May Meeting Notice
Officer's Meeting: 5:00 P.M.
Event:
Awards Banquet
Where:
Grand ConcourseStation Square
When: Wednesday, May 17th, 2000
Time: 6:00 P.M. Social
6:45 P.M. Dinner
7:30 P.M. Program
orMenu: Grilled fresh breast of Chicken, marinated in fresh herbs and brushed with apricot glaze
Boston Baked Cod
Both entrees will include salad, potato, vegetable, dessert, coffee, and tea.
Cost: $30.00
RSVP No Later Than, Wednesday May 10th, 2000 to
Mr. Ed Moretti, Vice Chair
Baker Environmental
TEL 412-269-6055
FAX 412-269-6097
Name
Menu Selection
Telephone
Awards Banquet
The AIChE Pittsburgh Chapter is proud to honor our members who have completed fifty years of membership in the National AIChE. They have in this time aided in the advancement of chemical engineering in theory and practice and maintained a high professional standard. These honorees are hereby tendered the gratitude and esteem of their fellow chemical engineers.
Congratulations to
:Thomas Barnhart
Wayne Chase
Alfred Galli
Steven Muzik
William Stenger
For details on our featured presenter please visit our web site at
www.lm.com/~aiche/.Note from the Editor
Dear Members:
We are always looking for new and interesting topics for our monthly meetings. Please submit any topics that you would like covered. My contact information is listed below.
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. This is an excellent way to receive the maximum benefits from your membership. Your help is greatly appreciated!
We had another great year! All our meetings were a huge success thanks to all of our active members and hard-working officers.
I hope you all have a wonderful, safe summer. I look forward to seeing you in September.
Peggy Panagopoulos
AIChE Newsletter Editor
ChemTech Consultants, Inc.
1370 Washington Pike, 4th Floor
Bridgeville, PA 15017
TEL: 412-220-4612
FAX: 412-221-5685
EMAIL: pegpana@chemtech88.com
Announcement
Undergraduate Scholarship Award Winner
The Undergraduate Scholarship Award Selection Committee of the Pittsburgh Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has just announced the winner of the $500 Award for the 2000/2001 academic year. Four applications were received and considered. All had outstanding records. The Awardee is Ms. Stacey Carothers, a sophomore enrolled at Carnegie Melon University. The decision was difficult and all candidates are to be commended for their fine records. The Committee extends congratulations to Ms. Carothers.
State Legislative Lobbying
Dear Members:
I thought that you and other AIChE members might want to know about the new comprehensive "How-to Win In the Legislature" book Guide to State Legislative Lobbying. Also, the seminar How to Successfully Lobby Your State Legislature will be held on May 16th at the Atlanta Airport South Holiday Inn Select. Information on both can be found at http://www.learn-to-lobby.com.
Bob Guyer
BSCE, EI
AIChE Email Initiative
We have begun an initiative to use broadcast email for special section announcements.
If you have received duplicates of initial transmittals or have been burdened by excessively long cc: lists as we progress through the learning curve, please accept our apology.
If you have not received Email invitations to the December meeting or for the PE Exam Refresher course, your Email address is either invalid or missing in the regional membership database we received from AIChE HQ.
Corrections, additions, and deletions to our database are being handled manually for now. Please send short and simple messages to TSAndersen@AOL.com such as ; Subscribe, Remove, or Change: ____@___.___.
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
Newsletter Deadline
August 16th, 2000
Please contact:
Peggy Panagopoulos
ChemTech Consultants, Inc.
1370 Washington Pike, 4th Floor
Bridgeville, PA 15017
TEL: 412-220-4612
FAX: 412-221-5685
Email: pepana@chemtech88.com
Placing an Advertisement
Interested in placing an ad in future newsletters?
Help sponsor the AIChE by placing an ad.
Full page $300.00
1/2 page $175.00
1/4 page $95.00
1/8 page $45.00
1/12 page $30.00
Place multiple ads and receive a discount!
Three (3) consecutive ads - 10% off
Eight (8) consecutive ads or more - 30% off
To place an ad, please contact
Peggy Panagopoulos
ChemTech Consultants, Inc.
1370 Washington Pike, 4th Floor
Bridgeville, PA 15017
Tel: 412-220-4612
Fax: 412-221-5685
Email: pegpana@chemtech88.com
Engineering Humor
Q
: What is the definition of an engineer?A: Someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don't understand.
Q
: When does a person decide to become an engineer?A: When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to be an undertaker.
Q
: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?A
: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.
Q
: Why did the engineers cross the road?A
: Because they looked in the file and that's what did last year.
Q
: How do you drive an engineer completely insane?A
: Tie him to a chair, stand in front of him, and fold up a road map the wrong way.Volunteers Needed
The Pittsburgh Chapter is encouraging members to take an active role in our chapter in order for us to further develop and grow. Below is a list of items that requires volunteer assistance.
Membership
Database Development ~ Integrate Meeting Reservations/Attendance with Total Membership to develop contact lists of active members
Engineers Week Coordinator
Chemistry Week Coordinator
Science Fair Coordinator ~ Ed Moretti
Newsletter
Column Writer ~ What’s New in the Section
Column Writer ~ Technical Articles
Column Writer ~ Government Regulations and Legislation
Column Writer ~ Internet Resources/Sites of the month
Secretary
Assistant ~ Take minutes and fill in on Absence of Secretary
Treasurer Assistant ~ Collect Payments and fill in on Absence of Treasurer
Programs
Promotion ~ ESWP Technicalendar and ACS Newsletter Interface
Speaker Recognition Mementos
Award Banquet Chair and Support
Student Night ~ Paper Competition
Student Night ~ Table Sponsors
Student Night ~ Support
Development
Promotion ~ ESWP Technicalendar and ACS Newsletter Interface
Executive Program Concept Proposal
Sponsor Relations for Awards, Banquet, and special projects
University/Student Chapter Relations
West Virginia Chapter Development
Awards & Scholarship
Awards Committee Members ~ Solicitation of Nominations
Awards Committee Members ~ Evaluation/Selection of Awardees
Awards Committee Members ~ Solicitation of Nominations
Programs
Promotion ~ ESWP Technicalendar and ACS Newsletter Interface Award Banquet Chair and Support
Dr. Ted Andersen
ChemTech Consultants
TEL: 412-220-4555
FAX: 412-221-5685
EMAIL: TSAndersen@AOL.com
Membership
MEMBERSHIP CORNER
Membership Update, Nancy Hirko
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the value that the local section provides and to encourage you to pay your dues on time. All membership updates should be sent to National with a copy to me, Nancy Hirko. If you are not currently a local section member, please consider joining using the coupon below. A portion of your dues is deposited into our scholarship fund. Please help our local section and scholarship fund continue to grow!
LOCAL SECTION MEMBERSHIP COUPON
Please sign me up for the local Pittsburgh Section of AIChE
Name
Company
Address
City State Zip
TEL: Business TEL Residence
Annual Dues are $14.00. Make check payable to "AIChE Pittsburgh Section" and send to our treasurer, John Hauser:
PROSAF, Inc.
103 Yorktown Road
McMurray, PA 15317
1999-2000 Section Officers
Executive Committee
Chair
TSAndersen@AOL.comTed Andersen
ChemTech Consultants
Vice-Chair & Program
emoretti@mbakercorp.comEd Moretti
Baker Environmental
Secretary
hargest@ppg.comBill Hargest
PPG Industries, Inc.
Treasurer
prosaf@sgi.netJohn Hauser
PROSAF, Inc.
Counselors
Mike.Friedrich@Kvaerner.comMike Friedrich
Kvaerner Metals
dbutton@compuserve.comDel Button
Button Engineering
Past Chair & Nominations
louisa.nara.b@bayer.comLouisa Nara
Bayer Corporation
Additional Officers and Chairs
Membership & Engineer Week
nmhirko@uss.comNancy Hirko
U.S. Steel
Newsletter Editor
pegpana@hotmail.comPeggy Panagopoulos
ChemTech Consultants
Meeting Arrangements
mflaherty@ecc.comMike Flaherty
Calgon Corporation
Development
Gerald.LaRose@Kvaerner.comGerald LaRosa
Kvaerner Metals
Committee Chairs
Safety & Environmental
Shiaw Tseng
Scholarship
Sam Vance
Student Night
Michael Flaherty
Web Master
rrd@telerama.comRichard R. Dupree
Symphoni Interactive
Technical News
A Look at Common Industrial Chemicals
The following is a list of common chemicals and what they are used for.
Sulfuric Acid ~ Probably the most common industrial acid. Used widely in mineral leaching and gas scrubbing (removing dangerous substances). Also used to neutralize alkaline substances.
Nitrogen ~ Most common inert substance used in industry. Used for everything from tank blanketing (so vapors don’t combine with oxygen to form explosive mixtures) to controlling reaction temperatures in exothermic reactions. Also widely used as a solid conveying gas carrier when air cannot be used due to explosion threats (ex/ fertilizers).
Oxygen ~ The ultimate oxidizer. Used in any application where the introduction of oxygen to the reaction mixture is necessary.
Ethylene ~ Probably the most popular industrial precursor to polymer manufacturing (ex/ polyethylene).
Ammonia ~ Very popular scrubbing solvent to remove pollutants from fossil fuel combustion streams before they can be released to the atmosphere. Also a popular refrigerant.
Phosphoric Acid ~ Main use is in fertilizer production, other uses include soft drinks and other food products.
Sodium Hydroxide ~ The most popular alkaline substance in industry. Widely used in dyes and soap manufacturing. Also a good cleaning agent and can be used to neutralize acids. Also known as lye.
Propylene ~ Another industrial polymer precursor (polypropylene).
Chlorine ~ Used in the manufacture of bleaching agents and titanium dioxide. Many of the bleaching agents based on chlorine are being replaced by hydrogen peroxide due to environmental restrictions placed on chlorine.
Sodium Carbonate ~ Most commonly known as soda ash, sodium carbonate is used in many cleaning agents and in glass making. Manufactured by reacting salt and sulfuric acid.
Sodium Silicate ~ Perhaps the most widely used industrial insulation.
Cyclohexane ~ While cyclohexane is a common organic solvent, it’s crowning achievement is it’s use as a reactant in the production of a nylon precursor (later).
Adipic Acid ~ This is the chemical that is made from cyclohexane and in turn is polymerized to nylon.
Nitrobenzene ~ Primary use is in the manufacture of aniline, which is in turn used as a rubber additive to prevent oxidation (antioxidant).
Butyraldehyde ~ Used to manufacture 2-ethylhexanol which is then used to manufacture hydraulic oils or synthetic lubricants.
Aluminum Sulfate ~ Widely used in the paper and wastewater treatment industries as a pH buffer.
Methyl tert-butyl ether ~ Also known as MTBE, it is most famous for its role as a gasoline additive (oxygenate). Due to its toxic affect on mammals, the EPA has been ordering a decrease in it’s use and an increase in the use of ethanol as a replacement.
Ethylene Dichloride ~ Nearly all ethylene dichloride produced is used to produce vinyl chloride which is then polymerized to polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Nitric Acid ~ Most common application is it’s reaction with ammonia to form the solid fertilizer ammonium nitrate.
Ammonium Nitrate ~ Probably the most widely used solid fertilizer
Benzene ~ The two largest uses for benzene are as reactants to produce ethylbenzene (used to produce styrene) and cumene (used to produce phenols). Also a very common organic solvent as well as a precursor to cyclohexane.
Urea ~ The majority of urea is used in fertilizer production. Some is also used in the manufacture of livestock feed.
Vinyl Chloride ~ As previously mentioned, this is the monomer form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which finds uses as a building material and other durable plastics.
Source: http://www.cheresources.com/indchems.shtml
End of The Catalyst Newsletter - May 2000