Technical & Practical
How To Properly Size A Steam Trap
Proper steam-trap sizing is critical to efficient and reliable steam-trap operation. Incorrect steam trap sizing can undermine the design and function of the steam trap, create installation issues, and cause condensate backup, steam loss, or both. Steam-trap sizing refers to…
Improve Rotary Equipment Reliability with Checklists
Rotary equipment, such as centrifugal pumps, often represent the heart of plants in the chemical process industries (CPI). A critical factor in the longterm reliability of such equipment is a high-quality design and commissioning process, so that initially, the rotary…
Fundamentals of Bulk Solids Mixing and Blending
Mixing and blending of bulk solids is a common processing step in many industries. For example, in pharmaceutical manufacturing of solid dosage formulations (tablets or capsules), small amounts of a powdered active drug are carefully blended with excipients, such as…
Detection and Prevention of DP:DPO Fluid Leaks
The management of process plants requires understanding and applying the fundamental tenets of safe design, construction and operation of facilities. This overview summarizes best practices that have been developed to ensure the safest possible use of DP:DPO (diphenyl–diphenyl oxide) eutectic…
Methanol-to-Propylene Technology
Propylene has been established as an important part of the global olefins business, trailing only ethylene in terms of volume of product. Because inexpensive natural gas from shale in the U.S. is increasingly used as a feedstock for producing ethylene,…
Ten Things You May Not Know About Liquid Mixing Scaleup
The scaleup of liquid mixing systems does not have to be a mystery. The principles are quite well understood, although knowing which principles apply is not always obvious. Follow this guidance to improve operation. 1. Liquid mixing scaleup. Liquid mixing…
Absorber Optimization: Employing Process Simulation Software
Raw materials and energy represent two of the largest expenses in the chemical process industries (CPI). Energy reduction is necessary to sustain cost-effective production and manage capacity in the ever-changing CPI marketplace. Process simulation software can prove extremely valuable in…
Pinch Analysis for Production Planning in Manufacturing Industries
Manufacturers face seasonal supply-and-demand variations in their production cycle due to fluctuations in both market demand and supply of raw materials. Therefore, manufacturers need solutions that can help them to cope with this challenge in effective production planning. Pinch analysis,…
Polymer-based Piping
Polymer-based piping systems offer a number of advantages, along with some limitations, compared to metallic and other non-polymeric pipe materials. The use of thermoplastic piping in the chemical process industries (CPI) must be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis because…
A solution-based route to LLDPE
Polyethylene (PE) is the world’s largest-volume commodity polymer. Along with high-density (HDPE) and low-density (LDPE) polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is one of the three main types of PE. The global market for LLDPE is over 20 million metric tons…