Chemical engineering, carbon dioxide

Figure 9-14. Unusual arrangement of relief valve and pipevimk on tank truck used to transport liquid carbon dioxide. The relief valve was cooled by the liquid and became blocked by ice from condensed atmospheric moisture. (Illustration courtesy of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.)...

Figure 9-82E. -in. packing data for system carbon dioxide-sodium hydroxide, gas rate constant. Reproduced by permission of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Leva, M., AI.Ch.E. Jour., V. 1, No. 2 (1955) p. 224 all rights reserved. 

The chemical engineering approach began with an analysis of the biochemistry of platelet metabolism. Like many cells, platelets consume glucose by two pathways, an oxidative pathway and an anaerobic pathway. The oxidative pathway produces carbon dioxide, which makes the solution containing the platelets more acidic (lower pH) and promotes anaerobic metabolism. This second metabolic pathway produces large amounts of lactic acid, further lowering pH. The drop in pH from both pathways kills the platelets. 

The chemical engineering solution was to design a new material for the storage bag that was capable of "breathing"—of allowing carbon dioxide to diffuse out and oxygen to diffuse in. This prevents the drop in pH. Platelets stored in this new bag survive 10 days or more. 

C04-0002. Although gasoline is a complex mixture of molecules, the chemical reaction that takes place in an automobile engine can be represented by combustion of one of its components, octane (Cg Hig). Such burning of fossil fuels releases millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the Earth s atmosphere each year. Write a balanced equation for the combustion of octane. 

Figure 14.3 Vapor-liquid equilibrium data and calculated values for the carbon dioxide-n-hexane system. Calculations were done using interaction parameters from implicit and constrained least squares (LS) estimation, x and y are the mote fractions in the liquid and vapor phase respectively [reprinted from the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering with permission]...

Prepare an outline design of the reactor and carry out the chemical engineering design of the stripper, specifying the interfacial contact area which will need to be provided between the carbon dioxide stream and the product stream to enable the necessary mass transfer to take place. 

Lazzaroni, M.J., Bush, D., Brown, J.S. and Eckert, C.A. (2005) High-pressure vapor-liquid equilbria of some carbon dioxide plus organic binary systems. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 50 (1), 60-65. 

AUTO-PUREX G A process for removing carbon dioxide from air by PSA, using alumina as the sorbent. Developed by Marutani Chemical Plant Engineering Company, Japan. 

If the pH is adjusted as part of an engineered remediation, the microbial balance may be upset and bioreactions slowed until the microbe cultures adjust to the new conditions. Alternatively, if the release of organic chemicals has altered the pH outside the natural range, it may be necessary to add certain chemicals (i.e., aluminum sulfate, carbon dioxide, sodium hydroxide, etc.) to return the pH to preexisting conditions. Changes of pH should be monitored since rapid changes of more than 1 to 2 pH units over a short period can inhibit microbial activity and may extend the acclimation period before the microbes adapt and renew activity. 

Frohlich, G.J. "Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of Aqueous Systems Containing Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide," Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, D.Ch. E., 1957, Engineering, Chemical. University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Steiner, R. Chemical Engineering 100 (3) (March 1993) 114-119. Carbon dioxide s expanding role. 

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