NANO-BASED H2 GENERATORS FOR THE ARMY
by Peter Easton
A research and development company specializing in advanced thermal control and energy conversion, Mainstream Engineering Corp., has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to develop nanotechnology-based hydrogen generators for compact fuel cell power systems.
Advances in microelectronics technology have digitized the modern battlefield by enabling night vision, global positioning, laser range-finding and targeting, digital communications, and advanced sensing.
As battlefield technologies advance, so will the need for compact, efficient, silent, and safe power generation. Although fuel cells have kept pace with these power needs so far, the hydrogen storage and retrieval technologies on which they depend are still transitioning out of the laboratory.
The Army selected Rockledge, Fla.-based Mainstream to close that technology gap by partnering with University of Washington researchers to integrate their nanostructured hydrogen fuel technology into compact, soldier-mounted generators. These generators will be designed to fuel commercial fuel cells, which in turn will power the soldier-borne electronics of the future.
PART MAKER EXPANDS ITS MATERIALS OPTIONS
by Harry Hutchinson
A manufacturer of custom parts that operates over the Internet has added three rapid prototyping materials that are relatively new to the market. Two behave like ABS plastic and the other is like rubber.
The company, Quickparts, describes two of the materials, Accura Xtreme and Protogen 18920, as gray ABS-like materials for use in rapid prototyping and room-temperature vulcanizing silicone master patterns. According to Patrick Hunter, vice president of sales and marketing, the materials “have the look and feel of durable molded plastic and are impact resistant.” The materials can be used to make functional detailed parts by stereolithography. Both materials have a Shore D hardness of at least 86.
Protogen 18920 was introduced this past summer by DSM Somos, a Dutch company with U.S. headquarters in Elgin, Ill. The material is a gray version of the company’s Protogen 18420 white plastic.
Accura Xtreme was introduced last year by 3D Systems of Rock Hill, S.C.
The rubber-like material, TangoPlus, was introduced about a year ago by Objet Geometries Ltd. of Rehovot, Israel. The material has an elongation at break of 218 percent and a Ross flex measurement of 150,000. Ross flex, the subject of ASTM D1052, is the number of bending cycles a pierced sample will undergo before it exhibits crack growth.
Quickparts provides rapid prototypes and finished parts made by a variety of processes. Its Web site, quickparts.com, includes an automated service in which customers can upload a 3-D CAD file and receive quotes for parts.
RADIUM REMOVER
by Jeffrey Winters
In some parts of the country, homeowners have to worry about a buildup of radon gas in their basements. The gas, a radioactive product of naturally decaying radium in the rock, has been implicated in tens of thousands of cases of lung cancer.
 But basements aren’t the only area of the household where naturally occurring radioactivity can cause a problem. In regions where drinking water supplies are drawn from deep aquifers, dissolved radium can be found, sometimes at levels high enough to surpass the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for safe exposure, which is about one-trillionth of a gram per liter. Some utilities have tried to solve the problem of radium contamination by diluting well water with surface water. But for areas that have limited access to rivers or reservoirs, treatment is the only option.
Now, as part of a regional effort to make the Milwaukee area the “Silicon Valley of water technology,” a Wisconsin-based company and a local university are teaming up to see if they can find a way to make one treatment option more affordable.
“Radium is in the same part of the periodic table as calcium,” said Claus Dunkelberg, an engineer with Procorp, a water treatment company based in Milwaukee. That means a process that removes calcium from water will likely also act on radium. One common calcium-removing process is water softening: As water flows through a bed of resin beads saturated with sodium, dissolved calcium and magnesium trade places with the sodium through a process called ionic exchange. Eventually, the beads have no sodium and lots of calcium.
And radium, it turns out. Radium water treatment is still in its infancy, but Dunkelberg said that the process removes 80 to 90 percent of the element from the water stream, enough to get utilities in EPA compliance.
But if pilot-scale demonstrations, such as one conducted this year in Waukesha, Wis., become utility-scale solutions, mountains of mildly radioactive waste will be produced. Disposing of such waste could be expensive, so alternatives to simple disposal would be welcome. As part of a seven-city economic development program, the engineering department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is testing the waste beads to see if they are suitable for reuse. Dunkelberg said the idea would be to mix the beads into concrete as an aggregate, much the way fly-ash from coal-fired power plants is being used today.
“So far,” Dunkelberg said, “the indications are that the radioactivity of the pellets is consistent with background levels.” Final results, however, won’t be known until later in the fall.
WATER TREATMENT COMPANY AUTOMATES A PLANT IN CHINA
by Harry Hutchinson
A new plant that will make water treatment chemicals in China has hired Emerson Process Management to handle automation.
Nalco Industrial Services (Nanjing) Co. Ltd. has named Emerson the main instrument vendor for the plant, which is in Nanjing Chemical & Industrial Park. The plant, scheduled for completion early next year, is being constructed by the Nalco Co. of Naperville, Ill. Nalco is investing about $25 million U.S. in the new plant in Nanjing City. It will have an annual capacity of 37,000 tons of chemicals.
According to Louis L. Loosbrock, group vice president at Nalco, the factory will be the company’s largest production base in China. “Products made there will be capable of implementing the most advanced water treatment strategies,” Loosbrock said. Nalco describes itself as the world’s leading water treatment and process improvement company.
Emerson will provide its PlantWeb digital plant architecture and DeltaV digital automation system, which will use the Foundation fieldbus protocol. Emerson is also providing on-site engineering assistance during the implementation and startup phases.
ENGINEERING CENTER EXPANDS IN SHANGHAI
by Peter Easton
An automotive technology company, Ricardo plc, is winding up a two-phase expansion of its Shanghai-based operations.
Ricardo completed the first phase in August with its move into a new technical center containing triple the working area of its previous Shanghai location. Now there is space for a total staff of approximately 100. The second phase, scheduled for completion by the end of this year, features a testing facility in the expanding Anting “Auto City” area west of Shanghai.
The new Shanghai technical center will focus on providing added-value services and projects for both Chinese and overseas clients. Approximately 90 percent of the team will fulfill technical and engineering roles.
Ricardo’s U.S. operation is headquartered in Van Buren Township, Mich.
CON EDISON TO GET HYBRID ELECTRIC TRUCKS
by Peter Easton
A developer of electric and hybrid electric powertrains for commercial vehicles, Azure Dynamics Corp. of Oak Park, Mich., has received an order from Con Edison of New York for three Balance hybrid electric systems integrated on Ford’s E450 chassis.
“Con Edison is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by using hybrid vehicles and other innovative transportation technologies,” said Kenneth P. Jack Jr., general manager of transportation at Con Edison. “Part of our strategy is to steadily replace our trucks with technology such as Azure’s, reducing our dependency on petroleum-based fuels, improving New York’s air quality, and meeting the challenges associated with climate change.”
According to Azure, the powertrain, with a Ford 5.4-liter engine, can improve fuel economy by up to 40 percent, while reducing carbon emission by up to 30 percent in city conditions. Azure said the powertrain also offers a significant savings in maintenance costs, including less brake maintenance than conventionally equipped competitors.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Noran Engineering Inc. of Westminster, Calif., has changed its name to NEi Software. “The name change was instituted to better convey to our business audience who we are and what our core business is,” said Dave Weinberg, chief executive officer. /// ArvinMeritor Inc., a Troy, Mich.-based supplier of integrated systems, modules, and components to the motor vehicle industry, has dedicated a $30-million manufacturing facility in Cienega de Flores, a city in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The 400,000-square-foot facility, which was completed in nine months, will eventually employ 500 people. Currently, it has 146. /// Horizon Wind Energy LLC, a Houston-based wind project developer, has entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with the Snohomish County Public Utility District to sell renewable wind energy from the Wheat Field Wind Farm. The wind farm, in Gilliam County, Ore., will have a nameplate capacity of 96.6 megawatts and will consist of 46 Suzlon S88 2.1 MW turbines. Snohomish is the largest public utility district in Washington State. |
