October 2016 | AIChE

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October 2016

In the April 2016 column, I wrote about transitioning to a career in sales engineering if you are drawn to the business side of chemical engineering. But what if you aspire to a senior management role or want to combine your technical smarts with...
October
2016
As the pressing needs of the world gradually shift toward the sustainable supply of energy and raw materials, preservation of natural resources and the environment, and targeted delivery of services and products, new opportunities arise for chemical...
October
2016

Chem-E-Car Competition

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New Coating Makes a Splash for Waterproofing

October
2016
Today’s technologies for waterproofing mobile electronics rely on age-old concepts such as O-rings and seals, which typically make the devices bulkier — moving in the opposite direction from consumer demand for small, sleek, easy-to-carry phones and tablets. Superhydrophobic coatings offer an alternative for imparting water-resistance without the additional bulk. However, practical issues, including the poor durability of such coatings, have limited their use.

Nanoporous Polyethylene Could Make for Cool Clothing

October
2016
A souped-up plastic fiber woven into fabric could create clothing that keeps you cool on hot days. Researchers from Stanford Univ. have combined two ordinary materials — cotton and polyethylene, with just a few modifications — to create a textile...

Lackadaisical Membrane Widens Fuel Cell Temperature Range

October
2016
A new design for fuel cells could make these energy-conversion devices more functional at a wider range of temperatures than any fuel cells on the market today. The secret is a material called phosphoric acid-doped quaternary ammonium (QA) ion-pair-...

First-Ever Robot Made Entirely of Soft Materials

October
2016
An octopus-shaped robot that can wave its legs slowly up and down is the first totally soft robot ever made. This proof-of-concept system paves the way for robots that can more easily and safely interact with living organisms. Conventional robots...

Educating the Educators: AIChE Foundation and CCPS Roll Out Faculty Process Safety Workshops

October
2016
This summer, nearly 100 chemical engineering faculty members from 81 universities enrolled in a new AIChE-sponsored education program that seeks to revolutionize — and formalize — the teaching of process safety education as an integral part of undergraduate chemical engineering curricula worldwide.

Co-Ionic Membrane Boosts Aromatics Yield

October
2016
Natural gas comprises a relatively large portion of fossil hydrocarbon resources. The high capital cost of its conversion via synthesis gas, however, leaves much of it unused, i.e., stranded. Nonoxidative methane dehydro-aromatization (MDA) is a...

A Low-Tech Way to Harvest Solar Energy

October
2016
A field of mirrored parabolic troughs sprawled across almost 2,000 acres of the Mojave Desert concentrates sunlight to produce steam to generate electricity. The Mojave Solar Project, which produces 250 MW of electricity, is one of several...

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