Technical & Practical
Facts at your Fingertips: Steam Concepts
Steam is commonly used in the chemical process industries (CPI) for process heating, power generation, atomization, cleaning and sterilization, moisturization and humidification, among other applications. This one-page reference provides a refresher for key concepts related to steam. Pressure-temperature relation The…
High Purity Chemicals: Processing Equipment Essentials
Some practical tips regarding the design and fabrication of piping systems and equipment for high-purity applications are presented here Chemical processing, and the chemical process industries (CPI) on the whole, have evolved lightyears beyond their very beginnings — beginnings in…
Technology Profile: Ethylene Glycol Production from Synthesis Gas
This column is based on “Ethylene glycol production from Syngas - Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/ethylene-glycol-production-cost. Ethylene glycol, also known as monoethylene glycol (MEG), is a major chemical commodity, widely used in…
Facts at your Fingertips: Solids-blending processes
Mixing and blending of bulk solids is common in pharmaceutical and food manufacturing, specialty chemicals, explosives, fertilizers, glass and ceramics, detergents and resin industries. This column provides information on batch versus continuous blending mechanisms. Batch versus continuous Batch blending processes…
The CPI Construction Boom: Project Delivery in a New Landscape
Companies need more creative ways to deal with complex and ever-changing market and technical challenges Low natural gas prices and high global demand for hydrocarbon-based chemicals have resulted in resurgence in the construction of new and existing chemical process…
Eye on Flare Systems
Proper gas sampling is essential to meet operating and regulatory objectives Flares are used extensively in chemical process industries (CPI) facilities and petroleum refineries, to combust flammable hazardous gases. When designed and operated properly, they provide a proven mechanism to…
Technology Profile: MTBE Production from C4 Raffinate-1
This column is based on “MTBE production from Raffinate-1 - Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/mtbe-production-cost. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is an organic compound used mainly as a fuel additive to enhance octane…
Solid-Liquid Separation: Classification, Design and Testing
Whether to remove solid contaminants from a liquid or separate a solid product from a solvent, solid-liquid (S-L) separation is a common unit operation across the chemical process industries (CPI). This one-page reference provides an overview of S-L separation methods,…
Process Plant Layout — Becoming a Lost Art?
Plant layout is as important a part of process plant design as it ever was, but it is rarely taught as part of chemical engineering courses While process plant layout is a critical aspect of chemical process industries (CPI) operations,…
Pump Safety: Flirting with Disaster
Be vigilant about parallel pumping conditions that can lead to catastrophic failures During my career, I have seen several massive centrifugal pump failures caused by pump users attempting to operate pumps in parallel without the proper equipment review, procedural review…