Research and development activities

In industry the primary reason for carrying out R D is economic and is to strengthen and improve the company s position and profitability. The purpose of R D is to generate and provide information and knowledge to reduce uncertainty, solve problems and to provide better data on which management can base decisions. Specific projects cover a wide range of activities and time scales, from a few months to 20 years. 

We can pick out a number of areas of R D activity in the following paragraphs but if we were to start with those which were to spring to the mind of the academic, rather than the industrial, chemist then these would be basic, fundamental (background) or exploratory research and the synthesis of new compounds. This is also labelled blue skies research. 

Fundamental research is typically associated with university research. It may be carried out for its own intrinsic interest and it will add to the total knowledge base but no immediate applications of it in the real world will be apparent. Note that it will provide a valuable training in defining and solving problems, i.e. research methodology for the research student who 

however, that there has been a major change in recent years as academic institutions have increasingly turned to industry for research funding, with the result that much more of their research effort is now devoted to more applied research. Even so, in academia the emphasis generally is very much on the research rather than the development. 

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Oxamide is produced commercially by Ube Industries, Ltd. (Japan) and a pilot process is being operated by Enichem (Italy). It is not produced domestically as a commercial fertilizer, although it was the subject of much research and development activity by the Tennessee Valley Authority s (TVA) National Fertilizer Research and Development Center. It is made in small quantities for industrial use by AUied Chemical, Hummel Chemical Co., and United Guardian, Inc. Oxamide has appHcation as a controlled release nitrogen source for the turf and specialty agricultural markets. 

This revenue has to pay not only for the successful project but for all the unsuccessful research and development activities. It is common practice to consider all R D as a portfolio. Disbursements for R D are relatively flexible and can be switched from less favorable to more favorable projects at short notice. 

The technology in the fume capture field Is not well developed, and performances of many capture systems are low and typically may be in the 30% to 60% range. There is a paucity of fundamental research and development in the fume capture field. In contrast, hundreds of million of dollars have iteen spent on research and development activities in the gas-cleaning area, which is mature and well developed. It is not uncommon to specify and to measure gas-cleaning equipment performances of over 99.9% colleaion efficiency. As shown in Eq. (13.75), the ovcTall fume control system performance is determined by the product of the capture efficiency and the gas-cleaning efficiency. This equation clearly shows the need to improve the efficiency of capture of the fume at the source in order to obtain significant improvements in the overall fume control system performance. 

Ca, Co, Ni, Pb, and Bi in single or combined application, with or without small amounts of mercury. The probably most important patents are cited in Ref. [211. Finally, the research and development activities led to a zinc quality, which is specified as "no mercury added" (nobody dares to claim "zero mercury"). Commercial zinc powders frequently contain a combination of indium, lead, and bismuth in variable concentrations up to 500 ppm each [25]. 

The business of BioZone Laboratories concerns development, manufacturing, and marketing of products and technologies, such as drugs and preparations, cosmetics, and nutritional supplements. All product lines are supported by proprietary technologies, and research and development activities are considered to be of a core importance for the business. The IP estate is also available for commercialization, particularly in the prescription area, for which several drug delivery systems and a prescription version of Inflacin were developed. 

Test facilities in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries that conduct regulatory studies must comply with the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), as set out in Council Decision C(97)186/Final. These are referred to as GLP Principles. GLP came into prominence in the late 1970s in response to some malpractice in research and development activities of pharmaceutical companies and contract... 

As such, there is a need to conduct in-depth research and development activities on homestead agroforestry in special consideration of the smallest resource bases (micro-sites) of the subsistence farmers in order to work out different options and to facilitate more optimum use of the available resources of the poor farmer for meeting the future challenges. However, the challenges remain for the researchers, academics, and development agencies on how to address the demand-led diversified needs and aspirations of the millions of individual farmers dealing with the homestead agroforestry. 

Research and development activities for thorium fuel cycles have been conducted in Germany, the USA, India, Japan, Russia and the UK during the last 30 years at a much smaller scale than uranium and uranium-plutonium cycles. Nowadays, India, in particular, has made the utilisation of thorium a major goal in its nuclear power programme, as it has ambitious nuclear expansion plans and significant indigenous thorium resources. 

Research and development activities regarding fuel-cell units for the residential sector can be located all over the world. In Japan, 400 lkW fuel-cell systems were tested in 2005 (see Fig. 13.7). But intense attention is also being paid to these applications in the United States, China and Korea. 

Huang, B., Research and development activities at the PolyquestSM Development Center, presentation (session III/3-8) given at the Polyester 99 4th World Congress - The Polyester Chain, Zurich, Switzerland, 25-28 October, 1999. 

The development of an adequate mathematical model representing a physical or chemical system is the object of a considerable effort in research and development activities. A technique has been formalized by Box and Hunter (B14) whereby the functional form of reaction-rate models may be exploited to lead the experimenter to an adequate representation of a given set of kinetic data. The procedure utilizes an analysis of the residuals of a diagnostic parameter to lead to an adequate model with a minimum number of parameters. The procedure is used in the building of a model representing the data rather than the postulation of a large number of possible models and the subsequent selection of one of these, as has been considered earlier. That is, the residual analysis of intrinsic parameters, such as Cx and C2, will not only indicate the inadequacy of a proposed model (if it exists) but also will indicate how the model might be modified to yield a more satisfactory theoretical model. 

The membrane research and development activities of some university laboratories is also a fallout of the nuclear membrane program. The inorganic membrane work performed by the University of Montpellier originated in a cooperative effort with the neighboring Euroceral plant. This cooperative effort continued with Ceraver subsequent to the shutdown of the Euroceral plant. 

Inspection of the unit during travel and at the farm site showed no major problems in making it mobile for transport to other sites for further research and development activities. 

The Pyrocycling process is a commercially available technology. The marketing of the product is done by Pyrovac International, Inc. while process implementation information is offered through the Pyrovac Institute, Inc., where research and development activities are conducted. 

There is still a significant amount of research and development work left to be done before an effective and reliable H2 generator from liquid fuels can be finalized for the fuel cell market. However, several private sector companies, government laboratories, and universities are involved in extensive research and development activities to overcome various problems associated with fuel reforming catalysts in order to eventually them cost-effective. Based on this literature review, the following issues regarding catalyst development for reforming of liquid fuels have been identified. 

Research and development activities in nanobiocatalysis are currently conducted in particular in the USA and in Asian countries (PR of China, Japan, South Korea and India) (Fig. 14.3). 

Construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation costs for pavements have risen sharply during the past decade, while revenue for these purposes has leveled or declined. In an effort to offset these rising costs and reduce dependence on uncertain asphalt supplies, increased research and development activity throughout the world has been devoted to the development and implementation of new and improved materials for use in pavement construction and maintenance. The use of sulfur in asphalt paving materials has proven to be one of the more promising developments to come from these activities. 

Evaluation of the Possible Impact of Pesticide Legislation on Research and Development Activities of Pesticide Manufacturers, Arthur D. Little, Inc., Prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency, 1975. 

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