When it comes to heat exchangers, chemical processors have a lot to consider. The most common concerns include fouling, heat-transfer efficiency, and the ability of the equipment to handle the high temperatures, high pressures and corrosive materials associated with the…
Anticipating growing demand for producing larger gears, shafts and other components, this sub-contract heat-treatment specialist has enlarged the size of one of its largest pit furnaces (photo). The company increased the dimensions to 1,100 mm working diameter and almost 1,800…
Industrial microbiology continues to hold the promise of producing an increasingly large array of commercially important chemicals because an ever-wider number of useful microbes is being developed and successfully deployed at commercially viable scales. Today, many of these bio-based chemicals…
Boilers generate steam using different methods to circulate the steam-water mixture through the evaporator tubes. These methods include natural circulation (Figures 1, 2a–2c), forced circulation (Figure 3a), and a once-through design. Figures 3b, 4 and 5 show examples of a…
The new Hydrosafe indirect electric heat exchanger is a complete thermal system designed for use in the harsh environments found in oil exploration and extraction, petroleum refining and petrochemicals. Minimizing potential leaks, the Hydrosafe’s one-piece, non-welded design makes this exchanger…
Solid and serrated fins (Figure 1) are widely used as heat transfer surfaces in boilers and heaters. The use of finned tubes makes heat exchanger equipment compact. The fluegas pressure drop is also decreased relative to a comparable plain-tube design,…
The management of process plants requires understanding and applying the fundamental tenets of safe design, construction and operation of facilities. This overview summarizes best practices that have been developed to ensure the safest possible use of DP:DPO (diphenyl–diphenyl oxide) eutectic…
Thermal energy accounts for around 70% of industry’s final energy consumption in Europe. Solar collectors can provide the majority of this industrial process heat. Although the application of solar collectors for industrial applications will depend on the application and the…
Occasionally, direct fired heaters that have operated satisfactorily for long periods of time subsequent to startup develop operating problems that do not allow for operation at design conditions, as specified in the manufacturers API data sheets for the heater. Performance…
Shell-and-tube heat exchangers are one of the most important and commonly used process equipment items in the chemical process industries (CPI). If you are working on a project during either the basic or the detailed engineering phase, there is a…