The Catalyst

Since the 1960's, Carnegie Mellon University has spearheaded the advancement of systems concepts to all areas of science and technology. Carnegie Mellon's engineering faculty have been instrumental in catalyzing revolutionary changes resulting from the introduction of computer and systems technology to science and industry. In process systems engineering (PSE), Carnegie Mellon's effort began in the mid-70's with the creation of the Design Research Center.

This interdisciplinary group saw significant participation by chemical engineers (Gary Powers, Art Westerberg, Ignacio Grossmann, and Larry Biegler) and led to the development of core systems methodologies, such as:

• Optimization formulations

• Operations research methods

• Artificial intelligence

• Expert systems and software engineering, for a wide range of engineering design problems

With the award of Presidential Young Investigator grants to Grossmann and Biegler in the mid-80's, there was a strong challenge to attract industrial input and support. Together with the active participation of Art Westerberg, this award led to the creation of the Computer-Aided Process Design (CAPD) consortium.

Since 1985, the Computer-Aided Process Design (CAPD) group at Carnegie Mellon University has been an internationally recognized research leader in computer-aided process systems engineering.

 Currently, the research group is conducting research with strong basic science components and industrial interactions in the areas of process synthesis and analysis, process planning, and scheduling. Process control has become an active area of research with the addition of Erik Ydstie.

Research efforts within the CAPD have led to the following significant optimization-based strategies and tools for process design and operations for both batch and continuous processes: commercially available mathematical programming software; design strategies for process synthesis; advanced modeling environments for process simulation and analysis; and management of the entire design process.

Notes from the Editor

I would like to Thank the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) for hosting our October meeting. We appreciate your hospitality.

Keep an eye out for the new addition to the Catalyst titled What’s New in Our Chapter. If anyone has a special announcement that he or she would like published about oneself or your company, please send it to me (preferably via e-mail). This includes promotions, awards, births, or marriages.

Please take a minute and review our "Volunteers Needed" column. We are always in need of energetic people who are interested in growing our Pittsburgh Chapter. Your help is very much appreciated and needed!

We are always looking for new and interesting articles to place in the Catalyst. If you are aware of any please submit them to me at the address below (preferably via e-mail).

I look forward to meeting you all at future AIChE meetings!

AIChE Newsletter Editor

Richardson Touts Upcoming Debut of Breakthrough Power Plant in Upstate New York

The "turbine of the 21^st Century" will likely make its U.S. commercial debut in a new $400 million, state-of-the-art power plant in upstate New York as the result of a plan announced today by Sithe Energies and General Electric (GE) at the State University of New York at Oswego.

Sithe Energies, one of the nation's largest independent power producers, will become a partner with GE in the first U.S. commercial application of the "breakthrough" gas turbine technology if all goes well in the final stage of an 8-year partnership program between the U.S. Department of Energy and GE.

Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson today sent congratulatory messages to GE and Sithe for their agreement to site the world's cleanest and most efficient power generating turbine at a new power plant in Scriba, NY, near Oswego. The plan was announced by Sithe and GE at a community ceremony today at State University of New York at Oswego.

The advanced energy system is in its final phase of development in a program begun by the Energy Department in 1992. Scheduled for its major verification test run later this year, the turbine incorporates revolutionary advances that will enable it to generate electricity more efficiently and with better environmental performance than any turbine available today.

"The GE advanced turbine system will rank high on the list of 'success stories' produced by our technology partnerships with industry," Secretary Richardson said. "Innovations from this program have already improved today's fleet of turbines. Now, this new agreement between GE and Sithe means that we are on the verge of moving an entirely new generation of technology into the market with the promise of even greater environmental and efficiency benefits."

The new turbine system is expected to produce less than half the nitrogen oxides - a pollutant that contributes to smog, harmful ozone, and acid rain - than current utility-scale turbines. Its higher efficiencies will also cut emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, by more than 20% compared to turbines available when the development program began.

"This breakthrough technology was greatly aided by the Department of Energy's participation and support," said Delbert Williamson, President of GE Power Systems Global Sales. "The government made a major commitment to this effort and organized a national program to ensure that the United States would remain the global leader in 21st century turbine technology."

The GE turbine technology is one of two high-performance, utility-scale turbine systems that will emerge from the Energy Department's advanced turbine program. It and a companion technology being developed by Siemens-Westinghouse will be the first capable of breaking the 60% 'net efficiency' barrier, long regarded as the 'four minute mile' of the turbine power industry. The achievement means future power plants will use less fuel to produce the same amount of power, enabling electricity to be produced at lower costs.

"Sithe Energies is excited to incorporate this landmark technology into our newest power facility in Scriba," said Barry Sullivan, Sithe vice chairman. "Combining GE's cutting-edge turbine technology with other advanced environmental control systems makes our new plant among the cleanest and most efficient energy facilities in the world."

Sithe Energies, headquartered in New York City, operates 40 plants in the northeast totaling over 11,000 megawatts of capacity.

Two of the new GE turbines are planned for installation at Sithe's Heritage Station at Scriba, where the company already operates the 1,040-megawatt Independence Station. Sithe will begin the permitting process by submitting a final application to the State of New York this fall. Construction would begin in the last quarter of 2000 with operations and testing expected to begin late in 2002. The project could create as many as 1,000 new construction jobs.

From the original six gas turbine manufacturers that received grants to prepare preliminary "scoping studies," the Energy Department ultimately narrowed the program to two utility-scale turbine and two industrial-scale systems.

During the development effort, major innovations were made in turbine designs, cooling systems, and materials that allowed turbine temperatures to be pushed to more than 2,600° F, well above the capabilities of any previous system. The higher operating temperatures are one of the reasons for the turbine's significant boost in efficiency.

For more information, contact:

Robert C. Porter
DOE Office of Fossil Energy
202-586-6503
robert.porter@hq.doe.gov

Otis Mills, Jr.
DOE Federal Energy Technology Center
412-386-5890
mills@fetc.doe.gov

Technical program contact:

Abbie Layne
DOE Federal Energy Technology Center
304-285-4603
alayne@fetc.doe.gov

Kanwal Mahajan,
DOE Federal Energy Technology Center
304-285-4965,
kmahaj@fetc.doe.gov

Cryogenics Helps Increase Lifespan for Car Engines

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran an article on another "non-traditional" field that chemical engineers can contribute to-cryogenics.

Cryogenics refers to the process of freezing items to 300 degrees below zero-that is, fairly close to absolute zero. The process works as follows: an item is placed in an insulated cryogenic processor. Liquid nitrogen is injected through small holes in the side of the processor, bringing the temperature down. The item is held in "deep freeze" for 24 hours and then slowly brought back to room temperature over a period of six to eight hours.

One application of the technology has been in the preservation of engines in racecars. This was demonstrated by the story of Frank Anderson, a go-cart racer who spoke to the Inquirer about the wonders of the technology. Anderson indicated that, before discovering cryogenics-specifically, the company Cryo-Treatment, which specializes in prolonging the life of machinery through the use of the technology-he would have to fix his go-cart after every race, as numerous parts of the vehicle would crack. However, cryogenic treatment has made his vehicle's parts more resilient.

As Anderson explained, "The performance is more valuable than what it (the technology) is saving me in parts...it does what they say."

Klaus Timmerhaus, AIChE's president in 1975 and part of the Institute committee putting together the cryogenics topical conference at AIChE's 2000 Spring National Meeting, was consulted by the Inquirer about the field.

Timmerhaus stated that "It (cryogenics) is an invisible field. If you temper certain materials at a certain temperature, you will enhance their strength."

The article in the Inquirer predominantly discussed Cryo-Treatment, which draws about half of its business from the racing industry and half from companies that treat their machinery with the process.

Japan Contains Nuclear Fission Accident at Tokaimura

An uncontrolled nuclear reaction was finally reined in at a nuclear plant in Tokaimura, Japan. Twenty-one people were injured in the incident, and more than 300,000 Japanese residents were told to stay indoors after the accident occurred. Radiation levels, which had elevated to as high as 15,000 times more than normal in a two mile radius around the plant after the accident, had returned to normal except for the area directly around the plant (within 1000 feet).

The runaway reaction occurred on September 29^th when an excessive amount of uranium was used in the creation of nuclear fuel. The process for making nuclear fuel calls for the mixing of uranium with nitric acid. However, when too much uranium is mixed in, a runaway reaction can occur.

According to the three workers, who were closest to the reaction, a blue flash indicated that a "critical mass" had been created, starting the type of nuclear reaction that occurs in a nuclear power plant). According to reports, a worker at the plant put 35 pounds of uranium into the nitric acid tank to cause the reaction; the official limit was 4.8 pounds.

The three workers, Hishashi Ouchi, Masato Shinohara, and Yutaka Yokokawa, had symptoms of radiation sickness after being exposed to levels of radiation in minutes that were 4000 times greater than the estimated safe radiation dose for one year. Their symptoms included diarrhea, fever, a high white-blood cell count, and reddened skin. A team has removed water from the cooling equipment around the tank in the hopes of successfully evading further fission.

Makoto Morita, a spokesperson of JCO Co., who owned the plant, stated that "We have no words to express our apologies. We cannot escape our responsibility."

For all you Penn State grads out there:

DUDA WINS PRESTIGIOUS CHEMICAL AWARD

University Park, PA ~ J. Larry Duda, Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering, was named the winner of the 2000 E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.

The award, sponsored by Exxon Research and Engineering Company and Exxon Chemical Company, is designed to stimulate fundamental research in industrial and engineering chemistry, the development of chemical engineering principles, and their application to industrial processes.

A member of the Penn State faculty since 1971, Duda has received many national awards for both his research and his contributions to engineering education. In 1998 Duda was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions that can be accorded an engineer.

The full article, by Curtis Chan, is online at:

http://www.engr.psu.edu/news/News/1999%20Press%20Releases/September/duda.html

I am Dick Dupree, the Webmaster of our local AIChE group. Every month I receive an electronic copy of the newsletter, convert it to HTML format, make minor format editing corrections, and download it to our web site at Telerama.

Recently I found myself unemployed due to today’s economy (downsized, outplaced, RIFed, etc). I am lucky that this is only the second time in 30 years that I have found myself in search of a new position. The first time was in 1985 when our entire department of 50 people was eliminated and we all had 2-3 month's notice. I was fortunate find another job quickly and even had to move my departure date forward a week to accommodate my new employer. However, this time, my search is more difficult. I'm older, have more specialized skills, and had only one day's warning. Throughout this difficult search I have come across useful information that I would like to share with fellow engineers who are in a similar position.

I have kept a record of this information and am now placing it on our local Pittsburgh Chapter’s web site. You will find the link, Job Search Suggestions, on the site’s home page near the bottom.

If others should face a similar situation in the future, they may benefit from having this information readily available. So far, I have collected about ten web pages. These are written and installed at the site with more beneficial information to come. If you would like to contribute to this new section with useful information about Internet job boards, recruiters, business information, etc. please just send me an email with the information you would like posted.

Thanks,

Secretary

Awards & Scholarship

You might be an engineer if...

• The only jokes you receive are through e-mail

• At Christmas, it goes without saying that you will be the one to find the burnt-out bulb in the string

• Buying flowers for your girlfriend or spending the money to upgrade your RAM is a moral dilemma

• Everyone else on the Alaskan cruise is on deck peering at the scenery, and you are still on a personal tour of the engine room

• In college you thought Spring Break was a metal fatigue failure

• The salespeople at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions

• You are always late to meetings

• You are at an air show and know how fast the skydivers are falling

• You bought your wife a new CD ROM for her birthday

• You can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie

• You can type 70 words a minute but can't read your own handwriting

• You can't write unless the paper has both horizontal and vertical lines

• You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards in the chairs to see how they do the special effects

• You have Dilbert comics displayed anywhere in your work area

• You have ever saved the power cord from a broken appliance

• You have more friends on the Internet than in real life

Interested in hosting an AIChE Meeting at your Company?

We are in search of hosts for our future AIChE monthly meetings. The Chapter is looking for companies that can provide AIChE members with an interesting, informative, and beneficial agenda. If your company is interested in hosting a meeting next spring or fall, please contact the Pittsburgh Chapter Program Chair:

Mr. Ed Moretti, Vice Chair

For those of you who like to think ahead!

25 YEARS OF PROGRESS,

BUT WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Patti Kay Wisniewcki, USEPA Region III

Dinner Meeting and Social

Presented by

Air & Waste Management Association, Allegheny Mountain Section and American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Pittsburgh Section

Where: Penn Brewery, Troy Hill and Vinial Street (North Side), Pittsburgh, PA

When: Wednesday, December 8^th, 1999

Time: 4:00 P.M.-8:30 P.M.

Twenty-five years ago, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed to protect public health. It has been very successful in making our drinking water one of the best supplies in the world. But in light of recent public drinking water crises, is it enough? This presentation will provide a brief history of the program and outline why more effort is required.

For the past year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has been making plans to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the SDWA on December 16^th, 1999. Discussions have been held throughout the year focusing on where the program should be going over the next 25 years. Key thought-provoking questions have been raised to guide this process. On December 16^th, leaders from across the country will meet to continue these discussions and reach a consensus on the future direction of the SDWA.

Three years ago, the SDWA was amended, setting in motion a swell of activity that has resulted in a tidal wave of new regulations and programs. Some of these new initiatives will significantly impact the way utilities do business. Highlights of this presentation will include what new initiatives are coming, with details on stricter drinking water standards; strengthened operator certification requirements; Public Right-to-Know; state revolving loan fund money; and opportunities for collaboration with Clean Water Act programs.

Patti Kay Wisniewski is the Pennsylvania Program Manager in the Drinking Water Branch of the USEPA, Region III, in Philadelphia. She began her career with USEPA over 20 years ago and has held numerous positions in USEPA’s drinking water program including a two-year assignment in the mid-1980’s at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (now the Department of Environmental Protection) Pittsburgh Regional Office. She returned to the area in the early 1990’s when her husband worked for ALCOA.

Registration Form

SPACE IS LIMITED

PLEASE REGISTER BY DECEMBER 3^rd, 1999

Please circle and enclose applicable fee:

Member of A&WMA $35

Member of AIChE $35

Non-Members $45

Students $25

Registration Information:

Proceeds will benefit local A&WMA and AIChE scholarship and education programs. Please return this form with check payable to A&WMA to Ed Moretti, Baker Environmental, 420 Rouser Road, Coraopolis, PA 15108. You may also register instantly by FAX at 412-269-6097 or via e-mail at emoretti@mbakercorp.com and send check separately.

Interested in placing an ad in future newsletters?

Help sponsor the AIChE by placing an ad.

Peggy Panagopoulos
ChemTech Consultants, Inc.
1370 Washington Pike, 4^th Floor
Bridgeville, PA 15017
TEL: 412-220-4612
FAX: 412-221-5685
pegpana@hotmail.com