Chemical Engineering September 2014 - 65

Fractionation Column
Environmental Manager
The practical side of R&D
W
illiam Banholzer gave
an opening keynote address
at the AIChE Spring
Meeting (New Orleans,
La.; March 31) that was interesting,
fun - and brave. It reminded
me of the " Six Sigma for Research
and Development [R&D] " training
that UOP provided to me many
years ago. The following principles
regarding R&D were taught in that
training: the goal is profit, not data;
new apparatuses do not necessarily
lead to new products; there must be
a market for any new product and
that product must be manufacturable
at a reasonable cost; and the
new product must be protectable
(such as via patents).
Banholzer's presentation, entitled
" The World Needs Engineering
Judgment, " contained some
similar themes directed at commodity
chemicals. R&D should be
regarded as a privilege and not a
right. In today's companies, new
products provide only about 8%
of their profits. Invention is not
enough. The new product must be
desirable and affordable.
Banholzer gave some micro and
macro examples of new technologies.
He was skeptical regarding
all of the following: the conversion
of greenhouse gases into biodegradable
plastics; the conversion of algae
to crude oil; the use of graphene
nanotubes for desalination; the use
of sugar to create ethanol and then
ethylene and then polyethylene for
softdrink " bio-bottles. " " Overall, bio
has under-delivered, " he stated. He
also said that " distillation works "
and that there are hurdles to replacing
it. On the other hand, heat
integrations of distillation units
have been successful. He recommended
asking questions like the
following regarding new processes:
How much energy is in the starting
material? How much energy is required
for conversions? How much
energy is in the final products?
Banholzer also gave examples
of research work that has truly
yielded appreciable dividends. The
production costs of low-density
polyethylene are now
at about 10% of those in the
1950s. Shale gas is producing
seven times more energy than
what is required to isolate it.
Mechanical hurdles have been
overcome to allow the construction
of larger, more-efficient plants.
Surveys have shown that consumWith
38 years of experience, Mike Resetarits
consults on distillation, absorption and extraction
processes. Each month, Mike shares his
first-hand experiences with CE readers
ers and buyers are extremely hesitant
to " pay for green. " This places
an extra burden on the people who
do research work on new products
and processes. At the same time,
new chemical processes usually require
about 20 years to show profits.
Large companies and small companies
need to be very careful not to
initiate research projects that might
be doomed, especially if they fail to
analyze the realistic costs and benefits
of the new processes. Banholzer
seemed to purposely avoid the Federal
Government's role in funding
energy and chemical projects that
might waste taxpayer money.
Banholzer started and finished
his presentation with some very
good news for the more than
2,000 attendees at his presentation:
" the skills of chemical engineers
are needed now more than
ever. " Hopefully, not too many of
them will be working on almosthopeless
research projects.
■
Mike Resetarits
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ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com September 2014 65
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Chemical Engineering September 2014

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