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Deborah Illman named as an AAAS Fellow in 2022

Infometrix would like to recognize a former employee for being named as an AAAS Fellow in 2022. Deborah Illman played a critical role in the beginnings of Infometrix in the late 1970s and early 1980s and coauthored one of the first books in the field with Muhammad Sharaf and Bruce Kowalski. Debbie went from Infometrix to help create and manage the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry in the mid 1980s, now rebranded the Center for Process Analysis and Control. She has a long history of contributions to the teaching of graduate students and undergraduates focusing mainly on the topics of science communication, management of multidisciplinary projects, and decision making. A former Associate Editor for Chemical and Engineering News, Debbie has reached and influenced many in the world of science.

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Rethinking Calibration for Process Spectrometers

Click on image to view the full paper.

 

 

Title:
Rethinking Calibration for Process Spectrometers

Authors:
Will Warkentin, Chevron
Brian Rohrback, Infometrix

Abstract:
Optical spectroscopy is a great source of process chemistry knowledge. It has the advantage of speed, sensitivity, and simple safety requirements. As one of very few analyzer technologies that can measure chemistry, it has become a workhorse in the hydrocarbon processing industry. What if we could put a spectroscopy system in place and have it handle the application and communicate results as soon as it is turned on? Then, if predictions do not match legacy standards, the system dials itself in or calls for help. And, we are not constrained on either the hardware or the software front. In this paper, we address the primary bottleneck of mustering data, automating analyzer calibration, and tracking data and model performance over time.

Keywords:
Best Practices, Calibration, Cloud Computing, Database, Optical Spectroscopy, PLS, Process Control

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Access to full article: Analysis of Biodiesel-Diesel Blended Fuels Using Ultrafast Gas Chromatography (UFGC) and Chemometric Methods

You are invited to view the full article available until July 18th. Click on image.

 

Title:
Analysis of Biodiesel-Diesel Blended Fuels Using Ultrafast Gas Chromatography (UFGC) and Chemometric Methods

Authors:
Amber M Hupp, College of the Holy Cross
Joseph Perron, Falcon Analytical
Ned Roques, Falcon Analytical
John Crandall, Falcon Analytical
Scott Ramos, Infometrix
Brian Rohrback, Infometrix

Abstract:
Ultrafast gas chromatography (UFGC) along with supervised and unsupervised chemometric methods were utilized for evaluation of biodiesel-diesel blended fuels. A variety of biodiesel feedstocks (soybean, tallow, canola, safflower, sunflower, camelina, flaxseed, etc.) and concentrations (1–20%) were evaluated. The method, which uses a short nonpolar column, falls within ASTM D7798 requirements for diesel and extends the method to include biodiesel-diesel blended fuels. Using Principal Components Analysis (PCA), samples clustered based on concentration and diesel type, and differences in plant and animal feedstocks were apparent. Biodiesel concentration was accurately assessed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) on a training set for B0–B20, while predictions were made with some success on a set of commercial and lab unknowns. k Nearest Neighbors (kNN) was used to describe and predict concentration, plant versus animal feedstock, and to identify biodiesel blends. The combination of chemometric methods alongside UFGC proves an effective and fast technique for the analysis of biodiesel source and composition in biodiesel-diesel blended fuels.

Keywords:
Biodiesel fuel; Ultrafast gas chromatography; ASTM D7798; Principal Component Analysis; k Nearest Neighbors (kNN); Partial Least Squares (PLS)