Efforts continue to make nitric-acid production more efficient with lower emissions of greenhouse gases Like the ammonia used to make it, nitric acid (NA) continues to be produced by a process nearly a century old — the Ostwald process. Although…
More sophisticated packaging equipment helps the CPI boost product quality and machine reliability When it comes to packaging their products, chemical, pharmaceutical and food processors list product quality, often directly related to health and human safety, as the top concern,…
Predictive process models enable more efficient operations and higher-value products When they hear the words “process modeling,” some may envision an engineer sitting in front of a laptop waiting for a distillation column flowsheet to converge. While flowsheet simulations are…
New motors and drives provide energy efficiency and reliability in chemical applications Always on the lookout for ways to reduce downtime and energy costs, chemical processors are turning to advanced motors and drives to help achieve these goals. Sometimes as…
An overview of how the chemical process industries are looking to the IIoT to help form new business models in a competitive environment Today, technological advances are being made and implemented at an accelerated pace that is quickly changing the…
New IIoT- and cloud-enabled digital tools and services give petroleum refiners new avenues to increase profitability and safety, but also require greater attention to cybersecurity While several forces are creating conditions in which U.S. petroleum refiners can thrive in 2017…
Due to the rising costs of water use and disposal, improved treatment technologies make economic sense While chemical processors think of themselves as just that — makers of chemicals — they don’t often consider themselves players in the water industry.…
As price margins tighten, ammonia and urea producers are diversifying their products, while new catalysts and process improvements boost capacities and lower energy consumption Since the start of “shale-gas boom” in 2012, the U.S. has been moving toward becoming an…
Wearable sensors enhance CPI worker safety and help close the approaching skills gap For many years, sensors have been used in the chemical process industries (CPI) for many activities, including monitoring the health and safety of employees. In these applications,…
As new regulations take effect, familiar refrigerants are being phased out and a variety of next-generation materials and processes are being introduced Agreed upon in October 2016 after negotiations from over 170 nations, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol…