Heat Transfer
Heat Exchangers: Designing for Super-critical Fluid Service
Working with supercritical fluids poses challenges when designing heat exchangers. Some practical tips and precautions are presented here Industrial applications involving fluids at high pressure — pressure above the critical pressure of a particular fluid — are increasing in number.…
Nano-coated salts for energy storage
A new energy-storage process has begun operations at a large-scale pilot plant in Berlin, Germany. At the combined heat and power (CHP) facility of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, SaltX Technology AB (Hägersten, Sweden; www.saltxtechnology.com) constructed one 0.5-MW/10-MWh energy-storage unit using…
Facts at your Fingertips: Convection versus Conduction Drying in Industry
Adjustment and control of moisture levels in solid materials is a critical aspect in the manufacture of many chemical products. Drying can be defined as the vaporization and removal of water or other liquids from a solution, suspension, or other…
Thin, organo-ceramic coating improves corrosion and fouling resistance of metal components
A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that bonds a silicon-oxide film to metal surfaces of any shape is being scaled up by Wicoatec GmbH (Ulm, Germany; www.wicoatec.com). Serial production started in 2017 with pilot-scale equipment, and capacities will be tripled…
Facts at your Fingertips: Temperature Measurement with RTDs
Temperature measurement is critical in many types of process equipment, including reactors, distillation columns, furnaces, heat exchangers, evaporators, boilers and more. Among the most widely used instruments for measuring temperatures in chemical process industries (CPI) operations are resistance temperature detectors…
Maintaining heat-transfer-fluid quality
Effective and efficient process operation requires reliable temperature control. This imposes strict demands on the management of the heat-transfer-fluid (HTF) system. This one-page reference provides suggestions for proper maintenance of heat-transfer fluids. Design features necessary to properly maintain acceptable fluid…
Maintaining Heat-Transfer-Fluid Quality
Learning what can degrade heat-transfer-fluid quality can help minimize potentially negative effects Organic heat transfer fluids (HTFs) are robust workhorses that are quite stable both thermally and chemically. However, they can yield to attacks from powerful or sometimes even subtle…
Performance Prediction for Industrial Boilers
Understanding boiler performance calculations can allow engineers to improve the operation of their facility’s steam system and better engage with boiler-system vendors Chemical plants, petroleum refineries, power plants and cogeneration systems use oil-and-gas-fired steam generators, fluid heaters and waste-heat boilers…
Steam Balancing: The First Step in Steam Optimization
The ability to achieve an optimal steam balance can help to improve the overall thermal cycle efficiency of any steam-production system In any chemical process plant that produces steam, carrying out a steam balance is the most efficient way to…
Recently Published Books for the CPI: May 2018
The following recently published titles may be relevant for chemical process industries (CPI) professionals: Biomass as Renewable Raw Material to Obtain Bioproducts of High-Tech Value. Edited by Valentin Popa and Irina Volf, Elsevier Press, 2018, e-book, $31.50 per chapter. Dealing…