Technical & Practical
Will Mass Flow Solve All Your Segregation Problems?
Most chemical processes must produce products that are uniformly mixed. There have been many articles written about preventing particle segregation during bulk solids flow; and ensuring a mass flow pattern is a common suggestion. But mass flow alone is not…
Understanding Atmospheric Storage Tanks
Liquids are accumulated and stored in tanks of various shapes and sizes throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). A small number of companies have made the design, fabrication and erection of these vessels their specialty. Initially, however, it…
Mixing Systems: Design and Scale Up
Fundamental to the chemical process industries (CPI) — whether specialty or bulk chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food products, minerals processing, environmental protection or other products or activities — is the need for mixing. The wide variety and complexity of mixing…
Distillation: How to Specify & Install Cartridge Trays
Cartridge trays, defined below, can be the perfect hardware solution for distillation columns that are less than 3 feet (0.9m) in diameter and have a unique need for trays. Packing is usually the preferred choice for small-diameter columns, but there…
Short-Cut Piping Costs
Engineers often need to predict the cost of piping and pipefitting associated with a process unit. Even though detailed prices are available, finding and organizing them takes time and costs money. For those needing a quick method of…
A Modern Approach to Solvent Selection
Solvents have been used for centuries and in all type of industries for the processing, manufacturing and formulation of goods. In the chemical process industries (CPI), solvents are used in various process-operation steps such as separation (of gas,…
Process Water Treatment – Challenges and Solutions
Depending on their location and on other factors, chemical-process-industries (CPI) plants obtain their process water from a diverse range of sources (see Process Water Supply — the Big Picture, Chem. Eng., May 2005, pp. 32–34.). The water from…
Minimize Trapped Components in Distillation Columns
Minor components trapped in distillation columns can react to form solids that cause major problems. The conventional responses to this situation focus upon dealing with the solids after they have become formed. A better strategy consists of preventing or minimizing…
Consider Alternate Fuels To Cut Costs
Fuel costs rose sharply in 2005 because of hurricane damage to U.S. interests in the Gulf of Mexico, and international developments in the oil supply market. Competing fuels — coal and natural gas — rose in price in…
Keeping fast-track projects from going off the rails
Whether working on retrofits or new-plant construction, engineers involved with chemical-process projects nowadays are likely to find themselves under pressure to reach completion quickly, sometimes even at the cost of bypassing traditional procedures and project controls. The downside becomes a…