1.         A perfume chemist working on a new formulation would like to find a co-solvent, perhaps an alcohol, that ensures solubility of all the ingredients and a clear solution.  Alcohols with a boiling point between 100-200°C, and a melting point between 50-100°C can be considered.
            A Knovel advanced search of (keyword) ALCOHOL; (physical constants) BOILING POINT is between 100 – 200; and (physical constants) MELTING POINT is between 50 – 100, will bring up the Knovel Critical Tables.  A Knovel Interactive Table will show properties for 25 alcohol compounds that match the boiling point and melting point criteria.
 

2.         An office manager has recently been tasked with finding new office space.  The office he has chosen is in a great location and is very reasonably priced.  However, there is asbestos in the building.  He needs to find out if .002 fibres per cubic centimeter is a safe level.
            A Knovel keyword search of ASBESTOS and CUBIC CENTIMETER will bring up Patty's Industrial Hygiene.  This title will show the office manager that the acceptable level of asbestos for the workplace, as determined by OSHA is 0.2 fibers per cubic centimeter of air, well over the building’s level.

3.         An engineering manager at a company that makes valves has an application that will require a valve to be placed in river water where barnacles have been a problem. The project has been delayed for over a year while he has searched for a coating to put on stainless steel that will prevent barnacles from attaching to the interior of the valve.
            A Knovel keyword search of STEEL and BARNACLES will bring up Fungicides, Biocides and Preservatives for Industrial and Agricultural Applications, which tells him to use BIOMET TBTF (Tributyltin Fluoride) Anti-Foulant for Marine Paints.  Without a Knovel search, the engineer would not likely have looked in this book, which was published in 1987, or have been able to find the answer within it.

4.         A food chemist is trying to find a chemical that will add the scent of pineapple to a new ice cream she is developing. The chemical needs to have a molecular weight of less than 160 g/mol.
            A Knovel keyword search of PINEAPPLE will yield the Food Chemicals Codex. The chemist can open a Knovel Interactive Table containing data on flavor chemicals. By using the “Find Data in Table” (any part of cell) option, she can identify all substances that have a PINEAPPLE odor. One substance, Allyl Hexanoate, has a molecular weight of 156.22 g/mol.

5.         A food manufacturing company plans to produce a new spice flavor by using an oleoresin (prepared by solvent extraction of ground spices). The food technologist plans to use acetone as the solvent for extraction, given its wide availability and economical cost. However, it is necessary when using chemicals in commercial food preparation to ensure the correct purity of the substances used. The food technologist would like to know the purity of acetone needed to meet acceptable standards, and what tests can be performed to measure its purity.
            A Knovel keyword search of ACETONE, limited to “Food Science,” will yield the Food Chemicals Codex, Interactive Table-Monographs. Viewing the acetone monograph,  will show that Assay value is "Not less than 99.5% and not more than 100.5% of C₃H₆O, by weight." Also shown, are a variety of tests to verify purity.

6.         A man working in a helicopter manufacturing plant was having a rough morning – he poured a cleaning solution containing calcium carbonate into his coffee instead of creamer.  His co-workers need to know right away how to help him.
            A Knovel keyword search of CALCIUM CARBONATE and FIRST AID will bring up Sittig's Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens, which tells the group that vomiting should be induced and the man should be taken to the hospital immediately.

7.         A graduate student at one of the leading medical universities is in the process of completing a research study on cell-based diseases and is trying to find information to map the disease of a certain chromosome-chromosome 19.
            Using Knovel, the student performs a keyword search using chromosome 19 and disease. The search retrieves information in Wiley Encyclopedia of Molecular Medicine-Volumes 1-5. The student can now easily find the many diseases that are localized on this chromosome and easily work with the information because it is formatted in Knovel’s HTML Reader.

8.         A non-profit group in a small community is working with an engineering group to create a bioprocessing plant to clean up years of contamination from a now dormant industrial plant. As part of the planning process, the non-profit group is drafting an outline to present at a town board meeting. One of the critical parts of the outline is to estimate all of the necessary equipment that is needed so that budgets can be set.
            Using Knovel, a representative of the group performs a keyword search using plant and equipment, limiting the search to the “Biochemistry, Biology and Biotechnology” Subject Area. The search retrieves information in Encyclopedia of Bioprocess Technology - Fermentation, Biocatalysis, and Bioseparation, Volumes 1-5. The individual can now get an outline of the equipment and resources that are necessary to budget for.

9.         A technician has just started a new job at small pharmaceutical company. The technician has many years of experience operating chromatography instrumentation in the environmental testing field, but has little experience with pharmaceutical methods. The first task that the new technician is assigned to is the validation of a liquid chromatograph.
            Using Knovel, the technician performs a keyword search using CHROMATOGRAPHY and VALIDATION as keywords, limiting the search to the “Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics and Toiletries” Subject Area. The search retrieves information in Biopharmaceuticals, an Industrial Perspective, which provides an outline and details on how to properly perform an instrument validation. The technician now has a roadmap, created by professionals in the Pharmaceuticals industry, to follow.

10.       A formulations chemist working at a personal care products company has been tasked with designing a new hair treatment. Due to all the media publicity about UV danger, the product needs to provide protection to UV light as well as compliment the other hair-care products the company offers.
            Using Knovel, the chemist performs a keyword search using PROTECTION and HAIR as keywords, limiting the search to the “Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics and Toiletries” Subject Area. The search retrieves information from Cosmetic and Toiletry Formulations, Volume 6 (2nd Edition), which provides details on other similar products and their formulations. The chemist now has the background needed to start the work.

11.       A safety engineering working with the HAZMAT team from a local community is working on preparedness planning procedures for a propane storage facility which is about to open for business. Part of the planning documentation involves estimating the rate of discharge of the propane gas should a storage tank be punctured. The findings from the study will need to be documented and placed in a report to the community’s supervisory commission.
            A Knovel keyword search using GAS DISCHARGE and HOLE, will yield the Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis. Viewing the text, the engineer finds that the data has been made interactive my Knovel. The engineer simply needs to click inside the blue (live) outline in the text, and the data and calculations are automatically formatted in an Excel spreadsheet. He engineer can then easily merge these spreadsheet data calculations into the planning report for the community commission.