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ATLANTA-- August 1, 2002-- Air Products
and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) today announced a donation
of its proprietary Oxidative Heat Treatment (OHT) and
Recovery Boiler Enrichment (RBE) technologies to the
Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) for
further development and commercialization. "OHT
technology has the potential to significantly impact
the capacity of the kraft recovery boilers in pulp mills.
This technology is attractive because it offers increased
pulp production without major capital or operating expenses," says
Dr. David E. White, Director of Technology Transfer at
IPST. Air Products' donation to IPST, the leading U.S.
pulp and paper research institution and graduate school,
includes two active U.S. patents, six active and pending
foreign patents, and all associated intellectual property.
"Our mission is to support the paper industry by educating future technical
leaders, conducting innovative research, and transferring valuable technology
into commercial operations," said Dr. James L. Ferris, President of IPST. "These
donations of intellectual property by Air Products provide IPST with new opportunities
for research and technology transfer, and we look forward to commercializing
them."
Dr. Cecil C. Chappelow, Vice President,
Gases and Equipment Technology, Air Products, says, "We
feel the Institute of Paper Science and Technology is
the most capable institution to nurture and fully develop
these kraft recovery technologies. This donation enhances
our relationship with one of the finest research institutes
in the United States, which enables Air Products to understand
the challenges of the paper industry and identify important
business opportunities."
The most cited limitation on pulp mill production is the capacity
of the chemical recovery system to process the residual material
known as black liquor. In the recovery process, chemicals are reclaimed
for reuse in the pulping liquor, volatile organic compounds that
were created during pulping are destroyed, and steam is created
to produce electricity. Dr. Douglas Reeve from the University of
Toronto says, "The magnitude of the kraft chemical recovery
cycle, as an industrial process, is not often fully appreciated.
There are on the order of seven hundred recovery boilers in the
world processing two hundred million tons per year of black liquor.
This makes black liquor the sixth most important fuel in the world.
Black liquor is the largest single-volume organic product manufactured
by industry, apart from agriculture products."
The ability to process the liquor through recovery can be restricted
by excessive fouling on the boiler heat transfer surfaces, the
safe steaming limit of the boiler, or constraints in the evaporator
system. This intellectual property proposes to provide mills with
additional liquor processing capacity by lowering the fouling rate,
decreasing the heat value of the black liquor fired to the boiler,
and providing evaporation energy.
During the OHT process, the black liquor is transferred via a booster
pump to a serpentine reactor where oxygen is added. The oxygen
reacts with the Na2S and organic compounds in the black
liquor, produces Na2S2O3 and organic
acids, and increases the liquor temperature. The liquor is conveyed
from the serpentine reactor to a hold tank and from there to a
flash tank. The process lowers the inherent viscosity of the black
liquor, provides evaporation capacity, and decreases the black
liquor heating value, thereby reducing the recovery boiler hearth
heat release and providing a mill the opportunity to enjoy the
benefits of firing high-solids black liquor.
About IPST
Founded in 1929, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology
has established itself as the premier institute for the advanced
study of pulp and papermaking processes in the United States.
IPST is a privately funded graduate research institute whose
scientific and educational purpose evolves from its unique
relationship with the pulp and paper industry. The multidisciplinary
program emphasizes chemical engineering, mechanical engineering,
chemistry, biology, physics, and other natural sciences. Commercialization,
not publication, is the end result of research at IPST, which
was recently ranked the fifth most innovative research institution
in the United States by the Research Foundation of the State
University of New York.
About Air Products
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (www.airproducts.com) is the world's
only combined gases and chemicals company. Founded more than 60
years ago, the business has annual revenues of $5.7 billion and
operations in 30 countries. Air Products is a market leader in
the global electronics and chemical processing industries and a
longstanding innovator in many industrial markets, including coatings,
adhesives, and polyurethanes. The company distinguishes itself
through its 18,000 employees around the world, who build lasting
relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding,
integrity, and passion.
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