Piping design is the job of configuring the physical aspects of pipe and components in an effort to conform with piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), fluid-service requirements, associated material specifications, equipment-data sheets, and current good manufacturing practices (GMP)…
Most columns shut down without fires. Yet most refineries and chemical plants at some time or another have experienced spontaneous or hot work ignitions in at least one column. When this occurs inside a column during or after…
Emergency pressure relief is a dynamic event with rapidly changing physical properties. Available utilities aren’t always capable of handling the complex calculations commonly needed in the CPI. A simplified calculation technique is presented to address the issue of valve sizing…
As the nanoparticle market continues to swell, expertise is surfacing about nanoparticle grinding and dispersion processes. A grinding solution (wet grinding with agitator bead mills) achieves the production of nanoparticles with an average fineness of 40–100 nanometers (nm).…
Process performance, quality and reliability depend directly on how a plant performs in real time. Yet many plants track and respond only to longterm averages. By measuring and responding to realtime measures, you can ensure: Quick…
Most assets depreciate, losing value over time as a result of wear and tear, age, or obsolescence. Corrosion, like depreciation, results in the often hidden cost of a non-cash expense — measurable in terms of reduced operating life…
It's no secret that the chemical process industries (CPI) are being significantly impacted by the recent increases in energy costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the CPI's percentage of total operating costs that are attributable to…
In your energy efficiency programs, don't overlook air-pollution control and ventilation systems, which account for more than 25% of CPI energy consumption on average The cost to power fans and ventilators in the chemical process industries (CPI) is a significant…
Although sealing technologies rarely make the headline, when they do, its usually for a tragic reason, which demonstrates how important this small component really is. For example, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds…
Business software applications, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) — the broad set of activities that are supported by application software to help companies manage business activities, including product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service…