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Cover Story: Nano Know-How

This brief introduction to nanotechnology provides a basic understanding to those new to the field Most chemical engineers and chemists are aware of the recent excitement generated by nanotechnology, but many may wonder what all the fuss is about. Nanotechnology…

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Pipe Sizing

Friction Factor Fluid flowing through pipes experiences resistance due to viscosity, turbulence and roughness of the pipe surface. The Darcy-Weisbach Equation (1) is commonly used for the analysis of steady-state, Newtonian-fluid flow inside pipes. It summarizes the relations between frictional…

Eye-and-Face Personal Protective Equipment

Eye injuries of all types occur at a rate of more than 2,000 per day in the U.S., and half of those occur in the workplace. In 2006, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported over 52,000 workplace injuries…

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Compact Heat Exchangers: Improving Heat Recovery

There is increasing pressure on industry to reduce both energy usage and the associated CO2 emissions. An important and profitable action that industry can take is to recover more process energy and thus improve the efficient use of that energy.…

Comments on Pressure Relief System Design

I would like to draw your attention to a few points on the November 2008 article, Pressure Relief System Design (pp. 40–45): 1. Pressure drop and pressure loss: The inlet pressure “drop” that the author refers to under Relief system…

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A primer on coal-to-liquids

As an energy resource, global coal reserves represent 2,000 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In 2007, global oil reserves were about 1,300 billion barrels of oil. World wide, oil demand will grow 40 to 50% by 2030. But coal offers…

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Tray Column Design

Here, we present criteria needed for the intelligent, effective specification of trays for a distillation or stripping column. Among the key parameters and accessories during specification are column diameter, tray spacing, number of trays, number of passes, type of downcomers,…

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CSTRs: Bound for Maximum Conversion

Here, a design approach for continuous stirred-tank reactors is outlined for both reversible and irreversible second-order reactions Multiple CSTRs (continuous stirred-tank reactors) are advantageous in situations where the reaction is slow; two immiscible liquids are present and require higher agitation…

Controlling Emissions With Ceramic Filters

Ceramic filters are well suited for high-temperature processes that are subject to strict emissions limits, including those for dioxins About Incineration Incineration processes are being widely used more and more to deal with the disposal of waste materials. In many…

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Active Management of Pipespool Fabricators

In today’s fast track schedules for constructing new capital facilities, the process of designing, delivering and erecting piping often falls in the project’s critical path. This is particularly true for facilities constructed in emerging economies, where the facility generally resides…