Heat Transfer
Digital Tools Help Optimize Steam Systems
Measuring and monitoring tools simplify steam-system management and increase efficiency Although widely used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), steam systems are often neglected until there is an issue with safety, reliability or steam quality. However, as processors become more…
January 2023 Bookshelf: Recently Published Books for the CPI
The following lists recently published books of relevance to the chemical process industries (CPI): The Other Side of Safety: Moving from Results-Based to Behavior-Based. By Robert Palmer, CRC Press, 2023, 154 pages, $71.96. A New Approach to HAZOP of Complex…
New Applications for Spiral-Tube Heat Exchangers
A decades-old, yet less well-known type of heat exchanger offers advantages for new and emerging applications Spiral-tube or helically-coiled heat exchangers have been around for decades addressing sample cooling, mechanical seal cooling, vent condensers, vaporization and general heating or cooling…
Explosion Protection in Hydrogen Applications: Principles, Practice and Technology
The use of hydrogen brings unique safety challenges, especially explosion risks. As its use grows across industries, effective explosion protection becomes essential. Understanding the principles, practices, and technologies behind explosion protection ensures reliable operations and safeguards people, equipment, and the…
A process for making improved composite insulation material
Hollow silica particles (HSPs) are materials of interest for thermal insulation applications because of their very low thermal conductivity, but the particles pose health hazards and the powder is impractical to use, so scientists have been trying to incorporate HSPs…
Managing Fouling in Heat Exchangers
Fouling of heat exchanger surfaces reduces thermal efficiency. An improved understanding of fouling and the design factors that affect it can help ensure that heat exchange occurs during normal operating conditions Using tubular heat exchangers is an efficient and reliable…
Rotary Drying: Developing a Process in a Test Setting
Testing not only illustrates proof of process and provides other critical assurances, but it also reveals the parameters necessary to reliably yield consistent results Drying is an integral tool in pretreating and finishing bulk solids, which helps producers to meet…
Commercial debut for sand-based thermal-energy storage
Last month, operation began at Polar Night Energy Oy’s (Tampere, Finland; www.polarnightenergy.com) first commercial sand-based thermal-energy storage system. The thermal storage system, which is located at the Vatajankoski power plant, is now producing low-emission district heating to the city of…
Achieving Balance in Combustion
New hardware combined with monitoring technologies can help optimize combustion now and in the carbon-conscious future Combustion has long been a delicate balancing act. Chemical processors want their combustion systems to be fuel efficient and available for use, while at…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Heat-Transfer Fluid System Venting
Heat transfer fluids (HTFs) provide heating and cooling of process equipment, including reactors, autoclaves, distillation columns, reboilers, mixers and dryers. HTF system designs should provide for effective system venting, both of residual water at startup and of degradation products during…