The design of vacuum systems deserves careful attention — there are multiple facets that affect efficiency, operability and cost Understanding vacuum and designing vacuum systems can be difficult, and there are many unique aspects that an engineer must take into…
Increasingly, wastewater treatment plants must address odors due to volatile contaminants. This guide provides an overview of odor causes and possible remedial actions Processes and applications that emit odor-causing air contaminants are common across many sectors of the chemical process…
Considering water-management strategies as a central component of infrastructure design at industrial facilities will unlock cost savings throughout the operation Mounting water shortages and resulting regulations across the globe are fueling the need for seamless and smarter water-management methods —…
With proper planning, spills can be managed properly and the risk of secondary events — which may be more dangerous and costly — can be reduced Spills are probably one of the biggest problems any laboratory or pilot plant operation…
Quaternary diaphragm pumps deliver the low pulsation and shear that is critical to these biopharmaceutical and continuous-manufacturing operations Biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturing may come in a wide variety of forms, but every iteration of unit operation must adhere to…
Blending is a fundamental chemical unit operation, and there are a handful of common ways to implement it. Blending applications can be either manual or automated, and can be carried out either as a batch or continuous process. There are…
With a thorough investigation and proper problem diagnosis, an entire gas plant limited by a deethanizer reboiler circuit was successfully debottlenecked This article describes a case study of a gas plant (designed by others) that was bottlenecked by the reboil…
This column is based on “Diammonium Phosphate Production – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/diammonium-phosphate-production-cost. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) ranks among the most important phosphate-based fertilizers, not only for its high nutrient content, but…
Characterizing mixer impellers on the basis of power, flow, shear and efficiency Mixing has been defined as “the application of mechanical motion in order to create fluid dynamic effects that achieve a desired process result” [1]. The process result is…
Chemical engineers bring many essential skills to the diverse teams required for successful control room design In any continuous manufacturing plant in the chemical process industries (CPI), engineers need to consider control room architecture and design as part of their…