Technical & Practical
MSMPR Crystallization equipment
Crystallization is a key purification technique for various sectors of the chemical process industries (CPI). Several approaches for industrial crystallization have evolved over time and highly specialized crystallizer designs have been developed, especially in long-established industries. Solution crystallization is an…
Zarko’s challenge
Every distillation engineer west of the River Neretva is familiar with the work of Professor Zarko Olujic. His distillation laboratory at the Technical University of Delft (The Netherlands; www.tudelft.nl) is one of the largest and best facilities in the history…
Improving Control Valve Performance
Improvements to the performance of basic, regulatory control systems have a great return on investment and are some of the least expensive control improvements to make [1]. Control valves have a major impact on control loop performance and, therefore, improvements…
Fractionation Column: Pushing capacity limits
Starting around 1970, many new contacting devices became available for use in distillation, absorption and stripping columns. Those devices included high-performance random packings, structured packings, high-capacity structured packings, augmented crossflow trays, counterflow trays and cocurrent flow trays. At the request…
Recover Waste Heat From Fluegas
Adding an organic Rankine cycle system to generate power onsite can help operators optimize the overall economics of combustion-related systems and emissions controls The ever-increasing cost of fuel and relentless push for environmental responsibility are constant factors in the profitability…
Polymer-Based Piping Systems in the CPI
Polymeric piping systems have been used in well-defined segments of the chemical process industries (CPI) for decades. They have proven their sustainability to manage almost any chemical load up to temperatures of 100°C in the moderate pressure region ( p…
Counting On Process Analytical Technology
If the debate that culminated in passage of national healthcare reform in the U.S. is any indication of what is ahead for pharmaceutical manufacturers, they should ready themselves for battle. Implementation of the sweeping measure puts the onus on drugmakers…
Controlling Membrane Fouling
The deposition and accumulation of suspended and dissolved particles on membrane surfaces leads to performance loss. Fouling can dramatically reduce the efficiency and economic benefits of a membrane process. The type of fouling and how strongly it appears depends on…
Applying CPI Temperature Sensors
When selecting a temperature sensor, don’t fall back on outdated rules of thumb that may no longer be valid, or ‘plug and play’ solutions that may not be applicable Temperature is a critical measurement in the chemical process industries (CPI).…
Successful revamps
My first distillation dream occurred about 30 years ago, and yet, I recall it as vividly as if it were yesterday. In it, my distillation-column design work started with a vapor-liquid thermodynamic model that was widely regarded as perfect. I…