These vacuum inlet traps protect pumps across many applications, from laboratory settings to scalable production systems. The inlet vacuum traps feature user-selectable filter elements for removing the corrosive gases and abrasive particles created by processes that use volatile organic compounds…
Effective level measurement in the chemical process industries (CPI) helps maintain material inventory at economic quantities, improves product quality and maximizes plant output by avoiding spills and process upsets. When they are incorrectly matched to their application, level-measurement devices can…
How big can a fermenter get? And what would the biggest fermenter look like? The answers to these questions depend upon how the requirements of heat transfer, mass transfer (gas-to-liquid), and momentum transfer (mixing) are met. In an earlier article…
Dilute-phase pneumatic conveying systems must be operated in a certain sequence and have sufficient instrumentation and operating controls to assure reliable operation and prevent problems. This article discusses two subjects that are important for successful dilute-phase conveying. Discussed below are…
As an owner or manager of a company whose product is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you will, at some point, be subjected to an FDA inspection. And once an inspection is underway in your facility,…
Ethylene and propylene are the most important intermediates in the petrochemical industry. Globally, they are produced mainly by steam cracking of hydrocarbons, such as naphtha, propane and ethane. The methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process is an alternative approach to producing these light…
The chemical process industries (CPI) are, by their very nature, global in scope. While chemical process operators share many common aspects (in terms of the use of chemical engineering unit operations), the location of their operation brings about different requirements…
About thirty years ago, my golf foursome learned an important safety lesson and we credited the Dalai Lama. We were all big fans of the movie “Caddyshack.” In that movie, Bill Murray’s character talks about caddying in the Himalayans for…
Plant Watch SNC-Lavalin wins contract for sulfuric-acid project in Saudi Arabia February 7, 2014 — SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada; www.snclavalin.com), in consortium with Sinopec Engineering Group, has signed a contract with Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia to provide engineering, procurement,…
Festge Kerin Schuster DiBiano Self Novasep (Pompey, France), a supplier to the life sciences industry, welcomes Thierry Van Nieuwenhove as president of the company’s synthesis business unit. Robert Kumpf becomes CTO of specialty chemicals producer Elevance Renewable Sciences (Woodridge,…