38 www.che.com JuLY 2014 VoLume 121, no. 7 Cover Story 38 Cover Story A Primer on Reverse Osmosis Technology Desalination by reverse osmosis is a key technology for a water-constrained world. Discussed here is its use in industrial water treatment and drinking-water production NewS 11 Chementator Platform for reactive monomers enables short cure times for coatings; An improved PHA-bioplastic process is scaled up; This on-purpose butadiene process takes a step closer to commercialization; This fatty-acid conversion process results in synthetic lubricant base oils; and more 21 Newsfront The Changing Role of Methanol As methanol becomes an increasingly important chemical building block, technology providers are improving catalysts and processes to make much more of it - economically 26 Newsfront Finding the Balance in Packaging Packaging and distribution methods can provide both safe and sustainable transport eNgiNeeriNg 35 Facts at Your Fingertips Liquefied Industrial-Gas Safety This one-page reference provides information on the safety hazards presented by industrial gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon and others, in their liquid state, as well as some safety best practices 37 Technology Profile Producing Ethanol from Lignocellulosic Biomass This one-page profile describes a fermentation process for converting lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol 46 Feature Report Control-Valve Selection: True Cost Savings are Available Control valves must respond quickly and accurately in a variety of process conditions. Selecting the proper equipment enhances process economics, safety and efficiency 26 46 ChemiCal engineering www.Che.Com JulY 2014 1http://www.che.com http://www.Che.Com