Mobile Navigation

Processing & Handling

Entrainment Flooding and Weeping Velocities

Weeping and flooding phenomena set the vapor velocity in industrial distillation columns. Presented here are procedures for calculating flooding and weeping velocities in a four-pass sieve-tray column In industrial distillation, the term “weeping” is primarily used when the liquid in…

Improve Ethylene Production Margins with Digitalization

Digitalization can help ethylene producers to flexibly respond to economic uncertainties and assess available options based on their existing infrastructure and priorities Post-pandemic, olefin and polyolefin producers have been faced with regional and global economic headwinds. Inflation, energy security, rising…

Weighing in on Accuracy: Recent Developments in Weighing Equipment

Innovation, intelligence and automation increase precision in weighing equipment for chemical processors Accurate weighing and dosing are critical to the success of any chemical process, because they ensure product quality, safety and resource optimization. Fortunately, innovative technologies, intelligence and automation…

Troubleshooting a Trayed Distillation Column

Presented here is the progress and resolution of a troubleshooting case involving a distillation column with a capacity reduction problem Troubleshooting distillation columns during operation is often the key to stable production at industrial facilities. The collection of troubleshooting references…

Member Exclusive

Chem Chronicles: A Look Back on 80 years of Thin-Film Evaporation

Eighty years ago, in 1944, Dr. Hans Müller from Winterthur, Switzerland filed a patent application for a device designed to process liquid substances at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern. Liquids prone to fouling on heated surfaces,…

Selecting Valves for Hydrogen Service

With hydrogen’s evolution into an alternative fuel requiring precise production and storage, selecting the right valves has never been more important Hydrogen shows great promise in the search for alternative fuels. Handling hydrogen safely and reliably, from generation to end…

Chemical Recycling is Essential for Plastics Circularity, but Faces Challenges

Environmental imperatives drive the development of technologies for the chemical recycling of plastic waste, but significant hurdles – including economic viability, collection logistics and feedstock complexity – need to be addressed for chemical recycling to have a larger impact Plastic…

Member Exclusive

Rotary Valves Can Prevent Stem Seal Woes

Consider the potential for stem seal leakage when selecting a valve Experienced process control engineers follow familiar, time-tested steps when presented with a new system to design and specify. Selecting a control valve for a process always requires the same…

Investigating Decarbonization Strategies for Steam-Cracker Furnaces

Significant sustainability benefits can be gained through optimization in steam-cracking furnaces. The study detailed here shows the specific decarbonization strategies that can help improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions The chemical process industries (CPI) rely heavily on steam cracking to…

Member Exclusive

Facts At Your Fingertips: Industrial Electrolysis

Industrial electrolysis involves passing a direct electric current through an electrolyte to elicit a range of chemical reactions. Electrolyzers are key pieces of technology for producing many important industrial chemicals. This one-page reference reviews the basic general operation of an…