Mobile Navigation

Focus on Sensors

Steute Industrial Controls Inductive sensors for operation in hazardous zones The new line of ATEX-IECEx-certified inductive sensors (photo) is designed for use in Zone 0 and 20 explosive atmospheres and extreme environments. Units are available in M8, M12, M18 and…

Member Exclusive

Polypropylene Bulk-Phase Process

Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer formed by the polymerization of 10,000–20,000 monomers of propylene. With a global market of about 60 million metric tons per year, PP is the second most-used polymer globally. More than 35% of the world’s…

ChemInnovations 2013 Conference & Expo Show Preview

  The ChemInnovations 2013 Conference and Expo will be held September 25 and 26 at the Moody Gardens Convention Center in Galveston, Tex. With eight conference tracks and a number of industry experts (See Chem. Eng., August p. 30–31 for…

Member Exclusive

PVC and CPVC Plastics for CPI Equipment

Chemical processing equipment made from thermoplastics can have distinct advantages for equipment corrosion, fluid contamination and flame retardancy. When purchased in the form of heavy-gauge sheets, these thermoplastics can be machined, fabricated and formed into a virtually unlimited variety of…

Member Exclusive

How To Properly Size A Steam Trap

Proper steam-trap sizing is critical to efficient and reliable steam-trap operation. Incorrect steam trap sizing can undermine the design and function of the steam trap, create installation issues, and cause condensate backup, steam loss, or both. Steam-trap sizing refers to…

Member Exclusive

Improve Rotary Equipment Reliability with Checklists

Rotary equipment, such as centrifugal pumps, often represent the heart of plants in the chemical process industries (CPI). A critical factor in the longterm reliability of such equipment is a high-quality design and commissioning process, so that initially, the rotary…

Member Exclusive

Fundamentals of Bulk Solids Mixing and Blending

Mixing and blending of bulk solids is a common processing step in many industries. For example, in pharmaceutical manufacturing of solid dosage formulations (tablets or capsules), small amounts of a powdered active drug are carefully blended with excipients, such as…

Member Exclusive

BASF to build new plant for high-performance polyamide, and more business news

Plant Watch Chevron Phillips receives key permits for large Gulf Coast project August 14, 2013 — Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (The Woodlands, Tex; www.cpchem.com) has received key permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental…

Markus Tacke becomes CEO of the Wind Power Div. of Siemens Energy Sector…

Schonemann Camasso Miller Riojas Hill Hans Schonemann becomes president of Phasex Corp. (Lawrence, Mass.), which specializes in supercritical fluid extraction. He replaces Phasex founder Val Krukonis , who becomes director, R&D programs James Camasso becomes plant manager. Netzsch Pumps North…

Member Exclusive

The science of droplets

Many chemical engineers study or employ distillation trays, gas-liquid separators and spray nozzles. Most of those engineers have studied or employed force balances around liquid droplets suspended in upward-flowing vapor streams. Considering a droplet of size “ d, ” for…