Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year

It is in recognition of Hielscher Ultrasonics innovative application of ultrasonics technology to biodiesel manufacturing that Frost & Sullivan is pleased to acknowledge the company’s work with the prestigious Award for Technology Innovation of the Year.

“It (Hielscher Ultrasonics) specializes in developing advanced ultrasonics for industrial liquid processing applications and laboratory use. With its extensive expertise in the field of ultrasonics, the company has developed a wide range of equipment that can be employed in biodiesel manufacturing. Hielscher has developed a variety of high performance ultrasonic transducers that are designed to be retrofitted into the process line.
 

Frost & Sullivan Award for Hielscher Ultrasonics Biodiesel Technology

Ultrasonic processing costs result from the investment for ultrasonic devices, electricity costs and maintenance. But even this would make economic sense to manufacturers because such technology could significantly boost the output and installed capacity of an existing plant, more than offsetting the additional cost of the ultrasonics. Extensive testing has demonstrated that quality improves and fewer raw materials are required by using such equipment. This would translate into a direct positive impact on the bottom line for biodiesel manufacturers.”

Analyst Quote

“The recent spurt in the usage of biofuels has sparked off intense research into manufacturing methods. The problem is particularly acute in the manufacture of biodiesel, something that is still largely a batch process. Biodiesel is manufactured by a process called transesterification. In this process, vegetable or animal fat reacts with an alcohol in the presence of a base. In its original form, the reaction is a batch process, which will take about eight hours to 10 hours to produce glycerol and biodiesel.

With the spurt in demand for biofuels, a number of companies are trying to refine the process. Cavitation is one option that is being explored and can be produced through a number of processes including high-pressure nozzles and mechanical agitation. Ultrasonics with equipment supplied by Hielscher though remains one of the more energy-efficient options for cavitation and has shown encouraging results in reducing process time without affecting quality.” says Sivam Sabesan, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan
 

Frost & Sullivan Technology of the Year 2007 Award acknowledges Hielscher Ultrasonics biodiesel reactor technology

About Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

Technology Innovation Award Description

Frost & Sullivan’s Technology Innovation Award is bestowed upon a company (or individual) that has carried out new research, which has resulted in innovation(s) that have or are expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture. This award recognizes the quality and depth of research and development programs as well as the vision and risk-taking that enabled a company to undertake such an endeavor.

Research Methodology

To choose the award recipient, Frost & Sullivan’s analyst team tracks innovation in key hi-tech markets. The selection process includes primary participant interviews and extensive primary and secondary research via the bottom-up approach. The analyst team shortlists candidates on the basis of a set of qualitative and quantitative measurements. The analysts also consider the pace of research and technology innovation, and the significance or potential relevance of the innovation to the overall industry. The ultimate award recipient is chosen after a thorough evaluation of this research.

Measurement Criteria

In addition to the methodology described above, there are specific criteria used to determine the final rankings. The recipient of this award has excelled based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Significance of the innovations in the industry, and across industries (if applicable)
• Potential of the products of innovations to become industry standards
• Competitive advantage of innovation vis-à-vis other related innovations
• Impact (or potential impact) of innovations on company or industry mind share and/or company bottom line
• Breadth of intellectual property related to the innovations, that is, patents, scientific publications, papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Literature / References