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High productivity chocolate forming with this machine

The Rotoform HP (high performance) is the latest model in this company’s high-capacity Rotoform rotary drop depositor, which is specifically designed for chocolate processing (photo). A pump delivers molten chocolate to the Rotoform via heated piping. The Rotoform itself consists…

Convey both lean and dense phase in same system

The VS pneumatic vacuum-conveying system (photo) automatically transfers bulk materials in a choice of lean or dense phase using the same conveying system. Featuring a designed-in ball valve in the feeding elbow, the conveyor can be operated in dense phase…

Save energy in gas scrubbers with this optimizer

Launched last December, the High Efficiency Scrubber (HES) Optimizer (photo) is a digital tool that combines internal process calculations with measurements available at site to enable energy savings in the operation of Venturi-type scrubbers in wet-gas cleaning plants. Although the…

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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…

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This process makes freshwater from brine while capturing CO2

A new electrochemical technology for direct-air capture (DAC) of atmospheric CO2 can also produce freshwater from brackish water or brine waste from desalination or wastewater treatment facilities (diagram). The technology, developed by Capture6 (Berkeley, Calif.; www.capture6.org), splits the salt content…

IoT connectivity for isolated assets

The Wilsen.valve and Wilsen.node internet of things (IoT) sensor nodes (photo) wirelessly transmit data from spatially isolated assets to the network communication system. The battery-operated devices record measurement data, position data and the status of the connected sensors and wirelessly…

Liquid-level controller for oil-and-gas separators

The Fisher Fieldvue L2t liquid-level controller pairs with an electrically-actuated control valve to reliably maintain ideal separator levels. Compared to alternatives using electric on-off valves, the new Fisher controller makes it possible to save significant energy and maintenance costs by…

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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…

Innovations in Pilot-Plant Distillation Process Design

Small-scale distillation processes have specific concerns that are different than commercial-scale distillation. Presented here are several topics, including column internals and column-sizing software, considered from the perspective of pilot-scale distillation The design and operation of laboratory- and pilot-scale columns are…

A dual-shaft mixer with 1,500-gal capacity

The purpose-built FDA-1500 mixer (photo) has a maximum working capacity of 1,500 gal and features a dish-bottom, stainless-steel mix vessel with a 50-psig heating/cooling jacket. The dome-style cover includes multiple charging ports, as well as a hinged manway for major…