;
www.solenis.com) can control bacterial
growth and retain the starch in cardboard
and paper recycling processes.
The company has developed a two-step
process, known as the Biobond Improving
the Sustainability of Paper program,
that both controls bacterial growth and
retains starch. In the Biobond program,
A
group of organizations, lead
by the Southwest Research
Institute (SWRI; San Antonio,
Tex.; www.swri.org) has
begun a project to design a powergeneration
pilot plant featuring a flameless,
pressurized oxyfuel combustion
technology that allows the capture of
100% of the CO2 emissions from the
coal fuel and is more efficient that conventional
coal-power generation.
The project objective is to generate
a detailed design, plus specifications,
costs and a construction schedule, for
a 10-MW-scale power plant based on
this type of oxyfuel combustion technology,
which has been demonstrated
previously in Italy.
A
10
new process for making
long glass fiber polypropylene
(LGF-PP) concentrates
(glass-fiber-containing plastic
pellets) allows a higher glass-fiber
content than is possible with conventional
processes. Plastics maker Trinseo
(Berwyn, Pa.; www.trinseo.com)
has developed the process, which is
capable of making LGF-PP concentrates
with 85% glass, compared to
the maximum 60% glass load with
the traditional method. Higher glass
content leads to greater cost-effectiveness
for the component makers,
specifically selected biocides control
starch-consuming bacteria, and specially
designed cationic polymers retain the
starch in the paperboard.
" The increased microbial contamination
resulting from starch degradation leads to
a host of operational issues in the production
of recycled cardboard, including slime
deposition, pH drops from bacterial acids
and
increased
conductivity
because
more dissolved calcium at lower pH, among
others, " explains Stéphane Ménard, global
marketing director for Solenis.
" With the Biobond program, the strength
in the paperboard made from recycled material
is increased, because the technology
enables a reduction in conductivity in the
wet end of the paper machine, which allows
the dry-strength chemicals to perform better, "
Ménard adds.
Solenis is currently converting end-users
to its Biobond technology.
Design project for 'clean coal' oxyfuel combustion pilot plant
Oxyfuel combustion refers to processes
where the oxidant is pure
oxygen, rather than air. Such processes
generate exhaust that is highly
enriched in CO2. The technology for
this project uses an air-separation
unit (ASU) to generate oxygen, which
undergoes a flameless combustion
reaction (meaning that reactants are
above self-ignition temperatures and
there is no visible flame) with pulverized
coal in a pressurized reactor. The
closed-loop power cycle can operate
in either Rankine-cycle or Braytoncycle
modes, with an environment
of supercritical CO2 that results in an
exhaust stream of concentrated and
pressurized CO2.
Cost-effective LGF-PP process
because the LGF-PP concentrate
can be diluted with more of the lowercost
neat PP.
LGF-PP is widely used in the automotive
industry to make stiff semistructural
components, such as door
modules, instrument panels, tailgates
and others, for vehicles. Trinseo's proprietary
process is an infusion impregnation
technique that is capable of
wetting the fiber bundles completely,
even at higher glass-fiber loadings.
" We had to engineer the process
so that all individual fiber filaments are
covered with polymer, " explains Norwin
van Riel, development leader at
Trinseo. " With the full fiber impregnation,
we have ensured that the LGF-PP
granules were robust enough to withstand
handling and transport without
releasing fine glass particles, which
can clog conveying equipment, " van
Riel adds. Another advantage of the
LGF-PP made by this process is the
low VOC emissions, van Riel notes.
The new process, along with LGF-PP
granules made from it (known as the ENLITE
product line), was recently launched
at the Society of Plastics Engineers automotive
meeting in Detroit, Mich.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
DECEMBER 2016
" Supercritical CO2 has good thermodynamic
properties, so this oxyfuel
combustion technology allows power
generation that is more efficient than
a conventional steam Rankine cycle, "
says Klaus Brun, program director for
machinery, fluids and machinery engineering
at SWRI. " This technology
also eliminates CO2 emissions, since
we are able to capture all of the CO2
from the combustion. "
Also involved in the project, which is
funded by the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL; part of the
Dept. of Energy; www.netl.gov), are
Jacobs Energy, EPRI, ITEA S.p.A.,
Peter Reineck Associates and General
Electric Global Research.
of
http://www.solenis.com http://www.pvcfc.com.vn http://www.swri.org http://www.netl.gov http://www.trinseo.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering December 2016

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