Technical & Practical
Fine Tune the Design of Sour-water Strippers Using Rate-based Simulation
Sour-water strippers (SWSs) are common in petroleum refineries, as well as gas-processing and gasification plants, and are used to remove ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from contaminated process waters. The design of these units is typically done using the…
Combining the use of Rupture Discs with Relief Valves
Pressure-relief solutions are commonly used in the chemical process industries (CPI) to ensure safe working environments for personnel and to protect equipment and assets. Relief valves (RV) and rupture discs (RD) are the most commonly used pressure-safety devices and are…
Industrial Control Systems Security: The Owner-Operator’s Challenge
Ensuring the security of industrial control systems (ICS) can be a daunting and complex task, requiring expertise and experience in several areas from a variety of contributors. The rapid pace of improvements to both technology and practice adds to the…
Compressors for Specialized Applications
Compressors for specialized chemical process industries (CPI) applications — particularly high-pressure applications (involving large- and medium-sized machines) and those calling for small compressor units — present particular challenges to system designers and operators. This article discusses a variety of engineering…
Construction-Cost Indices
Cost estimation is a critical dimension of project planning in asset-heavy industries such as the chemical process industries (CPI). Construction cost indices are useful tools in cost estimation and are used to compare plant construction costs from one time period…
Fired Heaters: Best Practices for the Control of Fuel Gas
Large petroleum-refining complexes often have dozens of fired heaters, making broad-based competency in this area essential to overall reliability, safety and energy efficiency. Despite industry’s widespread familiarity with fired heaters, they continue to pose significant challenges during initial control-system design…
Three Insights for Managing Legacy Data
Existing chemical process industries (CPI) facilities possess years, if not decades, of legacy engineering information. The data exist in a myriad of formats and are typically siloed across multiple systems and locations. In cases where the engineering data are either…
Centrifugal Pump Maintenance
Optimal functioning of centrifugal pumps over time depends on sound maintenance practices. The following material represents tips and guidelines for routine preventive and protective maintenance for centrifugal pumps. Monitoring A basic maintenance routine for centrifugal pumps should include monitoring of…
Ethanol from the Direct Gasification of Biomass
Increasing global demand for energy and a drive to develop renewable energy sources have focused research and development attention on biomass (including wood, agricultural residues and municipal wastes) as a source of energy and products. Biomass can be converted into…
Unlocking the Secrets of Plate-and-Frame Heat Exchangers
Plate-and-frame heat exchangers, or plate heat exchangers (PHEs), are a type of compact heat exchanger. PHEs have been widely used in the food industries, mainly because they easily meet health and sanitation requirements due to their simple disassembly for cleaning.…