May 2022

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Cover Story

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Technical & Practical

Tower Doctor
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Facts at Your Fingertips

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The gender gap in engineering
Each year since 2001, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE;…

COVER STORY

Vent Away Condensate Pump Frustrations In A Flash
The guidance provided here can help to mitigate problems occurring…

IN THE NEWSNEWSFRONTS

SAF Production Expands for a Low-Carbon Future
To lower their climate impact, petroleum refiners are increasingly assessing…

CHEMENTATOR + Show More

Chementator briefs
NITROGEN UTILIZATION Late March, the first nitrogen fertilizer produced from…

Applying capacitive deionization for critical-metals recovery
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Ill.; www.anl.gov) are investigating…

Reduced fouling when pneumatically conveying lactose products
To ensure product safety and quality, products containing lactose (at…

Catalyst-coated membrane reduces electrolyzer stack cost for H2 production
A new catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) technology for hydrogen production, developed…

Commercial debut for a process that makes 'green' pig iron
Last month, Vale S.A. (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.vale.com) began…

PFAS separation-concentration system introduced in North America
A technology initially developed in Australia by OPEC Systems (Emu…

A new burner slashes NOx emissions from iron-ore pelletizing plants
Before being fed to the blast furnace, iron ore is…

Growing sulfur batteries from crystals
Strain on demand for critical battery metals is forcing manufacturers…

Capillary-fed electrolysis unlocks new levels of efficiency for green-hydrogen production
A new category of electrolysis could significantly lower the expenses…

BUSINESS NEWS

Business News: May 2022
Plant Watch ADM announces significant expansions in the U.S. and…

TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL

Detecting and Preventing Spills and Leaks
Comprehensive planning, along with appropriate level-measurement technologies and safety instrumented…

TOWER DOCTOR

Should the Doctor Believe a Flowmeter?
Henry Kister shares lessons learned from troubleshooting distillation towers Many…

FEATURE REPORT

A Primer on pH Measurement
Understanding the basic principles of operation and construction designs of…

FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Facts At Your Fingertips: Physical Gas-Separation Methods
Industrial gases are critical for a wide range of applications…

EQUIPMENT & SERVICESFOCUS

Focus on Solids Handling
This bag slitter eliminates dust and reduces waste The MINILux…

NEW PRODUCTS + Show More

This absorbent media can prevent carbon-bed fires
This company has launched Sulphasorb 2 (photo), a new activated…

Monitoring of chlor-alkali electrolysis sub-processes
Chlorine and caustic soda are essential chemicals whose production is…

Use these plug valves with slurries and gritty media
This company’s Cam-Centric plug valves (photo) feature 100% port, which…

These kits perform certified tests of fiber optic cabling
Expanding its cable certification and testing portfolio, this company now…

A new generation of centrifugal mixers for 3D printing materials
Smart DAC centrifugal mixers (photo) feature variable counter-rotation, increased mixing…

Power supply units with IO-Link for field Installation
The compact PSU67 power supply units (photo) ensure energy-efficient, decentralized…

This line of ball valves has an expanded operating range
This company has expanded its line of high-performance ball valves…

A selection tool for automated process valves
The complete Nelprof valve sizing and selection software for all…

These vests keep workers cool in hot situations
The StaCool Vest core body-cooling system (photo) helps workers stay…

An ammonia leak-detection system for process refrigeration
The Chillgard 5000 NH3 monitoring system (photo) features a sophisticated…

Simulate hydraulic systems and prevent waterhammer
The Impulse 9 software suite (photo) was designed to enable…

A low-power CH4 sensor with digital and analog capabilities
FlameIR-ME1 is a new methane sensor that uses a solid-state…

Customized containment solutions for hygienic processes
This company’s continuous liner systems (CLS; photo) are designed for…

This family of CPVC butterfly valves has been expanded
This company has added two new sizes (10- and 12-in.)…

New meters for pH, conductivity and ion concentration
Developed for a wide range of applications, SevenDirect benchtop meters…

This gas detector finds volatile substances at very low volumes
The new X-pid gas detector (photo) quickly detects volatile organic…

A complete system for developing emerging foods
Unveiled at Anuga FeedTec trade fair (Cologne, Germany; April 26–29),…

An expanded series of smart Roots pumps
The new line of Roots pumps from the HiLobe series…

A trailer support for busy loading docks
The Ground Mounted Trailer Support (GMTS; photo) is a new…

SHOW PREVIEWS

Show Preview: IFAT Munich
IFAT 2022, the world’s leading trade fair for water, sewage,…

Connected Plant Conference Show Preview
The 2022 Connected Plant Conference (CPC; www.connectedplantconference.com) will take place…

Highlights The gender gap in engineering Recently Published Books for the CPI: May 2022 Facts At Your Fingertips: Physical Gas-Separation Methods Connected Plant Conference Show Preview Should the Doctor Believe a Flowmeter?

Comment Business & Economics

2022 CEPCI updates: February (prelim.) and January (final)

By Scott Jenkins | April 22, 2022

The preliminary value for the February 2022 CE Plant Cost Index (the most recent available) was higher than the previous month, continuing the steep monthly increases observed throughout 2021. The upward trend has been driven largely by equipment costs — the Equipment subindex rose in February while the Construction Labor, Buildings and Engineering & Supervision subindices all fell slightly. The current CEPCI value now sits at 26.4% higher than the corresponding value from February 2021. A larger-than-usual variance between the preliminary and final January 2022 values, coupled with a calculation error, resulted in upwardly revised values for the final January 2022 CEPCI, compared to the preliminary numbers for January.

Breakthrough Technologies