Chemical Processing - August 2007 - (Page 14) >> IN PROCESS Route recovers monomer from nylon What, if any, enhanced access control is used for control rooms on your site? 50 40 Responses (%) 30 20 10 0 Card readers Numeric keypads Biometric devices Video cameras None About a quarter of control rooms lack hardened entry security, say respondents. To participate in this month's poll, go to ChemicalProcessing.com. A new technique depolymerizes polyamides to yield caprolactam. A team at Yamaguchi University in Ube, Japan, led by Akio Kamimura of the Department of Applied Molecular Bioscience has achieved yields of 86% of the caprolactam from nylon 6 in small-scale laboratory equipment. The method uses an ionic liquid as solvent and works at 300°C, which while a high temperature is far lower than that of other depolymerization processes, he notes. In the route, chips of nylon 6 are placed in a vessel along with N,N-dimethyl-aminopyridine catalyst and N-methylN-propylpiperidinium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide, an ionic liquid solvent, and held for about an hour at ambient pressure and under a nitrogen atmosphere, explains Kamimura. The caprolactam is recovered and purified by distillation while the ionic liquid can be reused five times without substantial impact on yield, he adds. The researchers now are working both to fine-tune the technology for nylon 6 and to extend it to other polymers. The major challenge, says Kamimura, is economic. “In my opinion, price of ionic liquids is the hardest problem at the moment.” CP The Smart Way to Unload, Convey, Weigh & Mix Less degradation Move your dry granular materials gently, reliably and with significant reductions in product degradation and/or system wear. Sixteen concepts Each Dynamic Air system is custom designed from one of our sixteen different conveying concepts. So you get a conveying solution that fits your process perfectly, without compromises. Dense Phase Transporter, J-Series BulkBusterTM Bulk Bag Unloader Proven capability Dynamic Air dense phase pneumatic conveying systems have been proven in over 10,000 installations worldwide. Cost effective Our high material-to-air ratios reduce energy and compressed air requirements. Our low conveying velocities provide significant process savings in both operation and maintenance. Bella® Twin Shaft Fluidized Zone Mixer Dyna-SlideTM High Precision Air-Activated Feeder +1 651 484-2900 • Fax +1 651 484-7015 www.dynamicair.com http://www.chemicalprocessing.com http://www.dynamicair.com http://www.dynamicair.com
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