Technical & Practical
Preventing Clogs in Low-Flow Coriolis Mass-Flow Controllers
In low-flow applications, Coriolis mass-flow controllers can be susceptible to clogging due to their small orifice. Filtration can solve most common clogging issues. Here are tips for filtration and clog prevention Advanced material and catalyst research, as well as critical…
Making the Invisible Visible with Electromagnetic Flowmeters
The patented technology to measure buildup can be used to optimize cleaning cycles and avoid unplanned shutdowns To keep operations at peak efficiency, process systems must be kept as clean as possible. However, some of the normal byproducts of operating…
Improving the Additive Manufacturing of Parts for Chemical Manufacturers
Optimizing the additive manufacturing of parts like actuators, regulators and valves will result in faster delivery, lower costs and improved performance for these crucial equipment components Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are benefiting the chemical process industries (CPI) in two main…
A Brief Review of Natural Water’s Influence on Scale Formation in Heat Exchangers
Understanding the water chemistry is a first step in preventing heat-exchanger fouling At the two power plants and chemical plant in which this author formerly worked, the fresh-water-makeup supplies (two lakes and an underground aquifer adjacent to a river) all…
The Ten Most Common Laboratory Ventilation Mistakes
A laboratory ventilation system that does not work effectively may not keep personnel safe and can produce significant adverse impacts on operations Laboratory personnel treat their ventilation systems as a given. They expect them to be designed right, to always…
Heat Pumps: Decarbonizing the Process Industries
As the chemical process industries push to decarbonize their businesses, heat pumps are emerging as a go-to alternative to fossil fuels. Efficient and cost-effective, heat pumps are a rapidly expanding solution for industrial heat demand In the drive to meet…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Overview of Reactor Types
Reactors are at the core of most processes in the chemical process industries (CPI) and are broken down most broadly by whether their operating mode is non-flow (batch) or continuous. Each reactor type has advantages and disadvantages depending on the…
Steam Reboilers: Condensate Vessel Balance to Reboiler is Important
Properly locating a simple 1–2-in. balance line can make all the difference in successful reboiler operation Steam reboilers are crucial to production in petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants, representing huge capital investment in distillation columns. Regardless of the investment made…
Optimization of Spray Drying with Exhaust-Gas Recirculation
Energy recovery in spray-drying processes can reduce production costs, but involves trade-offs. Using milk powder as an example, this article describes a spreadsheet method to evaluate exhaust-gas recirculation scenarios for optimizing spray drying Dairy processing is among the most energy…
Facts At Your Fingertips: Metal-Organic Frameworks: Industrial Applications
Metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) have garnered considerable attention as candidate materials for a number of applications, such as gas storage, molecular separation and catalysis, because their organic and inorganic components are highly tunable at the molecular level. Since being introduced…