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CI CyberNews, Vol. 8 No. 21
ALCOA LAUNCHES CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR REFINERIES Alcoa recently announced a new Carbon Capture system at its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia. The residue treatment process involves mixing bauxite residue, a by-product of the aluminum making process, with carbon dioxide (CO2). The system delivers greenhouse benefits by locking up large volumes of CO2 that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere. The Kwinana carbonation plant will lock up 70,000 tons of CO2
a year, the equivalent of eliminating the emissions of 17,500 automobiles. As part of its ongoing commitment to reduce its global emissions, Alcoa plans to deploy the technology to its nine alumina refineries worldwide. Deployment across Alcoa’s operations in Australia alone could potentially save 300,000 tons of CO2 each year. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
ARGONNE, NORTHWESTERN SEEK ANSER TO SOLAR ENERGY CHALLENGES Helping the world meet increasing energy needs through solar energy will be the goal of the Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (ANSER Center), a new research center established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University. The center will combine and expand the research interests of both institutions to address the grand scientific challenges posed by the need for economically viable solar energy use. Researchers at the ANSER Center will come from both Argonne and Northwestern, and will examine new economical ways to use sunlight to produce clean fuels, such as hydrogen, from water and to produce electricity
directly from low-cost photovoltaic and thermoelectric systems. For additional information, contact Argonne at (630) 252-5510 or scarson@anl.gov, or Northwestern at (847) 491-3115 or fellman@northwestern.edu.
NEW LINE OF SILICON CARBIDE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM BLASCH Blasch Precision Ceramics has launched a new line of high-performance advanced silicon carbide products specifically designed to meet the needs of industries that require complex intricate shapes and/or specialized geometry. Blasch’s recrystallized silicon carbide (RSiC) offers very high strength, excellent thermal shock, oxidation and abrasion resistance to its maximum use temperature of 1610°C. Available products include geometric and complex setters, trays, racking, burner tiles, kiln shelves, and posts and beams.
For more information, call (800) 550-5768 or (518) 436-1263, ext. 43; fax (518) 436-0098; e-mail mlavicska@blaschceramics.com; or visit www.blaschceramics.com.
CONTROL INSTRUMENTS ANNOUNCES NEW BROCHURE A new brochure detailing Control Instruments Corp.’s AcuPro Infrared Analyzer is now available. The industrial-strength analyzer features a complete sampling system, heated optical cell, and integrated controller for continuous measurement of flammable and some combustible vapors. It can accurately monitor a given range of solvents within a narrow band to optimize the safety and economy of running a process. It can also be used for mixtures of solvents in processes where normal solvent concentrations are below 25% LFL.
To request a copy of the new brochure at no charge, call (973) 575-9114, fax (973) 575-0013 or visit www.controlinstruments.com.
RETICULATED FOAMS AVAILABLE FROM GOODFELLOW Goodfellow recently announced the availability of metal, carbon and ceramic reticulated foams, which are low-density, permeable structures of cells and continuous ligaments that offer important benefits to researchers and design engineers. Thanks in part to the continuous ligaments, reticulated foams have an unusually high surface area-to-volume ratio. Available in aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, vitreous carbon, alumina and silicon carbide, these low-density foams also have a high strength-to-weight ratio and possess the same chemical resistance as the parent material. They can be conductive or insulating, depending on the material chosen.
Additional information can be found in the online Goodfellow Catalog at www.goodfellow.com.
MCNULTY NAMED VP OF MATERIALS ANALYSIS FOR RIGAKU Rigaku Americas Corp. recently announced that Tom McNulty has been promoted to vice president of Materials Analysis. In this new position, he will supervise the company’s small molecule crystallography and general purpose XRD, SAXS and XRF product lines in North and Central America. The analysis of materials and nanomaterials to determine structure and elemental composition is the unifying concept that brings these product lines together.
“The new business unit will concentrate on customers’ structural and elemental measurement needs rather than on the products, and will allow customers who need this information to have a number of techniques at their disposal from a single business unit, from a single vendor,” said McNulty. For more information, call (281) 362-2300, ext. 207, or e-mail tom.mcnulty@rigaku.com. The company’s website is located at www.rigaku.com.
UNIFRAX ACQUIRES KERAUNION’S CERAMIC FIBER BUSINESS Unifrax I LLC recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Union Lesni Brana, a.s. (ULB) to acquire the ceramic fiber business of Keraunion a.s., its wholly owned subsidiary company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Keraunion is a leading supplier of ceramic fiber products in the Czech Republic. The business has approximately 100 employees who will be joining the Unifrax European team. “Keraunion is a company with a great reputation, a proud heritage and excellent people,” said David E. Brooks, Unifrax president and chief executive officer. “In addition to its strong market position in the Czech Republic, the business has excellent
manufacturing and fabrication capabilities. It is also well located to support our growth initiatives in the Eastern European region.” Unifrax is owned by the international private equity investment firm AEA Investors LLC and Unifrax management. Additional information is available at www.aeainvestors.com.
SPONSORED BY:
Particularly Sensitive? Quality departments and laboratories perform literally millions of particle size distribution analyses each year. Most are performed to allow suppliers and users of particles to predict expected process behavior without having to prepare a test batch of the final product. Static laser light scattering can provide these analyses very quickly and covers a wide range of particle diameters for almost any particulate materials, as long as the individual particles can be separated from one another. But what is sensitivity as it relates to particle size distribution analysis, and how should it be measured?
Measuring Sensitivity in Particle Size Distribution Analysis provides an example of a sensitivity study performed for a laser particle size distribution analyzer using known mass blends of two abrasive powders.
CyberTip Need to find equipment in the ceramic and related industries? Look no further than CI's Equipment Digest. This invaluable reference tool lists dozens of equipment suppliers and hundreds of definitions -- from abrasive wheels to zeta potential analyzers.
Online Calendar CI's full
Calendar of Events is available online to help you keep track of all the latest trade shows and seminars.
CHARTER SPONSOR
Mohr Corp. provides ceramic and machinery services to both buyer and seller, from the sale of one machine to entire factories, with its professionally established brokering, liquidation and appraisal organization. For more information, visit www.mohrcorp.com.
ABOUT OUR SPONSOR
Insaco is a precision machining company that provides finished pieces to customers' specifications from ultra hard materials, including oxide ceramics, nitrides, carbides and quartz, and especially industrial sapphire. NEW capability allows the company to machine within a 102” x 31” x 70” envelope and still hold tight tolerances. Visit www.insaco.com.
All statements about the companies/products included in this newsletter are manufacturers' claims, and neither CI CyberNews nor Ceramic Industry endorses any of the products mentioned.
