Development and integration of new processes consuming carbon dioxide in multi-plant chemical production complexes

New, energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable, catalytic processes have been identified that can use excess high purity CO2 as a raw material from the sources available in a chemical production complex. The chemical complex in the lower Mississippi River Corridor has been used to show how these new plants can be integrated into this existing infrastructure using the Chemical Complex and Cogeneration Analysis System. Eighty six published articles of laboratory and pilot plant experiments were reviewed that describe new methods and catalysts to use CO2 for producing commercially important products. Reactions have been categorized as hydrogenation reactions; hydrocarbon synthesis reactions; amine syntheses reactions; and hydrolysis reactions. A methodology for selecting the new energy-efficient processes was developed. The selection criteria included operating conditions, energy requirement for reactions, ΔH° and equilibrium conversion based on Gibbs free energy, ΔG°; and thermodynamic feasibility of the reactions, catalyst conversion and selectivity, cost and life, and methods to regenerate catalysts. Also included were demand and potential sales of products and market penetration. In addition, cost of raw materials, energy, environmental, sustainable and other manufacturing costs were evaluated along with hydrogen consumption for hydrogenation reactions. Based on the methodology, twenty processes were identified as candidates for new energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable plants. These were simulated using HYSYS, and a value added economic analysis was evaluated. From these, fourteen of the most promising were integrated in the superstructure. A base case of existing plants in a chemical complex in the lower Mississippi River Corridor was developed that included thirteen multiple plant production units plus associated utilities for power, steam and cooling water and facilities for waste treatment. The System was used with the base case and new plants for CO2, and an optimal configuration of plants was determined for three different case studies. These results illustrated the capability of the System to select an optimum configuration of plants in a chemical complex and incorporate economic, environmental and sustainable costs. The System has been developed by industry-university collaboration, and is available from the LSU Minerals Processing Research Institute’s web site www.mpri.lsu.edu at no charge

Definition of a complex indicator quality price of finished goods on an example of production of rubbers

The complex quality-price indicator of the made rubbers is offered. Various product samples are compared among themselves

Alternative solution to global warming arising from CO2 emissions—Partial neutralization of tropospheric H2CO3 with NH3

The impact of anthropogenic CO2 emissions to global warming arising from the "greenhouse effect" is presented, and atmospheric fate of NH3 summarized. It is proposed that if the near-future attempts of the United Nations to restrict the emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels end up with failure, it would be a rational alternative to increase the contribution of anthropogenic NH3, the only alkaline gaseous molecule in the troposphere, so as to partly neutralize atmospheric carbonic acid in aerosols in the form of ammonium bicarbonate, which would be eventually swept away by precipitation to the oceans where the HCO3- species is stable. Thus, addition of ammonium N-compounds to infertile nonurban land, especially in the form of urea, is recommended to enable volatilization losses of NH3 to the atmosphere. (c) 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog

Morphological, Karyological and Molecular Characteristics of Festuca arietina Klok. – a Neglected Psammophilous Species of the Festuca valesiaca agg. from Eastern Europe

Until recently, Festuca arietina was practically an unknown species in the flora of Eastern Europe. Such a situation can be treated as a consequence of insufficient studying of Festuca valesiaca group species in Eastern Europe and misinterpretation of the volume of some taxa. As a result of a complex study of F. arietina populations from the territory of Ukraine (including the material from locus classicus), Belarus and Lithuania, original anatomy, morphology and molecular data were obtained. These data confirmed the taxonomical status of F. arietina as a separate species. Eleven morphological and 12 anatomical characters, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 cluster of nuclear ribosomal genes, as well as the models of secondary structure of ITS1 and ITS2 transcripts were studied in this approach. It was found for the first time that F. arietina is hexaploid (6x = 42), which is distinguished from all the other narrow-leaved fescues by specific leaf anatomy as well as in ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences. Molecular data indicating possible hybridogenous origin of F. arietina, fall in line with the anatomical-morphological data and explain the tendency toward sclerenchyma strands fusion with formation of a continuous ring in F. arietina, as well as F. arietina ecological confinement to psammophyte biotopes