Pneumatic Transport Explains "Foam" Storm

After a storm on Tuesday morning, Aberdeen's Footdee, a village in the Northern Scotland looked as if it was hit by a sudden snow storm.

According to the BBC report, a local resident Lindsay Gordon said: "I have lived in Footdee since just before 2000, you get storms of course. You could tell by the sounds this was a serious storm, the windows were rattling. I looked out of the window and the North Sea was advancing toward us. Luckily it was just foam."

According to Professor Christopher Todd, marine ecologist at the Scottish Oceans Institute, the strong winds battering the Aberdeenshire coast had led to an "incredible amount of wave action".

Prof. Todd said that the air had "piled into the water" and mixed up with organic material producing foam which most likely to be the product of whipped phytoplankton mucus. Most phytoplankton are too small to be seen but they can form an algal bloom in the spring and, to a lesser extent, in the autumn. But there is no need to worry because the foam is a stable organic material posing no health danger.

Sea foam spilling from the sea.

Relating this natural phenomenon to particle technology, how a sea foam storm covers a village can be explained by the so called "pneumatic transport". The sea foam was brought to land by the strong winds by mechanism similar to pneumatic transport. Because of the high velocity and high volume of air, the wind was able to suspend the organic material from the sea into the strong current of air. The organic sea material was whipped in a whirlpool of turbulent gale. The sea acted like a washing machine producing the a sea foam storm which eventually reached and covered the nearby village. 

The use of gases  has been used successfully in industry to transport a wide range of materials specifically particulate solids such as wheat flour and grains to coal and plastic chips. The flow of gas "fluidized" the solid particulates  so they act like fluids that can flow through pipelines.  

Pneumatic transport in industry.

Applications of Fluidization in Food Industry

Fluidization is one of the technologies commonly used in the agro-food industry. It basically covers drying, cooling, agglomeration, granulation, and coating of food products. Fluidization is common because it is ideal for the processes of a wide range of both heat sensitive and non-heat sensitive products.

By fluidization, particulate materials are able take the properties of fluid. Gas (usually air) is made to pass through a product layer under controlled conditions to create uniform processing conditions. The gas performs two functions. It supports the weights of the particles and enabling them to flow with the gas. It is also it serves to cool, heat or dry the particles at direct contact with the solids material.

Fluid Bed Drying

Even though in recent years frozen foods increased its popularity, drying is still an important operation in the food industry especially in the preservation of food products. And fluid bed drying has significant advantages over traditional frying techniques.  It lessens the risk of food particles being overheated as well as giving easy material transport, high rates of heat exchange at high thermal efficiency. 

Fluid bed drying is for powders, granules, agglomerates, and pellets with an average particle size normally between 50 and 5,000 microns. For very fine powders or highly elongated particles, vibration for successful fluid bed drying is required.

Fluid Bed Cooling

It is somehow similar to drying but in fluid bed cooling, cold gas (usually ambient or conditioned air) is used instead. It is desired to remove heat from the particles but it additionally requires conditioning of gas to prevent the loss of volatiles or moisture. Cold surfaces can also be used to help remove heat further. 

Fluid Bed Granulation

Granulation transforms suspensions or solutions into dry, free flowing, dustless granules using granulators. Particles in suspension or solution are sprayed onto warm air, simultaneously drying and agglomerating the product.

Fluid Bed Pelletization

Pellets can be formed in 2 ways: liquid-layering and powder layering. Liquid-layering uses top spray coater to layer the active particle onto an inert core then forming the shape of a pellet. The spraying is done simultaneously with drying. Powder layering is done when the active particle is in the form of powder. Pelletization is achieved using a sprayer and liquid binder solution to hold the particles together. After that, the pellets are then dried.

Fluid Bed Coating

Food coating more commonly known as encapsulation, has a lot of functions including increasing shelf-life, masking taste or odor, improving visual appeal and improving ease of handling. Layering can be designed to lessen the release of constituents from the food particles. This is usually used for finer particles. Coating is done using an atomizer. Then particles are dried with air blowing upward through the column. 

References:

GEA Pharma Systems. Fluid bed processes - drying, cooling, agglomeration, granulation, pelletizing and coating of particulate materials. Sept. 22, 2012. http://www.gea-ps.com/npsportal/cmsdoc.nsf/webdoc/ndkw73fb8j

Smith, Peter. Applications of Fluidization in Food Industry. Victoria: Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. 2007

Pollen-free Bio engineered Plants for Allergic People

If you are allergic to airborne substances especially to pollen but love to grow plants in your house, this is good news for you!

In a collaborative project between the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP) and BIOMIVA S.L. (Spain) modified genes were injected to pelargonium plants which are now one of the most popular garden and house plants around the world. One gene was bioengineered to selectively destroy pollen-producing anthers consequently producing pollen-free plants. Another gene, encoding an enzyme Isopentenyl phosphotransferase (ipt) was bioengineered to increase the amount of cytokinin, a plant hormone thus preventing leaf falling or aging. 

The modified genes were carried into the plant’s genome using bacteria carriers which are able to transfer DNA between itself and the plants’.  Individual plants were then grown from the cells.

The bioengineered plants were observed to have smaller leaves and flowers with more vibrant colors compare to their natural counterparts. They are also expected to be able to survive longer because of the extra cytokinin.

One of the researchers from IBMCP, Dr Luis Cañas explained, "The ipt enzyme catalyzes the rate-limiting step for cytokinin biosynthesis in plants and consequently extra ipt, provided transgenically, produces more cytokinin and prevents the plant cells from aging. In addition, the use of an anther-specific promoter from pea driving the expression of a bacterial gene (ribonuclease), prevents the development of male progenitor cells into anthers and pollen, resulting in pollen-free flowers." 

Harvesting Water from Air: A Possible Solution to Drought

Drought is a common phenomenon in several areas of world. This is bad for the farmers as well as for us in general because the production of food is adversely affected.  The ideal solution for drought since there’s no rain is to create a source of water. And we know that air holds water when it is humid. Therefore we can get water from air. However, harvesting water from thin air sounds like a crazy idea. But a young Melbourne-based inventor was able to make the crazy idea work. 

Edward Linacre invented an equipment that actually able to do it. He was able to show that his air drop irrigation concept can produce significant amount of water through his pilot setup at the back of their house. Moreover, he was able to prove that it can also work in large scale. His work made him the winner of the James Dyson Award 2011 and he received US$14,000 as a prize as well as sponsorship for his design school faculty.

His invention seems high-tech but actually he was just able to transform an ancient cooling technique into a new sub-surface irrigation system that can be used in farms. His design only uses the simple process of condensation to harvest water from the air. He was able to make air channels through an underground network of piping that rapidly lowers the air temperature near to the soil temperature. This process creates a system of 100-percent humidity, from which water can then be harvested. The harvested water is then collected in an underground tank which can already be pumped out via sub-surface drip irrigation hosing. 

So let's hear from Edward himself how he created his awesome air drop irrigation concept.

Red Blood Cell Sedimentation Rate: A Disease Diagnosis Technique

//So here is the promised scientific journal review I made. 

The Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate

Jonathan S. Olshaker, MD, and David A. Jerrard, MD

Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland

Reprint Address: Jonathan S. Olshaker, MD, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery

University of Maryland Medical Center, 419 W. Redwood Street, Suite 280, Baltimore, MD 212011

Introduction:

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) has been used in the clinical lab from predicting severity of sickness to general sickness assessment. Specifically, it measures the body’s reaction to inflammation and infection.  The concept of the ESR originated from the Greeks, who first discovered the relation between the sedimentation of red blood cells and fibrinogen. In 1918, the German scholar Fahraeus discovered that erythrocytes sedimentation in pregnant women is more rapid compare to non-pregnant women. Since then, with minor modifications, the ESR has been used in the evaluation of a variety of diseases.  

However, we don’t encounter ESR in usual clinical tests because its use is based on medical myths. This article examines the use of ESR in the medical laboratory as a tool for predicting both disease likelihood and severity.  The ESR is a measure how fast is the red blood cell aggregation and the setting of a column of erythrocytes within one hour. The standard method of measuring the ESR is based on Westergren’s technique. The test includes anticoagulated blood being diluted with sodium citrate and being placed in an upright tube, known as a Westergren tube. Then the rate at which the red blood cells fall is measured and reported in mm/h.

On the contrary, there is another method that requires no dilution which is called the Wintrobe method. It is more sensitive compare to Westerner method at normal ranges of ESR but at higher ranges this methods may give erroneous results. The article gathered results from laboratory tests in order to find out the utility of ESR in disease diagnosis.

The results give the conclusion that ESR is not a myth in disease diagnosis. It is beneficial in certain diagnosis such as septic arthritis, osteomyelitis and many others. It is helpful in classifying patients into low or high risk groups. However, ESR does not give specific disease diagnosis because it only suggests various conditions. That’s why a diagnosis is still in need of investigation regardless of ESR.

Summary of the results:

Since the journal article is more of a descriptive journal article. There are no tables or figures included in the journal. However it gathered results of disease diagnostics in relation to the erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Low ESR usually indicated abnormal plasma protein. Monitoring ESR can also be used in the assessment of the activities of collagen vascular disease. Patients with collagen vascular disease have higher ESR.  Pregnant women normally have high ESR. Patients with cancer usually have normal ESR however when ESR do elevate, it means that metastases are present. 
Specific uses of ESR in the emergency department include the diagnosis of temporal arteritis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, pelvic inflammatory disease and the evaluation of intravenous drug users.

Critique of the Result

The accuracy of the data depends on the results the researchers gathered from laboratories. It did not indicate what method was actually used in obtaining lab results. It did not also tell how many are the respondents so we cannot tell if the number of surveys can represent a significant sample of the population.

Recommendations

The results could be tabulated so that it is easier to comprehend the results and compare the diagnosis. The researchers could do their own experiments on ESR so as to prove the findings. Undergraduates can also do thesis by proving the findings too and improving the methodology of the work.

How to Write a Scientific Journal Review (with sample)

Reading and writing scientific journal review is pretty much indispensible in school especially in engineering not just because it’s a requirement but also because we have to know what’s happening in the field of research and discover some topics from which we can do a thesis. Scientific journals also give us an idea of the applications of what have we been studying in school. There are a lot of sources of scientific journals both in the library and in the internet. In my school, the magazines for scientific journals from my observation are hardly updated with new ones so I read journals online instead. But of course you have look into legit sources. I recommend that you make good use of your school’s online subscriptions to journal publications. As for me, I use sciencedirect.com and springerlink.com.

Basically here is the most common format you can use in writing a scientific journal review from online publications (*note: humanities journal review have different format).

Title

Author/s

Introduction

-Gives a brief summary of all the contents of the journal article. It gives the current understanding of the problem and how the problem was solved using specific methods, experimental design, instrumentation and procedures. It also gives the brief of results and interpretation of the results.

Summary of Results

-Tables and figures are included here as well as the explanations. These are purely from the results of the journal being reviewed.

Critique of Results

-This is the part where you can now express if you are satisfied with the results of the journal article and explain why or why not. You can refer to specific tables or figures for the results. You can also criticize the methods used in solving the problem and their accuracies.

Recommendation

-You can suggest ways in order to improve the work and make the results more accurate and more precise. Other than that, you can also recommend other problems related with the article that can be addressed with research or which can be the interest of a thesis.

References

-This is optional. If you have used information from other sources in your critique and recommendation then you have to site your references.

You can access a sample of scientific journal review here.

And I will also be posting my own journal review soon. :)

GENE EXPRESSION PROGRAMMING: in solving friction factor in turbulent flow

Genetics has always amazed me ever since we have it in my high school days. The gene expression process is simple in what I remember from my bio teacher's lectures. But in reality, this process is so complex because from the genetic code stored in the DNA, it will transform series of codes into gene product in the form of proteins. Then, these proteins will in turn form the phenotype or the evident characteristics of an organism. The ingenuity of gene expression in organisms has been imitated to create the so called "gene expression programming".  The mechanism of process is the same but instead of organisms, gene expression programming produces algorithms or models that can change and adapt to a certain environment. 

GEP has the same genotype-phenotype system just like in a living organism. It depends on genomes composed of numbers which represent strings of symbols and whose symbols further represent equations (which is analogous to phenotypes). The genome can be illustrated by a binary tree from which you can trace its nodes to evaluate the equation. This is a very powerful technique in programming because you are not mapping hard values but symbols instead.  

Well, I think you have to try to use it first to create a program in order to fully understand how it works. This has been a new knowleadge for me but GEP and their use actually dates back to the 1950s where they were first used to solve optimization problems (e.g. Box 1957^[1] and Friedman 1959^[2]). But it was in 1965 when this evolutionary technique started to gained popularity.  Nowadays, GEP has already a lot of applications especially in different engineering branches.  

In the field of chemical engineering, GEP has been used to model some highfalutin empirical equations related to fluid mechanics.  One example, in hydraulic design , GEP has been used as a technique to estimate the friction factor using the Colebrook–White equation for turbulent fluid-flow.This is very important for scientific intensive computations because numerical simulations of pipe flows require the computation of the friction coefficient for each point. And in simulations of long pipes, the friction coefficient has to be solved many times. GEP makes the calculation faster and more accurate. 

The Colebrook–White equation:

*This conclusion is based from a journal I have read in science direct. The paper basically examines the potential of genetic programming based technique in estimating flow friction factor in comparison with the most currently available explicit alternatives to the Colebrook–White equation.

Plastic Pipes: Pipe Innovation

Plastic piping has been an innovation in the piping industry used for many years now. Although not all plastic pipes are suitable replacement for more traditional piping materials such as concrete or metal, plastic piping has many unique properties making it a better option over other piping materials considering other factors such as the weight of the load transported and the corrosiveness of the fluid.  

There are many instances where a plastic pipe can be a better option over a metal pipe. In the economic aspect, plastic piping is cheaper because installation is easier and it is expected to last longer since it can withstand corrosion with its smooth surface area.  Costs for purchasing thermal insulators are also avoided because plastic piping greatly reduce heat transfer due to its much lower thermal conductivity. Because it is lightweight and flexible, small plastic pipes can easily be maneuvered around making it more popular among consumers who use it in residential plumbing.

Speaking of health security, all plastic pipes sold for plumbing purposes are nontoxic and have been approved for carrying potable water. CPVC and PVC pipes don’t rust like galvanized pipes so it eliminates any rusty or metallic taste in drinking water that other pipes can leave. Since they don’t corrode and are not subjected to scaling, material build up in the inner surface is avoided. This build up, common to piping with metal materials, blocks water flow, decreases water pressure, and may cause back up in drainage. Plastic pipes allow water to flow unhindered for a long period of time.

In terms of environmental friendliness, plastic piping is better because it is odorless, non-toxic, fully recyclable, and based on scientifically conducted Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs),has “greenness” the other piping materials do not have.

Here is a video of JM Eagle, the leading manufacturer of plastic and PVC pipes highlighting their innovations.

Here is another innovation showcase in thermal pipes by Acrolab

Pumps: Ancient and Modern Times

Pipes are fundamental equipment commonly used in industrial plants. They are the ones transporting fluids or mixture of substances which are either being in the treatment process or being moved for storage or disposal. But aside from pipes, there are a lot of necessary things still needed in order to actually transport fluids.  Fluids don’t usually flow by themselves unless they are flowing down from an elevated position. Elevated source of fluids is not common in a usual industrial plant so the fluid needs something to induce its flow.

That is why pumps are also needed. Pumps force the fluid to flow into a pipe usually from a lower to a higher position. There are various kinds of pumps available nowadays. One kind is preferred according to the design requirement of a certain process where it is required. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.  But there is a continuous innovation in those that are used in the industries today aiming to improve efficiency and save as much power as possible.

Even though chemical engineering is a relatively young discipline, some unit operations and processes have been in existence way before chemical engineering was first established. For example, transporting water has been a problem that needed addressing even before industries started. And water pumps in fact have moved water from a place to another place for centuries. They remain today as invaluable tools to provide water for irrigation, drinking and cleaning. Ancient pumps took advantage of natural forces like wind or water to provide a pumping mechanism, while today's pumps tend to use electricity. However, the mechanisms behind ancient pumps are still in used today- a reason why they are considered one of the greatest inventions of the ancient world. I listed here some of the interesting pumps with their current uses.

• Shaduf (Swipe Pump) -This was the first pump which was invented in 3000 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia. The swipe, or shaduf, pump is usually positioned right next to a riverbank. It is made with a lever pivoted on two posts placed in the ground upright. On one end of the lever a pole is placed with a bucket attached. A stone or anything that is heavy enough is attached to the other end to act as a counterweight. Water is retrieved by pushing the pole down until the bucket is filled with water, then the counterweight would help raise the bucket back up. 

• Screw Pump- The screw pump was used widely by the Egyptians in the ancient world but the great mathematician Archimedes was credited with inventing what is known in history as the Archimedean screw around 250 B.C. This was perhaps Archimedes' best known invention and often listed among the great ancient inventions because it is still in use today. This pump was made using a metal corkscrew shaped pump that drew water upward as it was rotated.

• Bucket Chain  - The bucket chain pump was invented as early as 600 B.C. It is made up of a series of buckets that passed over a pulley wheel. Historians believe the bucket chain pump irrigated the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Historians state that the gardens were built for King Nebakanezer 's wife, Amytis, who missed her hometown when she moved to Babylon. Babylon was very flat and dry, with very little rain and therefore had very little greenery. Her hometown was very mountainous so Nebakanezer had the gardens built for her so it would resemble the place where she came from. The gardens were huge and contained many types of flowers, fruit, animals, and waterfalls, which were said to have been from places all over the world. The bucket chain has been used for centuries and perhaps the earliest known hand cranked device invented. 

An artist sketch of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Miscellaneous Rules of Thumb in Piping

Engineers are the ones who design and built working structures in various industries based from applications of the physical sciences. As part of the engineering sense, estimation and using rules of thumb are important especially in the design and in the field itself. As they say, engineering is more practical art than science. As such, its most successful practitioners obey simple rules like these.

This was initially a surprising discovery for me. Sure, I've heard a lot of senior schoolmates who said that most of the things learned in academics are not used in actual work.

Well, it has to be because I thought that the work would be specialized. That was my thinking until I've come across an article entitled "Jack's Rule of Thumb".

All that we learned from the classroom were just to give us insight. The academia's detailed analysis of fundamental engineering concept are not really the ones used by engineers to built actual things. 

An example from the article says that civil engineers rarely analyze loads in small structures like what comes out in the ES exams. What they do is to refer to their handbooks, for instance, to look up what standard beam to select to support a floor of a particular size. Sure the engineers could painstakingly re-derive such data, but in practice they do not.

Rules of thumb are the basis for the design of most real-world products. They are subject to exceptions and revisions but they are very useful in giving near accurate estimations.

Here are some miscellaneous rules of thumb used in the field of chemical engineering especially in constructing pipelines.   

• Substituting a globe valve for a gate valve in a piping system is similar to adding another 100 feet (31 meters) of piping to the system. 
• Suction piping should be at least one size larger than the suction flange at the pump.
• Use eccentric reducers rather than concentric reducers at the pump suction. Concentric reducers will trap air. 
• In a mixer, the liquid level must be at least one and one half diameters of the blade, above the blade.
•  Vortexing (spinning, turbulent flow of fluid) can occur if any of the following conditions are present:

Water Vortex

1.  Low liquid levels.
2. Liquid level falling greater than 3 Ft./sec. (1 Meter/ sec.)
3. There is a large concentration of dissolved gases in the liquid.
4. High outlet velocities in pipes leaving vessels. Generally greater than 10 feet/sec. (3 meters/sec.)
5. Liquids near their vapor point.
6. High circulation caused by asymmetrical inlet or outlet conditions.
7. Inlet piping too close to the wall or bottom of the tank. Consult the Hydraulic Institute Manual or a similar publication for recommended clearances.

• Pipeline pigging ( the use of pipeline inspection gauges or 'pigs' to perform various maintenance operations on a pipeline) 

An example of a pipeline "pig".

1.  In sizing plates, an aluminum disc with a diameter of 95% of the nominal inside diameter of the pipe is  typically attached to the front of a pig and is inspected for marks at the end of the run.
2. A gauging pig can be placed inside the pipe and pulled along the pipe. If the lay barge moves forward and the pig encounters a buckle or dent, the pull line will become taut. This indicates that it will be necessary to pick up and replace the dented section of pipe.
3. To measure pipe internal geometry  caliper pigs are used. Typically they have an array of levers mounted in one of the cups.  As the pig travels through the pipeline, the deflections of the levers are recorded.  The body is normally compact, about 60% of the internal diameter, which, combined with flexible cups, allows the pig to pass constrictions up to 15% of bore.  The results can show up details such as girth-weld penetration, pipe ovality, and dents.

Read more at http://www.mcnallyinstitute.com/02-html/2-7.html
http://store.elsevier.com/Pipeline-Rules-of-Thumb-Handbook/E_W_-McAllister/isbn-9781856175005/

PIPES and the PLUMBER

"Actually, in ChE 134 we would all become plumbers  (tubero in Filipino) because what we would be discussing is all about pipes." This was one of the earliest statements I remember coming from my instructor. Of course it was supposed to be a joke and so my seatmate that day decided to expound the joke in his way.

Seatmate: "Hey Hanna, my mom told me to shift out from chem eng'g."

Me:(raising a brow) "Eh. Why?"

Seatmate: "Because she doesn't want me to become a plumber."

The end.

The Plumber's Job

A chemical engineering course being compared to plumbing just proves that chemical engineering is indeed a very versatile discipline which is applicable to a lot of industries. Actual installation of plumbing is may not be included in the course but the science and engineering plans behind it is basic part of chemical engineering. So here is a list showing the similarity of a chemical engineer and a plumber's knowledge.

What the plumber knows that I (should) know:

1. Specifications to determine layout of water supply, waste, and venting systems.

2. Plumbing or pipping plans for hot and cold domestic water supplies.

3. Familiarity with ice-machine work, thermostatic work connected with plumbing, pipework connected with pneumatic vacuum-cleaning systems, gas piping, with making connections for gas fire-logs, furnaces, driers, boilers, and heaters. 

 4. Ensuring safety standards and build regulations.

5.  And the fact that"There is nothing in the work of the plumber which embodies physical or nervous strain, and as the work is extremely varied in character, it should stimulate the intelligence of the worker. The successful plumber must have strength, endurance, initiative, and special adaptability for his work."

Read more: http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/metal/Applied-Science-Metal-Workers/554-Work-Of-The-Plumber.html#ixzz20wZjxVG4 

Examining the scope of  a plumber's job also gives an  insight of how pipping systems are of great significance and of great use to a lot of industries.

You call a plumber when

 

  1. there's water dripping from the water pipes

2. your toilet doesn’t flush

3. your boiler or furnace needs repair

  

 

4. you need your home cooling or heating system repaired

  

5. you want to remodel your fixtures

 6. you want a another  bathroom

7. you want machines installed

 These are the common works of a plumber and these illustrates as well the of pipping systems commonly seen and used in our houses. Pipping systems are all around wherever you are. But pipping systems in large scales are seen in big commercial establishments involved in industrial processes.