Ah, the simple joys of summer: warm evenings on the back patio with friends, fresh tomatoes on a BLT, and the sweet smell of chlorine after a long afternoon at the local pool—it doesn’t get much better than that. But that pool-perfume we associate with swimming has more applications than just summertime fun. In fact, chlorine is a fascinating chemical, essential to everyday life, and used in the production of everything from life-saving medication to the phone in your hand.

Hold on to your swim caps—let’s dive in.

To some, scientific terms like “polymer” and “biopolymer” may seem intimidating. They have the power to take us back to high school chemistry class or may cause us to tune out. On the other hand, words like “carbs” or “proteins” are easy, every-day ideas. They spark visions of bagels and roast beef sandwiches—tangible, straight-forward, edible words—and we feel confident in our knowledge of these concepts.

Here’s the good news: there’s no need to be intimidated by science jargon—you’re already familiar with biopolymers. Those carbohydrates, proteins, and starches that you know so well are all types of biopolymers, and we interact with them every day.

So what exactly is a biopolymer? The word itself is a combination of two ideas, “bio” and “polymer,” so let’s break down those concepts.

In Part 1 of this blog, we dove into airport fueling systems including what a fueling system is, best options based on the size of an airport, and how a freight-based operator (FBO) operates - read that post here. Now, we continue with a focus on specific topics that help us understand this area in more detail.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… an airport fueling system?

Most of us have never given airport fueling systems a second thought, yet anyone who has traveled by plane owes them a debt of gratitude.

Not surprisingly, filling an airplane with fuel isn’t as simple as pulling into a gas station and filling up the tank. Fuel systems are complicated and intricate, but they play a vital role in the transport of mail, imported goods, and human beings across the globe. While they’re not exactly Superman, fueling systems might just be the unsung heroes of the skies.

It wasn’t so long ago that two thirty-somethings stood on a beach near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, witnessing the first powered flight in the history of the world. The year was 1903: Wilbur Wright was airborne for roughly three seconds. A century later, homosapiens have been transformed from a species incapable of flight to one that has walked on the moon--it’s hard to imagine so much innovation in only a few generations.

Stop, drop, and roll: most anyone who hears this phrase knows exactly what to do and why: they’re on fire!

As acts of fire prevention, we clean our chimneys, install smoke detectors (and change their batteries), and instruct children never to play with matches. But is fire safety really that simple?

Not exactly. And it becomes even more complicated when added risks—like proximity to flammable substances or large crowds—are part of the equation.

So how can we prevent fires? Enter: the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Let’s have a little Q&A.

Paint is pretty powerful.

Not paint-ings, like Picasso or Monet. Just paint. Painting beige walls a “dusty rose” transforms a room from a boring home-office to an expectant nursery, while a coat of “sage green” on wooden cabinets takes a dated kitchen into the twenty-first century. Paint can change a familiar space into something totally unrecognizable, but it can also serve as a form of self-expression: agonizing over two shades of green allows those of us who are artistically challenged to tap into our inner Rembrandt.

Run a comb through your hair and apply a dollop of Coppertone® to your face: voila, presto, you’re ready for anything! Bring on the day, you can handle it—at least, that’s how it used to be. These days, most of us require a much more complicated beauty regimen, with North Americans spending upwards of $35 billion annually on makeup products alone. Between Instagram influencers, un-aging Hollywood celebrities, and the endless rows of cosmetics displayed at our local drugstores, it’s clear that the beauty and personal care industry is big business.

But what has to happen before all that toothpaste, sunscreen, and mascara make their way into our bathroom drawers?

The Bakken Region, home to one of the largest contiguous deposits of oil and natural gas in North America, is no stranger to extreme weather, easily dropping to sub-zero temperatures in winter and rising to over 100°F in the summer.

As an example of how international engineering and performance standards can be applied to improving ship technology and functionality, the LNG bunkering vessel M/T Coralius is a fitting case.  Owned by Sirius Shipping and the Anthony Veder Group and chartered by Skangas (now Gasum), the Coralius, which completed her first bunkering operation in September 2017, contributes to an LNG infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region while boasting a fuel transfer system technology that is truly state-of-the-art.