Functionalized Pyrolysis Products for High Value Chemical Production

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Decision-support system for risk management of produced water in the offshore petroleum industry

A decision-support system for produced water management (DISSPROWM) in offshore operations is being developed. The system determines the risk and hazards to human and marine species from non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic pollutants, including radionuclides present in produced water. The DISSPROWM also evaluates the best available treatment technology for treating the produced water whose properties are in the database. The system consists of a Windows-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) developed with Microsoft Visual Basic, which integrates a SQL Server database, a risk assessment model and a dilution model for produced water contaminants. The database contains most produced water pollutants and their important properties that are required in dispersion and risk assessment modelling. The database also contains current produced water regulations and information on some of the selected existing treatment technologies with typical cost data required in the decision-support system

Numerical modelling of a fast pyrolysis process in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor

In this study, the Eulerian-Granular approach is applied to simulate a fast pyrolysis bubbling fluidized bed reactor. Fast pyrolysis converts biomass to bio-products through thermochemical conversion in absence of oxygen. The aim of this study is to employ a numerical framework for simulation of the fast pyrolysis process and extend this to more complex reactor geometries. The framework first needs to be validated and this was accomplished by modelling a lab-scale pyrolysis fluidized bed reactor in 2-D and comparing with published data. A multi-phase CFD model has been employed to obtain clearer insights into the physical phenomena associated with flow dynamics and heat transfer, and by extension the impact on reaction rates. Biomass thermally decomposes to solid, condensable and non-condensable and therefore a multi-fluid model is used. A simplified reaction model is sued where the many components are grouped into a solid reacting phase, condensable/non-condensable phase, and non-reacting solid phase (the heat carrier). The biomass decomposition is simplified to four reaction mechanisms based on the thermal decomposition of cellulose. A time-splitting method is used for coupling of multi-fluid model and reaction rates. A good agreement is witnessed in the products yield between the CFD simulation and the experiment

Patients’ and physicians’ satisfaction with a pharmacist managed anticoagulation program in a family medicine clinic

Background A pharmacist managed anticoagulation service was initiated in a multi-physician family medicine clinic in December 2006. In order to determine the patient and physician satisfaction with the service, a study was designed to describe the patients’ satisfaction with the warfarin education and management they received from the pharmacist, and to describe the physicians’ satisfaction with the level of care provided by the pharmacist for patients taking warfarin. A self-administered survey was completed by both eligible patients receiving warfarin and physicians prescribing warfarin between December 2006 and May 2008. The patient survey collected information on patient demographics, satisfaction with warfarin education and daily warfarin management. The physician survey collected data about the satisfaction with patient education and daily anticoagulation management by the pharmacist. Results Seventy-six of 94 (81%) patients completed the survey. Fifty-nine percent were male with a mean age of 65 years (range 24–90). Ninety-six percent agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist did a good job teaching the importance of warfarin adherence, the necessity of INR testing and the risks of bleeding. Eighty-five percent agreed/strongly agreed the risk of blood clots was well explained, 79% felt the pharmacist did a good job teaching about dietary considerations and 77% agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist explained when to see a doctor. All patients felt the pharmacist gave clear instructions on warfarin dosing and INR testing. Four of nine physicians (44%) completed the survey. All agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist was competent in the care provided, were confident in the care their patients received, would like the pharmacist to continue the service, and would recommend this program to other clinics. Conclusions Patients and family physicians were satisfied with the pharmacist managed anticoagulation program and recommended continuation of the program. These results support the role of the pharmacist in the management of anticoagulation in a multi-physician family medicine clinic

Survey of Canadian Pharmacists’ Responses to Warnings of Potential Interactions Between Ceftriaxone and Calcium in IV Solutions

ABSTRACT Background: In 2007, because of a potential interaction between ceftriaxone and calcium-containing IV solutions, Roche Laboratories (manufacturer of Rocephin [ceftriaxone] in the United States) issued letters to health care professionals advising them of changes to the product monograph. Subsequently, warning letters were also issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada. The Health Canada recommendations and their implications for clinical practice generated debate in the Canadian hospital pharmacy community.Objective: To evaluate the response to the warnings among hospital pharmacists and their respective institutions.Methods: An anonymous, voluntary 10-question survey was distributed to members of the Pharmacy Specialty Networks of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. Requests to participate were solicited via 2 e-mail messages. Responses were analyzed descriptively.Results: A total of 152 pharmacists participated in the survey. Fortythree respondents (28.3%) reported being very concerned and 86 (56.6%) reported being somewhat concerned about the Health Canada Notice to Hospitals. About half (77/152 [50.7%]) of the respondents felt that the Health Canada notice did not need to be strictly heeded. Two-thirds (98/145 [67.6%]) reported that their institutions had addressed the risk of an interaction through a change in policy regarding the administration of ceftriaxone. Eighty-eight (61.5%) of 143 participants indicated that their institution’s official position on the notice was that it represented a “relative contraindication” (i.e., the benefit may outweigh the risk).Conclusions: Warning letters issued by the manufacturer, the FDA, and Health Canada generated concern within the Canadian hospital pharmacy community. However, a large proportion of hospital pharmacy practitioners did not agree with strict adherence to the Health Canada notice.RÉSUMÉ Contexte : En 2007, à cause d’une interaction potentielle entre la ceftriaxone et les solutions intraveineuses contenant du calcium, Roche Laboratories (fabricant de Rocephin [ceftriaxone] aux États-Unis) ont émis une mise en garde aux professionnels de la santé les informant d’une modification à la monographie du produit. Par la suite, des mises en garde ont également été émises par la Food and Drug Administration (FDA) des États-Unis et par Santé Canada. Les recommandations de Santé Canada et leurs conséquences sur la pratique clinique ont soulevé un débat au sein de la communauté de la pharmacie hospitalière.Objectif : Évaluer la réponse à la mise en garde parmi les pharmaciens d’hôpitaux et leurs établissements respectifs.Méthodes : Un sondage anonyme à participation volontaire comportant 10 questions a été remis aux membres des Réseaux de spécialistes en pharmacie de la Société canadienne des pharmaciens d’hôpitaux. Les invitations à participer au sondage ont été communiquées au moyen de deux courriels. Les réponses ont été analysées de façon descriptive.Résultats : Au total, 152 pharmaciens ont participé au sondage. Quarante-trois répondants (28,3%) ont déclaré être très préoccupés et 86 (56,6%) ont déclaré être quelque peu préoccupés par l’Avis aux hôpitaux de Santé Canada. Environ la moitié (77/152 [50,7%]) des répondants estimaient qu’il n’était pas nécessaire de suivre à la lettre l’avis de Santé Canada. Les deux-tiers (98/145 [67,6%]) ont déclaré que leur établissement avait pris des mesures contre le risque d’interaction en modifiant leur politique d’administration de la ceftriaxone. Par ailleurs, 88 (61,5%) de 143 répondants ont indiqué que la position officielle de leur établissement relativement à cet avis était que celui-ci représentait une « contre-indication relative » (c.-à-d. que les bienfaits pouvaient l’emporter sur le risque).Conclusions : Les mises en garde émises par les fabricants, par la FDA et par Santé Canada ont soulevé des inquiétudes au sein de la communauté des pharmaciens d’hôpitaux du Canada. En revanche, une forte proportion des praticiens de la pharmacie hospitalière n’étaient pas d’accord pour observer à l’avis de Santé Canada

Dynamic risk assessment using failure assessment and Bayesian theory

To ensure the safety of a process system, engineers use different methods to identify the potential hazards that may cause severe consequences. One of the most popular methods used is quantitative risk assessment (QRA) which quantifies the risk associated with a particular process activity. One of QRA's major disadvantages is its inability to update risk during the life of a process. As the process operates, abnormal events will result in incidents and near misses. These events are often called accident precursors. A conventional QRA process is unable to use the accident precursor information to revise the risk profile. To overcome this, a methodology has been proposed based on the work of Meel and Seider (2006). Similar to Meel and Seider (2006) work, this methodology uses Bayesian theory to update the likelihood of the event occurrence and also failure probability of the safety system. In this paper the proposed methodology is outlined and its application is demonstrated using a simple case study. First, potential accident scenarios are identified and represented in terms of an event tree, next, using the event tree and available failure data end-state probabilities are estimated. Subsequently, using the available accident precursor data, safety system failure likelihood and event tree end-state probabilities are revised. The methodology has been simulated using deterministic (point value) as well as probabilistic approach. This Methodology is applied to a case study demonstrating a storage tank containing highly hazardous chemicals. The comparison between conventional QRA and the results from dynamic failure assessment approach shows the significant deviation in system failure frequency throughout the life time of the process unit

ARTICLE Survey of Canadian Pharmacists ’ Responses to Warnings of Potential Interactions Between Ceftriaxone and Calcium in IV Solutions

Background: In 2007, because of a potential interaction between ceftriaxone and calcium-containing IV solutions, Roche Laboratories (manufacturer of Rocephin [ceftriaxone] in the United States) issued letters to health care professionals advising them of changes to the product monograph. Subsequently, warning letters were also issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada. The Health Canada recommendations and their implications for clinical practice generated debate in the Canadian hospital pharmacy community. Objective: To evaluate the response to the warnings among hospital pharmacists and their respective institutions. Methods: An anonymous, voluntary 10-question survey was distributed to members of the Pharmacy Specialty Networks of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. Requests to participate were solicited via 2 e-mail messages. Responses were analyzed descriptively. Results: A total of 152 pharmacists participated in the survey. Fortythree respondents (28.3%) reported being very concerned and 86 (56.6%) reported being somewhat concerned about the Health Canada Notice to Hospitals. About half (77/152 [50.7%]) of the respondents felt that the Health Canada notice did not need to be strictly heeded. Two-thirds (98/145 [67.6%]) reported that their institutions had addressed the risk of an interaction through a change in policy regarding the administration of ceftriaxone. Eighty-eight (61.5%) of 143 participants indicated that their institution’s official position on the notice was that it represented a “relative contraindication ” (i.e., the benefit may outweigh the risk). Conclusions: Warning letters issued by the manufacturer, the FDA, and Health Canada generated concern within the Canadian hospital pharmacy community. However, a large proportion of hospital pharmacy practitioners did not agree with strict adherence to the Health Canada notice