Some People Just Gotta Google©

“Cessation of work is not accompanied by cessation of expenses.” -- Cato The Elder

Today’s action item: Ask your vendor rep about automatic authentication.

In order to be effective researchers, your team needs to keep up with published results from researchers working in other organizations.

You know this.

So your organization has chosen, at great expense, to subscribe to one or more online databases.  And yet, your people persist in Googling or Yahooing or Binging to find what they need.

Fortunately, many online vendors like ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/) will work with you to enable your team members to access, through the magic of automatic authentication, the full text of subscribed content even if they find it on a search engine like Google©.  Your vendor rep probably will be able to explain how to do this.  No doubt you will have to get IT involved.  Oh, well.

It will be well worth the aggravation   Not only will you increase usage of the expensive subscription service, you will get ideas on how to promote its use within your organization to make the subscription a go-to source at least as important as the popular search engines.

To illustrate …

Imagine a researcher on your team is looking for recent articles dealing desulfurization using ionic liquids.  She or he finds the following on Google© Scholar …

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COSMO-RS based predictions for the desulphurization of diesel oil using ionic liquids: Effect of cation and anion combination

R Anantharaj… - Fuel Processing Technology, 2011 - Elsevier
... COSMO-RS based predictions for the desulphurization of diesel oil using ionic liquids: Effect
of cation and anion combination. ... Abstract. Ionic Liquids ILs provide an important alternative in
removing aromatic sulphur compounds by Liquid–Liquid Extraction (LLE). ...

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When your researcher clicks the hyperlink he / she sees …

If you have set everything up correctly, your researcher will be automatically authenticated to access the full text of the article with no further action on her / his part.

And, you may be able to use results like this to nudge your team in the direction of searching the subscribed database directly … which is why you subscribed in the first place.

Today’s  bonus action item: Add the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) as a feed on your organization’s Intranet. It will provide a continuing series of tips on how to search the Web for valuable research results.

Pilot Plant Search Strategy

“In keeping his heading by the stars, a pilot must remember that they move” -- Charles Lindberg

The tip of the day … Bench scale v. Pilot scale
Technology research fits into three broad categories.  They bleed into each other, but the categories are …

• Basic
• Bench scale
• Pilot scale

It is typical for an abstract to mention the phrase “bench scale” or “pilot scale” to clue the reader as to the research being described.

Take advantage of this fact.  When you are interested in seeing what’s being done at bench scale, include the phrase in your search strategy.  For example …

One result …

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Environmental Engineering Science (Online Ahead of Print: November 1, 2011)
Optimization of Thiophene Removal by an Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Desulfurization Process
Teng-Chien Chen, 1,2
Yun-Hwei Shen, 1
Wen-Jhy Lee, 2,3
Chih-Chung Lin, 4
Meng-Wei Wan 5
peterwan@mail.chna.edu.tw
1 Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
2 Resource Recycling and Management Research Center National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
3 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
4 Department of Environmental Engineering and Science, National Ping Tung University of Science and Technology, Ping Tung, Taiwan.
5 Department of Environmental Engineering and Science, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan.
Abstract
Thiophene (T) is considered one of the most refractory organic sulfur compounds in oxidative desulfurization. This study used an ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization process to optimize T oxidation on a bench scale. Four control factors, including durations of sonication, the amounts of transition metal catalyst (TMC), phase transfer agent (PTA), and hydrogen peroxide, were carefully examined. The best operation condition, evaluated by using the analysis of variance, was found at mass ratios of T: H2O2:PTA:TMC at 1:1.5:0.005:0.01 with 20 min of sonication, where almost 73.5% of T, 89.9% of benzothiophene (BT), and 100% of dibenzothiophene (DBT) were oxidized to their corresponding sulfones. Moreover, the electron density on the sulfur atom of various compounds, including T, BT, and DBT, and their methyl-substituted derivatives and oxidation rate constants were also examined. The oxidative reactivity of sulfur compounds increased with the increasing electron density on sulfur atoms. The T that is commonly considered more difficult to the oxidized is attributed to the combined effect of low electron density of the sulfur atom and low boiling temperature under mild oxidation reaction. This information is essential for the deep desulfurization process under oxidative conditions.
Source: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0123 ///////
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Conversely, if you are interested in research that is closer to actual implementation, replace “bench scale” with “pilot scale” in your search statement.  Here is one result …

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2011 International Conference on Computer Distributed Control and Intelligent Environmental Monitoring (CDCIEM), Changsha, 19-20 Feb. 2011, page(s): 1737 - 1741
Study on Flue Gas Desulfurization of Sintering in Pilot-Scale Experiment
Wu Fuzhong;   Wang Wenhao;  
Mater. & Metall. Coll., Guizhou Univ., Guiyang, China  
Abstract
The pilot-scale experiment is done to speed up the pace of industrial application. The results show that the whole set of devices runs smoothly, the process for pilot-scale experiment is reasonable, the desulfurization rate can be above 92% for long time, the rate of leaching Mn2+ can be over 80%;The product of MnSO4 can arrive the fertilizer level(GB1622-86) and feed level (GB5252-876).
source: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=5748153 ///////
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And remember, no matter what scale you are interested in, the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/} will help you research it.  Tell your friends and colleagues.

Harvesting eMail Addresses

“What's it all about, Alfie?” -- Jude Law (English Actor, b.1972)

This Desulfurization Blog is about more than desulfurization technology.  It is about how to make the most effective use of your time no matter what technology you research.

So today we offer another timesaver tip.  It is one of those tips that seem so obvious, and yet until you are reminded of it, you might not think of it.

The tip: Cursor and copy.

This works especially well for ScienceDirect.  It is typical of this database to provide hyperlinks to author emails.  When you click on the hyperlink, it opens up an email window in your Microsoft Exchange or other email client account.

But what if you want to save the email address, but are not yet ready to send an email?

Or, what if you have no email client configured on your laptop?

Try this …

·         Rest your cursor on the eMail icon

·         Look at the email address displayed in the lower left corner of your screen

·         Type the address into your favorite application

The screenshot below illustrates the procedure …

A second tip … Make new friends among your colleagues by telling them about the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)

Go Boolean to Save Time

“Few companies that installed computers to reduce the employment of clerks have realized their expectations.... They now need more, and more expensive clerks even though they call them 'operators' or 'programmers.'” -- Peter F. Drucker (American Educator and Writer, b.1909)

 

Half the battle in keeping up with important developments in your field lies in efficient use of your time to do so.  Today we offer you a time saver tip …

Use Boolean operators when you search Google Patents.

Let’s pose a hypothetical … you are interested in seeing recent desulfurization-related patents produced by a number of catalyst companies.

So you navigate to Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en), click the Advanced Search link, and enter the following into the search form …

 

In case the screen shot is too small to read, the search strategy is …
Find results with: desulfurization
Assignee: UOP
Date – Return patents between 2001 and 2011

The result is about 300 hits, including the following:


SELECTIVE NAPHTHA DESULFURIZATION PROCESS AND CATALYST

patents.google.comUS Pat. App 12605730 - Filed Oct 26, 2009 - UOP LLC
... (54) SELECTIVE NAPHTHA DESULFURIZATION PROCESS AND CATALYST (75) Inventors: Lorenz J. Bauer, Schaumburg, IL (US); Suheil F. Abdo, Lincolnshire, IL (US); ...


You repeat the search strategy, substituting “BASF” for “UOP” in the assignee field.
You repeat again, this time searching for “Albemarle” in the assignee field.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could search for ALL THREE vendors at the same time?

Yes, it would.  And yes, you can.

Here’s how.  In the assignee field enter the three vendor names separated by the Boolean operator OR.

The result is a list of patents produced by EITHER UOP or BASF or ALBEMARLE during the past 10 years.  You now have only one search to perform, and one list to browse through.

Follow the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com) for a continuing stream of time-saver tips.  Even better, add it as a feed to your organization’s Web.

Spring Into Action … Add Value to Your Journal Subscriptions

“It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)
A recent edition of Hydrocarbon Engineering (http://www.palladian-publications.com/) included the following article.

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Slimming Down Sulfur: Part Three
Alan Kramer, Albemarle, USA, explores the rare earth free solutions to FCC sulfur problems. The final installment of this three part article focuses specifically on fuel sulfur reduction, with a particular examination of the problems caused by gasoline range sulfur.
Source: http://www.energyglobal.com/magazines/issue.aspx?seo=hydrocarbon-engineering&month=12&year=2011
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The article inspired me to post two tips on how to maximize the cost of a subscription to this or any other journal.

1. Google® the author
2. ScienceDirect  the affiliation (If we can turn Google into a verb, we can do the same with ScienceDirect)

Everybody knows how to Google®.  My job is to show you how to do so more effectively.

When you Google® Alan Kramer, for instance, you get over 18 million hits.

Google® Alan Kramer Albemarle, however, and you get something in the range of 6 million hits.  That’s still more than you would want to scroll through, but you can use the same concept to refine your search string even more.  Add sulfur to the search string …

Alan Kramer Albemarle sulfur
… and you now have only about one million hits.

As good as Googling is, you need to add ScienceDirecting to your tool kit.  Which leads us to Tip Number 2 …

When you visit ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), consider clicking the Advanced Search link.

Here’s an example of how this strategy can make your day a little easier.

Type Albemarle in the search box, then click the Search button.  The result is over 3000 hits.  Very few of them will be useful if you are interested in Albemarle the corporation.

Return to the Advanced Search page.  Type Albemarle again.  This time, restrict the search to Affiliations, illustrated below.

You’ve now narrowed the field to about 500 hits.  Each article has been authored by someone affiliated with Albemarle, the corporation.

Push the envelope further by ANDing the above with desulfurization.  You now have just 6 hits, including the following …

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Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, Volume 162, 2006, Pages 143-150
Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts
Preparation of monolithic catalysts for hydrodesulfurizationJ. Tsoua, J. Carneiroa, A.F. Pérez-Cadenasa, S. Eijsboutsb, M. Makkeea, J.A. Moulijna
a Reactor & Catalysis Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL D
b Albemarle Catalysts, Research Centre, P.O. box 37650, 1030 BE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
AbstractThe aim of this research project is the design and synthesis of optimal monolithic reaxctors and its use in deep desulfurization. In order to do so, stateof-of-the-art HDS compared to the monolithic catalysts. These monolithic catalysts were prepared from cordierite and coated first with two layers of α-Al₂O₃ followed by one layer of γ-Al₂O₃. The coated monoliths were then impregnated with NiMo solutions (optimized for the powder catalysts) and some parameters were optimized (such as impregnation time and drying procedure). Finally, monolithic catalysts with the same characteristics as powder catalysts were obtained.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167299106809018
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So, as interesting as is the Slimming Down Sulfur article, by using it as a springboard we have added value to it with a  minimum of effort on our part.

Try out this approach the next time you read a thought-provoking article.

Speaking of which, the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)  is a quick way to add value to your online searching.  Add the blog to your toolbox.