Infrared (IR) analyzers are widely used for gas, liquid and surface analysis. Up to now, the most common and inexpensive IR sensor has been a combination of filters (non-dispersive IR) — which have a restricted wavelength band — with a…
An automated spreadsheet method can quickly help minimize fresh hydrogen consumption while maximizing hydrogen recovery and reuse in petroleum refineries and petrochemical complexes In petroleum refineries and petrochemical complexes, there are many hydrogen consumers, such as hydrotreaters, hydrocrackers, isomerization units…
Accurate temperature measurement is not difficult. It does, however, require you to think about accuracy from specification and selection, all the way up to installation and operation of your temperature-measurement sensor. There are opportunities to improve accuracy during each of…
High-resolution x-ray diffraction Based on the Medipix2 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the PIXcel is designed for sensitive, high-resolution x-ray diffraction applications. Consisting of over 65,000 pixels, each 55 x 55 microns in size and with individual readout circuitry, it delivers…
Emerson Process Management (St. Louis, Mo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-545) claims to be the first process-automation supplier to start taking orders for WirelessHART-enabled products, based on the recently approved open standard for in-plant wireless communications. These measurement and communications products include pressure, flow,…
The batch reactor is the workhorse of the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Within it, many different unit operations are performed such as chemical reactions, bioreactions, crystallization, distillation and dissolution. Despite their significance to the industry, batch reactors have been…
The behavior of many different phenomena can be modeled by systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), but most ODEs cannot be solved analytically, in which case an approximation to the solution is found by applying numerical integration methods. Dutch-sponsored mathematician…
Scientists at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Chilton, Didcot, U.K.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7370-573) have developed a laser-based method for the characterization of the bulk-chemical content of pharmaceutical capsules — without opening the capsules. In collaboration with researchers…
An understanding of instrumentation is valuable in evaluating and troubleshooting column performance Instrumentation is critical to understanding and troubleshooting all processes. Very few engineers specialize in this field, and many learn about instrumentation through experience, myth and rumor. A good…
A durable flowmeter for remote applications outdoors A thermal-dispersion, mass-flow sensing technology, the ST50 Flow Meter Series (photo) boasts ±1% accuracy (repeatability ±0.5%) for 2 – 24-in. line sizes and a built-in temperature compensation for reliable measurement over a 40…