Chemical Engineering September 2014 - 16

A more direct route to ethyl acetate
ChementatoR
ast June, Showa Denko K.K. (SDK;
Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp)
started commercial operation of its
new 100,000-ton/yr ethyl acetate
plant at Oita Complex. The new
plant is the first commercial facility
in Japan to use the company's
proprietary production-process technology.
The process technology was
first demonstrated in a 60,000-ton/yr
plant in Indonesia.
SDK formerly produced ethyl acL
etate
by a two-step process in which
acetaldehyde is first made from ethylene,
and then converted to ethyl
acetate. In the new process, imported
acetic acid is used as a feedstock, and
reacts directly with ethylene using a
solid heteropolyacid catalyst, which
SDK developed in collaboration with
professor Toshio Okuhara at Hokkaido
University and Emeritus professor
Makoto Misono at the University
of Tokyo.
Ethyl acetate is an organic solvent
used in a wide range of applications,
including printing ink, paint, and adhesives
for electronic devices. While
global demand for the product is expected
to continue growing, its business
environment continues to be
difficult due to the rise in raw material
and fuel costs, and the increase
in imports of inexpensive products
that are mainly produced in China
via a fermentation process.
Municipal water sludge-optimization technology poised for growth
A
sludge-optimization technology
for municipal water-treatment
facilities is poised for rapid growth
after the exclusive worldwide patentlicensing
rights for the technology
were acquired by CNP Technology
Water and Biosolids Corp. (Kenosha,
Wisc.; www.cnp-tec.com).
The technology, known as AirPrex,
was initially developed at Berlin
Water Works (Germany) in 2004, and
was initially licensed to the German
company PCS GmbH. AirPrex was
subsequently implemented at three
sites (two in Germany and one in the
Netherlands from 2007 to 2012). Now,
with the license transferred to CNP,
orders to install the technology have
been made for the Amsterdam West
water-treatment plant in the Netherlands,
as well as plants in Salzgitter
and Uelzen, Germany. Several other
projects are in the works in South Africa
and in the U.S.
AirPrex uses a reactor with an aeration
system to recover the high-phosphorus
mineral struvite from sludge,
thus avoiding the struvite precipitation
that becomes a major maintenance
nuisance for water-treatment
Kenics™
UltraTab Static Mixer
Achieve a High Degree of Mixing in a Compact Space
In turbulent flow mixing/blending applications, the Kenics UltraTab provides
complete blending in short distances and low pressure drop through the element.
Available in various materials including Stainless Steel and FRP.
The patent pending UltraTab is optimized for your applications, such as:
* pH adjustment
* Chemical injecting
* Acid dilution
* Mixing flocculation agents
* Coagulation processes
* Sodium Hypochlorite
* Chlorination/dechlorination
For additional information, visit www.chemineer.com/kenics.
For sales, call 1-800-643-0641 or go to
www.chemineer.com/sales
www.chemineer.com
Circle 16 on p. 76 or go to adlinks.che.com/50980-16
16 ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com September 2014
Kenics UltraTab Ad_ce.indd 1
7/21/14 11:19:20 AM
http://www.sdk.co.jp http://www.cnp-tec.com http://www.chemineer.com/kenics http://www.chemineer.com/sales http://www.chemineer.com http://adlinks.che.com/50980-16 http://www.Chemengonline.Com
Chemical Engineering September 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering September 2014
