Technical & Practical
Facts at your Fingertips: Mixing Intensity in Stirred Tanks
The ability to quantify liquid motion in a stirred tank is a basic step toward understanding how mixing influences process results. Quantifying mixing according to a mixing index (MI) can evaluate and predict mixing intensity related to fluid velocities in…
Precoat Filter Demineralizers in Steam Loops
By minimizing, or even eliminating, the need for blowdowns in steam systems, precoat filter demineralizer systems can greatly contribute to water-conservation efforts Steam is essential in any chemical process plant, primarily for generating heat and power. Power generation (the largest…
Boiler Water Essentials: Water Is Water (Not)
When it comes to water used in boilers, it is important to remove potentially problematic impurities. This offers a potentially huge return on investment, even with the prevention of just one major upset, let alone recurring failures Several decades ago,…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Fractional Solvent-Free Melt Crystallization
Fractional crystallization is a stage-wise separation technique that relies upon the liquid-solid phase change and enables the purification of multi-component mixtures, as long as none of the constituents can act as a solvent to the others. Thanks to the level…
Predictive Maintenance Implementation
Five common mistakes associated with implementing predictive maintenance tools are discussed here, along with five ways to avoid them Predictive maintenance (PM) implementation can be a daunting task. There are many factors to consider and many ways that things can…
Design for Safety: Tips for Proactive Risk Reduction
Thoughtful design can help reduce safety risks at process plant sites by proactively eliminating possible hazards and modifying personnel behaviors Safety is an important value in any organization, but is particularly important in the chemical process industries (CPI) when the…
Safety Aspects in the Instrumentation of Process Plants
Safety is often underestimated when planning, operating and maintaining process-measuring equipment. Sensors with SIL certification, alone, do not make the process safe. It is important to avoid systematic errors during planning, installation and operation The correct installation of a temperature…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Stainless Steels and Corrosion
Stainless steels are common materials for process equipment and components in the chemical process industries in large part because of their corrosion resistance. This one-page reference reviews the properties of stainless steels with regard to corrosion resistance. Passive layer Stainless…
Wireless Data Collection: Stop Chasing Reliability Data
A routes-by-exception reliability strategy helps improve safety and efficiency, while preserving competitive advantage in a changing marketplace In recent years, maintenance and reliability experts have often talked about the massive wave of retirements leaving chemical plants, creating a shortage of…
Non-Invasive Temperature Measurement in the CPI
While thermowells have become well-established, they have potential drawbacks that can affect their performance. The benefits of alternative non-invasive temperature sensing is presented here Temperature is one of the most important parameters for industrial processes, providing a key indicator of…