Linde launches compact hydrogen generators with high natural-gas conversion rate

May 15, 2015
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The Linde Group, Holly Springs, Ga., launches its Hydroprime plant line of innovative, cost-effective compact hydrogen generators based on proven steam methane-reforming technology. Hydro-Chem, a division of Linde Engineering North America, has tested and proven the reliability and suitability of these units in various applications. The company is now launching the mass-production release of Hydroprime as a competitive and reliable local production alternative to trucked-in bulk gases.

Hydroprime plants have a capacity of 0.15 - 0.9 MMSCFD (165 - 1000 Nm3/h) and produce ultrahigh-purity hydrogen (99.999+ %) at 200 psi (13.8 bar), reducing the need for product compression in most uses. The new product line has a very high natural-gas conversion rate and is highly heat integrated, which translates into low operating cost.

The plants are ideally suited for customers who expect high reliability and superior environmental and safety performance. The plants are fully automatic with fail-safe controls, allowing unattended operation, remote start-up, and monitoring. In addition, they feature a modular open skid design and a small footprint. This facilitates easy installation while providing good access for routine maintenance.

Recognizing the diverse needs of a global market place, Linde offers Hydroprime as a build-own-operate solution to simplify ownership and maintenance for the end user and eliminate customer-owned capital investment. Alternatively, plants can be owned and operated by the end user with various support models by Linde, if desired. Linde is able to offer even more flexible solutions for hydrogen supply to an extensive range of industries, including glass, chemicals, foods, metals, electronics, photovoltaics, and energy.

www.linde.com

 

 

Linde launches compact hydrogen generators with high natural-gas conversion rate

The Linde Group, Holly Springs, Ga., launches its Hydroprime plant line of innovative, cost effective compact hydrogen generators based on proven steam methane reforming technology.

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Microporous copper foam with relative density of 37% is effective heat sink

April 28, 2015
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Goodfellow, England, offers a microporous copper foam with pore sizes between 300 and 600 µm and a relative density of around 37%. This provides a much higher surface area than traditional copper foams, and is a powerful heat sink. Microporous copper foam is produced by means of a lost-carbonate sintering process. Pure copper powder is mixed with a carbonate powder, then compacted and sintered. This forms a matrix of copper ligaments, with spaces filled with carbonate powder.

After cooling, the carbonate is dissolved away in water and recycled or decomposed using heat. The resulting structure is regular and uniform throughout, giving a rigid, highly porous and permeable structure with a controlled density of metal per unit volume.

Applications of microporous copper foam include but are not limited to board-level electronics cooling, power electronics, and EMI shielding. This microporous material is expected to be of particular interest to design engineers working in fields requiring heat exchange.

The foam is available as disks and sheets ranging in thickness from 4 to 10 mm. Other thicknesses may be available upon request.

www.goodfellow.com  

 

 

Microporous copper foam with relative density of 37% is effective heat sink

Goodfellow, England, offers a microporous copper foam with pore sizes between 300 and 600 µm and a relative density of around 37%.

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Centorr ships furnaces for production of aluminum nitride substrates

March 3, 2015
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Centorr Vacuum Industries, Nashua, N.H., has shipped orders for two high-temperature sintering furnaces for 2015 delivery to a leading firm in the production of aluminum nitride substrates for the LED market in China. The designs include a 2 ft3 graphite furnace for AlN sintering, and a refractory metal furnace rated to 1850°C for a secondary heating process. These new furnaces build on the success of CVI's experience in non-oxide ceramics, and include modifications made specifically for high-temperature sintering of advanced ceramics.

The graphite furnace includes robust graphite tube and block elements designed for service to 2250°C, with a four-sided hot zone and integral graphite retort for excellent temperature uniformity.

The rigid graphite insulation provides for long-term service even in the presence of process off-gassing and residual binder contamination. The new dual-flow Sweepgas system allows more effective "sweeping" away of the process offgassing. Furnace control is via PLC/Programmable Controllers with Centorr's custom-designed HMI visualization interface.

Centorr's Sintervac Non-Oxide furnace is available with volumes of 2, 3, 4.5, 9, 16, 24, and 54 cubic feet. The refractory metal furnace, sized at one cubic foot, will be used for a specific part of the AlN process in which a non-graphite hot zone is needed for material cleanliness. The system is rated to 1850°C and offers temperature uniformity under +/- 3°C.

www.vacuum-furnaces.com

 

Centorr ships furnaces for production of aluminum nitride substrates

Centorr Vacuum Industries, Nashua, N.H., has shipped orders for two high-temperature sintering furnaces for 2015 delivery to a leading firm in the production of aluminum nitride substrates for the LED market in China.

Continue reading

Femtosecond lasers make metals superhydrophobic

January 25, 2015
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Scientists at the University of Rochester, N.Y., have reportedly transformed platinum, titanium, and brass into superhydrophobic materials with femtosecond laser pulses. Superhydrophobicity makes a surface rust-resistant, anti-icing, and anti-biofouling, all of which could help make such devices more robust and easier to maintain. The superhydrophobic surfaces can also clean themselves, since water droplets repelled from the surface carry away dust particles very efficiently. 

This work builds on earlier research by the team in which they used a similar laser-patterning technique that turned metals black. Dr. Guo states that using this technique they can create multifunctional surfaces that are not only super-hydrophobic, but also highly absorbent optically.

"This is the first time that a multifunctional metal surface is created by lasers that is superhydrophobic, self-cleaning, and highly light absorptive," said Chunlei Guo, a physicist at the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. He made the new surfaces with his colleague and fellow University of Rochester researcher Anatoliy Vorobyev. The researchers describe the laser-patterned surfaces in an article, "Multifunctional surfaces produced by femtosecond laser pulses." It was published in the Journal of Applied Physics on January 20, 2015 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4905616). It can be accessed at: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/117/3/10.1063/1.4905616.

Dr. Guo says that one of the big advantages of his team's process is that "the structures created by our laser on the metals are intrinsically part of the material surface." That means they won't rub off. And it is these patterns that make the metals repel water.

The team is now planning on focusing on increasing the speed of patterning the surfaces with the laser, as well as studying how to expand this technique to other materials such as semiconductors or dielectrics, opening up the possibility of water repellent electronics.

www.rochester.edu

 

Femtosecond lasers make metals superhydrophobic

Scientists at the University of Rochester, N.Y., have reportedly transformed platinum, titanium, and brass into superhydrophobic materials with femtosecond laser pulses.

Continue reading

Graftech to relocate headquarters to Independence, R&D to Brooklyn Heights

December 21, 2014
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GrafTech International Ltd., Parma, Ohio, announces that its global headquarters will be relocated to Independence, Ohio, and will house approximately 50 employees working in the company's corporate functions. The newly established Innovation & Technology Center will be located in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, and will include scientists, lab technicians, and marketing professionals. The transition is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

The company previously announced its decision to relocate its headquarters and redesign its research and development function in September 2014 as part of its ongoing cost-savings initiatives to improve profitability and competitive positioning. The decision to downsize corporate functions by approximately 25% has enabled the relocation to a smaller, more cost effective, corporate headquarters. The redesigned research and development function will be focused on commercializing next generation technologies in carbon and graphite material science.

GrafTech's Chief Executive Officer, Joel Hawthorne, commented, "We continue to execute on our stated goal of creating a more streamlined business model, with greater accountability and cost efficiency. With these moves, we will further reduce expenses, improve operational synergies and best position GrafTech to drive innovation to support future success."

GrafTech International is a global company that offers innovative graphite material solutions in a wide range of industries and end markets, including steel manufacturing, advanced energy applications and latest-generation electronics. GrafTech operates 18 principal manufacturing facilities on four continents and sells products in over 70 countries. Headquartered in Parma, Ohio, GrafTech employs approximately 2600 people.

www.GrafTech.com

 

 

Graftech to relocate headquarters to Independence, R&D to Brooklyn Heights

GrafTech International Ltd., Parma, Ohio, announces that its global headquarters will be relocated to Independence, Ohio, and will house approximately 50 employees working in the company’s corporate functions.

Continue reading