Technical & Practical
Measuring Dust and Fines In Polymer Pellets
The ability to carry out measurements of dust and fines in polymer pellets can help operators improve equality control, assess equipment performance and optimize the process Plastics are most commonly produced and sold in pellet form due to the superior…
Strategies for Water Reuse
In more and more locations, the availability of fresh water resources is limited and water reuse is becoming increasingly important. For many industrial applications, the availability of water is essentially a “license to operate”. A large component of the water…
CSTR Design for Reversible 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 rates; or viscous liquids are present that require high agitation rates. Unlike in plugflow reactors, agitation is…
Adsorption
Successful adsorber design requires information about certain adsorbent properties, including: adsorbent densities and void fractions; isotherms or other equilibrium data; and data on mass-transfer kinetics and fixed-bed dynamics. Here, these adsorbent properties are explained, along with corresponding equations. Densities and…
Keeping Cooling Water Clean
Cooling water systems that rely on cooling towers are a critical component at chemical process industries (CPI) facilities. However, during operation, these open recirculating systems concentrate the contaminants in the makeup water, and as a result, scale formation and biological…
REACH: Looking Beyond Pre-registration
Failure to register under REACH closes EU markets for thousands of chemical substances manufactured or marketed in the European Union, whether on their own, in preparations (formulations) or released from articles (finished products). A key policy objective of registration under…
Viscosity: The Basics
Most engineers know what viscosity is, but may have trouble explaining it. To be brief, viscosity is resistance to flow. For handlers of all materials that flow, either while being processed or in an end-use, it is important to think…
Fine Grinding With Impact Mills
Many branches of the chemical process industries (CPI) make use of impact comminution to process solid matter, such as minerals, foodstuffs, pharmaceutical products, and above all, products for the chemicals industry. Impact comminution is also used for coarse crushing, but…
Keeping Cooling Water Clean
Cooling water systems that rely on cooling towers are a critical component at chemical process industries (CPI) facilities. However, during operation, these open recirculating systems concentrate the contaminants in the makeup water, and as a result, scale formation and biological…
The Shotgun Approach: Removal of Fouling Deposits on Heat Transfer Surfaces in Coal-Fired Process Heaters & Boilers
The heat transfer sufaces of coal-fired process heaters and boilers often undergo severe fouling. If left intact, such deposits, consisting of slag from mineral matter contained in the coal, can reduce heat-transfer-surface availability, reduce thermal efficiency and cause corrosion. If…