Technology development, conversion

Although many variations of the cyclohexane oxidation step have been developed or evaluated, technology for conversion of the intermediate ketone—alcohol mixture to adipic acid is fundamentally the same as originally developed by Du Pont in the early 1940s (98,99). This step is accomplished by oxidation with 40—60% nitric acid in the presence of copper and vanadium catalysts. The reaction proceeds at high rate, and is quite exothermic. Yield of adipic acid is 92—96%, the major by-products being the shorter chain dicarboxytic acids, glutaric and succinic acids,and CO2. Nitric acid is reduced to a combination of NO2, NO, N2O, and N2. Since essentially all commercial adipic acid production arises from nitric acid oxidation, the trace impurities patterns ate similar in the products of most manufacturers. 

The most efficient processes in Table I are for steel and alumintim, mainly because these metals are produced in large amounts, and much technological development has been lavished on them. Magnesium and titanium require chloride intermediates, decreasing their efficiencies of production lead, copper, and nickel require extra processing to remove unwanted impurities. Sulfide ores produce sulfur dioxide (SO2), a pollutant, which must be removed from smokestack gases. For example, in copper production the removal of SO, and its conversion to sulfuric acid adds up to 8(10) JA g of additional process energy consumption. In aluminum production disposal of waste ciyolite must be controlled because of possible fiuoride contamination. 

Apart from the chemical technology developments mentioned above, metabolic pathway and flux engineering will have an increasing impact on the way multi-step organic syntheses are carried out in the fine-chemicals industry. For the next generation of microbial conversions, the challenge of molecular biology is to ... 

The monetization of remote natural gas has been a key economic driver for catalysis research over the past 20 years. Significant reserves of natural gas exist in remote locations, distant from available gas pipehnes, which cannot be readily brought to market. The conversion of these resources to higher-valued, transportable products, such as methanol or polyolefins can allow the economical utilization of these stranded assets. Other low-valued natural gas streams, such as associated gas from oil production, could also provide feedstocks to such a technology. The conversion of remote gas, typically valued at US 0.50-1.50 per MMBTU, into polyolefins, valued at more than US 1000/t, via methanol has sparked the development of several MTO technologies. 

First, it is impossible to predict the impact that future events and technological developments will have on consumer trust, or distrust, in conventional food production and regulatory systems. Another mad cow crisis may well see perceptions regarding the acceptability of different price premiums revised upwards. Conversely, serious organic food scares may challenge perceptions that organic foods offer a safe alternative. 

Oxo-D process (Petro-Tex),180 and a technology developed by BP applying a tin-antimony oxide catalyst.181,182 The Phillips technology produces 1,3-butadiene with 88-92% selectivity at 75-80% conversion.179 A new catalyst used in the Nippon Zeon process offers improved process characteristics.183... 

Fig. 1. A new process (Urea Technologies) developed for the Tennessee Valley Authority operates at considerable energy savings. Urea is produced in an overall exothermic reaction of ammonia and carbon dioxide at elevated pressure and temperature. In a highly exothermic reaction, ammonium carbamate is first formed as an intermediate compound, followed by its dehydration to urea and water, which is a slightly endothermic reaction. The conversion of CO2 and NH3 to urea depends oil the ammonia-to-caibon dioxide ratio, temperature, and water-to-carbon dioxide ratio, among other factors. The new process makes maximum use of the heat created in the initial reaction, including heat recycling. 1 Urea Technologies and Tennessee Valley Authority)...

Viral particle production from cell cultures has several differences from other bioprocesses. The production of molecules like enzymes, toxins, or other proteins synthesized by bacteria, fungi or animals, depend upon culture parameters, such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, or nutrients. Product formation may occur through secondary metabolic pathways, which are not related to the development or growth of the cell. In these situations, research and technological development must be directed to the specific cell and this involves the improvement of the cell as a better molecular production unit. So, there is a direct relation between nutrient conversion, cell growth, and the expected improvement of the final productivity. 

Conversion processes Optimised over 100 years Require further research and technological development... 

Oxygen Transport Membrane (OTM) Syngas alliance was formed in 1997 to develop ceramic membrane technology for conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas.190... 

At present, one catalytic combustion system has been implemented at a full scale the XONON Cool Combustion technology, developed by Catalytica Energy Systems 157,158). The system is operated as follows Fuel from a lean-mix prebumer and the main fuel stream together with compressed air pass through the catalyst module (palladium oxide catalyst deposited on corrugated metal foil) in which the gas reaches a temperature up to 1623 K. The UHC and CO are combusted to essentially full conversion, downstream of the catalyst in the homogenous combustion zone. The guaranteed emission levels are as follows NOj < 3 ppm. 

This section deals with the economic evaluation of the conversion of mixed plastics waste (MPW) into synthetic crude (syncrude) oil and coprocessing of MWP with vacuum residue into syncrude. In their feasibility study, Ali and co-workers considered the process technology developed by Veba Oel AG of Germany the Veba Combi-Cracking (VCC) option for the processing of MPW [31], The process data and economic data were taken mainly from Dijkema and Stougie [32] and Huffman and Shah [33] for this study. All the cost data were translated to represent the economic analysis for Saudi Arabian conditions. 

The 1973 petroleum crisis intensified research on coal liquefaction and conversion processes. The technology developed in this field was later harnessed in chemical recycling of plastics. Mastral et al. [32], for example, employed two different batch reaction systems (tubing bomb reactors and magnetically stirred autoclave) and a continuous reactor (swept fixed bed reactor). Chemical recycling techniques such as pyrolysis [28, 33-38] or coliquefaction with coal [39, 40] convert plastic wastes into hydrocarbons that are valuable industrial raw materials. 

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