Cleaning equipment surfaces is critical for processes involving biological materials to prevent microbial contamination. Clean-in-place (CIP) systems play a key role. In addition to preventing contamination, CIP systems also remove grit, scale and organic matter, which may affect process performance.…
Henry Kister shares lessons learned from troubleshooting distillation towers Construction of new production units has an undesirable byproduct: trash. Sometimes the hard question is— Who will clean? The author was the startup superintendent on a new unit in an olefins…
Information provided here can help guide the selection of valve actuators that are best suited to the demands of a particular chemical processing application Actuators are machines used to control the position of a valve remotely and automatically. They are…
Heat pumps are an efficient way to provide space and process heating. Information on their types, and how to assess their potential benefits is provided here Approximately 40% of the energy that is used in buildings in the U.S. goes…
As the frequency and sophistication of industrial cyberattacks continue to rise, chemical companies can follow guidance from industry and government directives to help define their organization’s specific cyber-risk profile Cybersecurity risk is a key topic for all companies, due, in…
Henry Kister shares lessons learned from troubleshooting distillation towers Many cooling-water systems do not have flowmeters. This is a tale about a cooling-water flowmeter that made a difference. As a startup superintendent at ICI Australia in the late 1970s, the…
Understanding the basic principles of operation and construction designs of glass membrane sensors can help in choosing the right pH sensor One of the most critical measurements in liquid chemical processing is pH. In this article, the importance of the…
Comprehensive planning, along with appropriate level-measurement technologies and safety instrumented systems, can empower plant personnel to significantly reduce the likelihood and severity of hazardous chemical spills In most industries that manufacture, use or store chemicals and other hazardous liquids, a…
Industrial gases are critical for a wide range of applications throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). Many of these gases must be separated from others, such as nitrogen from air, or hydrogen from natural gas using physical gas-separation techniques that…
Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber is a terpolymer elastomer derived from ethylene and propylene, along with small amounts of a non-conjugated diene as a third monomer (Figure 1). With a completely saturated polymer backbone, this random elastomeric copolymer exhibits…