Feature Report
Process Commercialization: The 2017 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award
The path to commercialization can be long and arduous, which means the engineers and chemists taking the path must have a good deal of patience, dedication and fortitude. To honor the efforts of those chemical engineers and their companies that…
Pump Sizing and Selection Made Easy
Viscosity, power consumption, commercial availability and lifecycle cost analysis are all important considerations in pump sizing. An automated spreadsheet method helps engineers take those factors into account in centrifugal pump selection Many aspiring chemical engineers enter industry after university study…
Cost Engineering: Time Value of Money
Deciding whether to put a project on the fast track entails risks. Some observations are presented here to help minimize risks and maximize profits Time is money!” my mother used to tell me, whenever she caught me reading comic books…
Decommissioning: Preparing Plants for a Retrofit
As technologies advance and market challenges continue to pose new pressures for operators, the decommissioning and retrofitting of facilities is inevitable. This article provides guidance on how to tackle projects of this nature safely and efficiently As with many industrial…
Valves: Emissions Standards and Current Practices
New industry standards aimed at reducing fugitive emissions have necessitated updates to valve-testing procedures and a renewed focus on high-performance sealing and packing technologies While reducing fugitive emissions is a leading concern in the fight against climate change, emissions continue…
Minimizing Leakage on Heat-Exchanger Girth Flanges
Thermal distortion in heat-exchanger internal components can lead to leakage, but several design measures can be taken to mitigate these concerns Leakage of bolted flange joints results in additional costs at any facility in the chemical process industries (CPI), and…
An Overview of Vacuum System Design
The design of vacuum systems deserves careful attention — there are multiple facets that affect efficiency, operability and cost Understanding vacuum and designing vacuum systems can be difficult, and there are many unique aspects that an engineer must take into…
Odor Issues and Solutions for Wastewater Treatment
Increasingly, wastewater treatment plants must address odors due to volatile contaminants. This guide provides an overview of odor causes and possible remedial actions Processes and applications that emit odor-causing air contaminants are common across many sectors of the chemical process…
Smart Water-Management Strategies: The Time is Now
Considering water-management strategies as a central component of infrastructure design at industrial facilities will unlock cost savings throughout the operation Mounting water shortages and resulting regulations across the globe are fueling the need for seamless and smarter water-management methods —…
Reboiler Circuit Debottleneck with No Hardware Changes
With a thorough investigation and proper problem diagnosis, an entire gas plant limited by a deethanizer reboiler circuit was successfully debottlenecked This article describes a case study of a gas plant (designed by others) that was bottlenecked by the reboil…