Abstract: PROBLEM There is provided a method for producing polylactic acid, which is capable of obtaining polylactic acid at low cost, and having high molecular weight. SOLUTION A method for producing polylactic acid by polymerizing molten lactide using at least one reactor having plug flow characteristics with ?(?), calculated from the following FORMULA (1), of 0.3 or smaller: ?(?)=?0?(E(?)×ABS(1??))d???(1) in the Formula (1), E(?) is a residence time distribution function determined by impulse response by starch syrup having a viscosity of 3 Pa·s, and ? is ratio of elapsed time ? and mean residence time ?0.

Abstract: A granulator, having a granulation unit having a bottom floor with a perforated plate as its bottom part; an upper air-supplying pipe for supplying a fluidizing air to the bottom of the granulation unit; a lower air-supplying pipe; air-spouting pipes, each of which is branched from the lower air-supplying pipe, and has an opening in the bottom of the perforated plate, for jetting the air into the granulation unit; and spray nozzles for spraying a granulation raw material liquid, which each are provided in the center of an air outlet of the air-spouting pipe, or having: the bottom; the air-supplying pipe; and spray nozzles for spraying a granulation raw material liquid each of which are provided in an opening in the bottom of the perforated plate, and use a high-pressure atomizing air as an auxiliary gas, with the spray nozzles being provided in a triangular arrangement.

Abstract: A method of produced water treatment in an in-situ recovery method of producing bitumen from oil sand, the method has the steps of: separating bitumen from bitumen-mixed fluid so as to leave produced water, the bitumen-mixed fluid having been recovered from the oil sand wells; and filtering the produced water via a microfiltration membrane made of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Abstract: A process for separating hydrocarbons from an LNG, including the steps of: distilling a feed LNG in a first distillation column to separate it into a fraction enriched with methane and a fraction enriched with components heavier than methane; distilling the fraction enriched with components heavier than methane in a second distillation column to separate it into a fraction enriched with ethane and a fraction enriched with components heavier than ethane; recovering the cryogenic heat of the feed LNG to be fed into the first distillation column or of the liquid inside the first distillation column by using a heat transfer medium; and cooling the overhead gas of the second distillation column by using the heat transfer medium which has recovered the cryogenic heat to condense at least part of the overhead gas of the second distillation column. An apparatus for carrying out this process.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a first distillation apparatus for obtaining a fraction enriched in C8+ aromatics; a second distillation apparatus for obtaining a fraction enriched in C8 aromatics; an adsorption separation apparatus for obtaining an extract containing para-xylene and a raffinate containing xylene isomers; a third distillation apparatus for obtaining a fraction enriched in para-xylene; and a fourth distillation apparatus for obtaining a fraction enriched in xylene isomers. The second distillation apparatus includes a high-pressure part including a rectifying section; a low-pressure part including a stripping section; a line for directing overhead vapor of the low-pressure part to a column bottom of the high-pressure part; a line for directing a column bottom liquid of the high-pressure part to a column top of the low-pressure part; and a heat exchange structure for transferring heat from the rectifying section to the stripping section.

Abstract: In a heat integrated distillation column (HIDiC), the product purity can be stably maintained against various disturbances. Provided is a method for controlling a distillation apparatus, which includes a high-pressure part including the whole or a part of a rectifying section and performing gas-liquid contact at a relatively high pressure; a low-pressure part including the whole or a part of a stripping section and performing gas-liquid contact at a relatively low pressure; a line for directing overhead vapor of the low-pressure part to a column bottom of the high-pressure part; a line for directing a column bottom liquid of the high-pressure part to a column top of the low-pressure part; and a heat exchange structure for transferring heat from the rectifying section to the stripping section, wherein the method includes controlling a flow rate of the column bottom liquid to be directed from the high-pressure part to the low-pressure part.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for operating a stripper that is provided for a separating process in an aromatic component processing apparatus in which the stripper separates a component that is lighter than an aromatic component from the aromatic component via a distillation operation. In the method, using a HIDiC as the stripper, the pressure of the column top of rectifying section (201) of the HIDiC is determined, and the pressure of the column top of stripping section (202) of the HIDiC is set to be lower than the pressure of the column top of rectifying section (201).

Abstract: There are provided a method for analyzing an aqueous ammonium carbamate solution whereby the composition of an unreacted-gas absorber outlet liquid can be specified in real time, and a method for operating an unreacted gas absorber by use of the same.

Abstract: A piping system comprising: a main pipe; a first pipe member connecting an equipment nozzle and the main pipe via a first bellows; a second pipe member connected to a side part of the main pipe; a third pipe member connected to the other end of the second pipe member via a second bellows; first and second tie rod support members fixed to the first and third pipe members; tie rods that interconnect the tie rod support members; and an anchor that sets a portion of the main pipe as a fixed point. Lengths of the pipe members between the tie rod support members are determined so that the first bellows contracts by thermal expansion of the equipment nozzle, the first pipe member, and the pipe member of the main pipe below the anchor, and the second bellows contracts by an amount equally to that of the first bellows.

Abstract: A distillation apparatus of the present invention includes high-pressure column 1 corresponding to a region above a heat exchanging section located at a lowermost part of a region including a trayed section or a packed bed section, which is used as a rectifying section; and low-pressure column 2 that is located above as seen from high-pressure column 1, which integrates a region including a trayed section or a packed bed section which is used as a stripping section, with rectifying section corresponding portion 2g that corresponds to a region locating below the heat exchanging section located at the lowermost part in the rectifying section. Rectifying section corresponding portion 2g is located on top 2c of the stripping section in low-pressure column 2 so that rectifying section corresponding portion 2g continues to the stripping section.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for producing lithium carbonate, which is important as a raw material of a lithium ion battery and the like, from brine resources. More specifically, the invention relates to a method for producing lithium carbonate, in which carbon dioxide gas obtained by calcining limestone is introduced, in the presence of ammonia, into a concentrated brine, which is prepared from a lithium-containing brine as a raw material through an evaporative concentrating step, a desulfurizing step and an electrodialysis step, thereby depositing lithium carbonate crystals, and the crystals thus deposited are recovered through solid-liquid separation.

Abstract: A distillation apparatus includes a rectifying column, a stripping column located above seen from the rectifying column, a liquid sump unit located at a predetermined stage of the stripping column and configured to hold liquid that has flowed downward, a heat exchanger located in the liquid sump unit, a second pipe for introducing vapor in the rectifying column to the heat exchanger of the stripping column, and a third pipe for introducing fluids flowing out from the heat exchanger of the stripping column to the rectifying column. Further, a flare line having lower pressure than pressure in the rectifying column is connected to a downstream side of the third pipe. The distillation apparatus can switch a first flow toward an inside of the rectifying column through the third pipe to a second flow branching from the third pipe toward a pipe at a lower pressure side.

Abstract: A distillation apparatus includes a rectifying column, a stripping column, a first pipe that communicates a column top of the stripping column with a column bottom of the rectifying column, and a compressor configured to compress vapor from the stripping column and then to feed the compressed vapor to the rectifying column. The distillation apparatus further includes a heat exchanger located at a predetermined stage of the rectifying column, a liquid withdrawal unit located at a predetermined stage of the stripping column and configured to withdraw a part of liquid from the predetermined stage to an outside of the column, a second pipe that introduces the liquid from the liquid withdrawal unit to the heat exchanger, and a third pipe that introduces fluids introduced through the second pipe to the heat exchanger and then discharged out of the heat exchanger to a stage directly below the liquid withdrawal unit.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing a polymer resin comprises a polymerization vessel, a bearing part, a protection part, a circulating cooling means, a raw material-injecting nozzle and a flow path-constituting part. The protection part forms a first flow path between the protection part and the side face of the agitation axis. The circulating cooling means includes a circulating inlet nozzle provided on a side face of the protruding part so as to be opposite to the protection part. The flow path-constituting part is provided between the bearing part and the protection part so as to cover the side face of the agitation axis, to fix the bearing part and the protection part. This flow path-constituting part forms a second flow path between the side face of the agitation axis and the flow path-constituting part and a third flow path for coupling the second flow path with the raw material-injecting nozzle.

Abstract: There is provided a radial flow reactor having a multi-pass structure in which loading and unloading of granular packing are easy and which does not impair the reaction performance. The reactor includes, in an upright tubular reactor vessel: a packing region for housing a continuous packed bed of granular packing; and an outer and an inner passages disposed outside and inside the packing region, respectively, allowing a fluid to flow in the axial direction. The reactor is configured so that the fluid can pass between the packing region and the outer passage and between the packing region and the inner passage.

Abstract: A supported carbon having high surface area, high pore volume containing (i) molybdenum (ii) a metal of non noble Group VIII, (iii) phosphorous, is used for hydrometallization of heavy crude oil and residue. The catalyst contains about 6 to 15 wt % molybdenum as MoO3, about 1 to 6 wt % cobalt or nickel as CoO or NiO and phosphorus as phosphorous oxide. One characteristic of the catalyst is the portion of pores having pore diameter in the range of 200 to 2000 Angstrom of 20 percent or more. The catalyst prepared by chelating agent has higher hydrodesulfurization activity assuming that more dispersed active metals are present on this catalyst. Long run activity studies show that catalyst having only molybdenum supported on activated carbon has good stability with time-on-stream and very high metal retention capacity.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process of coproducing methanol and ammonia by using natural gas, LPG, butane, or naphtha as a raw material, having a methanol production process (A) composed of specific steps and an ammonia production process (B) also composed of specific steps.

Abstract: A granulator, having a granulation unit having a bottom floor with a perforated plate as its bottom part; an upper air-supplying pipe for supplying a fluidizing air to the bottom floor of the granulation unit; a lower air-supplying pipe; air-spouting pipes, each of which is branched from the lower air-supplying pipe, and has an opening in the bottom floor of the perforated plate, for jetting the air into the granulation unit; and spray nozzles for spraying a granulation raw material liquid, which each are provided in the center of an air outlet of the air-spouting pipe, or a granulator, having: the bottom floor; the air-supplying pipe; and spray nozzles for spraying a granulation raw material liquid each of which are provided in an opening in the bottom floor of the perforated plate, and use a high-pressure atomizing air as an auxiliary gas, wherein, in each granulator, the spray nozzles are provided in a triangular arrangement.

Abstract: Provided is a heat integrated distillation apparatus in which energy efficiency and a degree of freedom in design is higher than a normal distillation column, and in which maintenance of the apparatus is simple. The heat integrated distillation apparatus includes: rectifying column (1); stripping column (2) located higher than rectifying column (1); first pipe (23) for connecting top part (2c) of the stripping column with bottom part (1a) of the rectifying column; and compressor (4) that compresses vapor from top part (2c) of the stripping column to feed the compressed vapor to bottom part to (1a) of the rectifying column.

Abstract: A piping system comprising: a main pipe; a first pipe member connecting an equipment nozzle and the main pipe via a first bellows; a second pipe member connected to a side part of the main pipe; a third pipe member connected to the other end of the second pipe member via a second bellows; first and second tie rod support members fixed to the first and third pipe members; tie rods that interconnect the tie rod support members; and an anchor that sets a portion of the main pipe as a fixed point. Lengths of the pipe members between the tie rod support members are determined so that the first bellows contracts by thermal expansion of the equipment nozzle, the first pipe member, and the pipe member of the main pipe below the anchor, and the second bellows contracts by an amount equally to that of the first bellows.