In the manufacture of chemicals, various reactions are commonplace, such as esterification (used in fragrances, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, plasticisers, coalescents, surfactants, etc), transesterification (used in similar applications), quaternisation (surfactants, phase transfer, water treatment, etc) and endcapping (lubricants, heat fluids, refrigerants, etc). Esterification is the well-known equilibrium reaction of acids and alcohols to form esters, with varying means being ...

Health and safety is paramount in project management. Due consideration of ATEX should be given right from the commencement of a project. Too often, organisations only think of ATEX halfway through a project and sometimes not until orders have been placed on new equipment. This can result in non-compliant process equipment or expensive retrospective design work. In this article, we describe how an ATEX Route Map approach can be used to help project managers navigate their way through a ...

A team of engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity. The cells act as tiny sensors and actuators, driving the flaps to open when an athlete works up a sweat, and pulling them closed when the ...

Rebecca Power is studying chemical and biopharmaceutical engineering in Cork Institute of Technology. She undertook her industrial placement in a pharmaceutical company. This article describes the final-year research project she subsequently completed for the client pharmaceutical company. [caption id="attachment_35810" align="alignright" width="300"] Fig 1: Film coating pan and tablet cores (Ima Pharma, 2017)[/caption] The formulation of excipients and active pharmaceutical ...

Naina Thomas is studying chemical and biopharmaceutical engineering in the Cork Institute of Technology. She undertook her work placement in Irving Oil at Whitegate Refinery, Co. Cork. This article describes the final-year research project that she subsequently undertook at the refinery last autumn. Whitegate is the country’s only refinery. It processes light, low-sulfur crude oil, sourced from the North Sea and West Africa. The facility produces transportation and heating fuels such as ...

Manufacturing small proteins known as peptides is usually very time-consuming, which has slowed development of new peptide drugs for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and bacterial infections. To help speed up the manufacturing process, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have designed a machine that can rapidly produce large quantities of customised peptides. Their new tabletop machine can form links between amino acids, the buildings blocks of proteins, in about 37 ...