Vertellus (Indianapolis, Ind.) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain businesses of Toronto-based Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. This acquisition will expand Vertellus’ capabilities to manufacture and develop specialty ingredients in high-growth healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. Under the…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) intends to divest its Lülsdorf site in the medium term. More detailed plans will be drawn up by spring 2022. The aim is to transfer the entire site to a new owner, although the sale…
Usalco, LLC (Baltimore, Md.), a producer of water treatment and industrial chemicals, announced that it has acquired the water treatment business of Altivia (Houston). Altivia’s water treatment business is a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals for municipal water and wastewater…
Linear alpha olefins (LAOs) are hydrocarbons with the chemical formula CnH2n, characterized by linear chains and one double bond at the alpha position (Figure 1). Such hydrocarbons are important chemical intermediates, widely used in several industrial and consumer products according…
In some situations, it might be necessary to remove or replace a bolt during operation. This article shows how to determine the proper bolt load to prevent leaks Bolted flange joints (Figure 1) are part of pressure vessel and piping…
Taking a system approach to find the root cause of a problem can be more beneficial than simply replacing a problematic pump. This article explains why We want the best reliability with anything that we work with. In a plant…
The recently concluded 5th annual Connected Plant Conference (CPC; www.connectedplantconference.com), held in Austin, Tex., illustrated both the real promise of Industry 4.0 digital tools to improve operational efficiency and safety at chemical process industries (CPI) facilities, as well as the…
Improved understanding of differential pressure (DP) flowmeter operation, along with best calibration practices, reduces maintenance errors Utilizing an orifice plate installed in a pipe and accurately measuring the differential pressure (DP) to calculate flow is one of most common methods…
Until now, manufacturing polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that are small, light and capable of mechanical movement has been challenging using conventional methods. PEMFCs are composed of end plates, bipolar plates, gaskets, membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and other assembly parts, of…
Storage tanks containing hazardous materials require safety instrumented systems (SIS) to prevent overfills. Digital technology in the latest level-measurement devices used in SIS enables remote proof-testing, which provides significant advantages At industrial facilities with tanks containing hazardous, flammable or explosive…