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Welcome to Chemical Engineering
Progress
Current Issue
May 2012, Vol. 108, No. 5
In This issue
UPDATE
Short News
Shape-Shifting Polymers Go 3D; MOF Cuts Energy Costs of Gas Separation; Plastic Morphs from Smooth to Bumpy, and Back Again; Nanoscale Topography Puts the Brakes on Cancer Growth; Metamaterials Enter a New Dimension; Automated Process Control ‘Goes Microbial’; pH-Switchable Catalyst Releases H2 On Demand; Plug-In Bacteria Produce Fuel from CO2; Organic Solar Cells Show Their Stripes
SAFETY
Navigating NFPA Codes and Standards
Follow the recommendations and how-to guidance provided by the National Fire Protection Association to safeguard against fires and explosions.
Jeremy Lebowitz, P.E
CAREER CATALYST
Smart Blogging for Chemical Engineers
Blogs allow anyone — even people with minimal computer knowledge — to easily publish text, photos, and audio and video files on the Internet. They are places where chemical engineers can trade technical information, expound upon their expertise or interests, and assemble a network of correspondents.
Loraine Kasprzak
BACK TO BASICS
A ChE’s Guide to Intellectual Property
Patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights are an important part of any company’s business strategy.
M. Henry Heines
SBE SUPPLEMENT: BIO-BASED MATERIALS
SBE UPDATE
Miriam Cortes-Caminero
Meet the Authors — SBE Bio-Based Materials Supplement
Economic Opportunities and Challenges for Bio-Based Materials
In order to stay competitive, the bio-based chemicals industry will need to pave a path within the existing value chain, with a sharp focus on economic considerations.
Smita Bhatia
Bio-Based Materials in the New Bio-Economy
Biological feedstocks are expected to gradually replace some fossil-based raw materials to create eco-friendly products, from car parts and packaging materials to electronic devices and other consumer goods — laying the foundation for a reduced-carbon economy.
Murali M. Reddy, Manjusri Misra and Amar K. Mohanty
Synthetic Spider Silk Proteins and Threads
E. coli can be genetically engineered to mimic the complex natural process by which a spider makes the proteins that it uses to spin the fibers for its web. With additional processing, fibers with properties similar to those of natural spider silk can be obtained.
Ute Slotta, Nathalie Mougin, Lin Römer, Axel H. Leimer
One-Step Fermentative Production of Polylactic Acid
The use of PLA has been hindered by its complex and expensive synthesis process. A new technology promises to change this — giving PLA a chance to compete with fossil-based plastics.
Si Jae Park, Min Kyung Kim and Sang Yup Lee
Rheological Characterization of Bio-Based Materials
Experimental and analytical tools combined with computational studies can be used to design new bio-based materials tailored for specific applications.
P.H.S. Santos, D. Bhopatkar, and O.H. Campanella
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