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Technical & Practical

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Oxygen Production via Cryogenic Distillation

This column is based on “Oxygen Production – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/oxygen-production-cost. Oxygen is a nonmetallic element and one of the most abundant elements on Earth’s surface. Under standard pressure and…

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Air Coolers Versus Shell-and-Tube Water Coolers

As shown here, economical cooling is often achieved with a combination of both air and water cooling. Design considerations are also presented here For the last 40 years, air-cooled heat exchangers have become an indispensable part of many chemical, petroleum-refining,…

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Technology Profile: HDPE Production via Slurry-Loop Process

This column is based on “HDPE Production via Slurry Loop Process – Cost Analysis,” published by Intratec. The report can be found at the following URL: www.intratec.us/analysis/hdpe-production-cost. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the three main types of polyethylene, and…

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Cost Engineering: Equipment Purchase Costs

A methodology and examples for estimating equipment costs are presented Engineers have the responsibility to create projects having attractive returns on investment and to create economically sound designs — designs that produce high-quality, competitively priced products. This requires the technical…

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Commercializing Process Technologies

New technologies can provide competitive advantages compared to established processes, but significant effort is required to transition a promising concept into a commercial reality Many students study chemical engineering with the aspiration of someday inventing an innovative process that could…

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Facts at your Fingertips: Pressure Measurement for Real Gases

The ideal gas law ( PV = nRT), relating molar volume of a gas to pressure and temperature, is predicated on two assumptions: 1) that the volume occupied by the gas molecules is negligible compared to the volume of the…

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Accelerating Six Sigma Research with the Definitive Screening Design (DSD) Technique

DSD is a new design-of-experiments (DOE) technique that is expected to bring huge benefits when using a Six Sigma optimization strategy Statistical tools are deeply ingrained in the Six Sigma methodology to optimize processes and products during chemical process industries…

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Technology Profile: Polychloroprene Production

This column is based on the report “Polychloroprene Production – Cost Analysis,” published by Intratec. It can be found at the following URL: www.intratec.us/analysis/polychloroprene-production-cost. The need to find a substitute for natural rubber during World War II boosted the development…

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Pitfalls to Avoid When Generating Cost Estimates

The pitfalls in cost estimating that cause project overruns have been well known for decades, yet they continue to plague the CPI When I first started writing this article, I set out to summarize the mechanics of project cost estimation.…

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A Shortcut to Optimize Pipe Diameters by Economic Criteria

This methodology can be used not only for laminar flow, but also for the complete turbulent flow region In recent decades, the impact of energy costs on the transport of fluids has led to a significant reduction in fluid velocity…