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Engineering Practice

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Taking Advantage of Improvements in Level Measurement Technology

Level measurement technologies have become more versatile, robust and accurate thanks to recent developments. Differential pressure and radar level measurement provide examples Level measurement applications within the chemical and petrochemical industries can be extremely challenging. Level instruments must provide repeatable,…

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Selecting the Right Thermodynamic Models for Process Simulation

Software that enables complex processes to be simulated continues to evolve for a wide range of thermodynamic conditions. Selection of the most appropriate models plays a crucial role in adequately representing real-life conditions One of the first and most important…

Cooling Towers: Water-Treatment Options Advance

Water-treatment programs for cooling towers have evolved in recent years, favoring non-phosphorus programs today. This article reviews the impact on water chemistry and operating reliability Cooling towers are a critical component of many industrial facilities. Cooling towers evaporate only pure…

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Improving Mathematical Model Development and Implementation

This article provides practical guidance for engineers and highlights the importance of combining mathematical skills, domain expertise and proper communications The role of mathematical models in chemical engineering keeps increasing, to the point that some engineers become specialized “modelers.” To…

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Air Coolers Versus Shell-and-Tube Water Coolers

As shown here, economical cooling is often achieved with a combination of both air and water cooling. Design considerations are also presented here For the last 40 years, air-cooled heat exchangers have become an indispensable part of many chemical, petroleum-refining,…

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Accelerating Six Sigma Research with the Definitive Screening Design (DSD) Technique

DSD is a new design-of-experiments (DOE) technique that is expected to bring huge benefits when using a Six Sigma optimization strategy Statistical tools are deeply ingrained in the Six Sigma methodology to optimize processes and products during chemical process industries…

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Cost Engineering: Equipment Purchase Costs

A methodology and examples for estimating equipment costs are presented Engineers have the responsibility to create projects having attractive returns on investment and to create economically sound designs — designs that produce high-quality, competitively priced products. This requires the technical…

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A Shortcut to Optimize Pipe Diameters by Economic Criteria

This methodology can be used not only for laminar flow, but also for the complete turbulent flow region In recent decades, the impact of energy costs on the transport of fluids has led to a significant reduction in fluid velocity…

Recommended Fluid Velocities in Pipelines

The recommended velocities for fluids’ transportation must be updated periodically to obtain the optimum value of the pipe diameter in the current economic conditions To arrive at the optimum diameters for pipes, the heuristic criteria of recommended velocity has been…

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Engineering & Construction (E&C): Modeling Integration Enables Optimized Execution

As E&C companies strive to develop Building Information Modeling (BIM) 6D models for the owners and operators of CPI facilities, strong efficiency gains benefit all parties Truly transformational change is upon the engineering and construction (E&C) industry, and some consider…