Processing & Handling
Beyond Simple Mixing
Five different examples are presented in which specialty mixers are used to perform tasks more efficiently than conventional approaches Specialty mixers serve a vast range of applications throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). The approach to mixer selection invariably starts…
Liquid Mixing in Stirred Tanks
A method of quantifying mixing according to a mixing index is presented. This index can evaluate and predict mixing intensity related to fluid velocities in stirred tanks The stirred tank is one of the most common and versatile pieces of…
Chementator Briefs
Solar desalination Researchers at Rice University (Houston, Tex.; www.rice.edu) working on nanophotonics-enabled solar membrane distillation (NESMD) have found that concentrating sunlight on small areas of the desalination membrane leads to a non-linear improvement in performance in vapor pressure, which forces…
Technology Profile: Titanium Dioxide Production
This column is based on “Titanium Dioxide Production Process – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/titanium-dioxide-production-cost. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, and is found particularly in rutile ores.…
How to design agitators for desired process response
Effective agitation of fluids for blending and motion requires a detailed analysis of capacity, viscosity and dynamic response for the fluid system, in order to find power and shaft speed of the agitator and corresponding sized of the turbine impeller.…
Recently Published Books for the CPI: July 2019
The following list is a selection of recently published books with relevance for the chemical process industries (CPI), July 2019 Guidelines for Investigating Process Safety Incidents, 3rd ed. By the Center for Chemical Process Safety, Wiley/AIChE Publishing, 2019, 408 pages,…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Surface-Mediated Heterogeneous Catalysis
Heterogeneous catalysis in industrial processes involves a complicated set of physical and chemical phenomena that help lead to products. This one-page reference provides information about the formation of products in an industrial process using solid catalyst materials. Catalyst materials…
Technology Profile: Epichlorohydrin Production from Propylene
This column is based on “Epichlorohydrin Production from Propylene – Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/epichlorohydrin-production-cost. Epichlorohydrin, (also known as ECH and chloromethyloxirane), is an organochlorine compound and a highly reactive epoxide that…
Particle Size Characterization and Analysis
Several methods and calculations are available for determining particle size and particle-size distribution. This article provides and overview on how to use them The behavior of particulate material is greatly dependent on its geometric properties, including particle size, shape and…
Orion to expand production capacity for gas blacks
Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. (Houston; www.orioncarbons.com), a worldwide supplier of specialty and high-performance carbon black, today announced that it will expand its production capacity for gas blacks at its Cologne (Kalscheuren) plant, Germany. Orion is responding to the continuously growing…