Mobile Navigation

Technical & Practical

Evaluating and Reducing the Risks Of Pneumatic Pressure Testing

The pressure testing of process piping and vessels is essential in the chemical process industries (CPI). In liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other cryogenic facilities, residual water left by hydraulic pressure testing could result in operational problems if not completely…

Member Exclusive

Crow’s nest

The fact that I was 150 ft up, on the outside of an extraction column, in January, in Canada, in a 20-mph wind, was not the worst part of the experience. The worst part was that the column was not…

Member Exclusive

February 2011 Letters

Steam thermodynamics Brad Buecker’s article, Steam Generation Thermodynamics (November 2010, pp. 44–47), was excellent — good information without getting bogged down with too much theory and formulae. I never had formal education in thermodynamics so some of the examples he…

Member Exclusive

Inspecting Underground Piping

Piping integrity is always a major concern in the chemical process industries (CPI), but the level of concern elevates when piping is buried underground. Soil conditions not only exacerbate general external corrosion, but also increase the difficulty and cost of…

Member Exclusive

Design Underground Piping For Safety

Buried piping — especially lines carrying hydrocarbons — shoulders many more risks in terms of plant safety and environmental protection than aboveground piping does. Leaks in buried pipes are much harder to detect and, yet, are no less catastrophic. Ironically,…

Member Exclusive

Owners and contractors: Key Metrics Improve Performance

Throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), project owners often track key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that all participants are able to attain or improve important performance objectives associated with their investments. For instance, for complex projects involving various contractors…

Member Exclusive

Earthquake fractionation

Some columns sway with the wind; some columns sway with the waves. In fact, hundreds of columns now reside offshore, on platforms and on barges. Most dry and sweeten gases. Some distill. The trays and packing distributors of such columns…

Effective Plant Safety Management

Although plant safety should be a top priority every day, there are certain times when extra vigilance is needed to make sure that safety practices are being maintained. This article outlines three periods deemed to be “critical” for plant safety…

Safety-Instrumented Systems: Control Valves As Final Elements

History is a constant reminder that accidents and catastrophic events can and do occur in process environments. As processes become more complex (for instance, allowing for greater operating temperatures and pressures to be used) and existing basic process control systems…

Member Exclusive

Reboiler Circuits For Trayed Columns

The reboiler generally supplies most of the energy required to effect component separation. If too much heat is supplied, the tower may flood; conversely, if too little heat is available, separation performance may decrease via poor reflux ratio (pinching), excessive…