Managing Large Chemical Plant Startups
Prudent planning and scheduling during a project’s front end can lead to more expedient commissioning…
Cover Story
Commentary
Have you noticed?
If you’ve been noticing something different about your recent issues of Chemical Engineering — you…
In The News
Newsfronts
Improved Particle-Size Analysis Boosts Quality
Particle-size analysis methods are changing for the better, reducing rework and improving yield Particle-size analysis…
U.S. Petroleum Refining: Snapshot 2015
Developments from the 2015 AFPM annual meeting frame a picture of the current state of…
Chementator
May Chementator Briefs
A natural fungicide An international research team, led by Yoshikazu Ohya at the University of…
An effective graphene-based desalination membrane
Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) have demonstrated an efficient…
Nanolaminated alloys grow parts for enhanced corrosion resistance
By controlling material interfaces at the nano-scale, Modumetal Inc. (Seattle, Wash.; www.modumetal.com) has developed a…
‘Up-cycling’ perfluorinated polymers
At the end of March, Dyneon GmbH (Burgkirchen, Germany) — a fully owned subsidiary of…
Making bioethanol directly from starch
Today, the cost of enzymes continues to make bioethanol uncompetitive as a fuel. Eliminating the…
Air-capture of CO2 using waste process heat
Carbon-negative technology being commercialized by Global Thermostat LLC (New York, N.Y.; www.globalthermostat.com) removes carbon dioxide…
A desalination membrane that is resistant to chlorine
The major drawback of existing membranes for desalination plants is that the membranes are not…
A pulsation dampener that decreases pump energy consumption
A new pulsation dampener benefits from a design that can reportedly decrease energy usage. The…
Construction to begin on biomass-to-fuels facility
Construction is set to begin on a biorefinery in Oregon this summer that will manufacture…
New cryogenic technology for cooling superconducting cables
Industrial gases specialist Messer Group GmbH (Bad Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com) has developed a new cryogenic…
Business News
Lanxess starts up EPDM rubber plant in China; and more business news
Plant Watch Roquette launches isosorbide production unit in France April 10, 2015 — Roquette Freres…
Technical & Practical
Flare-Gas Recovery Methods for Olefin Plants
Adding flare-gas recovery units at strategic locations of an olefin plant can not only reduce…
Feature Report
Connecting Operations Personnel to Reliability Efforts
Seven methodologies are described to help operations staff take greater ownership of asset performance The…
Facts at Your Fingertips
Catalysis Fundamentals
Catalysis is among the most important chemical phenomena in industrial chemistry, as well as in…
Technology Profile
Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas
Hydrogen (H2) is an important chemical feedstock, mainly applied in the manufacture of ammonia and…
Engineering Practice
Troubleshooting Tube-Deterioration Mechanisms in Direct-Fired Heaters
A practical step-by-step guide for reducing future tube failure Forced outage of a direct-fired heater…
Environmental Manager
Optimizing Pressure Relief Systems
Alternative designs for pressure relief systems may offer investment cost savings Pressure relief systems for…
Equipment & Services
Focus
Flowmeters
Compact flowmeter manages up to six common plant gases The ZFM Mass Flow Meters (photo)…
New Products
A mobile wireless router for industrial remote communication
This company has expanded its Scalance M wireless router series by adding two new devices.…
A rupture disc specially designed for transport containers
The Intermodal Container Disc (ICD) is a fully lined rupture disc that provides high-performance overpressure…
Mobile storage cages with adjustable shelves
Available from this storage specialist, Stak-Red mobile security cages provide a secure and practical alternative…
A new ultrasonic flowmeter for superheated steam
The Optisonic 8300 is a dedicated ultrasonic flowmeter for the measurement of superheated steam. The…
Robot-assisted measurements of surface free-energy
At the Hannover trade fair last month, this company introduced its Large Surface Analyzer (LSA),…
A compact liquid flowmeter for industrial applications
The new SLS-1500 liquid flowmeter delivers fast and precise measurements for flow rates of 0…
Improve ergonomics with these vertical work positioners
This company’s line of hydraulic and pneumatic work positioners keep workpieces close at hand and…
Enhance HDPE performance with this nucleating agent
Hyperform HPN 210 M is a nucleating agent used with injection-molded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in…
This remote user interface is now hazardous-location certified
The EZ-Zone EZK, a remote user interface (RUI) that can also be used as a…
A new version of this piping-system design software
Launched in March, HydroFlo 3 is the latest version of this popular piping-system design software.…
A high-pressure microreactor for small-batch chemistry
The HPR-Micro Reactor is a high-pressure reactor specifically designed for small-batch reaction chemistry, and is…
Compact turbine pumps for low flows, high pressures
The MTH range of pumps is ideally suited to applications, such as boiler feed, high-pressure…
The introduction of a new vibration analyzer
VibXpert Ultra is a new generation four-channel FFT (fast Fourier transform) data collector, signal analyzer…
Three-phase separation in a single machine
Three-phase separation has now become a significant alternative in the food industry both for starch…
A solid-state relay with fast release times and little noise
The RV8S solid-state interface relay boasts a compact 6-mm footprint, and features high switching cycles,…
A new plasticizer for phthalate-free solutions in PVC
With a key plasticizer, dioctyl phthalate (DOP), no longer permitted under European Union REACH regulations…
Miniature thermometer for sterile processes gets Ex approvals
The TR21 miniature resistance thermometer is currently the only instrument on the market that combines…
A heavy fuel viscosity meter for demanding applications
The Micro Motion Heavy Fuel Viscosity Meter (HFVM) Viscomaster is the next generation of the…
Achieve vapor-pressure testing for up to 12 samples in one run
The newly introduced RUN12 Auto Sampler can achieve rapid and continuous vapor-pressure testing of up…
PAT portfolio extended with sensors for flowrate measurement
This company has entered into a global development cooperation agreement with the flow-measurement company em-tec…
These interlocks withstand temperatures over 1,800°F
In recent tests, the GL and QL interlocks withstood temperatures of up to 1,830°F (1,000°C).…
High-performance safety relays are only 6-mm wide
The new PSRmini safety modules (photo) are said to be the narrowest safety relays in…
Introducing pH sensors that are able to learn
Not knowing when pH sensors will require maintenance or if a sensor is going to…
This underwater pelletizing system now has new features
The re-designed underwater pelletizing system Sphero S incorporates a variety of feature upgrades, making it…
Measure lubricating-oil viscosity with extremely small samples
The new microVISC-m viscometer is designed to simplify daily or routine measurements of lubricating oils’…
Mini cabinets increase flexibility for outdoor installers
The new MiniCab housings (photo) combine a relatively high containment capacity with convenient pipe stand…
Use these ribbed burst panels in vacuum conditions
This newly launched ribbed bursting panel ensures that safe operations are maintained when low to…
Precision gas-control for harsh environments
Employing new materials produced in a proprietary process, the LumiShield series of gas-control components (photo)…
Faster startup times with these graphic terminals
The new Allen-Bradley PanelView 800 family of graphic terminals is designed for a faster startup…
Enhanced software for ERP document management
This provider of enterprise-class document management and workflow solutions recently launched program support for Fujitsu…
Show Previews
Achema 2015 Show Preview
Achema 2015 — the 31 st world forum for the chemical process industries (CPI) —…