Regular heat-transfer-fluid monitoring can prevent fluid problems that lead to equipment failure, costly downtime and repairs. Parameters to watch include viscosity, acid neutralization number, moisture, solid or residue content, thermal degradation and flash point. This one-page reference provides information on…
An overview on the importance of standard operation procedures (SOPs) and how to write them Today, it is necessary to have standard operating procedures (SOPs) for steam and condensate systems, boilers, deaerators and even steam process units (Figure 1). An…
This month, a demonstration experiment will begin on a new firing furnace for ceramics that is being developed by NGK Insulators, Ltd. (NGK; www.ngk.co.jp). The furnace is fired with hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. H2-fired combustion…
Good Things Come in Smaller Packages Standard Xchange, a Xylem brand, is pleased to announce the addition of two new compact, low-cost, high-energy efficiency models to its Plateflow® line of gasketed plate and frame heat exchangers. Through advanced engineering and high-efficiency technology, Standard Xchange High Energy Efficiency Plateflow®…
Last month, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) awarded $3.2 million in funding for the Solar MEAD project, which aims to decarbonize cement production. This joint project is headed by Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cemex; Monterrey, Mexico;…
When it comes to water used in boilers, it is important to remove potentially problematic impurities. This offers a potentially huge return on investment, even with the prevention of just one major upset, let alone recurring failures Several decades ago,…
Measuring and monitoring tools simplify steam-system management and increase efficiency Although widely used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), steam systems are often neglected until there is an issue with safety, reliability or steam quality. However, as processors become more…
The following lists recently published books of relevance to the chemical process industries (CPI): The Other Side of Safety: Moving from Results-Based to Behavior-Based. By Robert Palmer, CRC Press, 2023, 154 pages, $71.96. A New Approach to HAZOP of Complex…
A decades-old, yet less well-known type of heat exchanger offers advantages for new and emerging applications Spiral-tube or helically-coiled heat exchangers have been around for decades addressing sample cooling, mechanical seal cooling, vent condensers, vaporization and general heating or cooling…
Hollow silica particles (HSPs) are materials of interest for thermal insulation applications because of their very low thermal conductivity, but the particles pose health hazards and the powder is impractical to use, so scientists have been trying to incorporate HSPs…