Chemical engineers bring many essential skills to the diverse teams required for successful control room design In any continuous manufacturing plant in the chemical process industries (CPI), engineers need to consider control room architecture and design as part of their…
Hardware improvements and service programs add more value to today’s control valves Chemical processors demand reliability, safety and efficiency when selecting control valves. As a result, there have been significant advances to the equipment, including the use of better materials…
The following is a list of selected recently published books that may have interest to professionals in the chemical process industries (CPI). Standards and Typical Specifications for Tray-Type Dearators, 10th ed., by the Heat Exchange Institute (HEI), www.heatexchange.org, 2017, $150.…
Integrated console, virtual-reality simulation offers learning for maximum, measurable training efficiency Modern techniques are being used for realistic plant training for control room operators, field operators, and operations and maintenance personnel. Simulator training has been shown to result in better…
An overview of how the chemical process industries are looking to the IIoT to help form new business models in a competitive environment Today, technological advances are being made and implemented at an accelerated pace that is quickly changing the…
Predictive process models enable more efficient operations and higher-value products When they hear the words “process modeling,” some may envision an engineer sitting in front of a laptop waiting for a distillation column flowsheet to converge. While flowsheet simulations are…
Modern control systems for chemical processes can generate frequent alarms. This one-page reference provides information on common alarm-management metrics, which can foster focused remedial actions and ultimately lead to a safer, better-performing plant. Alarm frequency As alarm frequency increases, an…
After Purdue University noticed that the water and sewer costs for their Biochemistry building were running quite high, a subsequent investigation showed that the building vacuum system was the cause of the high bills and massive water consumption. Purdue University…
Control Engineering for Chemical Engineers The March 2017 Chemical Engineering issue features the article “Control Engineering for Chemical Engineers” [pp. 42–50]. The author has brought up an interesting topic that should concern everybody working at any chemical processing facility. I…
New IIoT- and cloud-enabled digital tools and services give petroleum refiners new avenues to increase profitability and safety, but also require greater attention to cybersecurity While several forces are creating conditions in which U.S. petroleum refiners can thrive in 2017…