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Conservation economics: Carbon pricing impacts

Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continues to be a major issue in national and international public policy, as well as a major focus for companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). Many countries are considering systems that place a…

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Distillation Tray Design

In a distillation column tray, vapor passes upward through liquid that is flowing across a horizontal perforated plate. Vapor passing through the perforated plate forms a two-phase mixture with the liquid and enables mass transfer contacting. This mixture is typically…

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Burner Operating Characteristics

Burners are critical for the successful operation of industrial furnaces. Presented here is a set of equations that can be used to calculate characteristics of burner operation, including flame length, flame diameter, ignitability and flameout conditions. Equations are based on…

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Measurement guide for replacement seals

Mechanical seals play a pivotal role in the chemical process industries (CPI). As the sealing interface between rotating process equipment and the materials contained inside, these devices prevent product leakage and fugitive emissions, while permitting process machines, pumps and compressors…

Steam Tracer Lines and Traps

Steam tracer lines are designed to maintain the fluid in a primary pipe at a designated uniform temperature. In most cases, these tracer lines are used outdoors, which makes ambient weather conditions a critical consideration. The primary purpose of steam…

Positive Displacement Pumps

Pumps are essential equipment in the chemical process industries (CPI). Given the imperatives to reduce production costs and maximize energy efficiency, pump selection is crucial. Knowledge of pumping basics, along with the fluid characteristics for a particular application can help…

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Low-Pressure Measurement

Because of the behavior of materials under vacuum, including lowered boiling points, low-pressure operations are useful tools in chemical processing, as well as in research and development and manufacturing. Areas where a vacuum system is necessary or useful include the…

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Creating Installed Gain Graphs for Control Valves

Installed gain graphs can help improve the selection of control valves for chemical processing. The graphs are plotted to analyze together control-valve flow characteristics and process-system flow characteristics, and better illustrate the relationship between a control valve and the system.…

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Aboveground and Underground Storage Tanks

The ultimate objective of storing liquid, fluid and gaseous products, which may be corrosive, flammable or unstable, is to store material in an environmentally safe and economically viable manner. Storage tanks in the chemical process industries (CPI) can be most…

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Chemical Resistance of Thermoplastics

Corrosion is estimated to account for a significant portion — 8–10% — of total annual-plant-capital expenditures for the chemical process industries. To avoid it, engineers can consider corrosion-resistant plastics for process piping and storage vessels. Thermoplastics are generally resistant to…