Chemical process industries (CPI) facilities often present a number of potential respiratory hazards, including airborne particles, toxic chemicals and low-oxygen environments, that may require the use of respiratory personal-protective equipment (PPE). This reference outlines the major categories for respiratory protection…
Presented here are some practical points to help in the selection of a shell-and-tube heat-exchanger design for various applications Heat exchangers are widely used in various sectors of the chemical process industries (CPI), including: chemical; oil and gas; power generation;…
Allyl chloride (3-chloropropene; Figure 1) is primarily used almost exclusively as a chemical intermediate in the production of epichlorohydrin. A three-carbon epoxide, epichlorohydrin is used in the manufacture of epoxy resins prevalent in coatings, adhesives, and plastics. Epichlorohydrin is also…
Process hazards analyses (PHAs) are structured reviews during the engineering design process intended to detect potential hazards that were not addressed by the design team. This one-page reference describes commonly employed PHA methods. PHA methods PHAs are often conducted or…
Light hydrocarbons in storage tanks can vaporize and vent to the atmosphere, creating harmful emissions. An optimized vapor-recovery unit can effectively and economically reduce such emissions In the chemicals, petroleum refining and natural gas industries, storage vessels are used to…
Ethylene is used almost exclusively as a building block — it is the largest-volume petrochemical produced worldwide (Figure 1). Production of ethylene grew rapidly in the middle of the 20th century, when oil and chemical companies began separating it from…
Often, operational problems in steam systems are misattributed because the system’s steam quality is not closely monitored. A clear understanding of steam quality can help to better address these issues Steam quality describes the proportion of saturated steam (vapor) in…
Flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), sometimes known as bulk bags, are widely used in the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture and other chemical process industries (CPI) sectors, to transport and store dry, flowable bulk-solid materials, such as granules, powders, grains, clays,…
In a data-overloaded environment, companies may struggle to fully reap the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies. Understanding data utilization can help transform process datasets into decision-making assets The chemical process industries (CPI) have been realizing for some time that information…
Following this approach to assessing health, safety and environmental risks can steer engineers to consider more inherently safe process options earlier in process synthesis During process synthesis in the chemical process industries (CPI), engineers make decisions that determine the inherent…