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Ten Tips For Smart Project Managers

Projects have been undertaken by nations, private enterprises and individuals for more years than recorded history. Over the last three decades, project execution in the chemical process industries (CPI) has become almost standardized, with the general adoption of certain well-known…

Designing Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers: Consider Two-Phase Flow

In the chemical process industries (CPI) it is relatively common to use a homogeneous two-phase flow model to predict the pressure drop through the shell-side of horizontal heat exchangers that handle two-phase mixtures. Recent experimental studies reported by HTFS [1,…

Lubricating Rotating Machinery

      Lubricants in rotating machines reduce friction and wear, dissipate heat, protect surfaces, keep out foreign contaminants and remove wear particles. Commonly used liquid lubricants fall into two main categories: mineral (petroleum-based) oils and synthetic oils. Mineral oils…

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Designing Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers: Consider Two-Phase Flow

In the chemical process industries (CPI) it is relatively common to use a homogeneous two-phase flow model to predict the pressure drop through the shell-side of horizontal heat exchangers that handle two-phase mixtures. Recent experimental studies reported by HTFS [1,…

Avoiding Pressure Relief Problems

Pressure relief valves and rupture disks are critical safety devices for protecting personnel and processing equipment from overpressurization situations. Presented here are several engineering practices that can help to identify and address common problems with the pressure relief systems of…

Preventing Tank Corrosion

The interior surfaces of your storage tanks are constantly at risk. You undoubtedly walk past a tank and do not give thought to what is happening on the inside, but that is because you trust the interior coating to protect…

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Solubility of Water in Benzenes As a Function of Temperature

The solubility of water in hydrocarbons contained in crude oil is very important. This importance will increase in the future in view of processing, safety, hazard and environmental considerations focusing on product quality and equipment sustainability. The following brief discussion…

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Turnarounds: Shorter, Safer, Simpler

Today’s plant turnarounds bear little resemblance to those of the past: Last-minute preparations and procurements combined with hurried work plans penciled into a notebook often led to undisciplined procedures, incidents and equipment that still operated with defective parts. Those bygone…

Thermal Fluid Systems: Design Considerations

Single-fluid heat-transfer systems that both heat and cool a process require special considerations for trouble-free operation Thermal fluid systems that both heat and cool are often utilized in batch processes. They are also often found in continuous processes where heating…

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Using Rupture Disks with Pressure Relief Valves

Protecting process systems from overpressurization is a critical task in the chemical process industries (CPI), and rupture disks and safety relief valves are routinely used for this purpose. In certain situations, using rupture disks in combination with safety relief valves…