Technical & Practical
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.…
Piping-System Leak Detection and Monitoring for the CPI
Leaks in a chemical process industries (CPI) facility can run the gamut from creating a costly waste to prefacing a catastrophic failure.. They can be an annoyance, by creating pools of liquid on concrete that can become a possible slipping…
Static Electricity Discharge and Fire Prevention
When flammable or combustible atmospheres are present, uncontrolled discharges of static electricity are potentially dangerous or even catastrophic. A significant portion of industrial explosions and fires are attributable to static electricity each year. In theory, controlling static electricity by grounding…
Principles of P&ID Development
The piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) is often considered to be the gold standard for the proper design, operation and maintenance of plants in the chemical process industries (CPI), including chemical, oil-and-gas facilities, mining operations, food-processing plants, and water- and…
Production of Bio-based Succinic Acid
Succinic acid is an important industrial chemical that is traditionally derived from petroleum feedstocks. It can be used in several areas — from high-value niche applications, such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, to large-volume applications, such as plasticizers, resins and…