Bechtel Designs Single-Purpose Reactor - C&EN Global Enterprise

Nov 6, 2010 - First Page Image. Design of a single-purpose nuclear reactor to provide heat for a sea water desalting plant has been made by Bechtel as...
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SOME NEW SLANTS FROM ADM CHEMICALS Textile Lubricants: Both synthetic yarns and natural fibers need lubrication for less troublesome handling in textile mills. Synthetic yarns require lubrication prior to throwing or twisting to minimize breakage and abrasion. Natural fibers need lubrication in both the spinning and in the picking and carding operations. Hydrofol Glyceride T-57-N is one of the favored lubricants in the textile industry because of its properties of heat stability, non-corrosives, and resistance to oxidation an£ancidity. It's just one of the many ADM Chemicals with great usefulness in the textile industry. Starfol Butyl Stearate 100 is another winner in the textile industry. It is used as a lubricant, softener, and key ingredient in textile throwing oils and waterproofing compounds. However, this high quality ester also finds wide use as a rolling lubricant for metal sheets and foils, rust inhibitor, plasticizer with various polymers, slip-agent in paper coatings, and additive for extremepressure lubricants. If you're stuck with a lubricating or waterproofing problem, check into the butyl stearates from ADM Chemicals. Hydrofol Products: ADM Chemicals produces Hydrofol hydrogenated fats and fatty acids with a background of 35 years' experience in the creative chemistry of fatty chemicals. Hydrofol products are hydrogenated fatty acids and triglycerides that originate from natural fats and oils such as tallow, marine, cottonseed, castor, palm, coconut and soya. Hydrofol FG (Food Grade) acids comply with FDA regulations. Detailed technical information on Hydrofol Glycerides, Starfol Butyl Stearates, or any of the ADM fatty acids and fatty esters is readily available. Just write or call.

A D M CHEMICALS ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY 733 MARQUETTE AVENUE • OEPT. 90 MINNEAPOLIS. MINNE80TA 85440 ^-—

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Multieffect Vacuum Pan Moves into Salt Making A new form of multieffect vacuum pan will be installed at Morton Salt's Rittman, Ohio, plant. Such vacuum pans are currently used in processing phosphates and caustic soda and in desalting sea water. Its application to salt means that outside heat exchangers will be used in place of the traditional internal steam coils to boil the brine. According to Morton, the pan, made only by Chicago Bridge & Iron, will increase salt production about 30% over the present three-pan system. The new facilities will use about 20% less steam to produce each ton of salt. Other advantages cited by Morton include better evaporation and drainage characteristics. Although lighter in weight than the traditional pan, which has been used in the salt industry since 1885, the newly designed pan has greater structural strength. Morton expects to redesign its Rittman plant and be ready to operate with the fourth pan by early next year.

Bechtel Designs Single-Purpose Reactor Design of a single-purpose nuclear reactor to provide heat for a sea water desalting plant has been made by Bechtel as part of a recently completed study for the Atomic Energy Commission. The desalting plant could produce up to 200 million gal. per day of fresh water from the ocean. The study concentrated on a reactor for a 50 million gal.-per-day sea water conversion plant. To establish the effect of plant size on the cost of water, plants with 10 million and 200 million gal.-per-day capacity were studied. Bechtel estimates that the total cost of water (including investment capital) would vary from 42 cents per 1000 gal. for a 200 million gal.-per-day plant to about 91 cents per 1000 gal. for a 10 million gal.-per-day plant. The 50 million gal.-per-day unit could produce water at about 50 cents per 1000 gal. Single-purpose plants do not have the advantages of low-cost turbinegenerator exhaust steam, plant size, and shared facilities as do dualpurpose power and water desalting facilities. Plants of the latter type are currently being studied by Bechtel for the Metropolitan Water District of

Southern California (C&EN, July 19, page 23). Design of the single-purpose plant consists of a light-water, power reactor core at the bottom of a 150-ftdeep pool of water. The reactor supplies heat to the brine heaters of a multistage, flash evaporation desalting plant. The 50 million gal.-per-day plant studied in detail would use a reactor generating 400 m w ( t ) . Reactor heat would be removed by circulating 40,000 gal. per minute of demineralized water. This water would then be used to heat incoming salt water to a maximum of 250° F. Bechtel says that the reactor plant design, conceived by AEC's Chicago Operations Office, is relatively simple. It is based on the use of current lightwater reactor technology, which would minimize the time required to put the concept to practical use. The adjoining desalting plant is also based on current technology.

Friction Joining Bonds Toxic Materials Research is being conducted at Battelle Memorial Institute's Columbus (Ohio) laboratories on using friction joining to bond toxic and exotic materials. This metals-joining technique is inherently rapid and economical because there is a direct conversion of mechanical energy to thermal energy in a limited interface between the mating surfaces. Friction joining is a process in which the heat necessary to achieve welding or interface diffusion is generated by rubbing, sliding, or rotating two mating surfaces together. The metals become sufficiently soft to press-forge the two pieces together. Typically, only 10 to 20 seconds is needed for a bonding cycle. As soon as welding has been achieved, the stationary member is permitted to rotate or the rotating member is rapidly braked. Force is applied axially during braking to prevent rupture of the weld interface. Equipment has been designed and constructed that makes it possible, while bonding toxic materials, to complete braking from 10,000 r.p.m. in less than one revolution. This type of unit is particularly adaptable for research on bonding of very brittle materials. It has auxiliary equipment for automating parameters and for bonding toxic materials in an inert atmosphere. AUG.

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Tank Agitator Omits Heavy Superstructure

Carr Hall of Science, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa. Architects: Stotz, Hess and MacLachlan, Pittsburgh, Pa. General Contractor: Associated Contractors of Conneaut Lake, Inc., Conneaut Lake, Pa. Plumbing Contractor: Wm. T. Spaeder Co., Erie, Pa.

A mile of

Vulcathene

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Carr Hall of Science, Allegheny College, handles all corrosive wastes... and distilled water, too. The 5,100 feet of pipe, 130 traps and 1,360 fittings were easily installed. Polyfusion®, the patented heat-fusion technique, made leakproof joints in seconds. Scale-proof and clog-proof, a Vulcathene drainline system can be installed for about half the cost of other materials. Made of corrosionresistant, virgin polyethylene, this system handles distilled water and drains all wastes from the Carr Hall of Science chemistry laboratories. Unaffected by alkalies, salts, organic compounds, most acids—even potent hydrofluoric—Vulcathene is maintenance-free, shows no deterioration after years of use. Vulcathene is the only completely integrated drainline system—sinks, traps, pipe, fittings, couplers, adapters and dilution tanks. No other drainline is so economical, so simple to install. Shouldn't you be specifying Vulcathene? Write for our complete engineering Catalog V-65, Dept. 3220.

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phosphates which internally softens boiler water, eliminates boiler feedline deposits, and prevents boiler foaming, the company says. C 61

High-purity silica gel for use in thinlayer chromatography has been developed by Applied Science Laboratories, Inc., of State College, Pa. Each batch of Adsorbosil-4 is purified by repeated solvent extraction and in addition each batch is deoxygenated and dehydrated before packaging, the company says. C62

to the company, BMMA-5020 allows delays of as much as five times those of some general-purpose materials before unsatisfactory shots are produced. C63

Platinum metal catalyst with a high resistance to poisoning is available from the Chemical Division of Engelhard Industries, Inc., of Newark, N.J. T393 is useful where a selective hydrogenation catalyst is needed, the company says. C 64

Phenolic molding compound designed for use with a wide variety of preheat and plunger molding presses is available from Union Carbide's Plastics Division in New York City. According

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A CARBOPOL POLYMER HELPS SEVERAL WAYS High viscosity thixotropic adhesives trowel, spread or coat easily when thickened with a Carbopol polymer. They thin upon application of pressure like mayonnaise. Rubber adhesives spray better, with no strike-through in coating applications. Adhesive flow properties are controlled by merely changing the Carbopol polymer concentration. They remain stable on aging. In sprayable rubber adhesives. a Carbopol resin eliminates sagging and stringiness, allows application of thicker coatings. For rubber, plastics or resin adhesives, find out how a Carbopol polymer used for thickening can give you a better product. Write B.F.Goodrich Chemical Co., Dept. HO-12, 3135 Euclid CarbODQi Avenue, Cleveland, ^^w^r-soiubieiesins Ohio 44115. In Canada: Kitchener. Ontario.

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