Technical & Practical
Facts at your Fingertips: Distillation
Computer-generated simulations of distillation processes are often validated experimentally. This reference discusses three concepts that influence comparisons between experimental results and simulation predictions: vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) of the components; relative liquid-to-vapor flowrates (L/V ratios in the column); and vapor-liquid contactor…
Recommended Fluid Velocities in Pipelines
The recommended velocities for fluids’ transportation must be updated periodically to obtain the optimum value of the pipe diameter in the current economic conditions To arrive at the optimum diameters for pipes, the heuristic criteria of recommended velocity has been…
Wireless Monitoring for Pressure Relief Systems
New diagnostic devices can identify when pressure incidents happen, while keeping an eye on the condition of pressure-relief valves and rupture disks Any kind of pressurized system, from the hot-water heater in a residence to a massive chemical reactor, will…
How to Troubleshoot and Maintain Pressure Regulators
Following a five-step process enables better outcomes for fluid system control Most often, operators and technicians will interact with components like ball valves or needle valves when adjusting a system’s operation. However, just as important to the effectiveness of a…
Technology Profile: Bio-based Butanediol Production
This column is based on “Bio-Butanediol Production from Glucose,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/butanediol-production-cost. Butanediol (BDO) refers to all butylene glycol isomers. The most common isomer — 1,4-butanediol — is a versatile intermediate chemical…
Facts at your Fingertips: Temperature Measurement with RTDs
Temperature measurement is critical in many types of process equipment, including reactors, distillation columns, furnaces, heat exchangers, evaporators, boilers and more. Among the most widely used instruments for measuring temperatures in chemical process industries (CPI) operations are resistance temperature detectors…
Combustible Dust Fires and Explosions: Recent Data and Lessons Learned
A review of recent data from the Combustible Dust Incident Database provides insights into dust-related process safety Fires and explosions in facilities that handle combustible dust remain an ongoing focus of process safety efforts across many areas of the chemical…
Determination of nozzle loads to facilitate the initial pressure vessel design
In pressure vessel design, use this procedure for determining the individual permissible flange loads for joints between pressure vessel nozzles and connected pipework At the initial design stage of pressure vessels with nozzles that are provided with standard flanges according…
Experimental Methodologies to Verify Distillation Simulations
Presented here are practical considerations concerning the equipment and methods used for experimental verifications of simulations The use of process simulation tools for modeling distillation columns is invaluable for designing plant-scale columns. However, it can be difficult to know if…
Improve Energy Management to Reduce Your Facility’s Carbon Footprint
This article describes an approach that uses data analytics for finding and addressing root causes of process deviations that reduce energy efficiency in key plant utility systems, and shares three case examples Discussion about climate change has been taking place…