The LE-217 explosion-proof halogen flashlight is designed for hazardous locations. Its polypropylene body and Tufflex lens are resistant to breakage and water. The flashlight features an oversized faceted reflector to optimize the use of the two halogen bulbs, which produce…
A seven-member investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; www.csb.gov) is deploying to the scene of an explosion and fire that occurred Monday, August 6, at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, Calif. The team will be headed by…
Achema 2012 — the 30th International Exhibition Congress on Chemical Engineering, Environmental Protection and Biotechnology that occurred in late June in Frankfurt am Main, Germany — took a decidedly forward-looking stance, focusing on a set of topics that the chemical…
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) announced today the selection of eight projects to advance the development of transformational oxy-combustion technologies capable of high-efficiency, low-cost carbon dioxide…
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; www.csb.gov) has released a new safety video that examines the concept of inherent safety and its application across industry; “Inherently Safer: The Future of Risk Reduction” stems from the August 28, 2008, explosion that…
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; www.csb.gov) has announced a public hearing to support its continued analysis of effective safety-performance indicators and to release preliminary findings into the agency’s investigation of the Macondo well blowout, explosion and fire in the…
Understanding the inherent limitations of current overpressure protection analyses is key to developing a more robust heuristic In designing and sizing relief-device and effluent-handling systems, one commonly overlooked aspect of the performance is examining the potential for low temperatures that…
After a serious accident at a chemical plant, petroleum refinery or other freestanding industrial facility, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; www.csb.gov) may immediately initiate an investigation, often getting “in the air” while the emergency is still unfolding. The CSB…
Circa 1978, Reese and I visited a petrochemical plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. Primarily, our job was to inspect trays that had been installed in three columns. Each of those columns was about 10 ft in diameter and 100 ft…
Electrochemical and chemical-precipitation technology from New Sky Energy (Boulder, Colo.; www.newskyenergy.com) allows the conversion of salty wastewater and CO2 from fluegas into valuable process chemicals, such as soda ash, calcium carbonate, sulfuric acid, bleach and other chemicals. New Sky’s customizable…