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A Primer on Rectangular Tanks

This type of tank is often preferred to cylindrical tanks when space is limited. Follow this guidance to calculate the relevant dimension and ensure safe construction With the increasing age of many chemical process plants, a challenge often arises when…

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Increase Profits in Size-Reduction Plants

Material- and energy-balance models can help to identify potential opportunities The processing of mined minerals in aboveground facilities relies on several energy- intensive unit operations, such as comminution, screening and material transport. Crushing operations typically produce a wide distribution of…

Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Technologies

Several carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) processes hold much promise, and there are challenges yet to be met A number of post-combustion carbon capture technologies have the capability to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere from…

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Steel Corrosion

Corrosion of steel is a key concern in many industrial settings, both from an asset-management perspective and from a safety perspective. The following briefly describes corrosion mechanisms for various classes of steel, and provides information on the corrosion resistance of…

Prevent Combustible Dust Explosions with Nitrogen Inerting

Targeted use of blanketing with inert gas offers an effective strategy for preventing combustible dust explosions in CPI facilities Combustible dust is a critical safety concern for the chemical process industries (CPI). The use of nitrogen gas as an inert…

Rotating Machinery: What You Should Know About Operational Problems

Follow this guidance to improve the operation, safety and reliability of rotating machinery in chemical process plants Troubleshooting problems in rotating machinery (such as compressors, pumps, steam turbines, gas turbines, turbo-expanders and more) can present difficult challenges during day-to-day operations…

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Propylene via Propane Dehydrogenation (Oxydehydrogenation)

Propylene is a major component of the global olefins market and is widely used as an intermediate for an array of chemical and plastic products. Propylene is produced as a byproduct in steam crackers and through fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)…

Dimensionless numbers in fluid dynamics

Dimensionless numbers refer to physical parameters that have no units of measurement. These numbers often appear in calculations used by process engineers. As long as consistent units are used, dimensionless numbers remain the same whether metric or other units are…

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Thermal Design Guidelines for Optimizing Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers

Ensuring optimal performance of shell-and-tube heat exchangers requires knowledge of the controlling fluid, correct exchanger geometry and configuration, as well as proper fluid placement Satyendra Kumar Singh Simon India Ltd.   Optimizing the thermal design of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger…

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Evaluate Heat-Exchanger Tube-Rupture Scenarios Using Dynamic Simulation

Applying dynamic simulation models to tube-rupture scenarios can help ensure more accurate sizing and hazard assessments Tube rupture in heat exchangers is an extremely serious issue in the chemical process industries (CPI; Figure 1). Heat-exchanger tube-rupture scenarios can be evaluated…