FRI is lucky to have survived a simple valve-tray project. A few years ago, the low-pressure (LP) test column stood empty, because there were no trays ready to be installed. The intention was to install a set of new valve…
About thirty years ago, my golf foursome learned an important safety lesson and we credited the Dalai Lama. We were all big fans of the movie “Caddyshack.” In that movie, Bill Murray’s character talks about caddying in the Himalayans for…
I felt somewhat insulted when he said, “At universities, we do the difficult work and we leave the easy work for industry.” I had asked a question of a speaker at the November 2013 AIChE meeting. The speaker answered the…
FRI’s membership has been growing steadily since 2006. As a result, I have more bosses every year; at present, 78. I receive input from them in several ways. They attend quarterly meetings. They respond to surveys and votes. They send…
Do you know someone whom you would describe as having a distinguished career in chemical engineering? Perhaps it is someone you have admired, or who has inspired you. If you would like to bring recognition to that person, consider nominating…
Capital cost calculations I recently read the article “Capital Costs Quickly Calculated” [ Chem. Eng., pp.46–52, April 2009] and find it extremely informative and useful. I have reservations about the example given about the cost comparison of two spherical storage…
It is with extreme reticence that I author this page, even though I received permission several months ago to do so. FRI had a near miss in 2010, which was identical to a near miss that occurred in 2007. In…
Currently, there are around 13,000 desalination plants in operation or under construction in 150 countries, according to the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE; Rugby, U.K.; www.icheme.org). A number of these plants are in, or are planned for, locations that might…
Distillation and absorption are back. The AIChE Spring Meeting (San Antonio, April 28–May 2) proved it and the fall meeting to be held in November will muffle any doubting Thomases. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, I spent appreciable…
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…