The AVN Blog

A highly exothermic oxidation process using a fixed-bed heterogeneous catalyst was being investigated by a customer, who needed the capability of testing the catalyst at pilot scale. AVN charged the catalyst to our MAN Diesel & Turbo molten salt tubular reactor with three independent zones for temperature control. Reactor tubes… Read More

A company was considering an alternative route to an existing product and needed to investigate a number of options. AVN assessed the possible approaches, including the choice of starting materials, the resulting process requirements, and the separation issues involved. A recommended approach was tested in the laboratory, which validated its… Read More

A customer wanted to evaluate the potential to produce larger quantities of an experimental polyolefin product previously made in small lab-scale batches. AVN set up a larger autoclave to perform the reaction as a semi-batch process for more efficient operation. The product was shown to have the desired properties, and… Read More

A distillation column in a plant operated by a customer was observed to have visible corrosion occurring. AVN staff met with the customer’s project team and discussed causes for the observation, with consideration of the location, composition of liquid and gas streams, temperature and materials of construction. Options were presented… Read More

A new route to a target product was being considered by a customer, who wanted to demonstrate it at laboratory scale before proceeding further with development. The process involved addition of hydrogen cyanide, a highly toxic chemical. AVN set up a laboratory unit to generate the HCN and feed measured… Read More