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Facts At Your Fingertips: Overview of Reactor Types
Reactors are at the core of most processes in the chemical process industries (CPI) and are broken down most broadly by whether their operating mode is non-flow (batch) or continuous. Each reactor type has advantages and disadvantages depending on the…
High productivity chocolate forming with this machine
The Rotoform HP (high performance) is the latest model in this company’s high-capacity Rotoform rotary drop depositor, which is specifically designed for chocolate processing (photo). A pump delivers molten chocolate to the Rotoform via heated piping. The Rotoform itself consists…
Process Control: Optimization at the Edge
The key technologies shaping industrial process control all work in tandem to support the ultimate goal of plant optimization Process control technologies are at the heart of all chemical process facilities, providing the foundation for safe and efficient plants. As…
Save energy in gas scrubbers with this optimizer
Launched last December, the High Efficiency Scrubber (HES) Optimizer (photo) is a digital tool that combines internal process calculations with measurements available at site to enable energy savings in the operation of Venturi-type scrubbers in wet-gas cleaning plants. Although the…
Liquid-level controller for oil-and-gas separators
The Fisher Fieldvue L2t liquid-level controller pairs with an electrically-actuated control valve to reliably maintain ideal separator levels. Compared to alternatives using electric on-off valves, the new Fisher controller makes it possible to save significant energy and maintenance costs by…
Innovations in Pilot-Plant Distillation Process Design
Small-scale distillation processes have specific concerns that are different than commercial-scale distillation. Presented here are several topics, including column internals and column-sizing software, considered from the perspective of pilot-scale distillation The design and operation of laboratory- and pilot-scale columns are…
Custom mixing systems optimize unique processing tasks
This company’s custom mixing systems (photo) are engineered to optimize unique processing projects, including batch size, material properties, agitation levels and more. Engineers can develop a mixing system that includes mixers and tanks from simple open-top designs to full ASME…
Heat Pumps: Decarbonizing the Process Industries
As the chemical process industries push to decarbonize their businesses, heat pumps are emerging as a go-to alternative to fossil fuels. Efficient and cost-effective, heat pumps are a rapidly expanding solution for industrial heat demand In the drive to meet…
The Ten Most Common Laboratory Ventilation Mistakes
A laboratory ventilation system that does not work effectively may not keep personnel safe and can produce significant adverse impacts on operations Laboratory personnel treat their ventilation systems as a given. They expect them to be designed right, to always…
A Brief Review of Natural Water’s Influence on Scale Formation in Heat Exchangers
Understanding the water chemistry is a first step in preventing heat-exchanger fouling At the two power plants and chemical plant in which this author formerly worked, the fresh-water-makeup supplies (two lakes and an underground aquifer adjacent to a river) all…