Liquid technological issues

Thus the study of surfaces has emerged as an important focus in the chemical sciences, and the relationship between surfaces of small systems and their performance has emerged as a major technological issue. Flow in microfluidic systems—for example, in micromechanical systems with potential problems of stiction (sticking and adhesion) and for chemistry on gene chips—depends on the properties of system surfaces. Complex heterogeneous phases with high surface areas—suspensions of colloids and liquid crystals—have developed substantial... 

A number of technology issues have been addressed concerning plates, liquid handling systems, methods of detection, and automated data analysis. It is possible to format an entire million-compound collection into 1536-well plates. With such ready availability, the number of assays that use this technology will increase significantly. 

Wilhelm, D., Simbeck, D., Karp, a., Dickenson, R. (2001). Syngas production for gas-to-liquids applications technologies, issues and outlook. Fuel Process Technology, 71, 139-148. 

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) produce power directly from ethanol without prior reforming. Compared with methanol used as the fuel for DMFCs, ethanol is nontoxic, environmentally friendly, and universally available, and making the handling easy. Since ethanol is also a liquid alcohol like methanol, the technological issues of crossover, discharge of carbon dioxide, and passive operation are comparable. 

Wet-air oxidation (also called liquid-phase thermal oxidation) is not a new technology it has been around for over forty years and has already demonstrated its great potential in wastewater treatment facilities. Despite this, there are some very important issues that remain to be addressed before a wet oxidation process can be scaled-up the kinetics of oxidation of many important hazardous compounds... 

Encapsulation and composite materials are a key issue in PCM technology. Because some of their positive effects can result from similar microscopic properties, they are discussed together (Figure 109). In almost all cases a PCM has to be encapsulated for technical use, as otherwise the liquid phase would be able to flow away from the location where it is applied. Macro... 

Hydrogen availability is an important issue and refiners must be persuaded that gasification will prove to be as reliable a technology in the future as natural gas steam reforming is today. Many refineries produce sufficient pet coke to more than satisfy refinery hydrogen requirements. This would allow co-production of hydrogen and power or F-T liquids. 

Liquid acid-catalyzed processes are mature technologies, which are not expected to undergo dramatic changes in the near future. Solid acid-catalyzed alkylation now has been developed to a point where the technology can compete with the existing processes. Catalyst regeneration by hydrogen treatment is the method of choice in all the process developments. Some of the process developments eliminate most if not all the drawbacks of the liquid acid processes. The verdict about whether solid acid-catalyzed processes will be applied in the near future will be determined primarily by economic issues. 

---