Latest News
Process Plant Layout — Becoming a Lost Art?
Plant layout is as important a part of process plant design as it ever was, but it is rarely taught as part of chemical engineering courses While process plant layout is a critical aspect of chemical process industries (CPI) operations,…
Pump Safety: Flirting with Disaster
Be vigilant about parallel pumping conditions that can lead to catastrophic failures During my career, I have seen several massive centrifugal pump failures caused by pump users attempting to operate pumps in parallel without the proper equipment review, procedural review…
Measuring Differential Pressure: Mechanical or Electronic?
Users should consider both options when selecting a DP device. Understanding the differences can help make the decision for a given set of process conditions Differential pressure (DP) measurements are used in many branches of the chemical process industries (CPI)…
JGC awarded contract to construct a methionine production facility for Sumitomo Chemical
JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan; www.jgc.com) has been awarded the contract for the construction of a Methionine production facility for Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp). This new plant, which will be constructed alongside Sumitomo Chemical’s existing factory located in…
B&W subsidiary awarded contract to design boiler for world’s largest waste-to-energy plant in China
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W; Charlotte, N.C.; www.babcock.com) says that its Denmark-based subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S (B&W Vølund), has been awarded a contract for nearly $40 million to design a waste-to-energy boiler for Shenzhen Energy Environmental Engineering…
Global chemical production soft at start of 4th quarter, ACC says
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that the fourth quarter started on a soft note, with the index for October showing no gain or loss on a three-month moving average…
Jacobs wins contract for Borealis PDH feasibility study
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Dallas, Tex.; www.jacobs.com) has received a contract to complete a feasibility study for a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant located at the existing Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) production site in Kallo, Belgium. As part of the…
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group acquires Aflex Hose
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG; Cornwall, U.K.; www.wmftg.com) has acquired Aflex Hose Limited and its subsidiary Aflex Hose USA LLC (Aflex) through its parent company Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc, for £61.4 million (around $77 million). Aflex, based in Halifax, England and…
Air Products and Grupa Azoty Zakłady Azotowe Kędzierzy sign new contract for the supply of industrial gases
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) and Grupa Azoty Zakłady Azotowe Kędzierzyn S.A., part of Grupa Azoty (Tarnów, Poland), the second largest producer of mineral fertilizers in the European Union, have signed a long-term contract for the delivery of oxygen…
MHI to build large-scale polyethylene plant project for ExxonMobil in Texas
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi-global.com) has received an order for supply of systems to support a large-scale polyethylene production train for ExxonMobil's Beaumont Polyethylene plant. The new production train is slated to be completed in 2019, and…