Methanol Synthesis with Steel Mill Gases: Performance Investigations in an On-Site Technical Center

An on-site laboratory with direct access to cleaned and conditioned steel mill gases was recently put into operation. The long-term performance and stability of Clariant's MegaMax®800 methanol synthesis catalyst utilizing steel mill gases is currently being investigated. First test results revealed that in order to investigate deactivation mechanisms arising from particular properties of the cleaned steel mill gases, the overlaying effect of thermal deactivation of the catalyst has to be minimized.     

Notwendigkeit und Vermarktung von Flexibilitätsoptionen im Energiesystem der Zukunft

Demands on production, distribution and consumption of electrical energy change fundamentally with the energy revolution. Energy purchasing costs for inflexible consumers are rising and proceeds of inflexible producers are sinking. Companies are able to reduce costs by marketing operational flexibility options. This article sets out the need of flexibility in the energy system and the new marketing options. Flexibility potentials within infrastructure plants of a chemical park are analyzed, evaluated regarding marketing and activated in the presented research project FlexChemistry.     

Decreasing Filter Cake Resistance by Using Packing Structures

Packed beds used in absorption columns are evaluated to determine whether they can also be beneficial for cake‐forming filtrations. To assess this, model systems are characterized and separated by using a dead‐end filter cell. Filtrations are conducted with different packings; the filtrate amount over time and resulting turbidity are evaluated. Packings increase the filter cake resistance and the separation time of the cakes formed with approximately incompressible solids. However, they exhibit a positive effect on the filtration of a more complex, compressible substance; the process is not only accelerated, but also the quality of the obtained filtrate is not compromised. These results demonstrate potential in the use of packed beds for the filtration of complex biogenic suspensions.     

Parameter Estimation for Incompressible Cake Filtration: Advantages of a Modified Fitting Method

There is a widely used linear strategy to determine the parameters specific cake resistance and filter medium resistance in incompressible cake filtration. In this article, it is intended to demonstrate that this strategy has some disadvantages and should be replaced by an alternative nonlinear approach which yields more exact results. Even though the gains in precision are small for most cases, the nonlinear strategy is favored because it involves no extra effort and is grounded in the same physical theory as the original approach. This claim is based on a broad simulation study using noisy data with known parameter values to compare both fitting strategies and judge their accuracies.     

Development of mullite fibers and novel zirconia-toughened mullite fibers for high temperature applications

Polycrystalline mullite fibers and novel zirconia-toughened mullite (ZTM) fibers with average diameters between 9.7 and 10.3 μm containing 3, 7 and 15 wt.-% tetragonal ZrO₂ (ZTM3, ZTM7, ZTM15) in the final ceramic were prepared via dry spinning followed by continuous calcination and sintering in air. A shift in the formation of transient alumina phases and tetragonal ZrO₂ to higher temperatures with increasing amounts of ZrO₂ was observed. Concomitantly, the mullite formation temperature was lowered to 1229 °C for ZTM15 fibers. X-ray diffraction revealed formation of the desired tetragonal crystal structure of ZrO₂ directly from the amorphous precursor. Room temperature Weibull strengths of 1320, 1390 and 1740 MPa and Weibull moduli of 9.5, 7.1 and 9.0 were determined for mullite, ZTM3 and ZTM15 fibers, respectively. Average Young’s moduli ranged from 190 to 220 GPa. SEM images revealed crack-free fiber surfaces and compact microstructures independent of the amount of ZrO₂.     

Grundwasserfließgeschehen Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns – Geohydraulische Modellierung mit Detrended Kriging

Groundwater heads were mapped for the entire State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania by applying a Detrended Kriging method based on a numerical geohydraulic model. The general groundwater flow system (trend surface) was represented by a two-dimensional horizontal flow model. Thus deviations of observed groundwater heads from simulated groundwater heads are no longer subject to a regional trend and can be interpolated by means of Ordinary Kriging. Subsequently, the groundwater heads were obtained from the sum of the simulated trend surface and interpolated residuals. Furthermore, the described procedure allowed a plausibility check of observed groundwater heads by comparing them to results of the hydraulic model. If significant deviations were seen, the observation wells could be allocated to different aquifers. The final results are two hydraulically established groundwater head distributions – one for the regional main aquifer and one for the upper aquifer which may differ locally from the main aquifer.     

Mitochondrial Mechanisms in Septic Cardiomyopathy

Sepsis is the manifestation of the immune and inflammatory response to infection that may ultimately result in multi organ failure. Despite the therapeutic strategies that have been used up to now, sepsis and septic shock remain a leading cause of death in critically ill patients. Myocardial dysfunction is a well-described complication of severe sepsis, also referred to as septic cardiomyopathy, which may progress to right and left ventricular pump failure. Many substances and mechanisms seem to be involved in myocardial dysfunction in sepsis, including toxins, cytokines, nitric oxide, complement activation, apoptosis and energy metabolic derangements. Nevertheless, the precise underlying molecular mechanisms as well as their significance in the pathogenesis of septic cardiomyopathy remain incompletely understood. A well-investigated abnormality in septic cardiomyopathy is mitochondrial dysfunction, which likely contributes to cardiac dysfunction by causing myocardial energy depletion. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to cause mitochondrial dysfunction in septic cardiomyopathy, although it remains controversially discussed whether some mechanisms impair mitochondrial function or serve to restore mitochondrial function. The purpose of this review is to discuss mitochondrial mechanisms that may causally contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and/or may represent adaptive responses to mitochondrial dysfunction in septic cardiomyopathy.