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Magnetically Coupled Pumps: Structure, Function and Best Practice

Understanding pump internals, especially the various sealing and coupling arrangements, is a critical step in selecting the optimal pump There is a significant risk for operators associated with the pump selection process. Economic issues, such as procurement and operating costs,…

AODD Pumps in Chemical Processes

Advancements in efficiency and the ability to handle a wide array of chemicals combine to make the air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pump a useful choice for chemical processors The circumstances surrounding the development of the air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumping principle six…

WEFTEC Show Preview

Presented by The Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.; www.wef.org), the Weftec 2016 conference and exhibition will take place Sept. 24–28 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. In addition to an exhibit hall featuring nearly 1,000 exhibitors, this…

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Design of Experiments (DoE):How to Handle Hard-to-Change Factors Using a Split Plot

This methodology facilitates multifactor testing. However, it comes at a price: a loss in power for detecting effects The traditional approach to experimentation — often referred to as the “scientific method” — requires changing only one factor at a time…

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Terephthalic Acid Production from p-Xylene

This column is based on “Terephthalic Acid Production from p-Xylene — Cost Analysis,” a report published by Intratec. It can be found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/terephthalic-acid-production-cost. Terephthalic acid is an aromatic dicarboxylic acid, mainly used to produce saturated polyesters, primarily PET (polyethylene…

Targeting clean energy

Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the approval of New York’s Clean Energy Standard, which according to the governor’s office is “the most comprehensive and ambitious clean energy mandate in the state’s history, to fight climate change, reduce…

Letters, postscripts and corrections

Communicating in acronyms I finally got around to reading the May 2016 issue of Chemical Engineering. I was fascinated with the editorial [p.5]. I have been an engineer since 1968 and in the EH&S (environmental, health and safety) field since…

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A process to treat tight emulsions and intractable oily wastes

Spent invert drilling fluids, slop oil, rag layers, and tank bottoms often present as very tight emulsions having high brine and solids fractions that render them difficult and economically unfeasible to break and separate by traditional means, says Ron Drake,…

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Environmentally safe oil-sands extraction

Processing oil sands is a mechanically intense process that involves pumping steam underground to emulsify crude petroleum. The procedure presents what MCW Energy Group (Toronto, Ont.; www.mcwenergygroup.com) CEO and former Exxon executive Jerry Bailey calls an “environmental nightmare.” Among the…

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CO2 in biomass pre-treatment

Ionic liquids are being investigated as a way to break down cellulosic plant material in biofuels-production processes. A significant hurdle to their use is the fact that ionic liquids are toxic to the microbes used in biofuel production. Researchers from…