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Tower Doctor: Can the Cure be as Bad as the Illness?
Henry Kister shares lessons learned from troubleshooting distillation towers During a course that I was presenting in Houston one year, a participant asked me the following at the end of one of the sessions: “Do you have experience with BX-type…
Impact of Particle-Size Control on Bulk-Solids Flow Behavior
Crushing and screening of solids are essential to many solids-handling processes, but engineers must be mindful about how those actions will affect flow behavior of the bulk material When it comes to processing bulk solids, (particle) size matters. Almost all…
Minimizing the Effects of VOCs and Reactive Gases on Industrial-Grade LED Lighting
Chemical plants should not overlook the potential problems that can arise from damaged or malfunctioning lighting fixtures It is no secret that many chemical plants and industrial sites are prone to harsh environmental conditions that can wreak havoc on equipment…
Standard Operating Procedures are Critical for Boiler and Steam Operations
An overview on the importance of standard operation procedures (SOPs) and how to write them Today, it is necessary to have standard operating procedures (SOPs) for steam and condensate systems, boilers, deaerators and even steam process units (Figure 1). An…
McDermott selected for petrochemical expansion project by IOCL
McDermott International Inc. (Houston) has been awarded a project management consultancy (PMC) and engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contract for the Naphtha Cracker Expansion (Phase II) polypropylene expansion and new ethylene derivative unit project from Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.…
BASF and Huntsman announce separation of joint MDI production in China
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) and Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Tex.), together with their Chinese partner companies – Shanghai Hua Yi (Group Company), Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. – announce the planned separation of…
Air Products to increase production capacity at its LNG equipment-manufacturing facility in Florida
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.) announced it will be making a significant investment to meet industry demand with increased winding capacity at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) equipment manufacturing facility located in Port Manatee, Florida. Air Products expects that this…
Toray Advanced Composites to expand manufacturing plant in California
Toray Advanced Composites, developer and producer of advanced thermoplastic and thermoset composite materials, announced the planned expansion of its Morgan Hill, Calif. plant operations. The new facility will add 74,000 square feet (6,800 square meters) to the existing campus facilities.…
Fluor awarded more than $1 billion in life sciences contracts
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.) has been awarded a $487 million biotech expansion project in Denmark and is also mobilizing resources in the central U.S. for the first phase of a new life sciences production facility valued at $574 million. Fluor…
BASF completes carve-out of mobile-emissions catalysts and precious-metals services businesses
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) has completed the carve-out of its mobile emissions catalysts and precious metal services businesses and named the separate legal entity BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS). The company’s intention to carve out the entity was…