October 2015 - International

October
2015
www.chemengonline.com
Ethics:
Chem
Show w
e
Previ
What is the best path?

page 46
Emissions Regulations
and Control
Optimizing Flare
Operations
Ionic Liquids
Focus on Milling and

Grinding
Modeling and
Simulation
Pipe Insulation
Facts at Your
Fingertips:
Industrial
Adsorbents
Characterizing
Heterogeneous
Catalysts
Focus on Filters
and Membranes
Circle 4 on p. 102 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56202-04
October 2015
Volume 122 | no. 10
Cover Story
46
Part 1 Whats Your Engineering Ethics IQ?

A seven-step guideline for handling ethically challenging situations in technical
jobs is presented here
50
Part 2 CE Ethics Survey: Whats Your Opinion?

How would you respond to these hypothetical situations involving
ethical questions in the CPI?
In the News
7
Chementator
A new spin on liquid-gas separation; Nanostructured membrane
for water purification; Low-cost separation of CO2 from fluegas;
Artificial photosynthesis system demonstrates stability, safety and
efficiency; and more
16
Business News
Celtic Renewables to construct advanced biofuels plant;
Grace to license Unipol polypropylene technology in South Korea;
Tosoh to expand production capacity for zirconia powder at two sites;
Eurochem begins construction for ammonia plant in Russia; and more
18
Newsfront Ionic Liquids Create More Sustainable

Processes The distinctive properties of ionic liquids enable versatility
and efficiency across many industrial applications
25
Newsfront Modeling and Simulation Move Forward

More tools and fresh applications bring modeling and simulation to all facets
of chemical processing
46
52
Technical and Practical

42
Facts at your Fingertips Industrial Adsorbents

This one-page reference provides information on the uses and physical
properties of common industrial adsorbent materials
44
Technology Profile Ethylene Glycol Production

This column describes a process for producing monoethylene glycol (MEG)
via the hydrolysis of ethylene oxide
56
Feature Report Emissions Regulations and Control

Harnessing new technologies for best practices in pollution control could lead
to a more ideal framework of policies and programs
18
61
Engineering Practice Pipe Insulation: Finding the

Optimal Thickness Avoid tedious numerical calculations by using this
quick, shortcut method
66
Engineering Practice Using Laser Diffraction to

Characterize Heterogeneous Catalysts The capabilities
of laser diffraction systems go beyond particle-size analysis to also predict a
catalysts propensity to experience attrition
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
OCTOBER 2015
56
70
Engineering Practice Optimizing Flare Operation

through Proper Design
Flare problems, safety issues and failures are often caused by problems with
seal systems designed to control air ingress. Follow this troubleshooting
guidance to ensure safe, reliable flare operation
Equipment and Services

30
Focus on Milling, Grinding and Screening

A mill for when every micron matters; Diamond deck classifier design makes
blockages easy to find; Magnetic mill liners reduce grinding media and powder;
Economically grind materials with this vertical roller mill; Pharma-grade pin mill
reduces friable solids; and more
34
Focus on Filters and Membranes

Membrane elements desalinate seawater and brackish water; One-stop
shopping for gas filtration products; Design improvement optimizes this firm's
vacuum drum filter; and more
37
New Products
This HT-resistant silicone resin cures at room temperature; An industrial tablet
PC for use in hazardous areas; Extreme pumping tasks solved with this ceramic
vortex pump; A precise piston pump with minimal energy expenditure; and more
89
Show Preview: Chem Show 2015

This years Chem Show marks the 100th anniversary of the event. Included are
brief descriptions of products that will be on display on the shows exhibit floor
66
30
Departments
37
Editors Page Focusing on emissions

Recent announcements outline new greenhouse-gas emissions standards that
strongly impact a number of chemical process industries (CPI) sectors
104 Economic Indicators
Advertisers
89
77
CPI Product Review Section
95
Fluid Sealing Special Advertising Section
100 Product Showcase

101
Classified
102 Reader Service

103 Ad Index
Chemical Connections
Follow @ChemEngMag on Twitter
Join the Chemical Engineering Magazine
LinkedIn Group
Visit us on www.chemengonline.com for Latest News,
Webinars, Test your Knowledge Quizzes, Bookshelf
and more
Coming in November
Look for: Feature Reports on Tanks, Storage and Vessels; and Filtration;
A Focus on Pipes, Tubes and Fittings; A Facts at your Fingertips
on Bio-based Processing; an Engineering Practice article on
Fermentation Systems; News Articles on Salary and Workforce (watch for
our salary survey coming soon); and Emissions Monitoring and Control; and more
Cover: Rob Hudgins
2
OCTOBER 2015
WHEN IT COMES
TO MAINTENANCE,
LESS IS MORE.
In your industry, the more you produce, the better. However, this can
also lead to more maintenance, more downtime and more headaches.
Thats why, at Eastman, we specialize in keeping you up and running with
our advanced Therminol heat transfer luids. And with our industry-deining
Total Lifecycle Care Program, you can count on us being there throughout the
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Eastman Therminol team can do for you, go to Therminol.com or call
1-800-426-2463 in North America. In Europe, call 32.2.746.5134.
2014 Eastman Chemical Company or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. As used herein, denotes registered trademark status in the U.S. only.
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Focusing on emissions
his August, two milestone actions were taken to set standards

for emissions control in the U.S. On August 3, U.S. President
Obama and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy released the final Clean Power Plan
the first-ever national standards to limit carbon emissions from
fossil-fuel-fired electric generating units. Power plants are the largest
source of carbon emissions in the U.S., and the new plan aims to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030.
The Clean Power Plan is said to take into account some four million
comments submitted to the EPA during a public comment period.
The emissions targets are state-specific and a host of Fact Sheets
that give details are available on the EPAs website (www2.epa.gov).
On August 18, the EPA announced its proposal to cut methane
emissions, another greenhouse gas (GHG), from the oil-and-gas sector. The proposal is a part of President Obamas Climate Action Plan
to cut methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector by 4045%
from 2012 levels by 2025. Stating that methane is a potent GHG with
a global warming potential more than 25 times greater than that of
carbon dioxide, the EPA says that nearly 30% of methane emissions
come from oil production, and the production, transmission and distribution of natural gas. The proposal requires the following in order to
cut methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions: finding
and repairing leaks; capture of natural gas from hydraulic fracturing;
and limiting emissions from several types of equipment (more information on the proposal can be found at www3.epa.gov/airquality/
oilandgas/actions.html).
Technology
The tightening regulations on emissions provide more impetus to further already ongoing technical developments in a number of areas.
There are, for example, promising developments in the area of carbon
capture and sequestration (see Post-Combustion Carbon Capture
Technologies, Chem. Eng., March 2015, pp. 7073). And a host of
sensor, sealing and vapor-recovery technologies are available to aid
in reducing methane emissions (see Targeting Methane Emissions,
Chem. Eng., March 2015, pp. 2024). In response to the EPA announcement of its proposal to reduce methane emissions, the Fluid
Sealing Association (FSA; Wayne, Pa., www.fluidsealing.com) recognized the importance of addressing the issue, and Mike Shorts, president of the FSA said The sealing industry is ready to get to work to
fix this issue. Our technology can be part of the solution and we know
this is doable.
In this issue
For a broader, global perspective on emissions, this months Feature
Report on Emissions Regulations and Control (pp. 5660) offers an elucidating look at how fugitive emissions are regulated around the world,
and suggests how we can better control them.
This months two-part cover story on Engineering
Ethics (pp. 4655) includes an interactive section
that poses a number of scenarios and asks how
you would respond. A link to the survey is available
on our website (www.chemengonline.com).
And there is much more in this issue, including articles on ionic liquids, modeling and simulation, and
flare operations. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Dorothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief
OCTOBER 2015
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Chementator
A new spin on liquid-gas separation
Edited by:
Oil
ast month, Innsep
Rotating mesh
Motor
Gas
Gerald Ondrey
principle
AS (Trondheim; NorWater
way; www.innsep.
Magnetic coupling
com)
and
EaCO2 TO FORMIC ACID
gleBurgmann
Norway
Professor Yutaka Amao
Dry gas outlet
(Skedsmokorset;www.
Airtight bearings
and colleagues at Osaka
eagleburgmann.no) began
Sealed housing
Rotating mesh
City University (Osaka City,
a collaboration to develop
Japan;
www.osaka-cu.
Inlet device
Liquid level
Innseps Lynx Separator
ac.jp/en) have enhanced
Wet gas inlet
the photocatalytic efficiency
technology for protection
for the conversion of CO2
of EagleBurgmanns Dry
to formic acid by up to 20
Gas Seal systems for comtimes. The efficiency boost
pressors. Lynx is a new
Liquid outlet
was achieved by replacing
technology for removing
the natural coenzyme nicoentrained liquids much more efficiently and and Technology (NTNU; Trondheim; www. tinamide used to activate
with a smaller footprint than conventional ntnu.no), from which the company was formate
dehydrogenase
separators, such as those with stationary spun-off in 2011. Full-scale testing of a pro- (FDH) by an artificial comesh contactors or cyclones.
type device was carried out at Colorado En- enzyme, dithionite-reduced
The heart of the Lynx technology is a gineering Experimental Station Inc. (Nunn; methylviologen. The achievesponge-like cylinder made of porous stain- www.ceesi.com) in 2012, whereby natural ment has implications for the
less steel, which is mounted inside a sepa- gas and liquid hydrocarbons at 60 bars were production of organic chemirator column, and held in place by airtight used. The test was the first time that hy- cals, such as methanol, using
bearings (diagram). The cylinder is rotated drocarbons at high pressure were separated CO2 as a feedstock.
by a magnetically coupled motor. As the wet by the rotating mesh, probing the concept
SWEET SURFACTANT
gas enters the filter, liquids coalesce onto behind Lynx, says Fernandino.
the large surface area and then are thrown
Since then, Innsep and NTNU have working Late August, Clariant Oil
by centrifugal force to the walls of the sep- with Statoil (Trondheim, Norway; www.statoil. Services (Houston; www.
introduced
arator to be collected at the bottom. The com) and other partners as part of the DEMO clariant.com)
added pressure drop across the Lynx due to 2000 project to qualify the technology for ap- HofstaFrac SF 13213, a new
the rotation of the mesh is insignificant, says plications in the oil-and-gas industry. The goal flowback aid for hydraulic
Innseps R&D director Maria Fernandino.
is to develop a separator that is only half as fracturing applications. The
The patented technology was first invented large as conventional separators. We have new sugar-based surfactant
is said to dramatically lower
by Fernandino and Innseps chief technology been testing in the range of 0.020.2 vol.% the fluids surface and interofficer Carlos Dorao, who are both research- [liquid in gas], and are achieving very good re- face tension to significantly
ers at the Norwegian University of Science sults in one single stage, Fernandino says.
increase the flowback of
Low-cost separation of CO2 from fluegas
novel solvent can reduce the costs

of capturing and recovering carbon
dioxide from gas mixtures compared to the use of amine-based
solvents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA).
The solvent, along with an associated cyclic
absorption-desorption process, was developed by Carbon Clean Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
(CCS; Mumbai, India; www.carboncleansolutions.com) to replace MEA for separating
CO2 from fluegas, synthesis gas and other
gas mixtures in industrial applications.
By combining amine-based compounds
with salts, CCS CDRMax solvent can react
quickly to absorb CO2, similarly to MEA, but
can also reduce the energy requirements
for desorption and reduce corrosion, says
Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of CCS. The system works by bubbling fluegas (with ash
removed) through large cylinders containing
the CDRMax to absorb the CO2. In a second

vessel, the CO2 is released from the solvent
at 100C. If you can capture CO2 cheaply,
the CO2 can be converted into more valuable products, says Sharma.
CCS says that capital costs for the CO2removal process can be reduced by 50%
because the CDRMax solvent reduces corrosion significantly compared to MEA, and
the process loss of solvent can be lowered
from 4095% to around 510%.
The CDRMax solvent has been substituted
into existing plants in the U.S., E.U. and
India with no need for equipment changes,
Sharma says, and has been introduced at
existing process plants in Asia and Europe.
CCS first greenfield project will begin operation in the first quarter of 2016, where the
technology has been licensed for use in carbon capture at a new plant.
the hydraulic fracturing fluid.

HostaFrac SF 13213 effectively lowers the formation
damage caused by emulsification of the fracture fluids
in the reservoir. While as little
as 13% of the fluid used during the hydraulic fracturing
process can be recovered
without flowback aid additives, the new HostaFrac SF
13213 increases fluid-recovery levels to as high as 87%,
says Clariant.
ADHESIVES
Last month, Perstorp AB
(Malm, Sweden; www.
perstorp.com) and Corbion
NV (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.corbion.com)
introduced Capa lactide
caprolactone
copolymer
(Continues on p. 8)
Note: For more information, circle the 56-digit number on p. 102, or use the website designation.
OCTOBER 2015
Nanostructured membrane for water purification

for application in hot-melt
adhesives. The product,
resulting from a partnership
agreement both companies
signed in 2011, has a renewable content exceeding 80%
and is fully compostable,
thus providing adhesives
manufacturers with a new
technology to improve foodsafety aspects of packaging, as well as meeting the
growing demand for more
sustainable products.
The new material will create
a strong technology platform
for the development of polymers that provide a genuine alternative to traditional
materials like ethylene vinyl
acetate (EVA) and metallocene-catalyzed polyethylene
(mPE) for the adhesives industry, says Corbions senior
vice president Biochemicals,
Marco Bootz.
The new Capa product is
expected to be commercially available in the final
quarter of this year and will
be brought to market by
Corbion. The new material is
expected to be the first in a
series of innovations for the
adhesives industry.
ELECTROCURING
Scientists from Nanyang
Technological
University,
Singapore (NTU; www.ntu.
edu.sg) have invented a glue
that hardens when a voltage
is applied to it. The discovery
offers a new alternative to
traditional curing methods
that are activated by light,
temperature or two-component thermosets such
methods do not work in wet
environments. With electrocuring, such limitations are
overcome, say the researchers. As a result, the technology may find applications for
underwater pipe repairs or
for surgical procedures.
The so-called Voltaglue
is developed using hydrogels consisting of carbenes
grafted onto tree-shaped
plastic known as dendrimers. Upon contact with electricity, the reactive carbenes,
which are capable of hooking onto any surface nearby,
are released. This technol(Continues on p. 13)
new composite-membrane distillation process capable of removing salt, toxic elements and microorganisms from water is being
offered commercially for the first time this
month. The process, known as NanoClear, was developed by Dais Analytic
Corp. (Odessa, Fla.; www.daisanalytic.
com) for industrial wastewater treatment
and desalination. The process is said to
offer significant advantages in fouling resistance and eventually cost savings over
reverse osmosis at similar flowrates.
The NanoClear process (diagram) leverages the unusual properties of Dais
patented Aqualyte membrane, which has
been used commercially in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) applications for over a decade. Our nanostructured Aqualyte membrane is able to
remove a wide range of contaminants to
parts-per-billion levels, and is highly resistant to fouling, says Dais chief technology
officer Brian Johnson.
The 2530-micron-thick membrane is
made from a block copolymer with regions of polystyrene and rubber. A polar
functional group is added to the styrene
to make those regions hydrophilic, while
the rubber regions remain hydrophobic.
As the polymer solidifies, it develops inherent structure at the nanometer scale:
hydrophilic channels form that allow water
molecules to selectively pass through the
membrane, while contaminants are retained. The channels are not open pores,
Johnson says, but rather solid regions of
hydrophilic plastic that interact with water
NanoClear architechture
Source
water
Hot
wastewater
Warm
wastewater
Membrane evaporator
Vacuum
exhaust
Vapor
NanoClear
system
Condenser
Cold cooling water
Produced
water
Warm cooling water
molecules via hydrogen bonding to enhance their permeation between the polymer molecules.
Nanoclear operates via a pervaporation
process, in which heated wastewater is circulated on one side of the membrane, and
water molecules are drawn through the
membrane by a vacuum on the other side.
The membrane allows significant surface
area density while eliminating defects in the
film of source liquid that lead to scaling in
conventional evaporators.
Dais now operates two pilot-scale facilities
using the NanoClear process and is working
with partners to retrofit the system into existing facilities.
This cobalt complex catalyst is less expensive,

more active than its rhodium analog
he research group of professor

Shigeki Matsunaga at Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Japan; www.oia.
hokudai.ac.jp), in collaboration with
associate professor Takeshi Sakata at Hoshi
University, has developed an inexpensive
cobalt-based catalyst that can synthesize
useful chemicals with fewer reaction steps
and reduced waste generation compared to
the analogous rhodium-based catalyst.
The new catalyst is a metal complex of
Co(III) with the ligand 1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*), designated as
[Cp*CoIII]. The researchers demonstrated
the unique reactivity of a [Cp*CoIII] catalyst
over analogous [Cp*RhIII] catalyst for the
CH allylation reaction with allyl alcohols in
dichloroethane (DCE). After 8 h at 60C, a

cationic [Cp*CoIII] catalyst promoted the
direct, dehydrative CH allylation with nonactivated allyl alcohols to give C2-allylated
indoles, pyrrole and 1-phenyl-pyrazole with
good yields. Analogous [Cp*RhIII] catalysts
were not effective. Allylated products were
obtained with high -selectivity in 6299 %
yield, and good turnover numbers of up to
62, were observed.
The cost of rhodium is not only about three
orders of magnitude higher than that of cobalt, but using [Cp*RhIII] as a catalysts for
this type of reaction requires additional steps
to activate the allyl alcohol, which generates additional waste from the pretreatment
chemicals, says Matsunaga.
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OCTOBER 2015
This filter renders

secondhand smoke harmless
Chemical
Engineerings premium
product showcase
for the latest
products
and technologies
in the chemical
processing
Organomagnesium catalyst
isomerizes hydrocarbons
industries.
rganomagnesium compounds have become

a highly important class of reagents in organic
chemistry since the discovery of the Grignard
Reaction more than 100 years ago. These
compounds are powerful and inexpensive reagents that
can be readily prepared from metallic magnesium and
organic halides. In most applications, organomagnesium compounds are used as stoichiometric reagents,
and there are only few reports of homogeneous magnesium catalysis.
Professor Kazushi Mashima and colleagues at the
Dept. of Chemistry, Osaka University (Osaka, Japan;
http://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en) recently found that alkylmagnesium complexes bearing monoanionic N,Nbidentate ligands are able to catalyze the isomerization
of terminal alkynes to allenes, and further to internal
alkynes. The key event in the reaction mechanism for
both isomerization steps was found to be the activation of CH bond. The reactions from terminal alkynes
to allenes, and further to internal alkynes, proceed
to subscribe
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26033
10
research team, led by Jongsoo Jurng and

Gwi-Nam at the Korea Institute of Science and
Technology (Seoul; www.kist.re.kr), has developed a nano-catalyst filter that can drastically
reduce harmful substances in cigarette smoke. The
team created the filter by evenly coating a manganese
titanium-oxide-based (Mn/TiO2) nano-catalyst powder
onto a ceramic-based filter media.
The filter decomposes harmful substances in cigarette
smoke, such as acetaldehyde, nicotine and tar, using
oxygen radicals that are generated by decomposing
ozone in the air on the surface of the filter. When O3 interacts with a metal oxide (Mn/TiO2), it is decomposed
on the surface of the manganese, generating oxygen
radicals. Acetaldehyde, nicotine and tar are thus oxidized and turn into water vapor and CO2. The O3 is not
discharged or detected after the decomposition reaction, as it is completely decomposed by the catalyst.
The team says the catalyst removes 100% of harmful
substances. It claims its air cleaning equipment can purify
more than 80% of the cigarette smoke within 30 min and
100% of it within 1 h in a 30-m2 smoking room with ten
people smoking simultaneously. The air cleaning equipment can also be used in air conditioners and air purifiers.
The team expects that it would take only about a year
to commercialize the system, because the nano-catalyst
and the filter coating technologies have already been developed. It believes the system is a significant breakthrough,
because it represents a great improvement on existing
technologies. Hitherto, activated-charcoal-based filters
have been mostly used in a smoking room to remove gaseous materials in cigarette smoke. However, those filters
are not effective in removing materials such as acetaldehyde. Their performance decreases fast in a smoking room
and they need to be replaced every few weeks.
OCTOBER 2015
through a temporally separated auto-tandem catalysis

so that the macroscopic temporal separation allows for
the isolation of the allene or the internal alkyne, whichever is desired.
The organomagnesium complexes were synthesized from N,N-dialkylamineimine ligands and dibenzylmagnesium by benzylation of the imine moiety. When
3-phenyl-1-propyne is used as the substrate, the magnesium complex catalytically transformed 3-phenyl-1propyne to phenylallene almost completely within 18 h
at 60C. Moreover, by maintaining the reaction mixture at 60C, the allene was quantitatively converted
to 1-phenyl-1-propyne. In contrast, simple alkylmagnesium compounds, such as [Mg(CH2Ph)2(THF)2] and
[Mg(CH2Ph)2(TMEDA)], were not active for the two-step
isomerization reactions. As another example, 3-aryl-1propyne substrates are converted to the corresponding
allenes (up to 89%) and internal alkynes (up to 82%) in
toluene at 80C, respectively.
Uranium processing plant

benefits from modularity
modular processing system for the Husab uranium mine in Namibia, Southwest Africa, has
been designed and developed by Adelaide
Control Engineering (ACE; Australia; www.
adlcontrol.com.au). The companys managing director, Glenn Jobling, says innovative technology and advanced modular design have enabled the company to
reduce the build time and requirement for skilled labor at
remote sites by almost 50%.
The modular system is based on standard shipping containers and is built, assembled and tested in
the companys Australian manufacturing facility before
transport to the site. The $11-million contract includes
a plant for dewatering, calcining and packing of yellowcake, complete with a waste-gas scrubbing system. The
processing system is fed with yellowcake slurry from the
mines primary processing plant. Slurry is dewatered in
a centrifuge and then fed to a rotary kiln for drying. From
the kiln, the dried yellowcake powder is transferred to
the packing module where it is packed into drums.
A key design criterion for the fully automatic drumfilling plant was that the risk of operator exposure had
to be minimized. To achieve this, the drum filling and
sampling system is contained within a sealed module,
which has integral dust extraction.
Jobling says the fully automatic system also provides
a high level of product security. No one has access to
the product, which provides product security and ensures that all product is accounted for, he says.
One of the most advanced parts of the project is the
fluidized-bed precipitator, says Jobling. Fluidized-bed
precipitation works with any precipitation method (ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and so on).
Continuous fluidized-bed precipitation provides several advantages over standard tank methods, explains
Jobling. These include up to 25% lower cost of production with reduced maintenance, increased recovery of
uranium, and reduced fines, thereby creating less dust
and therefore lower risk to operators, he says.
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12

OCTOBER 2015
Artificial photosynthesis system demonstrates

stability, safety and efficiency
cientists at the California Institute

of Technologys Joint Center for
Artificial Photosynthesis (Caltech
JCAP; Pasadena, Calif.; www.
caltech.edu) have reported the first system
for generating hydrogen gas from water
using solar energy that simultaneously
achieves high efficiency and oxidative stability along with good safety properties,
according to JCAP scientific director Nate
Lewis. Solar-driven H2 generation could
enable carbon-neutral transportation fuels,
as well as a means to store solar energy.
The layered system consists of a photoanode, an ion-exchange membrane and
a photocathode. The integrated system
converts sunlight into H2 at an efficiency
of over 10% by far the highest level
achieved in a stable (40 h of continuous
operation) and intrinsically safe system,
Lewis says.
A number of key advances were critical to the prototypes operation. The first
involves a method for protecting the systems gallium-arsenide-based photoanode
from oxidation by water a problem that
complicates the use of semiconductors

to harness light in fuel production. The
Caltech team used atomic layer deposition to coat the photoanode with a 60-nmthick layer of amorphous TiO2. The TiO2
prevents oxidation of the photoanode
while allowing sunlight to reach the semiconductor and electrons to flow.
The second involved developing inexpensive catalysts to drive the essential
reactions. Rather than relying on expensive metals, such as platinum, the Caltech
group found that it could add a 2-nm-thick
coating of nickel to the TiO2 layer to efficiently split water molecules into oxygen,
protons and electrons. They also integrated an inexpensive Ni-Mo catalyst into
the photocathode, where the protons and
electrons are recombined.
A third advance is the Caltech teams specialized polymer membrane that maintains
separation of the product gases (H2 and O2)
while allowing ion flow. The research team
is now working on modifications to allow
larger-scale manufacture of the system at
reasonable cost, Lewis says.
ogy described in a recent

issue of Nature Communications
is currently patented through
NTUitive, the universitys commercialization arm.
CARBON FIBERS FROM AIR

Chemists from George Washington University (GWU; Washington, D.C.; www.gwu.edu) have
developed a technology to economically convert atmospheric
CO2 directly into highly valued
carbon nanofibers for industrial
and consumer products. The
process was presented at the
250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical
Society (ACS; Washington, D.C.;
www.acs.org), which was held in
Boston, Mass. last August.
The nanofibers are made by
electrolytic syntheses, whereby
CO2 is broken down in a hightemperature electrolytic bath of
molten carbonates at 750C.
Atmospheric air is added to an
electrolytic cell. Once there, the
CO2 dissolves when subjected
(Continues on p. 14)
Use spreadsheets
to power customized
simulation owsheets.
Good thinking.
Feedback from our users is what inspires us to keep making
CHEMCAD better. As a direct response to user need, many
features like this one were added to our integrated suite of
chemical process simulation software. Thats why we consider
every CHEMCAD user part of our development team.
Engineering advanced
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to the heat and direct current through electrodes of

nickel and steel. The carbon
nanofibers build up on the
steel electrode, where they
can be removed, according
to Stuart Licht, who leads the
research team GWU.
To power the synthesis, heat
and electricity are produced
through a hybrid concentrating solar-energy system,
which focuses the suns rays
on a photovoltaic solar cell to
generate electricity, and on a
second system to generate
heat and thermal energy.
Licht estimates electrical
energy costs of this solarthermal electrochemical process to be around $1,000
per ton of carbon nanofiber
product, which means the
cost of running the system is
hundreds of times less than
the value of product output.
He says the group is scaling
up the process and soon
should be in range of making
tens of grams of nanofibers
an hour.
Putting more bio into biodiesel fuels
iodiesel fuels are made by the

transesterification of plant-derived
triglycerides (fats and oils), a process that generates impure glycerin as a byproduct while consuming fossil-fuel-derived methanol. Although there
have been efforts in recent years to utilize
the large volumes of glycerin byproduct
(see Outlets for Glycerin, Chem. Eng. September 2007, pp. 3137), most of these
efforts focused on cleaning up the glycerin
for applications in pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics, or converting it into other commodity chemicals, such as propylene glycol, epichlorohydrin and acrolein.
Now, chemists from the Cardiff Catalyst
Institute, School of Chemistry at Cardiff
University (U.K.; www.cardiff.ac.uk) have
discovered a way to turn crude glycerin into
methanol, which can then be fed back to
the transesterification process. Recycling
the glycerin as methanol can increase the
biodiesel fuel production by an estimated
10%, says professor Graham Hutchings,
director of the institute, and lead author of
the article describing the research that was
published last month in Nature Communi-
cations. In contrast to other processes that

hydrogenate glycerin into methanol using
H2 at high pressure, the Cardiff method
uses water as the source of hydrogen
atoms, he explains.
The researchers demonstrated that glycerin (1030 vol.% aqueous solution) reacts with water over a magnesium-oxide
catalyst to give methanol with high yields
(25% conversion, 40% selectivity). The gasphase reaction is carried out in a conventional packed-bed reactor at temperatures
of 523680K and atmospheric pressure
much milder conditions than the so-called
Supermethanol concept, which integrates
gylcerin conversion into synthesis gas production (reforming conditions 2427 MPa,
9501,000K) with methanol synthesis (24
27 MPa, 470520K).
Although the work is still in the early
stages, Hutchings says the discovery offers
good opportunity to optimize biodiesel production while making it possible to produce
fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) with 100%
renewable content. The researchers plan to
optimize the catalyst to significantly increase
n
its activity and selectivity.

14
OCTOBER 2015
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Capital Project Execution in the Oil and Gas Industry.
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Plant Watch
Technip to provide EPC services for
Unipetrol HDPE plant
September 10, 2015 Technip (Paris,
France; www.technip.com) was awarded a
contract by Unipetrol (Prague, Czech Republic;
www.unipetrol.cz), covering the engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) of a new
polyethylene plant in Litvinov, Czech Republic.
The new unit will have a capacity of 270,000
metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of high-density
polyethylene (HDPE). The project is scheduled
for completion in mid-2018.
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16
Celtic Renewables to construct

advanced biofuels plant
September 9, 2015 Celtic Renewables
(Edinburgh, Scotland; www.celtic-renewables.
com) earned an 11-million (around $17 million)
grant to build what is said to be the worlds
first plant for the production of biofuel from the
residues of the whiskey industry. The biofuel
facility will be operational by late 2018, and
will produce at least 1 million L/yr of biofuel.
Grace to license Unipol polypropylene
technology in South Korea
September 4, 2015 W.R. Grace & Co.
(Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com) will provide
its Unipol polypropylene process technology to
Hyosung Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) for its new
facility in Ulsan, which is expected to open in
2017.The Ulsan plant will produce an estimated
200,000 m.t./yr of polypropylene.
have a design capacity of 1 million m.t./yr of

ammonia. All EPC work is expected to be
completed within 36 months. The company
plans to invest 900 million in the project.
Messer invests in new
specialty-gas plant in China
August 25, 2015 Messer Group GmbH (Bad
Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com)
has invested 33 million in a new specialty-gas
facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. The
facility has a production capacity of 600 m.t./
yr of nitrous oxide, along with other high-purity
gases for electronics applications, including
silane, ammonia and hydrogen.
Ube-Lotte JV announces launch of
butadiene plant in Malaysia
August 25, 2015 Ube Industries, Ltd. (Ube;
Tokyo, Japan; www.ube-ind.co.jp) launched
operations at the butadiene-rubber plant of
its joint venture (JV) with Lotte, Lotte Ube
Synthetic Rubber. Located in the Tanjung
Langsat industrial park in Johor, Malaysia, Lotte
Ube Synthetic Rubber has a butadiene-rubber
production capacity of 50,000 m.t./yr.
Lubrizol to license Daelim

polyisobutylene process technology
August 24, 2015 The Lubrizol Corp.
(Wickliffe, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) and
Daelim Industrial (Seoul, South Korea) have
signed a license agreement granting Lubrizol
the right to use Daelims technology for the
manufacture of polyisobutylenes (PIBs). The
commencement of PIB operations at Lubrizols
Tosoh to expand production capacity
Deer Park, Tex. site is projected to occur in a
for zirconia powder at two sites
September 3, 2015 Tosoh Corp. (Tokyo; minimum of three years.
www.tosoh.com) is increasing the zirconia
powder production capacity at its Nanyo and Borouge awards FEED contract to Neste
Yokkaichi sites by approximately 30%. The Jacobs for polyethylene project
investment for this expansion is around 3.9 August 20, 2015 Borouge, an Abu Dhabibillion ($32 million). Commercial production is based plastics provider, has selected Neste
projected to begin in March 2016 at the Nanyo Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.
com) as a front-end engineering and design
site and April 2017 at the Yokkaichi site.
(FEED) service contractor for its polyethylene
plant modification project, located in the Ruwais
BP licenses PTA process
industrial area, United Arab Emirates. Work for
technology in Oman
September 3, 2015 BP plc (London, U.K.; www. the project will be delivered within 2015.
bp.com) and Oman International Petrochemical
Industries Co. (OMPET) have entered into a Mergers & Acquisitions
licensing agreement for BPs purified terephthalic Lubrizol acquires drug-delivery
acid (PTA) technology. OMPET intends to specialist Particle Sciences
build a unit in Sohar, Oman that will produce September 9, 2015 Lubrizol has acquired
1.1 million m.t./yr of PTA using BPs process. Particle Sciences (Bethlehem, Pa.; www.
particlesciences.com), an organization with
a comprehensive suite of services for the
EuroChem begins construction
formulation, analysis and production of complex
for ammonia plant in Russia
September 2, 2015 EuroChems (Moscow, drug-delivery solutions. This acquisition further
Russia; www.eurochem.ru) subsidiary Phosphorit expands Lubrizol LifeSciences pharmaceutical
commenced the construction of an ammonia development capabilities. Particle Sciences
plant in Kingisepp, Russia. The new plant will will retain its company name.
OCTOBER 2015
LyondellBasell sells Argentinabased subsidiary Petroken

August 19, 2015 LyondellBasell
(Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.
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Veolia acquires polypropylene

recycler in the Netherlands
September 4, 2015 Veolia (Paris,
France; www.veolia.com) has closed
the acquisition of AKG Kunststof Groep
(Vroomshoop, the Netherlands), a
company focused on recycling and
compounding polypropylene. AKG
has sold 37,000 m.t. of recycled
material, and posted revenues of
34 million in 2014.
Mann+Hummel to acquire filtration

operations of Affinia Group
August 19, 2015 The Mann+Hummel
Group (Ludwigsburg, Germany; www.
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Evonik purchases Dutch

hydrogen peroxide producer
September 8, 2015 Evonik Industries
AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com)
signed an agreement for the acquisition
of PeroxyChem Netherlands B.V. The
transaction, which will increase Evoniks
hydrogen peroxide capacity in Europe,
is expected to close in the fourth quarter
of 2015. The parties have agreed not
to disclose the purchase price.
Kemira acquires assets of

U.S.-based Soto Industries
September 2, 2015 Kemira Oyj
(Helsinki, Finland; www.kemira.com)
has acquired certain assets of Soto
Industries, LLC (Charlotte, N.C.).
Soto specializes in the application of
scale-control products, defoamers and
settling agents for the pulp-and-paper
industry. The parties have agreed not
to disclose the transaction price.
lyondellbasell.com) announced that

YPF S.A. and Grupo Inversor
Petroquimica S.L. have accepted
an offer to purchase LyondellBasells
Argentina-based subsidiary Petroken
Petroquimica Ensenada S.A. in a
transaction valued at $145 million. The
sale is expected to close in late 2015.
Petroken operates a polypropylene
plant with a capacity of 180,000 m.t./yr
in Ensenada, Argentina.
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Siemens and GlaxoSmithKline

form partnership for automation
September 8, 2015 Siemens AG
(Munich, Germany; www.siemens.
com) will become a strategic partner
of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK; Brentford,
U.K.; www.gsk.com) for manufacturing
automation. The partnership will focus
on process and equipment control and
building-management systems at
GSKs manufacturing and pilot plants.
mann-hummel.com) has entered into

an agreement to acquire the filtration
operations of Affinia Group, which
specializes in aftermarket oil, fuel, air,
hydraulic and coolant filters. With this
acquisition, around $1 billion will be
added to Mann+Hummels finances.
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Milliken acquires performancefabrics producer Springfield LLC

September 9, 2015 Milliken & Co.
(Spartanburg, S.C.; www.milliken.
com) has acquired Springfield LLC
(Jericho, N.Y.), a manufacturer of
technical, performance and flameresistant fabrics for safety apparel.
Springfield has manufacturing facilities
located in Gaffney and Lyman, S.C.
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17
Newsfront
Ionic Liquids Create More

Sustainable Processes
The distinctive properties of ionic liquids enable versatility and efficiency across many
industrial applications
IN BRIEF
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
APPLICATIONS
LONGTERM SOLARPOWER SUPPLY
NATURAL-GAS
PURIFICATION
SAVING ENERGY IN
CATALYSIS
LOOKING FORWARD
Roy Kaltschmidt, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory
onic liquids salts in a liquid state at ambient conditions make up a fascinating

family of materials whose unique physical
properties have made them highly sought
after for many challenging applications. Nearly
all ionic liquids (ILs) exhibit extremely low vapor
pressure, but the diversity of ILs give way to
countless combinations of anions and cations
that can provide desirable properties for a vast
array of uses.
IL-based technologies are still rather new
commercially. BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) became the first company to apply ILs at an industrial scale when
a unit operating its BASIL (biphasic acidscavenging utilizing ionic liquids) process
technology went onstream in 2004 at BASFs
Ludwigshafen site. Since then, industrial applications for ILs have greatly expanded. ILs
are now used as industrial solvents, lubricants, additives and more. This article details some recent industrial applications of ILs where they promote
efficiency
and
sustainability.
Alternative fuels applications
FIGURE 1. JBEI has scaled

up biomass pretreatment
technologies that utilize ionic
liquids from the bench scale
to the 100-L scale using a reactor located at the Advanced
Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit (ABPDU)
18
The pretreatment of lignocellulosic

biomass, a challenging step in the
preparation of biofuels, is an area
where ILs have proven advantageous. Biomass of all types must
be pretreated in order to isolate
the most useful part the polysaccharides that are converted
into the sugars used in industrial
fermentation processes. Conventional pretreatment processes can
be expensive and energy-intensive, and in some cases, may actually have damaging effects on downstream
microbes, enzymes and sugars. This is where
ionic liquids become an attractive alternative.
The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI; Emeryville, Calif.; www.jbei.org), in collaboration
with the Advanced Biofuels Process DemonCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
stration Unit (ABPDU; Emeryville, Calif.; www.

abpdu.lbl.gov), has been working extensively
to develop biomass-conversion processes
that effectively utilize ionic liquids (Chem.
Eng., Sept. 2013, p. 15), with an emphasis
on process optimization and unit-operation
consolidation. JBEI has previously reported
the creation of a single-vessel process that
combines pretreatment and saccharification into one step, decreasing water input
and waste generation. Now, in collaboration
with the ABPDU, JBEI has turned its focus
to scaleup, demonstrating IL-based pretreatment at the 100-L scale (Figure 1). Furthermore, according to the group, in a separate
activity, a company has demonstrated IL pretreatment at a scale capable of processing
one ton per day of biomass.
With these progressively larger demonstrations, Blake Simmons, JBEIs chief science
and technology officer, is optimistic about the
prospects of positioning this technology as an
economical alternative to other commercial
pretreatment methods. We are very confident
that in the near-term, say two to three years,
we will be able to generate an IL conversion
technology that can compete on a cost basis
and outperform current technologies, says
Simmons. The industry has taken notice of this
work, as Simmons cites several companies
that are funding collaborative projects across
many applications, including fuels, chemicals
and materials.
One key to optimizing the process is narrowing down the best ionic liquid for the job.
According to JBEI, among the thousands of
known ionic liquids, less than 50 have been
shown to be effective for biomass pretreatment. The selection of the anion and cation
dictates how they interact with the principal
components in biomass: lignin, cellulose,
and hemicellulose, explains Simmons. ILs
can be tailored for specific process requirements to selectively interact with biomass
components, resulting in the perturbation of
OCTOBER 2015
Linde
FIGURE 2. Linde is employing its ionic compressors at hydrogen fueling stations in several locations, including this Geiselwind, Germany site, opened in May 2015
the plant cell-wall structure. JBEI has

found that imidazolium-based ILs are
particularly suitable for disrupting the
plant wall and interacting with the
various biomass components, making them an effective choice for treating a large variety of biomass feedstocks. You can equate this to how
other solvents can selectively solubilize a wide range of polymers, says
Simmons, after all, lignin, cellulose
and hemicellulose are simply polymers that are produced by nature.

In investigating numerous varieties of ILs for pretreatment purposes,
JBEI also began to look into some
novel ways to synthesize ionic liquids, specifically from bio-based materials, especially since the costs to
procure and recycle ILs are among
the major challenges the group faces
for industrial scaleup. The group has
developed two renewable ionic liquids (bionic liquids); one derived

from hemicellulose, and one derived
from lignin. Lignin, typically viewed
as a waste stream, is an especially
attractive raw material for the production of bionic liquids.
To synthesize ILs from lignin, first,
the lignin must be depolymerized into
monomers. The monomers are then
functionalized via standard chemical
routes to generate aldehydes and
alcohols, representing the cation
portion of the resultant IL. The anion
portion comes from phosphoric acid
used in the process. These renewable ILs, says Simmons, are comparable to the top-performing conventional ILs. Since lignin and residual
amounts of hemicellulose are both
byproducts of biomass pretreatment,
a potentially closed-loop pretreatment process is possible. The bionic
liquids not used for pretreatment can
be sold to other markets, providing
another source of revenue. The development of a renewable, efficient
biomass-pretreatment process will

OCTOBER 2015
19
help to bridge the gap between biobased chemicals and fuels and their
petroleum-derived counterparts.
Like biomass, hydrogen gas is
poised to become an alternative fuel
source, specifically in the automotive
sector. The Linde Group (Munich,
Germany; www.linde.com) is at the
forefront of this movement, opening
hydrogen-fueling stations in California, Austria and Germany (Figure 2)
in the past year. One very distinctive
component of these modular stations
is the companys ionic compressor,
where ILs behave like mechanical
pistons. Non-volatile and nearly incompressible, the ionic liquids used
in these compressors provide corrosion inhibition and lubrication, and
do not contaminate the hydrogen
gas. Linde specially designed the IL
for the compressors, seeking out a
material that would not mix with hydrogen gas. This renders seals and
gaskets unnecessary while providing
efficient compression.
Acting as reciprocating pistons,
the motion of the IL columns within
3550 Silica Road

Sylvania, Ohio 43560
Merck
FIGURE 3. Dye-sensitized solar cells are highly efficient energy sources that can be implemented into
glass units on architectural structures. Mercks work in introducing ionic liquids into DSSC systems has
helped to increase the possible service lifetime of these devices
the five-stage compressor serves to

compress the hydrogen gas nearly
isothermally, with almost no mechanical wear. According to the company,
energy savings of around 40% are
achieved with the use of ionic compressors versus those containing
traditional pistons. Hydrogen can
be compressed from a minimum of

5 bars inlet pressure to a maximum
of 1,000 bars outlet pressure, says
Linde. A coalescer on the outlet of
the compressor allows for the ILs
to be recovered and recycled. With
construction underway on many new
hydrogen-fueling stations, Linde will
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continue to commercially deploy ionic compressors as

hydrogen becomes a more widely used fuel source.
Longterm solar-power supply
ILs are also becoming prevalent in the solar-energy sector. Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany; www.merckgroup.com; www.emdgroup.com) has been developing
electrolyte mixtures for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC),
where ILs dissolve the electrolyte redox system (consisting of iodine, iodides and additives). DSSC systems employ electrolyte mixtures to facilitate efficient charge transport between the cells electrodes. Merck commends ILs
special properties for instilling stability and longterm
service life into DSSCs. One reason for the long lifetime
is the negligible vapor pressure of ionic liquids. Hence,
there is no mechanical stress on the sealing or electrolyte
evaporation when the cells heat up in the sun, says Hannah Brckstmmer, strategic marketing manager, Photovoltaics within Mercks Performance Materials business
sector. Low viscosity was also extremely important in creating the companys proprietary IL, as conventional electrolyte systems are usually quite low in viscosity. However,
a solvent-based DSSC system, while highly efficient, is
very volatile and has a shorter lifetime than electrolytes
based on ILs. Evaporation of the electrolyte is a key failure mode. For products with lifetime requirements of several years, experts see electrolytes based on ionic liquids
as the best alternative, explains Brckstmmer.
According to Merck, there are several market sectors
where DSSCs are ideal. DSSCs can be used in low-light
or indoor environments to supply power for small, nonwired devices like sensors, since they work efficiently and
provide very high power densities. They are an attractive
option for architectural structures, as well, since they can
be made semi-transparent and the color can be adjusted
(Figure 3). Here, they can serve simultaneously as a power
source and a design element, says Brckstmmer.
POA_ChemEngineering_MAR2015.qxp_Layout
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Natural-gas purification
ILs are also being positioned as a valuable material for

natural-gas purification processes, including carboncapture. In a project funded by Petronas (Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia; www.petronas.com.my), researchers from the
Queens University Ionic Liquids Laboratories (QUILL;
Belfast, Northern Ireland; www.quill.qub.ac.uk) have investigated the use of various ILs for the capture of carbon
dioxide (CO2) from natural gas (Figure 4). Typically, CO2
removal involves the use of corrosive and volatile amines,
but the alluring physical properties of ILs offer many advantages. For instance, ILs boast very high stability, and
they exhibit negligible vapor pressure under typical process conditions. Also, unlike amines, there is little risk of
corrosion occurring due to the presence of ILs.
QUILLs research investigated various IL formulations,
some containing water, for their CO2-capture capabilities
at the CO2 partial pressures typically found in submarine
natural-gas sources. As in other applications utilizing ILs,
selection of the proper cation and anion was of utmost
importance. Focusing on ILs with carboxylate anions,
QUILL sought to maximize CO2 absorption on the basis
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of solvent volume and weight. IL basicity was another key design factor.
The team also found that formulating
the IL solvent with a nearly equimolar
volume of water enhanced the CO2
solubility, as water participates in the
chemical mechanism of the process
and slightly decreases the viscosity of
the IL-water formulation.
After examining numerous IL formulations, QUILLs studies indicated
that
tributylmethylphosphonium
propanoate was the most viable
IL candidate for CO2-capture processes. The team worked with the
U.K. branch of engineering consultancy company WorleyParsons
Ltd. (North Sydney, Australia; www.
worleyparsons.com) for an in-depth
analysis of the IL-based CO2-capture process, and their findings indicated that, when compared with one
of the most effective conventional
CO2 absorption processes (containing activated methyl diethanolamine),
the IL-based process (utilizing tributylmethylphosphonium propanoate),
actually had lower operating costs.
QUILL
Gas
(including CO2)
+
Source of emission
IL
Compression of gas
Gas
De-CO2
CO2
(arbitrary
pressure)
IL
IL (CO2)
IL (CO2)
Decompression
Compression
CO2 physical absorption
CO2 capture
Isolation
IL
IL recovery
FIGURE 4. A proposed IL-based carbon-capture system has many benefits over conventional absorption
processes
Added bonuses were reduced heat

input, the absence of corrosion and
equivalent selectivity and stability.
According to QUILLs Natalia Plechkova, the process has been demonstrated at both laboratory and semipilot scale, and two patents have
been filed as a result of the research.
The next steps for scaleup, says
Plechkova, will be to reduce the viscosity of the system and to change
existing equipment to adapt to the
new ionic liquid technologies. These
findings are especially significant to
the natural-gas industry, due to the
restrictive regulations surrounding
amines in some parts of the world.
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involved in the development of HycaPure Hg, a now commercialized technology that applies ILs to
remove mercury from natural gas
streams. The HycaPure process
was developed in partnership with
Petronas, which has been operating the technology at commercial
scale in its own facilities in Malaysia
since 2011. In 2014, Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com)
signed a marketing license agreement for the technology to expand its
reach internationally.
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contaminant that can cause corrosion and embrittlement in process

equipment, and can generally degrade the quality of the product. Its
presence also poses considerable
exposure risks to workers. HycaPure
Hg technology is said to capture all
mercury species (organic, inorganic
and elemental) that are present in
natural gas streams, with a capacity three times higher than competing commercial mercury-removal
methods, such as those containing
activated-carbon materials, sulfides
or silver. The HycaPure Hg process
benefits from its kinetics reportedly 1020 times faster than other
mercury-removal technologies
enabling it to handle fluctuating mercury content, particularly the large
spikes in mercury concentration that
could be damaging to downstream
processes if not properly mitigated.
Furthermore, the non-volatile nature
of ILs proves valuable here, as there
is no risk for inherent contamination of the gas during the mercuryremoval process.
In laboratory tests examining the

solubility of mercury in ILs in this
case, a chlorocuprate-based IL
QUILL observed that ILs in their fluid
form could be applied to a mercury
scrubber. However, the viscosity of
the IL system would render it impractical for industrial scaleup. Therefore, a supported-ionic-liquid-phase
(SILP) structure, wherein thin IL films
are incorporated on a porous solid
media, was proposed for use in a
fixed-bed scrubber. The SILP format
provides adequate contact between
the IL and the gas stream, and also
imparts mechanical strength.
Petronas took this technology from
the laboratory to a gas-processing
plant in Malaysia, and demonstrated
that, even at commercial scales,
the process resulted in natural gas
streams that were significantly lower
in mercury content than required sales
specifications. According to QUILL,
HycaPure Hg systems can be directly
retrofitted into commercial plants, and
the increased mercury-removal capacity can result in lower operating
costs. QUILL emphasizes the remarkable nature of HycaPures rapid commercial implementation, transitioning
to commercial operations in less than
four years.
Saving energy in catalysis

A notable feature of ILs is their ability
to alter the behavior of other materials in their presence. Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.
evonik.com) has been taking advantage of this trait in the development of advanced SILP catalysts. In
June of this year, Evonik announced
an industry-first achievement, demonstrating that SILP catalysts can
run reliably in a pilot plant for over
2,000 h, proving commercial viability.
Essentially, this SILP catalyst technology can make homogeneous
catalysts which are highly active
and very selective, but can require
energy-intensive downstream separation and recovery behave more
like their easier-to-handle heterogeneous counterparts. In a SILP system, the homogeneous catalyst can
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be dissolved into a solution. This allows the catalyst to be applied to solid

materials, eliminating downstream
separation requirements.
For the development and application of SILP catalysts, Evonik has
been focusing on the hydroformylation reaction, a common industrial
reaction that converts olefins and
syngas into aldehydes. Hydroformylation reactions traditionally employ
a homogeneous cobalt or rhodium
catalyst that becomes dissolved in
the reaction mixture, necessitating
costly separation and recycling steps.
According to Evonik, since there is no
known heterogeneous alternative for
hydroformylation catalysts, this process is a prime candidate for SILP
catalysis technology.
As in other IL-based applications,
the ability to manipulate the cation
and anion of the IL provides the flexibility to optimize the IL for the specific
application. Evonik, along with researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremburg (Erlangen, Germany;
www.fau.eu), began seeking out dif-
ferent IL anion-cation combinations to

best adapt the SILP catalyst for hydroformylation. Also crucial was determining the most appropriate ligand
for the catalyst. Many compounds
were screened as the team targeted
the optimal IL solubility, which, says
Evonik, had to be high for the catalyst
and low for the end product (so that
no separation would be required to
recover the catalyst materials).
From this work, the best candidate
SILP catalyst consisted of a rhodium
complex and a ligand based on polycyclic anthracene triol. The IL had an
imidazolium cation and a binary amine
anion. This was the SILP system that
was used in the milestone 2,000-h
demonstration. In addition to the intrinsic benefits of making the homogeneous catalyst easier to manage,
Evonik also reports that in pilot-plant
demonstrations, SILP operations resulted in a greater than 2% reduction
in CO2 emissions when compared
with conventional hydroformylation
processes, and that the metallic portion of the catalyst could be recycled.
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Looking forward
Even as the use of ILs in industrial
applications becomes much more
widespread, there are still some
challenges, mainly stemming from
the cost in procuring some ILs in
large-enough volumes for commercial-scale operations, and also in
the sheer number of ILs that can
be synthesized. As reiterated in
this article, the ability to tailor ILs
with the optimal cations and anions
for a particular application instills
great flexibility in process development. It also introduces some
daunting challenges in process development, as it is infeasible for researchers to test literally thousands
of anion-cation combinations. This
is where predictive modeling tools
will increasingly become important
to narrow down the field of potential ILs for a particular process. As
these tools become more robust
and mainstream, it will certainly aid
in expediting the development of
future IL-based technologies.

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OCTOBER 2015
Newsfront
Modeling and Simulation

Move Forward
More tools and fresh applications bring modeling and simulation to
all facets of chemical processing
Chemstations
odeling and
simulation
software is
becoming
not only more powerful, but also more user
friendly and affordable,
making it a valuable tool
for chemical processors
who are using all types
of simulation packages
to optimize equipment,
processes and practices. Todays offerings
include process modelFIGURE 1. Designed specifically for the chemical engineering environment, Chemcad
ing and simulation soft- streamlines processes used in projects to improve workflow. Chemcad Version 7 includes
ware, which is being a complete overhaul of the graphical user interface
used in fresh ways, as
well as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) open the simulator and compare design
tools, simulation solutions for increasing reli- parameters to current operational paramability and training simulators.
eters and do some analysis to see what
has changed or look for areas of improveProcess simulation
ment, he explains. The next step would
Process simulation software can be used be more complex, where the simulator is
in a variety of ways. One method is front- actually connected to the plant data and
end engineering in which it serves as an is reading plant parameters and calculataid when designing a new process or re- ing simulated variables based upon actual
designing an existing one. In these appli- data coming from the plant, so they can
cations, the software is used to provide an then do what might be called online plant
engineering analysis that will help users find performance monitoring.
And, Mark Matzopoulos, marketing direcways to improve the process or increase
throughput efficiency, explains Steve tor with Process Systems Enterprise, Ltd.
Brown, executive vice president and chief (London, England; www.psenterprise.com),
operating officer with Chemstations (Hous- adds that formal optimization of process
ton, www.chemstations.com), which offers design and plant operation is becoming a
Chemcad, an integrated suite of chemical key technology trend. While many people
process engineering software with process talk about process optimization, because
of the limitation of the current toolset in
simulation (Figure 1).
A more advanced use for process sim- practice, this often refers to incremental
ulation software is in operations where improvement determined by trial-and-error
simulators are often employed to compare simulation. Formal mathematical-optimizaactual performance against design per- tion techniques applied within an equationformance. This operational tool may be oriented framework have the speed and
used in very simple or very complex ways, power to deal with large numbers of deciaccording to Brown. An engineer may sion variables, allowing applications such
OCTOBER 2015
IN BRIEF
PROCESS SIMULATION
CFD
RELIABILITY SOFTWARE
OPERATOR
COMPETENCY
25
as whole-plant optimization, including simultaneous optimization of the

reaction and separation sections.
Moreover, he adds, Decisions
can include integer decisions to support, for example, distillation column
configuration decisions, such as optimal number of stages or feed and
side-draw locations. That means it is
now possible to optimize the whole
plant, choosing the optimum diameter and number of tubes in the reac-
tor while simultaneously determining

the optimal feed-tray location and
operating pressure of distillation columns in the separation section.
In order to help users reap the
benefits of this type of optimization,
PSE recently released its gPROMS
ProcessBuilder for model-based
support of key process design and
operating decisions. Combining the
ease of use and solution robustness
of traditional sequential-modular
Perfection is
Better Dispersion and Control
flowsheeting tools with the modeling and solution power of the equation-oriented gPROMS platform, it
is intended to bring the benefits of
advanced process modeling to the
wider engineering community.
No matter the type or method of
applying simulation software, it is
likely to unearth changes that can
and should be made to improve
the process, increase efficiency and
cut costs. However, according to
Brown, users were finding that the
reports generated by typical simulation software were not adequate
when presenting the results. To help
overcome that obstacle, the latest
version of Chemcad now features
professional-looking reports with
polished graphics so that engineers
do not have to spend time cleaning
up studies for reporting.
Application of the selected

ideas resulted in a reduction
in plant energy consumption
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Another way that software providers are improving simulation packages is to allow collaboration between different departments and
concerns within the facility, says Terumi Okano, product marketing manager for aspenONE Engineering with
AspenTech (Bedford, Mass.; www.
aspentech.com). Once a company
has developed a model, there are
many different departments within
the plant that can use that model to
seek improvements, so the model
is no longer used just for simulating
the process, but also can be used to
optimize energy, safety, operations
support, equipment design and so
on, she explains. For this reason,
we have provided several integrated
tools that will help break down the
barriers between departments and
lead to significant savings throughout the plant.
For example, Okano cites an ethylene plant that employed aspenONE
OCTOBER 2015
Engineerings AspenPlus simulation

software, along with Aspen Energy
Analyzer (Figure 2), to minimize the
energy consumed. From the energy analysis, sixty potential energysaving ideas were generated. Based
upon the operational feasibility, commercial validity and available plant
space, twenty of these ideas were
selected for operational analysis,
she says. Application of the selected ideas resulted in a reduction
in plant energy consumption of 3 to
4%, which provided an estimated
profit of $10 million.
Among the tools offered for integration with aspenONE Engineering
and Aspen Plus for modeling and
simulation are Aspen Energy Analyzer, Aspen Economic Evaluation,
Aspen Equipment Design and Rating and Aspen Basic Engineering.
with a different shape that will enhance the process based upon the
models and conditions youve created, he says.
Using simulation in this way allows equipment to be optimized for
specific conditions in the real process, he says. It is no longer just
for general design purposes.
Because chemical processors are
constantly challenged with improving their processes and, therefore,
their equipment, Comsol now offers packages specifically tailored for

chemical engineers within its Multiphysics Software Product Suite.
Among them is the CFD Module,
which is a platform for simulating devices and systems that involve fluid
flow models. The Chemical Reaction
Engineering Module models mass
and energy balances and chemical
reactors to help optimize chemical
reactors, filtration equipment, mixers
Take control
with a representative sample
every time.
Computational fluid dynamics

Often, CFD simulations are used for
design and engineering of products
and equipment, but also are now
commonly being specialized for and
employed by chemical processors to
solve problems involving flow of fluids or solids, heat transfer and stress
within the process, according to
Ravindra Aglave, director of chemical
processing with CD-adapco (Melville,
N.Y.; www.cd-adapco.com), which
provides STAR-CCM+ engineering
simulation products (Figure 3).
Ed Fontes, chief technology officer with Comsol (Boston, Mass.;
www.comsol.com) agrees. The
first benefit this type of software
provides is a quick understanding
of the process, he says. Without
simulation, you would need to run
a variety of time-consuming experiments just to find out how the process truly operates.
Once you have the model that
describes the true reality, the next
step is to use that model in combination with experiments to get
the actual parameters from the
process, including things like mixing properties or transport properties, he explains. Once you have
those, you can begin to experiment
using parameters that are outside
of these actual conditions and see
if you can optimize the equipment.
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AspenTech
CD-adapco
FIGURE 3. Shown here is the transport of particles

on belts, conveyors and hoppers as depicted in
STAR-CCM+ engineering simulation software.
FIGURE 2. Among the tools offered for integration with aspenONE Engineering and Aspen Plus for modeling and simulation are Aspen Energy Analyzer (shown here), Aspen Economic Evaluation, Aspen Equipment Design and Rating and Aspen Basic Engineering
and other processes. And, the Optimization Module is an add-on package that can be used to improve on
the design of the equipment.
Aside from equipment optimization, CFD simulators can also be
used for troubleshooting, adds
Aglave. There are very few ways
to look inside a piece of complex
equipment, so thats where simulation comes in, he says. It lets you
peer into the heart of reactors and
other equipment to analyze the flow
distribution and see if theres something thats not functioning the way
it should be. And, once you know
the root cause as to why the equipment isnt functioning properly, you
can use that information to take
corrective actions. Further, with that
basis established, you can examine
alternative designs that might better
serve the process.
He adds that this type of simulation can also help processors investigate the effects of increasing
capacity. In sophisticated chemical
facilities, it isnt as easy as putting in
twenty percent more materials to get
twenty percent more product. And,
experimenting with the what ifs isnt
feasible in a large, operating plant,
Aglave explains. CFD simulation
can give you a complete analysis of
what happens when you increase
capacity in a reactor. In this way, this
type of simulation provides informed
data that helps processors make
decisions based upon business and
safety criteria.
28
Reliability software
Also available is modeling and simulation software that focuses on facility reliability, availability, maintainability and cost, known as RAM-C,
says Bob Bartlett, senior reliability
analyst with Booz Allen Hamilton
(McLean, Va.; www.boozallen.com),
which provides its Raptor product
for this purpose.
No company can afford to continuously throw money away on
unreliable components or operating
strategies, including spare parts and
preventive maintenance strategies,
says Bartlett. So we use modeling
and simulation software to create analytical models and make decisions
based on rational analysis, which

can detect unnecessary operational
costs and unneeded logistics support. The software analyzes cost,
capacity, sparing and maintenance
concepts and accounts for issues including cold and hot standby with priority, redundancy, components that
can change behavior with phases of
operation, multi-distribution systems
and cascading features.
This, he says, means users receive
hard data that take into account the
actual way a processor handles its
business so that informed decisions
can be made about components
with the highest failure rates or about
the entire process.
Operator competency
Competent, well-trained operators
are safer, more efficient and more
reliable and, as a result, may im-
Honeywell
FIGURE 4. The UniSim Competency Suite provides highly accurate representations of the plant to allow
effective transfer and evaluation of knowledge, which helps boost efficiency at startup and prepares operators for situations that may develop during plant operations
OCTOBER 2015
prove plant operations, efficiency

and safety, says Martin Ross,
product manager for Honeywell
Process Solutions (Houston; www.
honeywellprocess.com)
UniSim
Competency Suite of products.
So the challenge becomes how to
create that competency? How do
you make sure the people you put
in front of the console to start up
a new plant or operate an existing
plant are actually competent?
practiced operator is the safest

operator.
Final remarks
With the penetration, availability
and ease of use of modeling and
simulation software found on the
desktops of many plant engineers
and operators, it makes sense that
they are using simulation to optimize everything from equipment to
processes to reliability to training.

Simulation of any form, be it for
process or equipment design or
optimization, troubleshooting or
training, is a major time and money
saver, notes Aglave. And every
day a plant is not running optimally,
it is losing money. Simulation is a
way to recover that lost money and
work toward optimization goals.n
Joy LePree
Competent, well-trained
operators are safer, more
efficient and more reliable
and, as a result, may
improve plant operations,
efficiency and safety.
Martin Ross, Honeywell
Process Solutions
Ross believes a training simulator, which operates much like
a flight simulator for pilots, is the
answer. Honeywells UniSim Competency Suite (Figure 4) enables
processors to plan, deploy and
manage a structured program for
operator competency. It offers solutions to train plant employees
for safe, incident-free and efficient
startups, as well as for maintaining operator skills in an established
plant, he says.
The only way to really represent the response of the plant is to
build a sophisticated mathematical
replica of the plant that includes all
the process chemistry and physics, so you have the correct plant
response for each operational interaction, Ross explains. You
need to suspend disbelief that this
is a drill via a high-fidelity simulation of the plant using accurate
flashes, alarms, reactions and,
even, an accurate representation
of the control console. Highly accurate representations of all situations allow for effective transfer
and evaluation of knowledge,
which helps boost efficiency at
startup and prepares operators for
situations that may develop during plant operations. An informed,
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short-longs (pellets that meet diameter specifications, but not length)
from contaminating the end product.
The Witte Co., Washington, N.J.
www.witte.com
Magnetic mill liners reduce

grinding media and power
Stedman Machine
This companys Magnetic Mill Liners (MMLs; photo) combine all of
the best qualities of steel and magnetic liners to provide unmatched

performance and protection. The
wear-resistant steel-encased magnet, designed for both secondary
and regrind ball mills, lines the shell
and mill heads to improve grinding efficiency and reduce power
consumption while maintaining mill
throughput. A magnet holds the
metal magnetic liner to the shell
and retains ball chips and magnetic
minerals to form a solid protection
layer, which serves as the wear liner.
The ball chips and magnetic minerals are contained continuously. This
state-of-the-art design enables the
liner to last for many years without
requiring maintenance. MMLs can
effectively lower energy and medium
consumption. Eriez, Erie, Pa.
www.eriez.com
Economically grind materials

with this vertical roller mill
The Vertical Roller Mill (VRM) is an
air-swept fine grinding system that is
said to produce an improved particle-size distribution when compared
to a traditional ball mill or old style
vertical roller mill. Consistent wear
and long-life grinding-zone components allows this VRM fine grinder to
deliver consistent results, crucial to
maximizing efficiency and profitability
of end products. The new VRM airswept fine grinding system has been
designed to economically grind a variety of materials including: rock dust
(as defined by the Mine Safety and
Health Admin.; MSHA), activated
carbon, calcium carbonate, coal,
lime and petroleum coke. Four sizes
are available from 10 to 150 hp.
Stedman Machine Co., Aurora, Ind.
www.stedman-machine.com
Sieve tray frames fabricated

from food-grade HDPE
The Lift-Out Tray Frame is available
for the Model 200, 300 and 400
Tru-Balance sifters, which are used
in applications throughout mill processing and quality assurance applications. The Nova sieve can now
be fabricated with food-grade high-
30
OCTOBER 2015
Great Western Mfg.
Three-roll mills for laboratory

and production requirements
density polyethylene (HDPE), and

works with existing Nova aluminum
trays. Advanced manufacturing processes provide a simpler, more sanitary Nova sieve design (photo) with
the same benefits of the traditional
wooden Nova sieve including: sturdy
metal tray; elimination of backwire;
optimum screen tensions; high net
screen area; one piece pan and
screen cleaner with high cleaner performance; and reduced sieve heights,
which allow for increased number of
sieves in a stack or increased sieve
heights. Great Western Mfg. Co.,
Inc., Leavenworth, Kan.
www.gwmfg.com
Three-roll
Mills are offered in a
wide selection of capacities and
features for
handling virtually
any
laboratory
application
Charles Ross & Son
all the way
to pilot- and full-scale production
requirements. One popular model
(photo) is the 5 in. 12 in. machine
with hardened carbon-steel 52100
precision ground rolls, each cored for
water cooling and heating. Standard
handwheel controls feature a quick
release/reset engagement mechanism for easy operation and accurate
repeatability, while a trip switch across
the top of the mill helps ensure operator safety. Mounted to a heavy-duty
freestanding base, this mill comes
with adjustable bronze endplates and
stainless steel apron. Options such

as hydraulic roll adjustments, hardened stainless-steel rolls, coated rolls
(aluminum oxide, chromium oxide or
tungsten carbide), Teflon endplates,
special roll-setting gages, analog
position indicators, stainless steel
sheathing and explosion-proof controls are available. Charles Ross &
Son Co., Hauppauge, N.Y.
www.mixers.com
Pharma-grade pin mill

reduces friable solids
The
pharmaceuticalgrade pin mill,
model CIM18-S316
( p h o t o )
grinds friable
powders,
flakes
and
granules into
Munson Machinery
controlled
particle sizes ranging from coarse to
fine. Unlike conventional pin mills in
which the static outer disc is remov-
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31
Franklin Miller
Pallmann Maschinenfabrik
Fritsch GmbH
able but the inner rotating disc is not,

the outer and inner discs can swing
away from the unit on cantilevered
arms, providing full access to both
sides of both discs and the mill housing for rapid cleaning and sanitizing.
Setting the infinitely variable rotor
speed between several hundred and
5,400 rpm provides the flexibility to
use the machine for coarse grinding and de-agglomerating as well as
for fine grinding down to 400 mesh.
Constructed of 316 stainless steel,
the unit features a sanitary butterfly
valve on the air intake, sanitary fittings
at the material intake and discharge
and a wash-down-duty motor.
Munson Machinery Company, Inc.,
Utica, N.Y.
www.munsonmachinery.com
This machine crushes

large volumes of materials
The Delumper Triple-LP Crusher
(photo) is engineered to reduce massive quantities of plastics, minerals,
chemicals, lumps, chunks and agglomerates to controlled output sizes.
Designed with a unique ability to
handle sticky, wet, moist substances
as well as dry caked solids, the TripleLP Crusher features a heavily constructed body and low-friction cutter
design with three parallel shafts of individual replaceable cutters mounted
in a staggered pattern around the
shaft diameter. Each shaft has heavy
outboard bearings and a shaft seal
to protect the bearings and retain the
product in the cutting area. The TripleLP is available in two series: LP standard crushers are designed for high
capacity on light- to medium-weight
materials, and HD units are designed
for continuous, high-load operation
with heavy materials at a rate of up to
38,000 ft3/h (1,080 m3/h). Franklin
Miller, Inc., Livingston, N.J.
www.franklinmiller.com
A robust granulator for efficient

PET bottle recycling
This company has recently extended
its range of Panther recycling granulators, by adding a granulator that
has been specially designed for recycling reusable materials from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles
(photo). Individual PET bottles are
continuously fed into the cutting
chamber, by means of a conveyor
belt. Massive, angled rotor knives
32
work with a very close cutting gap

against opposing slanted counter
knives and cut the bottles into flakes.
The lower part of the housing is fitted
with a large screen, which holds the
PET flakes in the cutting chamber
until they are discharged through the
screen holes. The mesh size can be
selected, which determines the size
of the flakes and throughput rate of
the granulator. Throughput rates of
up to 3.5 ton/h are possible with a
flake size of approximately 14 mm
and the appropriate machine size.
Pallmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH
& Co. KG, Zweibrcken, Germany
www.pallmann.eu
A laboratory mill with

a high-speed rotor
The Variable Speed Rotor Mill Pulverisette 14 premium line (photo) offers
impact, shearing and cutting comminution in one instrument. The machine has a higher performance, better cooling and is significantly quieter
than comparable instruments, says
the manufacturer. Its powerful motor
is ideal for the particularly fast comminution of soft to medium-hard, brittle
as well as fibrous materials and temperature-sensitive samples with an
extremely fast sample throughput of
up to 15 L/h and more, depending on
the material and parameter settings.
A high-speed motor with ceramic
bearings ensures a particularly high
impact and rotor speed up to 22,000
rpm. Particles with a fineness down to
d50 < 40 m are achieved. Fritsch
GmbH, Idar-Oberstein, Germany
www.fritsch.de
A universal milling platform

with five heads
The FreDrive multifunctional milling
platform can accommodate up to five
different grinding heads, providing
primary crushing, de-agglomeration,
granulation, fine grinding or control
screening. Intended for use in the
chemical, pharmaceutical and food
industries, the FreDrive can process
sticky, hard or crystalline powders
with varying product characteristics.
The FreDrive can be mounted on a
mobile lifter, and users have the option to dock the mill anywhere in the
production area to bring the device
to a desired height. Frewitt SA,
Granges-Paccot, Switzerland
www.frewitt.com
OCTOBER 2015
Achieve finer PSDs with this

conical mill
and shift PSD targets for coarser or

finer results, says the manufacturer.
Quadro Engineering Corp., Waterloo, Ont., Canada
www.quadro.com
The H20 Comil

(photo) is said
to
redefine
conical milling
Two mills in
by
pushing
one laboratory device
the capabiliThis company has built its first
ties of cone
combination mill comprised of an
mill technolS1 batch mill combined with an
ogy
toward
SDM-05 mill designed to operate
finer particleas a bead mill. Being able to prosize distribucess both fine and coarse materitions,
makQuadro Engineering
als without purchasing two coming it ideal for
active pharmaceutical ingredients plete mills to accomplish this, the
(APIs) and fine chemical products. S1/SDM-05 combination laboraWith its re-engineered drives and tory mill provides the option to run
milling efficiency improvements, at slower speeds (approximately
the H20 provides superior perfor- 100 to 500 rpm) and uses media
mance over jet mills, pin mills or ranging from 1/8 to 3/8 in. The
hammer mills without the need for SDM option runs at higher speeds
expensive additional containment (approximately 300 to 2,000 rpm).
or air-handling systems, says the The system utilizes grinding media
company. The system achieves as small as 0.25 mm, and as large
3070% finer particle-size distribu- as 2 mm. Union Process, Inc.,
tions (PSDs) than traditional conical Akron, Ohio
www.unionprocess.com
mills,
and has
ability1 to
control
3276 Bionomic
2c the
ad_Layout
3/8/12
8:31 AM
Page 1
Rotor mills with variable speed

and large sample volumes
The new generation of rotor mills
SR 300 and SK 300 has been
greatly improved with regard to
performance, handling and flexibility, says the manufacturer. The
speed of the rotor beater mill SR
300 has been substantially increased and can be set between
3,000 and 10,000 revolutions per
minute (rpm), thus allowing for optimum adaptation to application
requirements. It is therefore ideally
suited for use in pharmaceutical
and food laboratories. The new
cross beater mill SK 300 now also
operates with higher speed, which
can be set from 2,000 to 4,000
rpm. Both mills can be equipped
with an optional cyclone, which
improves material discharge, particularly for very fine particle sizes,
and provides additional cooling
of the sample. Retsch GmbH,
Haan, Germany
n
www.retsch.com
Gerald Ondrey
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OCTOBER 2015
33
Focus
Filters and Membranes

Lanxess AG
Hayward Flow Control
Membrane elements desalinate

seawater and brackish water
One-stop shopping for natural

gas filtration products
The Lewabrane Series membranes

(photo) use reverse osmosis to
desalinate seawater and brackish water. Water is forced through
the semi-permeable membrane
at high pressure, to remove salts
and other unwanted substances,
including borates, nitrates, arsenates and silicates. Depending on
the intensity of use, these spiralwound, thin-film composite membranes can last for several years,
says the company. The Lewabrane
RO membrane elements for applications with standard pressure
(15.5-bars test pressure) are offered in two types: HR (high rejection) and HF (high flow). The
HR-type elements are designed to
provide extremely low salt passage
under normal operating conditions
(yielding >99.7% salt rejection, and
optimal removal of other target
ions, measured at standard test
conditions). The HF-type elements
allow for increased water productivity coupled with a slight increase
in permeate salinity. Lanxess AG,
Cologne, Germany
www.lanxess.com
A broad range of filtration, separation and coalescing equipment

and replacement filter elements
for gases and fluids is available
online, for use in the natural gas
industry. Among the many filter elements available are high-efficiency
coaslescing elements that are designed to replace conventional elements to effectively remove higher
concentrations of aerosol mists
and particulate matter in natural
gas filtration applications that have
low tolerance for carryover. Clark
Reliance Corp., Strongsville, Ohio
www.clark-reliance.com
Compact, back-washable
sand filter resists corrosion
TriStar Ltd.
The LS Series Backwashable Sand

Filter (photo) is designed for sensitive aquatic environments and saltwater systems that are maintained
in science and research facilities,
and for for aquatic life support and
aquariums. It is available in two
sizes: 31-in. width (99 gal/min) and
36-in. width (130 gal/min). All wetted hardware is made from Type
316 stainless steel. Gasket seals
are made from EPDM, and 2-in.
NPT connections are standard.
Other features include a corrosionresistant flanged cover for internal visual inspection, thermoplastic housing and base, an integral
molded drain plug and multi-lateral
underdrain assembly. Hayward
Flow Control, Clemmons, N.C.
www.haywardflowcontrol.com
Design improvement optimizes

this vacuum drum filter
This company has improved its
Pre-Coat Rotary Vacuum Drum Filters (RVDF) with the introduction of
the EDG-trac Knife Advance System (photo). It is designed to improve filtration performance and
reduce energy costs. Ideal solids
penetration into a pre-coat filter is
two to five thousandths of an inch.
The EDG-trac system removes as
little as 1.4 thousandths of an inch
per revolution, at a drum speed as
low as 0.2 rpm. This helps to extend
the pre-coat life by not cutting away
clean pre-coat while maintaining
acceptable solids separation and
improving liquid throughput, says
the company. An efficient, single
motor with variable frequency drive
(VFD) reduces energy use and cost,
while fully automated PLC controls
provide precise control and critical information for operators. The
company is offering retrofits of existing units (at the owners facility,
or at the manufacturers facility).
Independent testing of a recent
installation showed that the EDGtrac system was able to increase
filtration throughput by 700% and
reduce energy consumption by
87% on a per-gallon filtered basis,
says the company. TriStar Ltd.,
Buffalo, N.Y.
www.tristarltd.com
34
OCTOBER 2015
Water-treatment membranes
resist solids buildup
Koch Membrane Systems
The Puron MBR ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor series (photo) is

designed for use in industrial and
municipal
wastewater-treatment
applications. It has a single-header
design, and its patented module
houses reinforced polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF) hollow fibers that
are fixed only at the bottom, virtually eliminating the buildup of hair
and fibrous materials that typically
clog the upper ends of other modules, says the company. Solids and
particulates, including bacteria, remain on the outside of the fibers,
while permeate is drawn through
the membrane to the inside of the
fibers. The robust braided membrane fibers resist breakage and
downtime, says the company, and
the system is said to have one of
the lowest energy demands among
comparable products on the market. Aeration nozzles scour the
entire length of the fibers to manage solids with minimal energy
consumption, says the company.
Koch Membrane Systems,

Wilmington, Mass.
www.kochmembranes.com
Swift-JB International
cal processing, hydraulics, power

generation, automotive and other
demanding applications. The FJV-3
Series high-pressure filters use porous-metal-felt filter elements that
employ filter media of thin filaments
of non-woven stainless steel, making them ideal for highly corrosive,
highly viscous or radioactive applications, says the company. Because it is highly porous (up to 85%),
metal felt media provides very high
flowrates of up to 20 times those
of other media while maintaining
very long operating life. Swift-JB
International LLC, Houston
www.swift-jbinternational.com
Separate unwanted solids

from fluid streams
Eriez
ASM 340
Best in class leak detector,
using helium and hydrogen
Unique capability to detect leaks
starting at 100 mbar
Fastest time to test in its class
Low maintenance due to rugged
design
User friendly and customizable
interface
Everything about
leak detection
leak-detection.pfeiffer-vacuum.com
Metal felt fiber give these filters

the edge in extreme conditions
The high-pressure T-Type filter assemblies (photo) feature all stainless-steel construction for both
the filter housing and filter elements. With working pressures up
to 20,000 psi (1,378 bars), these
filters are designed for extreme environments, such as those found
in the offshore oil industry, chemi-
Please visit us
at Chem Show
at both 528
Are you looking for a

perfect vacuum solution?
Please contact us:
This companys Solids-from Liquids

Centrifuges (photo) provide continuous filtration to remove both metallic and non-metallic solids from
industrial fluids without the use of
disposable media. They are avail-
Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH

Headquarters/Germany
T +49 6441 802-0
F +49 6441 802-1202
info@pfeiffer-vacuum.de
www.pfeiffer-vacuum.com
OCTOBER 2015
35
able in two designs a manually

cleaned basket style (with a reusable liner), and a fully automatic,
self-cleaning version. The centrifuge can be mounted on a single
machine, or used as a component
within a facility-wide filtration and
recycling system. They can also be
used to supplement existing systems, to remove solids that may
have been missed by other barrier
filtration methods. Eriez, Erie, Pa.
www.eriez.com
Sartorius Stedim Biotech
Advances improve membrane

chromatography performance
Camfil APC
Air Science USA
The Sartobind membrane chromatography adsorber capsules have

recently been redesigned to improve
binding capacities, reduce void volumes, reduce buffer consumption
and lower operating costs. These
membrane chromatography capsules are used to recover largemolecular-weight proteins, such as
blood factors and conjugated proteins, viruses and virus-like particles.
Several capsule sizes, with a 4-mm
bed height, are now available, from
a 1-mL nano unit up to the newer
2.5-L version. The capsules upstream flow channels have been optimized and an internal core forms
a miniaturized downstream channel.
Unlike traditional membrane adsorbers, the Sartobind membrane
capsules take into account specific
chromatographic process parameters, such as back-mixing effects
and elution volumes, providing substantial performance advantages,
says the company. Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Gettingen, Germany
www.sartorius.com
Dust-collection filters are

undaunted by high moisture
Porvair Filtration Group
36
The HemiPleat Synthetic dust collector filter cartridges (photo) combine

a high-efficiency filter media with
proprietary open-pleat technology,
to provide reliable service in harsh,
humid environments. The washable media is resistant to moisture
and can handle heavy dust-loading
conditions, as well as hygroscopic
or sticky dusts that are generated
in many food, pharmaceutical and
chemical process applications. It
uses a lightweight, 100% spunbond polyester media in a pleated
design, which maximizes surface
area while maintaining open pleat

spacing. It functions reliably at operating temperatures to 160F. It is
available in a standard version, or a
nanofiber media version. The added
nanofiber layer provides enhanced
filtration efficiency. The standard
media is rated at MERV11 filtration
efficiency, and the nanofiber media
is rated at MERV15 filtration efficiency, based on the ASHRAE 52.2
test standard. These filter cartridges
are designed for the Farr Gold Series dust collectors, and can be retrofit on most major brands of competitive cartridge dust collectors,
says the company. Camfil APC,
Jonesboro, Ark.
www.camfilapc.com
Ceiling-mounted air-filtration
units protect personnel
The Purair Sky ceiling-mounted filtration units (photo) are designed to
protect laboratory personnel in environments in which hazardous substances are being handled. It provides a dynamic filtration chamber
with its sliding filter clamp, which allows for simple, quick filter changes.
It includes an electrostatic prefilter
trap and an epoxy-coated steel support frame with LED lighting and
wall-mounted controls. The SKY-24
requires an opening of 22.75-by22.75 in., while the SKY-48 requires
an opening of 45.5-by-22.75 in. Air
Science USA, Fort Myers, Fla.
www.airscience.com
Leaf disc filters benefit from

recently improved filter media
This company offers an array of
porous metal and plastic materials
and systems for filtration and separation, for use in chemical-process,
water-treatment, energy and pharmaceutical applications. The companys leaf-disc filter cartridges incorporate recently improved filter
media (photo). The filter leaf discs
are available in a range of filtration ratings, from 5 to 40 microns.
The leaf-disc capsule filter uses a
hard hub that is designed to maximize the available filtration area,
leading to lower pressure drop,
shorter residence times and reduced risk of degradation.
Porvair Filtration Group, Ashland, Va.
n
www.porvairfiltration.com
Suzanne Shelley
OCTOBER 2015
New Products
This HT-resistant silicone resin
cures at room temperature
Silkophen AC 950 is a new high-temperature (HT) resistant, high-solids
silicone resin intended to provide protective properties in industrial applications. No toxic substances are released
during curing, making application of
the resin possible in enclosed spaces.
Smoke formation and volatile-organiccompound (VOC) content are significantly lower than traditional bake-cure
silicone resins, allowing Silkophen AC
950 to meet requirements for ecofriendly coatings systems. It cures
at ambient temperatures, utilizing a
catalyst, which provides additional
advantages, says the company. The
resin displays high and early resistance to aromatic and aliphatic solvents, in addition to impact resistance. Evonik Resource Efficiency,
Essen, Germany
www.evonik.com
An industrial tablet PC for

use in hazardous areas
The Agile X industrial tablet PC (photo)
is said to be the worlds thinnest, purpose-built UL Division 2 and ATEX
Zone 2 device for enterprise use in
rugged environments. Wireless LAN
and optional LTE modules on the Agile
X provide realtime data transfer and
uninterrupted connectivity, enabling
field workers, including technicians,
engineers and managers, to bring their
office to the Ex area. In addition to the
integrated barcode scanner, the tablet
PC also features a rear-side expansion
slot, allowing the tablet to be extended
with further data capture options, such
as a radio-frequency identification
(RFID) reader. Bartec GmbH, Bad
Mergentheim, Germany
www.bartec-group.com
Extreme pumping tasks solved

with this ceramic vortex pump
The ceramic RCFKu vortex pump
(photo) reliably pumps high-temperature (up to 180C) fluids of an aggressive nature or those that contain
solids. All RCFKu parts that come into
contact with fluids, such as the impeller and volute casing, are made of
solid Frialit 99.7 material. This aluminum-oxide ceramic is said to be one
of the hardest and most wear-resistant
materials in ceramic-pump production, and is fully resistant in processes

where hydrochloric acid and ferrous
chloride are present. RCFKu impellers
are made of polymer carbide and are
adapted to suit each pumping application. The composite of silicon carbide
and vinyl-ester resin is a high-tensilestrength material that is resistant to
wear, high temperatures and in media
with high levels of solids. Friatec
AG Division Rheinhtte Pumpen,
Wiesbaden, Germany
www.rheinhuette.de
Bartec
A precise piston pump with

minimal energy expenditure
The new piston diaphragm pumps of
the model series R 509.1 (photo) add
to the sera dosing-pump product repertoire with eccentric screw adjusters.
The operating range of the new 509.1
piston diaphragm pumps varies from
6.5 to 81 L/h at counterpressures of up
to 300 bars. The pumps design minimizes the energy expended adjusting
the stroke length, while at the same
time increasing precision during operation, as well as during idle time. The
stroke can be continuously adjusted
from 0100% using a handwheel or a
servomotor. For use in petroleum refining, pumps are available in both an
explosion-proof version and a version
that is compliant with API standards
674 and 675. Sera ProDose GmbH,
Immenhausen, Germany
www.sera-web.com
This density meter is an

alternative to nuclear devices
The Ultimo Density Meter (photo) is an
alternative to nuclear-based densitometers for applications where the material is abrasive, caustic or has high
solids content, and where the regulatory requirements for nuclear operations may be burdensome. Trial units
have been evaluated and purchased
by some large mining companies with
the expressed intent of qualifying a
replacement for legacy nuclear densitometers. Prior to the emergence
of this device, nuclear densitometers
were the only non-invasive option
in these applications, says the company. Ultimo Measurement LLC,
Scituate, R.I.
www.ultimompd.com
OCTOBER 2015
Friatec
Sera ProDose
Ultimo Measurement
37
Improved fire safety for

pneumatic control systems
Assured Automation
WIKA Alexander Wiegand
Now FM-approved, FireChek thermal

shutoffs with resettable memory-shape
alloy (photo) can be used to automatically shut down a pneumatic control
system when a nearby fire occurs, or
when the ambient temperature reaches
135, 150 or 165F. The testing and resetting abilities of the FireChek make
it a preferred choice over emergency
isolation valves that rely on fusible links
or plastic burn-through tubing, says the
manufacturer. The FireChek is available in three different configurations:
a single FireChek, which is directly
mounted between the pneumatic supply and spring return actuator via two
NPT threaded connections; FireChek
with Quick Exhaust, which provides a
larger exhaust port; and FireChek Plus
Pilot Valves, which include the FireChek
thermal shutoff with a SIL Class III
pilot valve. Assured Automation,
Clark, N.J.
www.assuredautomation.com
A new controller for a

pressure range up to 210 bars
Mettler Toledo
ENMET
Prftechnik Dieter Busch
38
The CPC4000 pneumatic pressure

controller (photo) was designed for
a wide range of calibration applications. Within the companys product
portfolio, the CPC4000 replaces the
CPC3000 high-speed pressure controller, offering additional functions, including a relatively fast control speed of
up to 10 s. The new controller has an
extended pressure range of up to 210
bars (3,045 psi), and can be fitted with
two reference pressure sensors, which
are controlled automatically in accordance with the calibration task. The
sensors also work with an improved
accuracy of 0.02% full scale or, optionally, 0.02% IS-50. The device has a
7-in. LCD color touchscreen. WIKA
Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG,
Klingenberg, Germany
www.wika.com
controls jacketed laboratory reactors

with third-party heating and cooling
systems, liquid addition, stirrers and
process analytical technology (PAT)
tools. Operating with a touchscreen
walk-up interface allows scientists to
consistently control reactors on any
scale from milliliters to multiple liters
reducing human error and training
cost, says the company. RX-10 Reactor Control reduces the time needed to
merge and process analytical data, visualize and identify key reaction events
and create smart reports. Mettler
Toledo, Greifensee, Switzerland
www.mt.com
Wet-well analysis for

CH4, O2 and H2S gases
This companys Wet Well Monitoring

System (photo) is designed for monitoring methane, oxygen and hydrogen
sulfide in a hazardous wastewatertreatment-plant environment. The system incorporates the CP-60 controller with three remote 420-mA (24 V
d.c.) sensor/transmitters in Explosionproof Class I Div. 1, Group B, C and
D enclosures. The CP-60 controller
provides 24 V d.c. power, audio and
visual alarms, alarm relays and other
features. ENMET, Fairfield, Conn.
www.enmet.com
Next-generation software
for condition monitoring
Omnitrend Center is a modern, powerful and user-friendly software platform

(photo) for this companys Condition
Monitoring system. It communicates
with all of the companys latest offline
and online systems. Omnitrend Center
is available in single-user or client-server
versions, is ready for cloud solutions,
and provides powerful aids, such as
knowledge-based machine templates,
and online and offline device managers.
Statistical post-processing methods
help to monitor the health of even the
most complex machines. The operator
can quickly receive an overview about
Reactor control for automated
the status of a machine using interaclaboratory processes
tive asset reports. Prftechnik Dieter
The new RX-10 Reactor Control sys- Busch AG, Ismaning, Germany
tem (photo) connects and automates www.pruftechnik.com
jacketed laboratory reactors and controls thermostats, stirrers and pumps No special cleaners needed to
with a single touchscreen interface remove this compact ink marker
that provides a consistent platform Dura-Ink WashAway is a high-visibility,
across all laboratory reactors. RX-10 no-smear jobsite marker that can also
OCTOBER 2015
be washed away from work surfaces.

These industrial markers are engineered with a special ink formula that
is bright and highly visible, and dries
quickly, but can be removed from all
non-porous surfaces with water or
detergent. Dura-Ink WashAway removes completely without traces of
ghosting or residue and will not interfere with top-coat primers, paints or
powder coating. Dura-Ink WashAway
is suitable for quality control, metal
fabrication, power coating, glass production and in steel mills and warehouses, and is effective for marking on steel, iron, glass, aluminum
and other materials. Markal, Elk
Grove Village, Ill.
www.markal.com
These process-control systems

conform to safety standards
SysCon control systems (photo)
can be custom-designed for virtually any industrial process, including
mixing, pumping, chemical dosing,
dilution, heat exchange, separation,
drying and waste treatment. Based
on process-logic control schemes,
these systems are routinely supplied
with a recipe-sequencing program,
calibration menus, trending screens,
data-acquisition (SCADA) packages,
operator-friendly alarms and advanced safety features. Process variables are controlled and displayed
from a responsive color touchscreen,
and can be automatically stored for
seamless monitoring and reporting.
All SysCon control systems are built
to conform to NFPA 79 standards.
Enclosures and cabinets are compliant with NEMA 12 for non-hazardous
environments, NEMA 7 and 9 for explosion-proof requirements or NEMA
4X (stainless steel) for washdown
applications. Charles Ross & Son
Co., Hauppauge, N.Y.
www.mixers.com
Charles Ross & Son
Solid stainless-steel connections

for the pharma industry
Inoxline (photo) is a complete assortment of stainless-steel connections for compressed air, vacuum,
gases, liquids and cooling water.
The products include threaded connections with no dead zones or
joints that are designed according to
stringent hygiene requirements and
for easy cleaning. They are ideal for
circuits with sensitive substances
or frequent changing of media. All
connections are manufactured from
stainless steel 1.4301/1.4307, which
offers excellent protection against
corrosion and high chemical resistance (for example, against many
acids). On request, they can also
be equipped with FDA-compliant
seals to fulfill special hygiene requirements. On the side with the screw-in
threads, the push-in connectors are
sealed with an enclosed O-ring.
Eisele Pneumatics GmbH + Co. KG,
Waiblingen, Germany
www.eisele.eu
Alfa Laval
Eisele Pneumatics
Rotary-screw compressors
for indoor or outdoor use
This rotary jet mixes,

cleans and more
The Rotary Jet Mixer (photo) effectively
handles liquid and powder mixing,
gas dispersion and cleaning-in-place
(CIP) while reducing time, energy
and costs. In many applications, the
mixer provides faster and more efficient mixing than conventional methods, says the company. It combines
high blending precision with minimized mixing times and up to a 50%

reduction in energy requirements.
Based on rotary-jet head technology,
it can be used in tanks between 100
and 800,000 L in size. Equipped with
two or four nozzles, the Rotary Jet
Mixer is positioned below the liquid
level in the tank. Liquid is withdrawn
from the tank outlet by a pump and
circulated via an external loop to the
mixer. A single Rotary Jet Mixer can
handle liquid-mixing, gas-dispersion
and powder-dispersion applications
plus tank cleaning without requiring separate equipment for each
process, thereby delivering significant
savings, says the company. Alfa
Laval AB, Lund, Sweden
www.alfalaval.com
The new UP6S Series fixed-speed

rotary screw compressor features Oring face seals to reduce leak points
and a totally enclosed fan-cooled
(TEFC) motor. The units TEFC design
reduces the risk of particulate matter
entering the motor, while also keeping
it cool, making the compressor suitable for use in harsh environments,
OCTOBER 2015
39
either indoors or outdoors. The new

Tri-Voltage motor enables the UP6S
to adapt to a variety of applications,
including powering pneumatic tools
and many other equipment types.
The UP6S Series also features spinon filtration and separator cartridges
to allow for easy maintenance. The
compressor comes standard with a
new controller that allows for simple
diagnostics and remote start and stop
access capabilities. Ingersoll Rand,
Davidson, N.C.
www.ingersollrand.com
Rockwell Automation
This process-safety system

has a very small footprint
Blackmer
The new AADvance Eurocard process-safety system (photo) is ideally

suited for industry applications with
restrictive physical-space requirements. The AADvance Eurocard
system can be custom configured
to meet different levels of safety and
each users specific system requirements. The system is specifically designed for functional safety and critical control applications, providing a
flexible, scalable, distributed solution
for a wide range of process industries. The system is certified by Exida
for functional safety and adheres to
the latest safety standards. The system meets the functional safety requirements for safety integrity level
3 (SIL 3) and is compliant with IEC
61508. Rockwell Automation,
Milwaukee, Wis.
www.rockwellautomation.com
Form agglomerates on a
controlled basis with this system
Kason
Sierra Instruments
40
The Vibro-Bed fluidized-bed agglomerator (photo) employs a spraying

system that introduces moisture to
powdered material as it is fluidized
and dried, forming agglomerates on
a controlled basis. Equipped with imbalanced-weight gyratory motors and
mounted on a spring suspension, the
fluidized-bed chamber vibrates as a
column of heated air flows upward
through a fine-mesh screen, causing
particles to separate and become airborne as they are sprayed with liquid.
The vibratory motion of the processor also serves to convey the material along a defined pathway. Units are
offered in diameters from 18 to 84 in.
(460 to 2,135 mm), encompassing
batch and continuous applications

from low-capacity laboratory and
pilot-plant testing to medium-high
volume production. Kason Corp.,
Millburn, N.J.
www.kason.com
Twin- and triple-screw

pumps for a variety of fluids
The S Series line of self-priming
double-ended positive-displacement
pumps (photo) includes twin- and triple-screw designs that provide complete axial balancing of the rotating
screws. The pumps timing technologies eliminate metal-to-metal contact.
S Series pumps are ATEX-certified
for use in explosive or dangerous environments. The triple-screw models
are specifically designed for handling
clear, lubricating liquids without solid
content. The twin-screw models are
available with or without a non-timing
gear transmission. The models with
the non-timing gear transmission are
suitable for handling higher-viscosity
fluids, such as bitumen and residual
oil, at medium or high temperatures.
Blackmer, Grand Rapids, Mich.
www.blackmer.com
New gas-mix software eliminates flowmeter recalibration

This
companys
QuadraTherm
640i/780i thermal mass flowmeters
(photo) now come equipped with
new gas-mixing software, called
qMix. The qMix software is a usercustomizable gas-mix feature that
allows engineers and operators
to create custom gas mixtures to
compensate for gas compositional
changes in the field without accuracy
loss. Since engineers can create and
upload unlimited gas mixtures onto a
single meter, recalibration costs are
avoided, as there is no need to send
units back to the factory if the gas
composition changes. QuadraTherm
meters have an accuracy of 0.5%
of reading above 50% of full scale
for flowmeter air measurement and
other gases, and built-in flow conditioning in the inline version. These
meters also have high turndown capabilities to handle low and high flows
during upset conditions. Sierra
Instruments, Monterey, Calif.
www.sierrainstruments.com
Mary Page Bailey and Gerald Ondrey
OCTOBER 2015
The Chemical Engineering store offers a variety of

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Environmental Management:
Air-Pollution Control
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Treatment
Includes articles on chemical, biological and
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and groundwater; technologies include
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carbon-based adsorption, evaporation, aerobic
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Fluid Handling
Includes articles on specifying, operating and
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ilters, cyclones, hydrocyclones, centrifuges,
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24661
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Facts At Your Fingertips

Industrial Adsorbents
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
Adsorption processes
Adsorption refers to the surface-based
process in which molecules, ions or
atoms accumulate on the surface of a
material. Adsorption is driven generally by the reduction in surface tension
between the fluid (liquid or gas) and
the solid adsorbent that results when
the adsorbate molecule adheres to
the surface of the adsorbent. Adsorption differs from absorption in that
adsorption describes accumulation
of molecules at the interface between
the solid and fluid phases, while absorption involves one substance entering the bulk or volume of another.
Classification
Adsorbents can be classified according to their structures, as well as
according to their behavior toward
water. Zeolites are examples of adsorbents with crystalline structure,
while activated carbon and polymers
have amorphous structure. Silica gel
and activated alumina are also considered to have amorphous structures, but they are separated from
activated carbon because they have
a hydrophilic character, while activated carbon is considerd hydrophobic.
Adsorbents are available in several
forms, including powders, granules,
pellets and others.
Characterization
Adsorbents are often characterized
by their pore-size distribution. Pore
sizes are divided into three general
categories: micropores, mesopores and macropores. Micropores are
small enough so that molecules that
diffuse into the pore are attracted
to both sides of the pore wall at the
same time. They are considered to be
42
Amount adsorbed
ndustrially, adsorbent materials are

used in a wide range of applications,
including purification, separations,
drying, spill management, catalysis,
pollution control and others across
a large number of industrial sectors.
This column provides an overview of
the major classes of industrial adsorbents, and some of the specific adsorbent types in each category.
Saturation
pressure
Relative pressure
2 nm or smaller. Mesopores are generally in the range of greater than 2 nm

but smaller than 50 nm. Macropores
are those greater than 50 nm in size.
Macropores are important in industrial practice for providing a pathway
for relevant molecules to diffuse into a
particle of adsorbent material.
Effective industrial adsorbents are
resistant to abrasion, have good
thermal stability and large exposed
surface area (and therefore, high
capacity for adsorption). The adsorbents must also have a distinct pore
structure that enables fast transport
of the molecules of interest.
Broad classes
The following sections describe several of the most common broad classifications of adsorbent materials, and
include some examples of each type.
Aluminas. Made of aluminum oxide
(Al2O3), adsorbents in this group are
used as desiccants for drying gases
and air, as well as for removing fluoride
from drinking water and as catalysts.
Aluminas used as fluoride sorbents
have pore sizes around 7 nm and surface areas of 0.32 km2/kg. Dessicant
aluminas have average pore sizes between 4 and 14 nm and surface areas
between 0.25 and 0.36 km2/kg.
Silicates and aluminosilicates. This
class of adsorbents includes both
naturally occurring zeolites (such as
mordenite and chazabite) and synthetic zeolites, as well as silica gel,
clay and diatomaceous earth, among
others. Zeolites are valued for their
uniform pore sizes that can be tuned
to be highly selective. Many materials
with molecular sieve properties fall into
this category. Clays are mineral absorCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
bents that are used as spill-cleaning

agents, sealants and packing materials because they are inexpensive,
inert, and have a quick capture rate.
Fullers earth is an activated, natural
clay-based adsorbent with low costs.
Silica gel is a common desiccant used
in food preservation, humidity control
and various medical devices.
Carbons The class of carbon adsorbents includes various activated
carbons. Activated carbon is organic
material (such as coconut shell, bone,
wood, and so on) that undergoes a
partial oxidation process to form porous granules (see Chem. Eng., August 2014, p. 32). Activated carbons
are versatile and inexpensive adsorbents that are available in many sizes
and are used in a wide range of applications from gas, water and metal
purification to air filtration.
Organic polymers. A wide range of
adsorbents made from organic polymers are available. They are used in
size-exclusion chromatography and
gas-separation processes, where
they can exhibit high retention power
and selectivity. Most polymer adsorbents do not require disposal and
the regeneration process is generally
environmentally friendly.
Adsorption isotherms
When adsorption processes are studied mathematically, adsorption isotherms are often used. The term refers
to a plot, at constant temperature, of
the amount of adsorbate (molecules
being adsorbed) adhered to the surface of an adsorbent as a function of
pressure (in the case of a gas adsorbate) or concentration (if a liquid adsorbate). The figure depicts a Type IV
isotherm, one of five typical isotherm
shapes into which most adsorption
processes fall. This description is an
offshoot of the BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) theory of adsorption. n
References
1. Green, D. and Perry, R., "Perry's Chemical Engineers
Handbook," 8th ed., McGraw Hill Education, New York,
N.Y., 2007.
2. Armenante, P. Adsorption, New Jersey Institute of
Technology, Course notes, cpe.njit.edu, accessed Sept.
2015.
OCTOBER 2015
Technology Profile
Ethylene Glycol Production
By Intratec Solutions
onoethylene glycol (MEG),

also known as ethylene
glycol (EG) or simply glycol, is a diol mostly used
for the production of polyester fibers
and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
resins. It is also used in antifreeze
applications and in pharmaceuticals
and cosmetics. MEG is conventionally produced through the hydrolysis
of ethylene oxide (EO), which itself is
obtained via ethylene oxidation.
The process
Figure 1 depicts MEG production
from ethylene via a process similar to
the OMEGA catalytic process from
Shell Global Solutions (The Hague,
the Netherlands; www.shell.com). In
the described process, MEG is produced via EO, which is manufactured
in an integrated plant utilizing Shell EO
technology. An important feature of
the process is the negligible production of diethylene glycol (DEG) and
triethylene glycol (TEG), which occur
as byproducts in other ethylene glycol
production processes.
Ethylene oxide production. Ethylene
and oxygen are fed to a multi-tubular
reactor, forming EO. This exothermic
reaction, conducted in fixed beds in the
reactor tubes, occurs in the gaseous
phase with the use of a silver catalyst
supported on alumina. Steam is generated by the heat of reaction.
Ethylene oxide recovery. The reactor product stream is fed to the EO
absorber for lights removal by water
quenching. Part of this gaseous overhead stream is recycled to the reactor,
while the other part is sent to a carbon-
FIGURE 2. PLANTS USING SHELL OMEGA TECHNOLOGY

Company
Location
Capacity (1,000 ton/yr)
Lotte Chemical
Daesan, South Korea
400
2008
Petro Rabigh
Rabigh, Saudi Arabia
600
2009
Shell
Jurong Island, Singapore
750
2009
dioxide-removal unit composed of an

absorber and a stripper. In this unit,
CO2 is separated to be used in ethylene carbonate production.
A diluted EO stream removed from
the absorber is fed to the EO stripper,
where it is concentrated and recovered in the overheads. The crude EO
stream is condensed. Residual light
gases are recovered from it and recycled to the reactor. The resulting EO
stream is directed to the next section.
Ethylene glycol production and purification. Ethylene oxide is reacted
with CO2, forming ethylene carbonate, which is then hydrolyzed to form
MEG and CO2. Both reactions are
carried out in the liquid phase using
homogeneous catalysts.
CO2 streams from the reaction steps
are recycled to the ethylene carbonate
reactor. MEG is purified in two distillation columns where water is removed,
leading to the final MEG product. The
catalyst is separated and recycled to
the ethylene carbonate reactors.
fixed investment, working capital and

initial expenses) to construct the plant
are about $630 million, while the operating expenses are estimated at about
$620/ton of MEG.
Global perspective
Shell OMEGA is the first process to
enable ethylene glycol production via
a fully catalytic process. According
to the licenser, the process is able to
achieve EO-to-EG converstion and
selectivity near 100%, leading to production of MEG only.
However, although 40% of worldwide ethylene glycol production is
derived from processes using Shell
technologies, only three plants in the
world use the new Shell OMEGA technology (Figure 2). As can be seen, two
of these plants are located in Asia,
which is the region of the world responsible by the major share of MEG
global consumption. China alone accounts for about 45% of global demand for MEG.
n
Edited by Scott Jenkins
Economic performance
An economic evaluation of the process was conducted based on data
from the first quarter of 2015, assuming a facility with a nominal capacity
of 750,000 ton/yr of MEG constructed
on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Estimated capital expenses (total
Editors Note: The content for this column is supplied by

Intratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us) and edited
by Chemical Engineering. The analyses and models presented
are prepared on the basis of publicly available and nonconfidential information. The content represents the opinions
of Intratec only. More information about the methodology for
preparing analysis can be found, along with terms of use, at
www.intratec.us/che.
CO2
Ethylene
1. Ethylene oxide reactor

2. Ethylene oxide absorber
3. Ethylene oxide stripper
4. Lights removal unit
5. CO2 absorber
6. CO2 stripper
7. Ethylene carbonate
reactors
8. Hydrolysis reactors
9. Water removal column
10. MEG purification column
11. Cooling tower
12. Steam boiler
O2
Steam
CO2 vent
1
7
CW
8
Water
CO2
10
MEG
ST
Waste stream
ST
Start-up year
ST
Ethylene oxide
9
ST
Catalyst recycle
CW
11
ST
12
CW Cooling water
ST Steam
FIGURE 1. Monoethylene glycol (MEG) production, according to a process similiar to the Shell OMEGA process
44
OCTOBER 2015
NOV 17-19 / JAVITS CENTER / NYC

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What is Your Engineering

Ethics IQ?
These seven-steps form a guideline for handling ethically challenging situations in
technical jobs
Karl Stephan
Texas State University
xercising sound ethics in the chemical process industries (CPI) surely

requires a large dose of technical
know-how, but it also requires a
set of good ethical practices that are emDOING THE RIGHT THING ployed when confronting ethically charged
questions. This article provides guidance to
SEVEN STEPS TO
help engineers prepare for identifying and
ETHICAL PREPAREDNESS resolving ethical questions in their profesCONCLUDING REMARKS sional setting.
IN BRIEF
Doing the right thing

On December 3, 1984, the Union Carbide
pesticide plant in Bhopal, India released a
cloud of toxic methyl isocyanate gas into
the air around the facility. Over 2,000 people
died and many thousands more were injured
in one of the worst industrial disasters of all
time. On March 23, 2005, a cascade of errors, broken instrumentation, and ignored
safety procedures resulted in the deaths of
15 people at a petroleum refinery in Texas
City, Tex. then owned by BP. In the incident,
hot liquid hydrocarbons overflowed and exploded, destroying some temporary office
trailers that housed contract workers.
While the hazards of making pesticides
and gasoline seem obvious, dangers can
also be found in innocuous products such as
ice cream. In April 2015, the Texas ice cream
maker Blue Bell announced that it was shutting down production at all its plants after
46
three deaths were linked to bacterial contamination in the firms products.

What can you as a chemical engineering
professional do to keep your name, your
coworkers names and your companys
name from being associated with incidents
like these? Technical knowledge is certainly
necessary, but it is not enough just to do
things right. You also have to do the right
thing. Doing the right thing in engineering
is the main focus of the field known as engineering ethics. To some extent, mistakes
are inevitable in any human organization, but
dangerous situations and adverse outcomes
can be drastically minimized if all people involved deal with a problem in accordance
with a set of good ethical practices. Armed
with these good ethical practices, you can
help minimize the chances that a particular
ethical situation will snowball into a situation
that generates negative consequences.
In the course of teaching and researching
in the field of engineering ethics, I have developed a seven-step guideline that anyone
facing an ethically challenging situation in a
technical job should consider following.
Unlike the hard sciences, ethics is a field
in which there is rarely one right answer to
a problem. But the ambiguity that sometimes characterizes ethical dilemmas does
not mean that your skill in handling these
situations cannot be improved. You can imWWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
OCTOBER 2015
prove your ethical IQ by training yourself

to identify ethical problems, and by practicing a set of steps that should be followed
when one arises. Like a fire extinguisher,
these steps are better to have and not need
than to need and not have. Practicing the
steps may never do anything more for you
than give you a sense that you are prepared
for a situation where ethical questions must
be considered. But when such situations do
occur, it is better to be prepared.
Seven steps to ethical preparedness

The following represent a set of processes
that you can use to better navigate situations in the professional engineering world in
which ethics is a key component.
1. Know what you believe. Doing the right
thing, ethically, in an organization is not always welcome and is rarely without costs.
While some supervisors will listen to your arguments if something is wrong and needs to
be corrected, others will tell you to keep quiet,
or may even try to enlist you in a cover-up.
effort can pay off by fostering the ability to

identify problems that can either be avoided
or minimized before they reach a state where
they can cause major trouble. If your company manufactures products for consumer
use, for example, how well do you know and
understand your customer base? Are they
likely, in general, to use a product in ways
that are not intended by the manufacturing
company? Could anyone be injured if the
product was used in that way? If your customers are other manufacturers, are your
specifications written in an unambiguous
way, or is there wiggle room that could be
used to gain an unfair advantage? In 2007,
numerous cases of pets becoming ill from
certain brands of pet food were traced to a
wheat-gluten product that was apparently
adulterated with melamine to increase the
nitrogen content of the ingredient indicated
by a food-quality test. While such intentional
deception is rare, quality control tests can
be biased even without malicious intent. A
healthy skepticism toward any test results
While everyone in an organization has a responsibility to recognize

ethical problems, the particular things that you can look for depend
on your role within the organization.
Because of this eventuality, you should ask
yourself the following soul-searching question: Would I insist on correcting an ethical
problem even if it cost me my job?
The answer to this question draws upon
more than your technical knowledge it
goes to the heart of what you believe about
who you are and what your purpose is, both
on and off the job. Your religious faith, if any,
your philosophy of life, and your conscience
are resources you can draw upon when facing a serious ethical problem that threatens
your organization in a major way.
Whistleblowing, meaning to report an
ethical problem to authorities outside of an
organization entirely is a last resort in resolving ethical issues. Not only does whistleblowing have unpredictable results, it usually
gets the whistleblower ostracized or fired.
But there are times that such a price must
be paid. So before being faced with a critical
emergency, engineers would be advised to
spend some time imagining an ethical situation that they would be willing to lose their
job over, and decide in advance what they
would do.
2. Recognize ethical problems. This step
takes some imagination and effort, but that
that have not been confirmed independently,

combined with an effort to think like your
customers, can be helpful here.
While everyone in an organization has a
responsibility to recognize ethical problems,
the particular things that you can look for
depend on your role within the organization.
Technicians and other hands-on employees, for example, can be the first to notice
leaks, mechanical failures in instrumentation, maintenance lapses and other issues
on the plant floor that can cause problems
in the future.
In a well designed plant, every piece of
equipment was put there for a reason. If a
system or piece of equipment doesnt work,
or doesnt work correctly, it needs to be
reported and addressed, especially if it is
safety-related.
Farther up the management chain, supervisors can consider how well safety- and
quality-related tasks are performed by their
workers, and what mistakes are typically
made. For every destructive disaster, there
are usually several minor incidents that people manage to catch before they turn into
big problems. But repeatedly fixing minor
incidents without identifying the root cause
OCTOBER 2015
47
ETHICS HOTLINE USE INCREASING

In its 2014 Ethics and Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report, the international consulting firm NavexGlobal
(Lake Oswego, Ore.; www.navexglobal.com) reported that the median rate of ethics hotline use per 100 employees for firms they surveyed increased by 30% from 2010 to 2013, from 0.9 to 1.2 per 100 employees. They
attribute this rise to several factors, including improved communication of hotline availability and increased
confidence employees placed in the reporting systems. For more information, see Reference 1.
of the matter should not become a habit, because the chances are high that sooner or
later, the temporary fixes will fail and a much
larger problem will occur. Doing this is like
playing Russian roulette pulling the trigger with temporary fixes until something different, and usually worse, happens.
Managers responsible for an entire unit or
plant have to be concerned more with organizational effectiveness. Do your employees
follow well-designed procedures? Can you
trust them to report problems? If a problem or issue suddenly goes away, does that
mean it was fixed, or simply that the people
involved are no longer reporting it? Ques-
4. Analyze interests. Every stakeholder has

a different interest in the outcome of an ethical decision. As accurately as possible, you
should anticipate the interest of each stakeholder in the possible outcomes. In the example of the Blue Bell ice-cream shutdown,
stakeholders included Blue Bells employees, its suppliers, its management team and
company owners, as well as its wholesale
customers (food stores and restaurants) and
its ultimate retail customers the consumers of the ice cream. Employees and managers were interested in keeping their jobs. The
owners were interested in running a profitable business. The wholesalers wanted to
As accurately as possible, you should anticipate the interest of each

stakeholder in the possible outcomes.
tions like these can sometimes keep plant
managers awake at night, but if addressing
these questions ultimately leads to safer and
more ethical operations, the lost sleep was
worth it.
3. Identify stakeholders. Once you face an
ethical problem, you should take the time to
carefully consider everyone who is likely to
be affected by the outcome, including the
result of doing nothing, which can itself be
a decision.
Making a list of stakeholders is a good exercise that can help you avoid overlooking
unintended consequences of a decision. For
example, raising the required purity level of
an ingredient may make it easier to synthesize or safer to use, but could give your purchasing department fits if they cannot find a
viable supplier who offers the ingredient at
that level of purity.
If costs are involved in a decision, economics comes into the equation. Who will pay for
a change? Who will benefit? Who will be affected in other ways, by schedule changes,
delays, and availability of products? This is
an area where an ethical problem can get
complicated. But neglecting a thorough consideration of who the stakeholders are can
cause unexpected problems after a decision
is made.
48
sell ice cream at a profit, and the consumers

wanted to eat a trusted brand of ice cream
without worrying about coming down with a
possibly fatal illness.
After the recall and plant shutdown, it is
hard to think of a stakeholder who has not
lost something by the outcome, unless you
count lawyers. While the law can be a big
factor in ethical engineering, simply obeying laws and ensuring compliance are not
enough. There are many actions that you
can take that are technically within the letter
of the law, but that are nonetheless unethical. You should understand reasonably well
how every stakeholder may be affected by
the possible outcomes of an ethical situation before you proceed to the next step, in
which specific actions are considered.
5. Examine alternatives. At this step, you
should know enough about the situation to
have some ideas about possible actions you
can take. When considering possible actions, always include doing nothing as one of
the possibilities. Depending on the resources
needed to do something, doing nothing may
be the only choice, at least for a time, and
understanding the consequences of inaction are as important as examining specific
actions and their effects. It is helpful at this
stage to invite outsiders to contribute ideas,
OCTOBER 2015
with proper regard given to confidentiality, of course. Close involvement may

cause you to miss a potential solution
that someone who is less involved in the
situation may be able to see at once.
Make a list of all reasonable actions
that can be taken to deal with the problem. Then examine the outcomes of
each action for each stakeholder. Some
actions may be ruled out immediately if
they are expected to lead to sufficiently
adverse outcomes for some stakeholders. Other actions may lead to outcomes that are nearly equally good (or
bad), and so a decision may have to be
based on other factors, such as cost. It
is in this step that the real work is done
in developing possible action plans and
in evaluating each one.
6. Execute decision. Once all the reasonable alternatives have been considered and the best one selected, your
decision should be implemented as well
as possible. At this stage, you should
notify anyone who you can reasonably
expect to be affected by the decision. If
this involves admitting a mistake or error
to superiors, these admissions may be
the hardest part of the process. But in
general, trying to hide errors or mistakes
only makes things worse later when the
truth is discovered, as it usually, eventually is.
Depending on your position in the
chain of command, your ability to fix the
problem may be limited, and if the appropriate action is not taken, you may
have to go over the head of your immediate supervisor or use an ethics hotline,
which many medium-size and larger
firms offer to all employees (see sidebar, p. 48). Except in unusual situations,
however, dealing with your immediate
supervisor first is the best initial step in
executing your decision to do something to address a problem. Ideally, he
or she will be involved in the decisionmaking process and will engage upper
management as much as needed to fix
the problem.
7. Document everything. From the
moment you suspect something unethical may be going on, you should begin
collecting a paper trail so that if needed,
you can document the entire process
of how you learned about the situation,
what evidence you gathered, who knew
what and when they knew it, what decisions were made and by whom, as well
as what actions were taken.

This documentation should include
writing down your personal notes of important conversations and other events
that were not already documented.
There are several reasons for this. If your
organization chooses to investigate the
issue, you will need this documentation
to show the investigators what you are
talking about. If the ethical issue involves
parties outside your organization, these
documents may become significant from
a legal point of view if a lawsuit is filed.
And finally, no ones memory is perfect,
and having everything important written
down makes it easier for you to recall
details and base decisions on complete
and accurate information.
Concluding remarks
In your career, you may never encounter a situation that sets off any ethical
alarm bells. In well-run organizations
that implement clear rules about what
is ethical behavior, such situations tend
to be rare. But by training yourself to be
aware of the ethical implications of your
job, you can increase the chances that,
if you run across a situation that is ethically dubious, you can deal actively with
it in a way that avoids worse problems
and saves your organizations money
and reputation.
n
Edited by Scott Jenkins
Reference
1. Navex Global, Ethics and Compliance Hotline Benchmark
Report,
http://www.navexglobal.com/filedownload?file=uploads/NAVEXGlobal_2014HotlineBench
markingReport_031114.pdf&file-name=NAVEXGlobal_2
014HotlineBenchmarkingReport_031114.pdf
Author
Karl D. Stephan is a professor in the
Ingram School of Engineering at Texas
State University-San Marcos (601
University Drive, San Marcos, TX
78666; Phone: 512-245-1839; Email:
kdstephan@txstate.edu).
Stephan
holds a bachelors degree in electrical
engineering from the California Institute of Technology, a masters degree
in engineering from Cornell University,
and a doctoral degree in microwave engineering from the
University of Texas at Austin. After 16 years teaching and
researching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst,
he joined Texas State University-San Marcos in 2000. He
has published over 80 journal articles and conference papers in the fields of microwave engineering, atmospheric
physics, the history of technology, and engineering ethics.
Professor Stephan posts blog entries regularly on topics
related to engineering ethics at the following URL: www.
engineeringethicsblog.blogspot.com.
OCTOBER 2015
49
Part 2
Engineering Ethics Survey:

Whats Your Opinion?
Let us know how you would respond if faced with these hypothetical situations
involving ethical questions in the CPI
Scott Jenkins
IN BRIEF
GENERAL QUESTIONS
HYPOTHETICAL CASES
CASE 1: A PINCH OF
POISON
CASE 2: TO ERR IS
HUMAN
CASE 3: MISSING
GASKET
CASE 4: INSIDER
INFORMATION
CASE 5: VENDOR
INCENTIVES
CASE 6: INTERNAL
DISSENT
CASE 7: GETTING
ACQUAINTED
CASE 8: CHEMICAL
WASTE HANDLING
lthough not an everyday occurrence, ethical questions, large and

small, confront each of us in our
professional lives. For professionals
in the chemical process industries (CPI), ethics issues can take on added importance because of the potential safety, environmental
and quality-control hazards associated with
industrial-scale chemical processes.
While laws, regulations and codes of ethical conduct are all in place, often the nuances of particular cases make it difficult to
determine the best course of action. In the
past, Chemical Engineering magazine has
conducted ethical-related surveys in order to
generate information and discussion about
how peers in the CPI would handle ethically
charged situations. An ethics survey was last
conducted in 2007 (see Chem. Eng., April
2007, pp. 5053 and Chem. Eng., October
2007, pp. 6067).
The editors of CE are now revisiting the
topic of engineering ethics in the CPI with a
new survey. We are seeking input from our
readers. A user-friendly survey has been set
up online. Please consider the following scenarios and the associated ethical questions,
then visit the following URL to participate in
the survey:
explore opinions about possible actions. The

sources of the ethics scenarios are as follows:
Cases 14 are from Chemical Engineerings
past engineering ethics survey. Cases 58 are
adapted from cases created by the Western
Michigan University Center for the Study of
Ethics in Society (see sidebar, p. 55).
Thank you very much for your consideration and participation. Stay on the lookout
for the results in a few months.
General questions
The questions in the box on page 52 seek to
assess readers opinions about the general
state of the ethical culture among companies
and professionals in the CPI. Similar questions were first asked in an ethics survey that
last appeared in 2007.
Hypothetical cases
www.surveymonkey.com/Ethics2015_CE
All opinions and comments on the specific
hypothetical situations presented here, as
well as thoughts and opinions about the current state of ethics in the CPI in general, are
welcome and encouraged. The results from
the survey will be published in a future issue
of this magazine.
The survey includes a set of general ethics
questions that are repeated from past CE ethics surveys, to allow comparisons of the responses over time. The general questions are
followed by a set of ethics cases designed to
50
Case #1. A Pinch of Poison (from previous

2007 and 1980 CE surveys)
Jeremys company has been using a flavor
additive in one of its products, but there have
been problems with the flavors stability. One
of Jeremys chemists accidentally finds that
the flavor can be stabilized by adding a mixture of tin and lead salts in very small quantities. This product enhancement would likely
increase sales and profits. Although both
the lead and tin are recognized poisons, the
chemist points out that the amounts added
are no more than might be leached out from
OCTOBER 2015
the soldered seams of common tin cans

used for a multitude of food products. The
new product will be packaged in glass, so
no further addition of heavy metals will occur.
What do you think Jeremy should do?
1. Report the findings, but recommend that
the additive not be used at all, because it
is unethical to add poison no matter what
the quantity?
2. Prevent any further consideration of this
dilemma by suppressing the findings?
3. Recommend the open use of this heavy
metals-stabilized additive?
4. Recommend that it be used, but that the
deliberate addition of heavy metals be considered a trade secret, and be kept from
leaking to the public because it would
only cause unnecessary worry?
5. Other? (Please specify)
Case #2. To err is Human (from previous

2007, 1987 and 1980 CE issues)
Emily is the plant manager of a facility in
which organic syntheses are performed. In
one of the operations, an aqueous solution
of sodium cyanide is reacted with another
material to form the desired end-product.
One night, on the midnight shift, an error is
made, and too much cyanide is added to
the water. There is not enough room in the
mix tank to make an adjustment, so the shift
foreman has the tank emptied into drums
and starts another batch. Two weeks later,
there is a lull in production, and the dayshift
foreman decides to use the time in reworking the erroneous cyanide batch. No one
can find the drums that the batch should
be in. Upon questioning the night foreman,
Emily finds that the batch has been illegally
dumped into the sanitary sewer, rather than
saved in drums as dictated by the company
policy. Emily severely disciplines the nightshift foreman for his action. Upon making
discreet inquires of friends at the sewage
plant, the health department and the rivermonitoring authorities, Emily finds that no
apparent harm resulted from the dumping.
What do you think Emily should do?
1. Inform government authorities about the

incident, as required by law, even though
no apparent harm resulted?
2. Keep the incident quiet (in violation of the
law) since no harm resulted, the foreman
has been punished, and a report would
only cause trouble for the company, without doing the public any good?
3. Let the corporate management make the
decision?
4. Other?
Case #3. Missing Gasket (from previous

2007 CE issue)
Albert is supposed to perform one final
batch run at his multipurpose pilot plant before shutting down the unit for good. The reaction involves the use of an extremely toxic
chemical that can also ignite spontaneously
in air. It is Friday afternoon; the test results
from the pilot plant are needed by his superiors the following Monday in order to bid on a
project involving a large sum of money. After
cleaning the reactor vessel from the previous
batch, Albert begins to reconnect the flanges
when he discovers that there is no replacement available for a critical gasket; the procedure for this particular reaction specifies that
the gasket not be used a second time due to
the hazards involved. Because it is Friday afternoon, there is no chance of obtaining another gasket until the following week. On the
other hand, Albert knows from experience
(involving less-hazardous reactants) that this
type of gasket can often be used more than
once without leaking. What do you think Albert should do?
1. Finish the pilot test, using the old gasket
on the basis that it will probably not leak?
2. Order a new gasket, send the assistants
home early and email the superiors explaining that the test will have to be postponed until a new gasket is available?
3. Skip the test completely and extrapolate
the existing data to make up for the missing data?
4. Other?
OCTOBER 2015
51
GENERAL ETHICAL QUESTIONS FOR THE SURVEY

1. In the last 610 years, do you think have
people in general:
a. become less ethical
b. become more ethical
c. remained the same
2. Have you ever done some-thing unethical at work that could (or did) have a
harmful effect?
a. Yes
b. No
3. Do you know of anyone at your company who has done something you consider unethical?
a. Yes
b. No
4. Have you ever felt punished (loss of a

promotion, job or pay increase) for making
an ethical, but unpopular decision in your
workplace?
a. Yes
b. No
5. Do pressures at work (time, profitability) ever cause you to seriously think about
doing something you would consider ethically wrong?
a. Yes
b. No
6. How would you rate the following
groups in your workplace on their handling
of ethics? (1 = very ethical; 2 = average; 3
= somewhat unethical)
_____ technical staff
_____ upper management
_____ human resources
_____ administrative staff
7. Ethical decision-making is always good

for business.
a. Strongly agree
b. Somewhat agree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
d. Somewhat disagree
e. Strongly disagree
8. Social responsibility and ethics are symbiotically related
a. Strongly agree
b. Somewhat agree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
d. Somewhat disagree
e. Strongly disagree
9. Do you have any general comments that
you would like to add?
been told about the surprise inspection,

without revealing her source
5. Other
Case #4. Insider information (from previous 2007 and 1987 CE issues)
One day, Ursula, a process engineer in an
acrylonitrile plant, runs into a former classmate at a technical society dinner. Her friend
reveals that he is now a regional compliance
officer with OSHA and, after several drinks,
confides, much to Ursulas surprise, that
there will be an unannounced inspection at
Ursulas plant on the following Tuesday.
Ursula believes that unsafe practices are
too often tolerated in the plant, especially in
the way that toxic chemicals are handled.
However, although there have been many
small spills, no serious accidents have occurred in the plant during the past few years.
What do you think Ursula should do?
1. Nothing, so as to not violate the trust of
her friend.
2. Nothing, so that the consequences of the
inspection will bring about improvements
in the plants safety practice
3. Inform the plant safety director of the impending inspection, knowing that the director is only likely to patch things up for
the inspection.
4. Anonymously inform OSHA that she has
52
Case #5. Vendor Incentives. (Used with

permission from Michael Pritchard, Center
For the Study of Ethics in Society, Western
Michigan University. Originally created with
support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant no. #DIR-8820837.)
Scott Bennett is the engineer assigned
to deal with vendors who supply needed
parts to the Upscale Company. Larry Newman, sales representative from one of Upscales regular vendors, plays in the same
golf league as Scott. One evening they go off
in the same foursome. Sometime during the
round Scott mentions that he is really looking
forward to vacationing in Florida next month.
Larry says his uncle owns a condominium in
Florida that he rents out during the months
he and his family are up north. Larry offers
to see if the condo is available next month
assuring Scott that the rental cost would
be quite moderate. Larry tells Scott he can
rent his uncles condo for $100 a week. My
uncle, Larry says, gets nervous when he
OCTOBER 2015
rents to total strangers. He likes to have

reliable people stay in his condo; the
condo is paid for, and my uncle is not
interested in making money on it he
just wants a little help meeting basic operating expenses and the taxes. Scott
accepts the offer and begins making
plans for his vacation. Just before leaving, an Upscale vice president sends
out a new policy statement that says,
among other things: Accepting incentives from vendors is strictly prohibited.
What should Scott do?
1. Cancel the vacation plans and tell
Larry he can longer accept the offer
2. Continue with the vacation, since he
is helping Larrys uncle
3. Discuss the situation with company
management and let them decide
4. Other
Case #6. Internal Dissent. (Abridged

version used with permission from Michael Pritchard. Original version appears
in Pritchard, M.,Teaching Engineering
Ethics: A case study Approach, Center
for the Study of Ethics in Society, Western Michigan University, 1992.)
A recent graduate of Engineering
Tech, Bernie Reston has been employed in the research and development
(R&D) Chemical Engineering Division of
Larom, Inc. for the past several months.
Alex Smith, the head of Bernies unit,
showed immediate interest in Bernies
research on processes using a particular catalyst (call it B). However, until last
week, his work assignments at Larom
were in other areas.
A meeting of engineers in Bernies
unit is called by Alex. He announces
that the unit must make a recommendation within the next two days on what
catalyst should be used by Larom in
processing a major product. It is clear to
everyone that Alex is anticipating a brief,
decisive meeting. One of the senior engineers volunteers, We've been working
on projects like this for years, and cataCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
lyst A seems to be the obvious choice.

Several others immediately concur. Alex
looks around the room and, hearing no
further comments, says, Well, it looks
like we are in accord on this. Do we
have consensus?
So far Bernie has said nothing. He is
not sure what further testing will show,
but the testing he has been doing for
the past week provides preliminary evidence that catalyst B may actually be
best for this process. This is also in line
with what his research at Engineering
Tech suggested with somewhat similar
processes. If catalyst B should turn out
to be preferable, a great deal of money
will be saved; and, in the long run, a fair
amount of time will be saved as well.
Bernie somewhat hesitantly raises his
hand. He briefly explains his test results
and the advantages catalyst B might
provide. Then he suggests that the unit
might want to delay its recommendation
for another two weeks so that he can
conduct further tests.
Alex replies, We don't have two
weeks. We have two days. He then
asks Bernie to write up the report, leaving out the preliminary data he has gathered about catalyst B. He says, It would
be nice to do some more testing, but
we just do not have the time. Besides, I
doubt if anything would show up in the
next two weeks to change our minds.
This is one of those times we have to
be decisive and we have to look decisive and quit beating around the bush.
They are really getting impatient on this
one. Anyway, weve had a lot of experience in this area.
Bernie replies that, even if the data on
B are left out, the data on A are hardly
conclusive. Alex replies, Look, youre a
bright person. You can make the numbers look good without much difficulty
do the math backwards if you have
to. Just get the report done in the next
two days!
Bernie likes working for Larom, and
he feels lucky to have landed such a
good job right out of Engineering Tech.
He is also due for a significant pay raise
soon if he plays his cards right.
What do you think Bernie should do?
1. Write up the report as Alex says.
2. Refuse to write up the report as Alex
says, saying he will have no part in falsifying a report.
3. Other.
OCTOBER 2015
53
Case #7. Getting Acquainted. (Abridged

version used with permission from Michael
Pritchard, Center For the Study of Ethics in
Society, Western Michigan University. Originally created with support from NSF grant
#DIR-8820837.)
Despite relatively little practical experience
in engineering, Carl Lawrence was made
supervisor of several acid and caustic distribution systems after joining the company.
Plant manager, Kevin Rourke, gave Carl a
tour of the facilities and introduced him to the
workers he would be supervising. Carl was
pleasantly surprised when he was introduced
to Rick Duffy, a friend of Carls family when
the two were in school as children. Rick had
taken a job at the chemical plant as a lead
operator when he returned from the Army.
Now married with two small children, Rick is
anxious to move ahead. So he is enrolled in
night classes at the local university.
not. Both tanks have vents piped to trench

drains in the floor that are connected to the
publicly owned wastewater treatment works
(WTW). Because of the many low-volume
caustic-use points throughout the area, the
distribution system is kept pressurized by an
air-operated diaphragm pump. So, if there is
no caustic demand, the pump expends no
energy. But it immediately acts to restore the
line pressure if any valve is opened or if there
is a leak in any of the pipes.
Carl asks Rick why the caustic system is so
different. Rick shrugs and says, I don't really
know. It has been this way at least as long
as Ive been here. I suppose it is because
the acid-distribution system is used so much
more. Carl then asks if the lead operators
have written procedures for filling the caustic
tanks. Rick says he has never seen any
nor has there been any review of the practice
during the four years he has been an operator. Are you satisfied with this setup? Carl
asks. Well, I dont have any problems with
it. Anyway, that is somebody elses concern,
not mine. I suppose they dont want to put
out the money to change it, Rick replies.
Several months later, Carl Lawrence is
alarmed by Kevin Rourkes urgent, early afternoon message: All supervisors immediately check for open caustic valves. Supply
tank is empty. Pump still running either
an open valve or a leak. Emergency order
Several months later, Carl Lawrence is alarmed by Kevin Rourkes

urgent early afternoon message: All supervisors immediately check
for open caustic valves. Supply tank is empty. Pump still running
either an open valve or a leak. Emergency order for caustic has
been made.
When Kevin Rourke finished showing Carl
around the facilities, he asked Rick to show
him how the distribution systems worked.
As Carl and Rick moved from the acid- to
the caustic-distribution system, Carl noted a
striking difference. The acid-distribution piping has spring-loaded valves that close automatically when not in use. To pump acid
into a remote receiving tank, a pump switch
must be activated at the remote location. The
pump switch has to be held on by the operator while the tank is filling. The penalty for
propping the switch on by other means is immediate dismissal. In contrast, no similar precautions are taken with the caustic system.
One of the two caustic tanks in Carls area
is equipped with a high-level alarm. The other,
located in a less used area of the building, is
54
for caustic supply has been made. Carl immediately tells his lead operators to make a
check. They report that everything is in order.
However, by mid-afternoon it is evident that
the problem is still unsolved. The supply tank
is steadily emptying even though apparently
all the valves are closed and no leak has
been discovered. At 4:00 p.m., a lead operator who has just arrived for the afternoon
shift notices an open valve in a seldom used
area of the facility. Carl had forgotten that no
one was working on that side of the building
during the early afternoon. So, the seldom
used valve wasnt checked. Now, however,
Carl remembers that Rick Duffy was assigned that area during the previous shift.
The valve is immediately shut off. Then
Carl phones Rick: Rick, you left the C-2
OCTOBER 2015
ENGINEERING ETHICS RESOURCES.

Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science (www.onlineethics.org)

The Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at Western Michigan University (www.wmich.edu/ethics)
The National Society of Professional Engineers (www.nspe.org/resources/ethics)
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics)
American Chemical Society (www.acs.org)
Institution of Chemical Engineers (www.icheme.org)
Ohio University (engineeringmastersonline.ohio.edu/articles-and-resources)
valve open; and weve got a real problem on

our hands. We lost a lot of caustic down the
drain. What time was it when you opened
the valve? Rick answers, Carl, I dont remember. I have been real tired all day. Pulled
an all-nighter getting ready for my exam tonight, and I was just wiped out when I went
to work. I think I turned it on near the end
of my shift, but I just cannot be sure. I cant
believe I forgot to turn it off! Rick pauses
and takes a deep breath, Man, I cant afford
trouble right now. Jans pregnant again, and
I have another semester to go.
Now that Carl has located the problem,
what should he say to his plant manager,
Kevin Rourke?
1. Acknowledge responsibility for failing to
have C-2 checked earlier?
2. Identify Rick as the one who left the valve
open?
3. Other?
What should Carl Lawrence do about Rick
Duffy? If propping open a pump switch of
an acid tank warrants immediate termination, should Carl fire Rick for leaving open
the caustic valve?
Yes or No?
To what extent, if any, should Carl be influenced by his friendship with Rick?
None? Some?
To what extent should Carl be influenced
by his knowledge that Rick needs to keep
his job? None ? Some?
Case #8. Chemical Waste Handling. (Used

with permission from Michael Pritchard,
Center For the Study of Ethics in Society,
Western Michigan University. Originally created with support from the NSF grant #DIR8820837.)
ABCs chemical waste is stored in a warehouse at an off-site location. While inspecting the warehouse, engineer Scott Lewis
notices several leaking drums. He calls Tom
Treehorn, head of ABCs Division of Chemical Waste. Tom responds, I will be right over
with a crew to bring the leaking drums over
here. Scott points out that the law forbids
returning chemical waste to the home site.
Tom replies, I know, but I dont have any
confidence in the off-site folks handling this.
We know how to handle this best. It might
not be the letter of the law, but our handling
it captures its spirit.
Scott believes that Tom Treehorn is serious
about preventing environmental problems
especially those that might be caused by
ABC. Still, he knows that the Environmental
Protection Agency will be upset if it finds out
about Toms way of dealing with the problem; and if anything goes wrong, ABC could
get into serious legal difficulties. After all, he
thinks, ABC is not a waste disposal facility.
What should Scott do at this point?
1. Tell Tom that he will inform Toms superior
if Tom goes ahead with his plan.
2. Inform Tom that he will not interfere with
Toms plan, but he will not help him with
it either.
3. Advise Tom not to go ahead with his plan,
but not interfere if Tom insists on going
ahead anyway.
4. Say nothing, and help Tom with his plan.
5. Other?
n
SCOTT JENKINS is a senior editor with
Chemical Engineering (Email: sjenkins@
chemengonline.com; Phone: 1-212-6214662). Scott has been with the organizationsince 2009. Prior to joining Chemical Engineering, Scott worked in various capacities as
a science journalist and communications specialist, reporting and writing on a variety of
sectors, including chemical processing, biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing
and research policy. He also has industry experience as a quality
assurance chemist and research experience as a synthetic organic
chemist. Scott holds a bachelors degree from Colgate University,
and a masters degree in chemistry from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
OCTOBER 2015
55
Feature Report
Emissions Regulations
and Control
Harnessing new technologies for best practices in pollution control could lead to a
more ideal framework of policies and programs
Jim Drago
Garlock Sealing
Technologies
ugitive emissions are managed in

a variety of ways around the world,
ranging from detailed prescriptive
control to suggested guidance. Motivating industrial sites to reduce pollution are
government enforcers, the public and media.
U.S. REGULATORY
A combination of qualifying equipment, best
OVERVIEW
available control technology and vigilant maintenance all work toward minimizing emissions.
WORLDWIDE
The advent of new technologies is also giving
REGULATIONS
rise to new ideas for more effective pollution
LEARNING FROM WORLD
control. Knowledge of the regulations and of
REGULATIONS
past outcomes combined with a view toward
IDEALIZED EMISSIONS
new technologies in monitoring, leak control
REGULATION
and data acquisition can help lead to an optimized global approach for emissions control
and regulations based on best practices.
IN BRIEF
56
With the exception of global initiatives,

such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, regulating industrial pollution has largely been relegated
to individual national governments. Informing my point of view on this issue have been
many years of employing sealing products
to stop fugitive emissions, observation, involvement with leak detection and repair
(LDAR) programs and study of U.S. and
other countries regulations. My initial foray
into the world of pollution control was with a
company that manufactured flyash handling
systems. These systems conveyed ash particles captured by electrostatic precipitators,
baghouses and cyclone dust collectors. The
sole purpose of these systems was to prevent millions of tons of ash particles from entering the air we breathe and sequestering
them for safe storage, a business owing its
existence to the Clean Air Act of 1970 [1].
My introduction to fugitive emissions came
when I began working in the sealing industry.
Fugitive emissions, as the term implies, are
unintentional releases, unlike process emissions that are known and expected. Fugitive
emissions include leakage from valve stem
seals, flange joints, pressure relief valves,
compressors, threaded connections and
other sources. These leaks are relatively small,
but subject to a multiplier effect from some
10,000 chemical and petroleum refinery sites,
each with tens of thousands of point sources
and nearly a million pipeline compressorpumping stations, tank terminals and naturalgas well heads, each with hundreds of point
sources of fugitive emissions [23].
Development of a patented low-emission
valve stem seal [4], motivated by the California Clean Air Act (CCAA) [5], marked the beginning of products and services for achieving low to zero emissions from the millions of
point sources in U.S. Government policy and
laws aimed at protecting public health and
the environment.
This article compares worldwide emissions
regulations and describes an idealized fuWWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
OCTOBER 2015
gitive emissions plan. Six general

concepts to assure a balanced approach are discussed, including:
clear regulatory objectives; equipment qualification; preventive and
sustaining maintenance; documentation useful to meeting objectives;
use of best available control technology; and a three-pronged approach
to leak detection.
Regulatory overview in U.S.

In the 1990s, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) concluded
that LDAR programs at petroleum
refineries existed in name only, or
were minimally managed and implemented. As a result, the EPA
mounted a full enforcement effort,
and by 2010 petroleum refineries
under consent decrees far outnumbered those that were not. The mandate evolved from compliance with
the regulations for leak detection and
repair to leak prevention today. Regulators now want chemical process
industries (CPI) plants to use the best
available low-emission technologies
to stop leaks from occurring in the
first place. This approach is termed,
Enhanced LDAR. Although not
formally part of U.S. regulations, it
is mandated via consent decrees
whenever the EPA finds deficiencies
in LDAR programs.
In the U.S., leaks are monitored
using flame or photo-ionization detection equipment and quantified in
parts per million by volume (ppmv).
This measure is the concentration of
a volatile organic compound (VOC)
categorized as a hazardous air pollutant (HAP) at the point of the equipment being monitored. These data
are put into equations that approximate the rate of mass loss in pounds
or kilograms per hour [6]. The method
of gathering leak data as ppmv in the
field is given in Method 21 [7].
In December 2008, another
method of monitoring leaks was
allowed the Alternative Work
Practice to Detect Leaks from
Equipment (AWP) [8] uses forwardlooking infrared (FLIR) instruments
resembling handheld video cameras.
Specialized infrared (IR) sources are
tuned to make hydrocarbon gases
visible. This monitoring method inCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
TABLE 1. EMISSIONS REGULATIONS OF SELECTED COUNTRIES

Fugitive-emission control
technology
Country
Motivation to control fugitive emissions
Thailand
Corporate social responsibility, media and

public pressure
Future regulations will impose more
formal rules
India
Access to bank guarantees

Citizen complaints leading to litigation
Peoples Republic
of China
Financial penalties, risk of shut down,

media and citizen pressure
Unique law objective: recognition of environment and economic needs
Singapore

public pressure
Risk of shut-down of operations
Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
Violators face fines or imprisonment
Taiwan
Prosecution by government agencies

and suspension of operations
Uses accepted technical practices
Japan

public pressure
Best available control techniques are

published and expected to be used
E.U.
Action by local authorities, media and

citizen pressure
LDAR programs are minutely defined

and regulated. Low emission packing and valves and their performance
requirements are specified
U.S.
Fines and prosecution leading to

consent decrees requiring special
projects, equipment installation, extra
rules and fines
None specified. Plant sites are expected to use best practices
dicates only the presence of a leak,

but not the quantity. It is commonly
accepted that FLIR-type devices
can detect leaks of 5,000 to 10,000
ppmv and above.
The U.S. is notorious for rigorous,
detailed regulations. The administering agency, the EPA, has fostered a
culture of doing only what is necessary to comply, no more or less. In
recent years, enforcers have promoted prevention via the latest technology, expressed as Next Generation Compliance [9].
A December 2012 workshop [10]
attended by regulators, policy makers and environmental law academics presented ways to more effectively enforce existing regulations
via technology, increased citizen
involvement, traditional and social
media, more efficient rules and increased transparency.
Worldwide regulations
A survey of selected, industrialized
regions of the world provides insight
into different ways of mitigating and
minimizing air pollution.
Thailand. Thailand, for example,
extensively monitors ambient air
in areas of concentrated industrial
activity, such as Rayong Province.
OCTOBER 2015
While there is no strong central enforcement authority, social pressure

motivates polluters to comply.
Japan. Japan has a similar approach, but with stronger enforcement. The country assigns maximum emission levels to each site
based on atmospheric air monitoring. Each site is responsible for
self-monitoring and using the best
technologies to limit emissions.
Corporate responsibility motivates
plant sites to do the right thing, and
media attention and popular indignation are effective motivators.
India. In India, plant sites are motivated by high litigation costs and
financial sanctions, which take the
form of limiting or denying access to
bank loan guarantees and subsidies.
While monitoring is not mandated, it
must be done as a consequence of
the requirement to report each years
emission quantities.
China. China has a tradition of citizen action via a system of letters and
visits for making complaints about
polluters. Chinese pollution laws
seek to balance environmental protection, public health and economic
development. In other countries this
concept is understood in practice,
but not codified. At present, enforce57
is ingrained in E.U. policy directives and is a hallmark of its basic

approach to pollution control. It
is an integrated approach that is
flexible with regard to application
and enforcement, inspections and
public participation. BAT and best
practices are developed by expert
representatives from E.U. member
countries, affected industries and
non-governmental organizations.
TABLE 2. ELEMENTS OF AN IDEALIZED FUGITIVE EMISSIONS REGULATORY PLAN

1. Define the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) to be regulated
2. Define the different types of equipment and connecting devices with the potential to leak to be
regulated
3. Specify methods to qualify equipment performance
a.
Define leak levels for what is considered tight for each equipment type
b.
Define method(s) of measuring leaks for this qualification
c.
Require performance to be checked after initial installation
d.
Develop a lexicon of recommended practices and equipment designs to guide users to the best
available technology
4. Define maintenance programs
a.
Codify practices for equipment installation and maintenance
b.
Audit to assure compliance practices are followed
c.
Require reporting
Learning from world regulations
5. Define air-pollution monitoring methods; a combination of available types can be used to assure protection of the environment and near and remote populations. Combinations of the following could be used:
a.
Discreet monitors
i.
Flame ionization detectors (FID) or optical photo-ionization detectors (PID) toxic vapor analyzers (TVA). This is the USA Method 21 approach
ii.
Discreet sensors mounted at each potential leak point of interest
1.
These could be accessed wirelessly or by wire for continuous or periodic monitoring
b.
Mobile IR monitoring (technicians, motor vehicles, aircraft)
i.
FLIR camera allowed by the EPA Alternative Work Practice to Method 21
c.
Stationary fence-line monitoring using IR, ultraviolet (UV), specialized laser optics
i.
U.S. EPA has ordered the installation of such systems at various plant sites to develop and
validate the efficacy of the leak control technology
d.
Ambient-air monitoring stations near population centers, schools and fragile or highly valued
environmental regions
i.
Used extensively in E.U., Singapore and Thailand
6. Repair procedure code
a.
Assure that problems found are fixed correctly and in a timely manner
7. Documentation
a.
All of the above
i.
Regulated HAPs at the site
ii.
Inventory of regulated equipment
iii. Equipment qualification certification
iv. Maintenance program
v.
Monitoring methods and data
vi. Repair records
8. Enforcement
a.
Assignment of an entity that answers to the general public and government authorities, not plant
owners
b.
Enforcers would be allowed to audit and levy fines within a defined schedule and initiate prosecution to bring the plant site into compliance
c.
All enforcement actions would be published and made available to the general public and media
outlets
d.
Private citizens would have a voice in reporting suspected pollution events
ment is weak and at the discretion of

regional authorities.
Singapore. Singapore requires monitoring by qualified providers. Like
Thailand and Japan, performance is
assessed from atmospheric air monitoring at specific locations. Sites are
encouraged to use best available
technologies (BAT), and a central
authority can inspect and demand
compliance if levels are beyond allowable limits.
Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia manages air pollution
by measuring air quality, and enforcement is at the discretion of a
designated agency.
58
Taiwan. Taiwan has a central enforcement authority and regulations

defining the use of BAT. It embraces
technology to electronically report airmonitoring data and uses computer
simulations to model air quality.
European Union. In the E.U., best
available control technology (BACT),
flexibility and public participation are
foundational. Sites apply for permits
to emit, which are subject to authorities discretion, taking into account
the sites performance record, location and local environment. Equipment must be qualified before use.
Collaboration in defining and
sharing BACT and best practices
Table 1 summarizes the following

policies and practices: atmospheric
monitoring at significant locations
in regions of low and high industrial
pollution; citizens engagement; traditional media and social media as
auxiliary enforcement; negative motivation for regulatory compliance; reporting to a central authority; use of
BACT; and organization of non-governmental experts to define, develop
and maintain BACT and inferred
regulatory requirements that lead to
desired behavior.
For example, a site may be required
to report the amount of pollutants it
is emitting without specifically having
to monitor and quantify the sources
of emissions. Implicit in the reporting
rule is some degree of monitoring
and measurement. Other practices
of note include using the latest in the
acquisition and transmission of data
to responsible authorities and permitting institutions.
Permitting takes a variety of forms.
Ambient pollution data will lead enforcers to impose emission limits
on regional polluters, but enforcers
defer to the polluters with regard to
the technologies needed to meet
these limits. A plant site can apply to
the responsible authority for permission to emit a given amount of pollutant, which can be accepted, rejected
or negotiated to an acceptable level.
The system of permits forces transparency on the part of both polluters
and enforcers; polluters must publish
what they emit, and enforcers expectations are transparent by agreeing to a level of performance.
Idealized emissions regulation

Looking at what has already been
done, the basic elements of a fugi-
OCTOBER 2015
tive emission program are shown in

Table 2.
If items 14 are followed, the rest
will fall into place. If we know what
we are guarding against (identification of HAPs), know where it is coming from (equipment and connector
inventory), qualify the design before
installation, check that it is performing correctly post-installation
and follow a comprehensive maintenance plan, a plants emissions
cannot help but be hygienic and environmentally safe.
Plant equipment and components
wear with time, so maintenance will
play a major role. Some method of
monitoring is needed to check performance. Having witnessed U.S.
petroleum refineries and other CPI
processing plants grapple with measuring and documenting leaks from
tens of thousands of components
multiple times a year, I would opt for
a more streamlined approach.
ones leak level in a massive database using specialized software is

not a valuable exercise.
The objectives of the regulatory
system would be the protection of
public and environmental health
and milestone measures of environmental quality with recognition
of economic effects. These intents
would serve as check points for all
the regulations. If a regulatory action
does not support these objectives, it
should be abandoned.
Definitions would include pollutants, leak levels, stationary industrial pollution sources, stationary
small commercial sources, equipment types and performance and
enforcing authorities. Pollutants
would be defined as any substances that cause harm to those
to be protected in the objectives.
These could be broken down by
general chemical categories for
example organic, inorganic, VOC
A more balanced approach is to use single-point

emission detectors, forward looking infrared (FLIR)
sensor cameras and ambient air monitors located at a
plants fence lines.
A comprehensive fence-line monitoring system would indicate what
and how much a plant is emitting. If
this was coupled with periodic mobile IR monitoring, plant operators
would know which, if any, areas
contain trouble spots. These spots
would be subject to discrete monitoring with Method 21 to pinpoint
leaking components that need to
be repaired.
An American Petroleum Institute (API) study showed that 83%
of emissions come from 0.13% of
components leaking greater than
10,000 ppm [11]. This small population of components exhibited major,
not marginal leaks. This study justified the use of IR cameras under
U.S. regulation. Measuring all components all the time is not necessary
to assure good environmental practices. Since most are not leaking,
one can conclude that measuring all
components and documenting each
and so on. Reference could be

made to how substances are to
be added or removed from the list.
Some substances may be banned
from production or use.
Equipment leak levels can be correlated to the degree of harm a substance can cause. What constitutes
a leak would be defined as leakage
above a certain level. Industrial sites
owned and managed by large corporations would be categorized differently than small businesses.
The location of the sources also
should be defined. Are many industries concentrated in one locale?
Are there prevailing meteorological
conditions that affect the movement of emissions into population
centers, across international borders or into environmentally sensitive areas?
In addition, equipment and how
it is qualified for service and components subject to monitoring and
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OCTOBER 2015
59
maintenance need to be defined.

These definitions should be based
on information identifying problem
equipment. Performance can be assured by qualifying equipment design for acceptable pollution levels
and monitoring after the equipment
has been put into service.
The responsible authority needs
to be identified, together with the
boundaries of its authority, the actions it can take without supervision and actions that require approval from a higher authority.
Likewise, guidelines for fines and
punitive actions must be determined, as well as relevant information and availability of data and
reports that must be submitted to
enforcing authorities.
Pollution levels are a key measure of success. The U.S. promotes measurement of every potential leak point at least once,
and in some cases, multiple times
a year. Each time, leak levels must
be recorded and reported. The advantages of this approach are that
specific components are identified
and corrected. The drawbacks are
the cost of deploying personnel to
monitor tens of thousands of components and administering large
amounts of data.
A three-pronged approach to
leak detection. A conclusion that
can be drawn from the above referenced API study is that repeatedly measuring and documenting
the leakage of all components is not
productive. When properly located,
ambient-air monitoring stations can
provide the type and level of pollutants reaching the public and the environment. This approach identifies
entire plants or groups of plants,
but not specific sources. A plant(s)
can be put on notice to check the
effectiveness of its (or their) air pollution controls and bring them into
compliance. However, with this approach one must be vigilant that
vague enforcement does not lead
to vague remediation.
A more balanced approach is to
use single-point emission detectors, FLIR sensor cameras and
ambient air monitors located at a
plants fence lines. This involves
60
a three-pronged approach: wide

area monitoring via fence line and
ambient-air station instruments;
local area monitoring using FLIR instruments; and single-point monitoring to identify and quantify leaking components.
First use FLIR to perform walking
or mobile surveys of all components
to identify high leakers for correction. Once offending components
are located, use organic vapor analyzers (OVA) to identify and document their leak levels, repair them
and then use OVAs to validate that
the fix is successful. This greatly
reduces the number of data points
to be tracked, and integrates leak
data into repair actions. This gets
to the heart of finding and stopping leaks. A modification to this
approach would be to measure all
components with single-point OVA
monitoring, but record only those
that are leaking so they can be
noted for repair.
To monitor pollution escaping the
borders of a plant site, optical instruments would be set at the fence
lines. Unlike ambient air monitors,
the data from these systems would
be directly applicable to the plant.
Data on the type and quantity of pollutants crossing the fence line can
be integrated with meteorological
data to triangulate the general location of the source and alert plant
personnel to use the FLIR and OVA
instruments to find the leak points
for correction.
Maintenance is critical to preventing degradation of equipment performance and the need for repair.
Practices need to be codified to
assure that equipment is installed,
used and maintained properly. This
calls for personnel training, published requirements and recording
equipment repairs. Documentation
subject to audit will hold maintenance leaders accountable for acceptable equipment performance.
Repairs need to be done in a timely
manner within a defined period to
eliminate the creation of long lists
of documented problems that are
never addressed. Putting more effort into preventive and sustaining
maintenance rather than monitorCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
ing all potential emission points and

building large databases will result
in low emissions and economically
profitable plant sites.
Leveraging past and present
techniques together with receptivity to new ones can result in optimal
policies and programs so we can all
breathe a little easier.
Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
References
1. U.S. Clean Air Act, see the U.S. Environmental
Agency (EPA) website for more information, www.
epa.gov/air/caa/amendments.html and www2.epa.
gov/aboutepa/epa-history-clean-air-act-1970
2. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Number
and Capacity of Petroleum Refineries, www.eia.
gov/dnav/pet/pet_pnp_cap1_dcu_nus_a.htm
3. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Number
and Capacity of Petroleum Refineries, www.eia.
gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_wells_s1_a.htm
4. U.S. Patent 4,328,974, Stuffing box packing system and method, May 11, 1982.
5. See California Environmental Protection Agency,
Air Resources Board, Key Events in the History of
AIr Quality in California, www.arb.ca.gov/html/brochure/history.htm
6. EPA, Protocols for Generating Unit-Specific Emission Estimates for Equipment Leaks of VOC and
VHAP, (EPA-450-88-010, October 1988) also
new version from 2011 Ref. unit specific emission
protocols
7. EPA, Method 21- Determination of Volatile Organic Compound Leaks, www.epa.gov/ttnemc01/
promgate/m-21.pdf
8. EPA, Alternative Work Practice to Detect Leaks from
Equipment, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-200812-22/E8-30196
9. Giles, Cynthia, Next Generation Compliance, The
Environmental Forum, September/October 2013.
10. Next Generation Environmental Compliance Wokshop held at George Washington University Law
School, Washington D.C., Dec 1112, 2012.
11. American Petroleum Institute, API Publication 310,
Analysis of Refinery Screening Data, 1997.
Author
Jim Drago has worked in sealing
technology for over 30 years, and
is currently a principal applications engineer for Garlock Sealing
Technologies (1666 Division
Street, Palmyra, NY 14522;
Phone: 800-448-6688; Email:
jim.drago@garlock.com). He is a
licensed professional engineer in
the state of New York. Dragos
work has focused on applications, product engineering, engineering management and global business
development. He has authored numerous articles and
presented papers at technical symposia on sealing to
meet fugitive emissions regulations and sealing product selection. He also has contributed to the industry
standards of the American Petroleum Institute (API),
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME),
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Society of
Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). Drago is
a former member of ASME BPE Standard committees
on sealing and polymers.
OCTOBER 2015
Engineering Practice
Pipe Insulation: Finding the Optimal Thickness
Avoid tedious numerical calculation by using this quick, shortcut method
Alejandro Anaya Durand, Allan
Osornio Maldonado, Alexander
lvarez Holly, Itzayana Montesinos
Aguilar, Adalberto Fuentes
Martnez and Mara Daniela valos
Galvn
National Autonomous University of
Mexico, Faculty of Chemistry
R1
R2
Pipe
nsulated pipes are important in

many applications in the chemical
process industries (CPI). When it
comes to the insulation itself, the
two main questions are: which material should be used; and how much
of it (thickness)? Three variables are
considered in order to find the most
economical thickness of an insulated
pipe: the inner radius of pipe, the
cost of energy and the cost of the
insulation material itself.
Determining the most economical
thickness of insulation for a pipeline is a problem of finding the right
balance between using the least
amount of insulating material with the
least amount of energy loss. When
increasing the thickness of the insulating material, the energy loss decreases, but the cost of the insulating
material rises. When decreasing the
thickness of the insulating material,
the material cost decreases, but the
energy lost rises that translates
into monetary losses.
The equation that solves this problem is complicated. It is a function of
many variables, such as inside and
outside temperatures, cost of energy, conductivities, nominal sizes of
Insulation
FIGURE 1. The problem is to determine the optimal insulation thickness, R2 R1
pipelines, the cost of insulating materials and more.

In order to find a systems minimal
cost and therefore the optimum insulation thickness, numerical methods
are required. This process involves
finding an equation describing the
cost as a function of the variables,
then setting the derivative of that
equation equal to zero. Although it
is possible to solve such a problem
numerically, using software such as
Solver for Excel, it is tedious and
time consuming.
This article first outlines the numerical approach, and then presents a
simple shortcut method that can be
used as a quick, practical tool to determine the most economical thickness of different insulating materials.
An example calculation using both
methods is then given, which shows
the same results are achieved.
Fundamentals
To demonstrate the complexity of the
problem, we first develop the equa-
tions that need to be solved numerically. After this, a shortcut method is

presented, with examples to compare the results of using the numerical versus the shortcut method.
Heat transfer. The general equation for the rate of heat transmission
through a pipe having a homogeneous insulation material can be derived by starting with Fouriers law,
represented by Equation (1):
(1)
Where:
qi = the heat-transfer rate in the i direction, Btu/h
A = the area normal to the direction i
(direction of the heat flow), ft2
dt/dxi = the temperature gradient in
the i direction, F/ft
K = the thermal conductivity, Btu/h.
ft.F
For an insulated pipe of length L,
(Figure 1) the heat transfer is in the
radial direction, R, and the area is
2 RL
(2)
Equation (2) is integrated from R1
(inside radius of pipe insulation) to
R2 (outside radius of pipe insulation), and from T1 to T2, where T1
is the temperature in the inside radius of insulation. For practical purposes, T1 is considered the same
NOMENCLATURE
Ca
d0
FT
FN
FM
FD
h2
hc
hr
K
L
M
Least squares fit of mineral wool costs (Table 2)

Outer diameter of insulation = 2r2, in.
Adjustment factor for temperature
Adjustment factor for pipe size
Adjustment factor for temperature
Adjustment factor for pipe size
hc + hr
Surface heat-transfer coefficient, radiation
Surface heat-transfer coefficient, convection
Thermal conductivity, Btu/h.ft.F
Length of pipe insulation, ft
Cost of heat, $/million Btu
mp
np
qR
R1, R2
r 1, r2
T1, T2
Ta
U2
U
Y
yp
Cost of heat loss, $/ft.yr

Cost of insulation per year, $/ft.yr
Heat transfer rate in radial direction, Btu/h
Insulation inner and outer radius, ft
Insulation inner and outer radius, in.
Temperature at R1 and R2, F
Ambient temperature, F
Heat flowrate from R2 to outside air, Btu/h
Heat flowrate (per foot) from R2 to outside air, Btu/h.ft
Number of hours operation, h/yr
Total cost (insulation plus energy), $/ft.yr
Emissivity of insulation surface
OCTOBER 2015
61
as the operating temperature inside the pipe. This gives

Equaton (3)
(8)
(3)
Because we are concerned with the heat flow between
the inside surface of the pipe insulation and the outside
air (ambient temperature = Ta), Equation (3) is divided by
the outer surface area of the insulation, and the right side
expressed in terms of thermal resistances (the inverse
of the heat-transfer coefficients), to which is added the
thermal resistance due to surface radiation and surface
convection. This gives Equation (4).
(4)
Where:
Rs = 1/h2
h2 = hr + hc
Finally, an expression for Newtons law of cooling is

given as Equation (9):
(9)
To summarize thus far, Equation (8) expresses the
heat flow (per foot) from r1 (the inner surface of the insulation, in inches) to the environment, and this should
be equal to Equation (9), the heat flow (per foot) from
r2 (the outer surface of the insulation, in inches) to the
environment.
Costs. If Y is the number of hours of operation per year
and M is the cost of heat (in dollars per million Btu) then
the cost of heat lost for the insulated pipe (mp, $/ft.yr)
can be expressed as Equation (10):
(10)
The heat flowrate per linear foot (U, Btu/h.ft) is found

by rearranging Equation (4) to give:
(5)
Expressions for the surface radiation, hr, and surface
convection, hc, are given by Equations (6) and (7):
The next step is to find a function that describes the

cost of insulation per foot per year. This function will be
named np. For this, it is necessary to find the price of
different insulation materials. For each insulation material, it was found that there are tables of prices for a
specific thickness and nominal pipe size. Table 1 shows
such information for mineral wool, for example. These
data were plotted for each pipe size, as shown in Figure
2. The y-axis is the cost per foot, and the x-axis is the
thickness of the insulation. In the context of the previous
discussion, x = r2 r1.
For the case of mineral wool, the plots of Figure 2 can
be fit to linear equations, as shown in Table 2. These
linear relationships can be generalized as the function
Ca. Multiplying this function by the the cost of installation
(assume 4% per year) plus the annuity, which accounts
for the annual interest, i, for amortization over a period of
n years, gives the general equation for insulation costs
as follows:
(6)
Mineral wool
35
Pipe size, in.
1
2
3
4
5
6
30
(7)
Ca = Cost, $/ft
25
Where:
d0 = surface diameter, in., = 2r2
= surface emissivity (1)
20
15
10
Equation (5) can be rearranged to give Equation (8),

which includes a conversion from inches to feet, since
pipe sizes and insulation thicknesses are normally expressed in inches.
5
0
0
0.5
1.5
2
2.5
Insulation thickness, in.
3.5
FIGURE 2. The cost of mineral wool depends on the pipe size. The data can be
approximated by the function Ca (Table 2)
62
OCTOBER 2015
TABLE 1. THE COST OF MINERAL WOOL INSULATION, $/FT
(11)
For example, imagine we have a pipe with a nominal
size of 3 in. insulated with mineral wool. In this case, we
would use the equation y = 8.0272x 0.5719 for Ca. If
we add 5 years as the time factor for depreciation and
amortization, with an annual interest for amortization of
15% and adding cost of installation per year of 4% (20%
between 5 years). Then np is:
Iron pipe
size, in.
Insulation
thickness, in.
9.867
1.0
5.133
6.727
7.383
8.167
9.256
1.5
8.500
9.613
10.927
11.813
12.620 13.000
2.0
11.607
13.607 16.440
17.247
19.143 19.900
3.0
20.340
21.600 23.167
25.660
28.450 31.283
6.0
42.800
44.020 47.591
52.394
58.038 66.793
TABLE 2. Ca FUNCTION FOR MINERAL WOOL*

Pipe size, in.
Correlation coefficient, r2
7.6133
2.88
0.9933
7.5474
1.2648
0.9961
8.0272
0.5719
0.9906
To summarize thus far, the costs for energy and insulation material, yp, is given by Equation (12).
8.8903
0.9476
0.9968
9.8596
1.1194
0.9922
(12)
11.05
2.2071
0.9888
*Least squares fit to data in Table 1 (Figure 2): Ca = Ax B
Finding the economic thickness. For a particular pipe

with nominal diameter of r1, the value for the most economical insulation thickness is determined by taking
the derivative of yp with respect to r2, and setting this
equal to zero:
(13)
For the previous example of the 3-in. pipe with mineral
wool insulation, Equation (13) becomes the following:
To solve Equation (13a), it is necessary to use a numerical method. This is done by varying r2 until the expression on the left equals zero. But at the same time,
one must also vary T2 so that Equation (8) is equal to
Equation (9). When all of these conditions are met, the
value of r2 found is the optimum value, and thus gives
the optimal thickness (r2 r1).
Obviously, solving Equation (13') is not an easy task.
And this expression is very specific to mineral wool insulation for a 3-in. pipe. For other insulation materials,
it is necessary to find equations that give the price of
the material with thickness, as was done with mineral
wool (Table 2). To avoid this burdensome task, we have
developed a shortcut method to estimate the calculated
result. This shortcut is described below.
(13a)
Overview of the shortcut

Where the following constants (ad) and the expression
for were defined to simplify mp in order to more easily
perform the differentiation:
To develop the shortcut method, we start with a basecase scenario in which all variables are known. Then, several graphs are generated that show how a given variable
changes with respect to the others as they change from the
base case. Changing only one variable at a time enables us
to observe how the economic thickness behaves towards a
certain variable. With this information we can generate several adjustment factors, which can be applied to the base
case in order to get the values for the scenarios of interest.
OCTOBER 2015
63
3.5
TABLE 3. VALUES OF FM
Temperature
2 million Btu
3 million Btu
4 million Btu
6 million Btu
8 million Btu
200F 250F 300F
350F
400F
450F
500F
Mineral wool
Calcium silicate
1.02
1.02
1.02
1.01
1.01
Fiberglass
1.02
1.04
1.07
1.08
1.1
1.11
Cellular glass
1.08
1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
1.15
Perlite
1.02
1.03
1.04
1.03
1.03
1.02
2.5
FT
Material
2
1.5
1
200
TABLE 4. VALUES OF FD
2 in.
3 in.
4 in.
5 in.
6 in.
350
T1, F
400
450
500
Calcium silicate
0.98
0.88
0.77
0.8
0.81
Fiberglass
0.9
0.88
0.84
0.82
0.88
Cellular glass
0.91
0.87
0.9
0.81
0.85
Perlite
0.97
0.79
0.87
0.77
0.80
2.4
2.2
2
FN
1 in.
Mineral wool
1.8
2 million Btu
3 million Btu
4 million Btu
6 million Btu
8 million Btu
1.6
1.4
The shortcut method

The shortcut method consists of using three graphs and
two tables to find the optimal thickness. We consider
five different insulation materials, but the the graphs and
tables can be further developed to handle any type of
insulation material.
The factors that we need to know for this method are
the following:
Cost of energy, $/million Btu
Temperature at R1, F
Pipe size, nominal dia., in.
Type of insulation material
As a starting point, we choose a base case to generalize many instances graphically. We select 200F as the
temperature at radius r1, a 1-in. pipe and an ambient
temperature of 77F. The graphs in Figure 3 show the
behavior of the optimal thickness of insulation for a pipeline versus energy costs for the five different insulation
materials for this base case.
For temperatures other than 200F at radius r1, it is
necessary to adjust the optimal thickness using a factor called FT. This factor is determined from the characteristics of mineral wool and is basically a relationship
between thickness at one temperature (T1) and the base
0.7
1.2
1
1
1.5
2.5
3
3.5
4
Pipe nominal dia., in.
4.5
5.5
FIGURE 5. The adjustment factor for mineral wool, FD, for pipe sizes other than
the base case (1 in.)
temperature of 200F.
(14)
A plot of FT versus T1 is shown in Figure 4 for different
energy costs (mineral wool is the reference case here).
In a similar fashion, a correction factor, FN, is determined
for when the nominal pipe size is different from 1 in., in
order to find the optimal insulation thickness.
(15)
Figure 5 shows the behavior of FN with nominal pipe

diameter for various energy costs (for mineral wool).
Because each insulation material has different characteristics, two tables were generated to provide correction factors for estimating the optimal thickness. To correct for a material other than mineral wool, the factor FM
is used for a temperature at r1 other than 200F (Table 3),
and FD is used to correct for pipe diameters other than
1 in. (Table 4).
Therefore, a final equation that can be used to find the
optimal insulation thickness is given by Equation (16):
FIGURE 3. The optimal thickness for various insulation materials depends on

the energy cost when compared to the base case
(16)
Mineral wool
Fiberglass
Calcium silicate
Cellular glass
0.6
Thickness, in.
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
64
300
FIGURE 4. The adjustment factor for mineral wool, FT, for temperatures other
than the base case (200F)
Nominal
diameter
Material
250
5
Cost, $/million Btu
OCTOBER 2015
4.00
Authors
3.50
Alejandro Anaya Durand (Parque

Espaa No. 15b Col. Condesa,
C.P. 06140, Mexico,D.F. Email:
aanayadurand@hotmail.com) is a
professor of chemical engineering
at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and has
over 56 years of experience in
projects and process engineering.
He retired from Instituto Mexicano
del Petroleo in 1998 after holding top positions. For 50
years he has been an educator in chemical engineering
at several universities in Mexico, and presently he is
also a consultant at several engineering companies. He
has published over 280 articles related to engineering
and education; is a Fellow of the AIChE; a member of
National Academy of Engineering; and has received the
main chemical engineering awards in Mexico. He holds
a M.S. in project engineering from UNAM.
Yp, $/ft/yr
mineral wool. From

the graph we find
that the base case
3.00
optimal thickness
2.50
is 0.16 in.
2.00
Step 2. From Figure 4, determine
1.50
the value of FT to
1.00
correct the pipe
0.50
temperature (T1)
0.00
from the base tem0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
perature of 200F.
Thickness, in.
For x = 350F, the
FIGURE 6. For the example problem, numerical calculations show that the
intersection of the
total cost, yp, is a minimum at 0.464 in.
line that correTo demonstrate the use of this sponds to the given cost of energy
shortcut method, the following ex- ($2/million Btu) is at FT = 1.75.
ample calculation is presented, and Step 3. From Figure 5, determine the
the results are compared to numeri- value of FN to correct the pipe diamcal calculations.
eter from the base size of 1 in. For x=
2 in. the intersection of the line that
Example
corresponds to the given cost of enConsider a 2-in. dia. steel pipeline ergy ($2/million Btu) is at FN = 1.56.
that carries steam at 350F. The am- Step 4. Use Table 3 to obtain the value
bient temperature is 70F. Assume for FM. For mineral wool, FM = 1.
the price of the energy is $2/million Step 5. Use Table 4 to find the value
Btu. The time factor for depreciation for FD. For mineral wool, FD = 1.
and amortization is 5 years, annual Step 6. Use Equation (16), and mulinterest for amortization is 15% and tiply the factors found in the previthere is an additional cost of instal- ous steps by the base case optimal
lation per year of 4% (20% over 5 thickness to obtain the optimal thickyears). Find the optimal thickness for ness = 0.16 1.75 1.56 1 1
mineral wool.
= 0.4368 in.
Rigorous method. First we use
Compared to the rigorous numerithe numerical method discussed cal method, the shortcut method
above. Assuming an average ther- gives an error around 5.8%. And
mal conductivity of 0.025 Btu/h.ft.F since insulation with 0.4369 in. thickand solving Equation (8) for r2 such ness is not available, we would need
that Equation (8) equals Equation (9) to purchase the next available size,
gives an optimal value for r2 of 1.65 which is 0.5 in the same result as
in., and the temperature T2 is found calculated numerically.
to be 125.7F. That means the optimal thickness is r2 r1 = 0.464 in. For Concluding remarks
these optimal values of r2 and T2, the The shortcut method presented here
heat loss, U, is equal to 95.3 Btu/h. has been shown to be much simpler
ft. A plot of Equation (12) shows that and faster that the rigorous numerical
the total cost of insulation plus the method for determining the optimal
cost of heat loss, yp, is minimized to insulation thickness. The method can
$2.63/ft at a thickness of 0.464 in. also be expanded to include other insulation materials and a wider range
(Figure 6).
n
Since we cannot buy insulating of pipe sizes.
Edited by Gerald Ondrey
material of 0.40 in.-thickness, we
would need to purchase the next
References
available size, which is 0.5 in.
Shortcut method. Next, we solve 1. Bird, R. B., Stewart, W. E. and & Lightfoot, E. N., Transport Phenomena, (2nd ed.), John Wiley and Sons, New
the same example problem, but
York, N.Y., 2006.
using the shortcut method.
2. Kern, D., Procces of Heat Transfer, McGrawHill, New
Step 1. Obtain the base case optiYork, N.Y., 2001.
mal thickness from Figure 3. For the 3. Turner, W. C. and Mallory, J. F. Handbook of Thermal
x-axis value use the given cost of enInsulation Design Economics for Pipes and Equipment,
1st ed. , Krieger Pub. Co., 1980.
ergy ($2 /million Btu) and intersect it
with the line that corresponds to the 4. Welty, J., and others, Fundamentas of Momentum, Heat
and Mass Transfer, (5th ed.), John Wiley and Sons, New
desired material, which in this case is
Allan Ricardo Osornio Maldonado (Tizoc No. 5, San Miguel

Xochimanga, Zip Code 52927,
Atizapan Zaragoza, Estado Mxico, Mxico; Phone: +52 1
5535745303; Email: alan_richard15@hotmail.com) is a ninthsemester chemical engineering
honor student at UNAM.
Alexander
lvarez
Holly
(Avenida Acequia 30-1, Colonia
Villa Coapa Zip Code 14390, Delegacin Tlalpan, D.F., Mxico;
Phone:
+5219982133296;
Email: alexanderalvarezholly@
gmail.com) is a ninth-semester
honor student of chemical engineering at UNAM. Currently doing
an internship at Petroleos Mexicanos Internacional.
Itzayana Montesinos Aguilar
(Conejos 107 Lomas de Lindavista
El Copal, Tlalnepantla de Baz, Edo.
Mex., Mxico; Phone: +52 1
5541867542; Email: montesinos.
itzayana@gmail.com) is a chemical engineering honor student
from UNAM. She is currently doing
her ninth semester in Spain as an
exchange student at Universitat
de Barcelona. Process design and consulting are found
among her interests.
Adalberto Fuentes Martnez
(Calzada de las Arcadas No. 59
Int. 17, Colinas del Sur, Alvaro
Obregn, DF, Mxico; Phone: +52
1 5532315778; Email: betofm8@
gmail.com) is a ninth-semester
honor student of chemical engineering at UNAM and works as an
intern at Petroleos Mexicanos Internacional. He has personal interest in the production of energy processes.
Mara Daniela Avalos Galvn
(Andador de los Esteros Mdulo
40 Depto 401, Gustavo A. Madero,
DF, Mxico; Phone: +52 1
5522983447; Mail: maddy.
ag38@gmail.com), is a ninth-semester chemical engineering
honor student at UNAM. She participated in the internship program
at the General Direction of Computing and Technologies of Information and Communication (DGTIC) UNAM and now shes part of the intership program at Agilent Technologies.
York, N.Y., 2007.
OCTOBER 2015
65
Using Laser Diffraction to Characterize
Heterogeneous Catalysts
The capabilities of laser diffraction systems go beyond particle-size analysis to also
predict a catalysts propensity to experience attrition
Alan Rawle
Malvern Instruments
eterogeneous
catalysts,
where the catalyst is in solid
form, enhance many of the
gas- and liquid-phase reactions that underpin common operations in the chemical processing
industries (CPI). Prime examples include Raney catalysts for the hydrogenation of liquid fats, fluid catalytic
cracking (FCC) catalysts for hydrocarbon processing and three-way
catalysts for the in-situ treatment
of car exhaust fumes. The extent to
which such catalysts enhance reaction rates is directly dependent on
the specific surface area they present to the reactants, which for particulate catalysts is a function of particle
size. Mass for mass, samples with a
finer particle-size distribution present
a higher surface area and promote
faster reactions.
In many instances, tailoring particle size is an important part of the
development and manufacture of
heterogeneous catalysts. While finer
particles may be advantageous from
the point of view of reaction potential, downsides include health and
safety issues, poor fluidization properties and a tendency to agglomerate, which inhibits the reaction. Optimizing particle-size distribution is
therefore essential.
This article examines the role of
both wet and dry laser-diffraction
particle-size measurement techniques, highlighting the useful information that can be generated within
this context. Strong correlations
between
Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
(BET) physisorption data, which are
widely used for catalyst characterization, and surface area values
derived from particle-size measurement strengthen the applicability of
66
FIGURE 1. By enabling the close control of dispersion conditions during measurement, a laser diffraction
system generates accurate particle-size data and also allows an assessment of the propensity of catalyst
particles to undergo attrition
laser diffraction in this area. However, the application of laser diffraction systems (Figure 1) extends
beyond size and surface area measurements. Assessments of the tendency of a material to break up or
attrite during fluidized-bed processing, for example, are also among the
potential applications.
Particle size in catalyst analysis

A catalyst is defined as a material that
can be used to alter the rate of a reCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
action without itself being changed.

In heterogeneous catalysis, liquid
or gas reactants come into contact
with the solid surface of the catalyst,
lowering the energy required for a reaction to take place and stimulating
increased rates of reaction. Crucial to
the success of many industrial processes, the production of effective
heterogeneous catalysts relies on
closely tailoring a catalysts physical
properties to meet the requirements
of specific reaction chemistry. Within
OCTOBER 2015
Volume density, %
20.0
technology has broader applications

for optimizing activity through the
understanding it provides of the propensity of particles to experience attrition under operational conditions.
15.0
10.0
5.0
Wet and dry dispersion

0.0
0.01
0.10
1.0
Catalyst A (wet, after ultrasound)
10.0
Size classes, m
100.0
Catalyst B (wet, before ultrasound)
1,000.0
10,000.0
Catalyst C (wet, after ultrasound)
FIGURE 2. Particle-size distributions for FCC catalyst samples A, B and C measured with wet dispersion
show sample B to have a much narrower particle-size distribution
this context, particle-size information

is recognized as critical to attaining
the desired performance.
The fact that a decrease in particle
size results in a directly proportional
increase in surface area is of great
importance in heterogeneous catalyst properties. It is for this reason
that the majority of these catalysts
exist in powder form, maximizing
the materials surface area. However, while reducing particle size is
an important strategy for increasing
catalyst reactivity, not every effect
will be beneficial.
Creating a catalyst with too fine
a particle size may lead to significant operational issues. Excessive
fines are a common cause of poor
fluidization behavior, and tend to increase the risk of contamination or
pollution issues, in both gaseous
and liquid-phase processes. Any
resultant catalyst loss also has economic consequences, since catalyst
materials often include expensive

metals and can carry significant unit
cost. In addition, fine particles may
be associated with uncontrolled agglomeration, effectively reducing the
materials surface area. Thus, catalyst production is often an exercise
in compromise, balancing the need
to maximize efficacy with the need
to reduce the risk associated with
overly fine particle size.
Specific surface area (SSA) is a critical measurement for defining catalyst activity and achieving an optimal
particle-size distribution. Traditionally,
this has been performed using BET
physisorption techniques. However,
catalyst specialists are increasingly
turning to particle-sizing techniques
for fast and efficient assessment.
To this end, laser-diffraction particle
sizing is finding widespread application for the characterization and development of catalyst powders. Beyond particle-size measurement, this
4.8
4.6
4.4
BET SSA, m2g1
4.2
4.0
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
R2 = 0.9509
3.0
0.065
0.070
0.075
0.080
Laser diffraction SSA, m2g1
0.085
0.090
FIGURE 3. A comparison of specific surface area (SSA) derived with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) data
and laser diffraction indicates linearity, confirming laser diffraction as a viable alternative to BET
OCTOBER 2015
Laser diffraction is an ensemble particle-sizing technique that delivers a

particle-size distribution for the entire
sample. Particles illuminated by a
laser beam scatter light over a range
of angles, with large particles generating high scattering intensity at narrow angles. Smaller particles result
in a lower-intensity signal at much
wider angles. It is therefore possible
to calculate the particle-size distribution of a sample from the scattered
light pattern through the application
of an appropriate model of light behavior, ideally the Mie theory [1]. For
catalyst applications, the particlesize data that are generated can be
used to calculate the SSA distribution for the product.
An important element of laser-diffraction particle-size measurement
is to ensure that the sample is dispersed appropriately for the measurement application. This requires
taking into consideration the degree
to which agglomerates are formed
within the sample and whether the
measurement data required are for
those agglomerates, or, as is more
usually the case, for the primary particles in their de-agglomerated state.
Applying appropriate dispersion
methods ensures that the data generated are truly representative of the
powder, within the given application.
Wet dispersion is one technique
used to disperse agglomerates
within a sample. It involves wetting
the powder with a suitable liquid to
lower the surface energy between
particles. Agitation or ultrasound
techniques are then applied to promote agglomerate separation. This
technique gently but effectively disperses a sample, and the results
provide a baseline for laser diffraction measurements.
The alternative is dry dispersion.
This method avoids the use of solvents and wetting agents, making
it inherently more environmentally
benign and also much faster. Here,
dispersion is achieved by entraining
particles in a compressed stream,
inducing de-agglomeration through
67
Volume density, %
15.0
TABLE 1. COMPARISON OF THE SAUTER

MEAN DIAMETER (D) AND SSA OF FCC
CATALYSTS TAKEN WITH WET-DISPERSION
LASER DIFFRACTION
10.0
5.0
0.0
0.10
Catalyst C (4-bars averaged)
1.0
10.0
100.0
Particle size, m

Catalyst C (0.5-bars averaged)
1,000.0
10,000.0
D [3, 2], m
SSA, m2/kg
40.9
54.4
74.8
33.2
38.5
57.7
catalytic activity or provide a method

for quality-control analysis.
FIGURE 4. Particle-size distribution data for FCC catalyst C measured using dry dispersion laser diffraction at a variety of pressures show that at 1 bar pressure, the particle size corroborates with data derived
from wet dispersion for the same powder, indicating complete dispersion
The results (Figure 2) show how

the samples, which all have a median
particle size between 60 and 80 m,
differ in terms of their particle-size
distributions. While catalyst A and C
are relatively similar, catalyst B has a
markedly narrower size range. Table
1 shows the SSA of the three FCC
catalysts tested, as determined from
the laser diffraction data.
These results indicate that the
SSA of catalysts A and C are similar, whereas catalyst B has a much
smaller SSA. The higher SSA for
samples A and C are attributed to the
higher levels of fine material present
within these products, which are absent from catalyst B.
Figure 3 shows a comparison between the laser diffraction SSA results
and analogous data produced using
BET techniques. The results show
excellent correlation with one another,
indicating that laser diffraction can be
used in place of BET to predict likely
Predicting attrition
Further investigation of the catalyst samples was carried out to
demonstrate the ability of the dry
dispersion engine of the laser diffraction instrument to quantify the
propensity of the catalysts to undergo
particle attrition.
Figure 4 shows the results of a
pressure titration for FCC catalyst
C. At low pressure, the results show
large agglomerates, meaning full
dispersion has not been achieved.
As the pressure is increased, there
is a clear decrease in particle size.
At 1 bar pressure, the results show
excellent corroboration with the wet
dispersion data, indicating complete
dispersion has been achieved. Above
this pressure, any decrease in particle size can therefore be attributed
to particle attrition.
An important parameter in particlesize measurement is Dv10, the size
below which 10% of the particle
population lies on the basis of volume. The variation of Dv10 with increasing dispersion pressure is most
60
Catalyst A
Catalyst B
Catalyst C
50
40
Dv10, m
particle-particle collision, particle-wall

collisions, or by agglomerate shearing during rapid particle acceleration
and deceleration.
As with wet dispersion, the target is to disperse the sample to
an application-relevant degree, but
no further. However, dry dispersion
has the potential to cause destructive particle breakup and attrition if
excessive pressure is applied to the
sample. This potential is recognized
in the recommendation to perform a
pressure-particle size titration, as
part of dry-method development,
to identify an operating region over
which particle size is constant and
closely comparable to results from
wet measurements [2].
Interestingly, this capability of the
dry-dispersion engine within a laser
diffraction analyzer to quantify the
level of particle breakup over a range
of pressures raises the possibility of
using a laser diffraction analyzer to
assess the risk of attrition and predict the life of a catalyst under operational conditions in a fluidized-bed
reactor, for instance. The development of precise dry powder-dispersion systems that offer sensitive
and repeatable dispersion control
over a range of pressures delivers
enhanced performance in this area,
thereby increasing the potential
value of laser diffraction systems for
catalyst producers.
Catalyst
30
Measuring specific surface area

The particle-size distributions of
three different FCC catalysts were
measured using wet-dispersion
laser diffraction on a commercially
available laser diffraction instrument. The dispersion conditions
for these samples were optimized
following
standard
wet-method
development strategies [3].
68
20
10
0
Pressure, bars
FIGURE 5. Dv10 versus pressure data for catalysts A, B and C show the attrition of particles at increasing
pressures
OCTOBER 2015
TABLE 2. ATTRITION INDEX (AI) VALUES FOR

FCC CATALYSTS CALCULATED FROM DRY
DISPERSION DATA
Catalyst
AI, m/bar
8.4
critical, as Dv10 is the most sensitive

marker of increases in fine particle
fraction caused by attrition. Figure 5
shows Dv10 as a function of pressure for each of the FCC catalysts.
These data have been used to calculate an attrition index (AI), which
compares the Dv10 measurement
at low pressure to that measured at
high pressure.
Table 2 shows the AI values calculated for each of the FCC catalysts.
These results confirm that A and C
exhibit similar attrition behavior, suggesting that they would be likely to
have a similar lifetime within a fluidized
bed. Catalyst B, on the other hand,
displays a more negative AI, suggesting that is more prone to attrition
and is likely to have a shorter lifetime
than A or C.
Final remarks
References
These results demonstrate that

while calculating specific surface
area, laser diffraction analyzers with
sufficiently sensitive dry-dispersion
engines also offer a valuable opportunity to quantify relative attrition
rate, providing useful information for
assessing the likely performance of a
catalyst within a fluidized bed.
Understanding particle size and
specific surface area is crucial to
optimizing catalyst activity and efficacy, a necessity that is increasingly
being supported by laser diffraction
technology. Additionally, the ability to
easily monitor the reduction of particle size caused by dry dispersion
under different conditions has led to
the application of this technique to
assess particle attrition to simulate
catalyst behavior under operating
conditions. In combination, these
two capabilities make modern laser
diffraction systems a valuable proposition for heterogeneous catalyst
characterization as the presented
data demonstrate.
Edited by Mary
Page Bailey
Chem
eng
1. Mie Theory: The First 100 Years, Malvern Instruments

Ltd., 2009, www.malvern.com/en/support/resourcecenter/whitepapers/wp100108mietheoryhundred.aspx.
2. ISO 13320:2009: Particle size analysis Laser diffraction methods, Oct. 2009.
3. Wet method development for laser diffraction measurements, Malvern Instruments Ltd., 2011, www.malvern.
com/en/support/resource-center/technical-notes/
tn130222wetliquiddispersionmethoddevelopment.aspx.
Author
Alan Rawle is applications manager at Malvern Instruments Inc.

(117 Flanders Rd., Westborough,
MA 01581; Phone: 508-768-6434;
Email: alan.rawle@malvern.com).
In this role, he is responsible for
customer support, including training, provision of application notes
and other materials, such as peerreviewed papers. He has more
than 30 years of experience in various aspects of particle-sizing technology, and has spent many years working on the ISO TC24/SC4 (Particle Characterization)
committee, which has been responsible for standards
dealing with laser diffraction and dynamic light scattering. He also led a small international group that developed the international standard for small-angle X-ray
scattering (ISO 17867:2015). Rawle is currently cochair of E 56.02, the characterization subcommittee of
the ASTM E 56 Committee on Nanotechnology. In 2014,
he was awarded an ASTM Distinguished Service plaque
for exemplary leadership. He is also a Fellow of The
Royal Society of Chemistry andAd
holds a11-9-2014.q
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Hawk Measurement
96 Glenn Street, Lawrence, MA 01843, USA www.hawkmeasure.com
TM
OCTOBER 2015
69
Optimizing Flare Operation
Through Proper Design
Flare problems are often caused by the seal systems that are designed to control air
ingress. Follow these troubleshooting guidelines to improve design and ensure safe,
reliable flare operation
Hyunjin Yoon
SK Energy
Air ingress
Air driven out
with purge gas
lares are used to dispose

of unwanted hydrocarbon
gases. One common definition of a flares primary function is to convert flammable, toxic
or corrosive vapors to less objectionable compounds (API 521, Paragraph 6.4.1) [1]. During operation, if
the flow of offgas to the flare stack
stops for some reason, there is a
possibility of air ingress into the flare
system. This can result in a potentially explosive mixture of air and hydrocarbons in the flare system, which
can be catastrophic. To reduce this
risk, many elevated flares are purged
continuously with a proper amount
of offgas in order to protect them
against the possibility of flame flashback and explosion that could result
from unwanted air ingress.
Velocity seal
Molecular seal
drain line
Thermalexpansion loop
Outer cylinder
Inner cylinder
H
Purge gas
FIGURE 1. Shown here is a diagram of a molecular

seal (left) and a velocity seal (right) installed in a
flare stack. The molecular seal drum uses several
concentric baffled cylinders to direct the exit gas
and prevent air ingress. By comparison, the velocity seal is a cone-shaped obstruction (orifice) that
is placed inside the flare tip, to prevent the infiltrating air from hugging the inner wall. Velocity
seals require a purge rate about 24 times higher
than that of a molecular seal
Seal systems
In most flare systems, either a molecular seal (also called a buoyancy
seal), or a velocity seal, is used at the
base of the flare tip, to ensure a minimum continuous flow of purge gas
(Figure 1). This helps to avoid air ingress to the flare, preventing the opportunity for a potentially explosive
mixture to develop in the system.
Molecular seal systems rely on the
difference in densities between the
purge gas and ambient air to prevent
the air from entering the flare system.
The most common seal is an inverted
can device that causes the gas that
normally flows in an upward direction to be directed through a 180deg turn at the exit flow. When this
happens, gases lighter than air will
tend to collect in the upper bend of
the apparatus, sealing off the stack
70
against any backflow of air. Meanwhile, heavier gases will tend to settle in the lower part of the bend, with
the same effect. Molecular seals normally require a purge rate of 0.003
m/s to be effective.
By comparison, velocity seals
present a reduced diameter (such
as an orifice), or a series of conical baffles, in the lower part of the
flare tip, to prevent the infiltration of
air. These purge-reduction devices
are easily installed inside of the flare
tip. The flow of purge gas (offgas)
coming through the cone or baffles
sweeps away the infiltrating air.
This type of seal typically requires
a purge rate of between 0.006 m/s
and 0.012 m/s.
With rising energy costs, the ability
FIGURE 2. If the molecular seal drain line is not

properly designed or maintained, air can enter the
flare stack, causing internal combustion. If the
drain line becomes frozen and does not allow the
offgas to pass through, a dangerous situation can
arise, leading to numerous problems in the flare
and associated chemical process unit operations.
As per API Standard 521 Annex D, Figure D.1, the
seal height (H) should be designed for a minimum
of 175% of the maximum operating pressure
to reduce the volume of purge gas

required is a high priority for many
operations as long as the safety
concerns of air ingress in the flare
system are not compromised. Taking this into account, it is likely that
molecular seals are preferred, as
they require a lower minimum required purge gas flow compared to
velocity seals.
In recent years, there have been
many advances in molecular seal
systems (in terms of both the molecular seal drum and the drain line; see
Figure 2), such as drastic reductions
in the purge gas requirements, and
greater reliability against severe atmospheric conditions. However, one
remaining drawback of using a mo-
OCTOBER 2015
0.05
Pressure, kg/cm2
0.04
0.03
Flow
restriction
0.02
Water buildup
Plugging due to
freezing
0.01
0
01/02
01/12
01/22
02/01
Time, month/date
02/11
02/21
03/03
FIGURE 3. The graph (above left) shows the pressure profile of a flare header (which remained fairly
static at first, but then rose suddenly). The figure (above right) shows the water buildup in the flare molecular seal. As the graph indicates, water was building up in the molecular seal drain line during the
month of January (the portion of the graph labeled 1). An abrupt increase in the flare header pressure
during the middle of February (graph segment 2) indicated the presence of plugging due to freezing. By
March, the pressure had returned to normal, once the ice had been cleared (graph segment 3)
lecular seal is the possibility of plugging in the bottom of the seal drum,
due to either icing of the drain line
or debris falling from the castable
refractory in the flare tip (or both).
During normal operation, particular
attention should be paid to preventing the blockage or icing of the seal
drain line because once plugging
occurs, it is too late to take proper
countermeasures.
The flare system is the last front
line of defense for most chemical process plants. When it is not
functioning properly, a malfunctioning flare system can cause the
shutdown of the entire facility. One
of the worst scenarios a petroleum
refinery or process engineer may
experience is a complete flare-system shutdown.
During the design process, it is
crucial to understand that it will be
very difficult to add equipment, or
modify and repair flare components,
once the system is in operation, because flares are very infrequently out
of service. And because they typically serve many process units, the
unscheduled shutdown of a flare
system for modification or repair will

likely impact all related units.
Pressure buildup in the flare header,
due to problems in the molecular seal
system, may lead to blockage of offgas, and this may result in the release
of unburned toxic gases, which can
lead to the loss of property as well as
the potential for injury to personnel.
The safety and effectiveness of the
flare system is dependent upon the
performance of the molecular seal
system, which must remain free from
any blockage along the offgas route,
and reliably prevent air ingress to the
flare system.
Many flares run for long periods
of time without being shut down, so
the operators tend to forget important steps in the sequence. From our
experience, it is interesting to recognize that most of the incidents result

from a lack of operator awareness or
from the fact that the facility is unattended, rather than the direct result
of complex technological matters.
Especially for the flare, it is very hard
to detect symptoms of problems
during operation, but sometimes it
is too late to recover once severe
problems occur.
Compared with primary design
aspects of the flares themselves,
such as the overall flaring efficiency,
proper operation of pilots, and ability
to meet emissions limits, the molecular systems that are used to prevent
air ingress often receive very little attention from operators, and thus
their inherent importance is often
overlooked. If problems associated
with molecular seal systems are not
detected in a timely fashion, they can
lead to total process unit shutdown.
Table 1 provides troubleshooting
recommendations to help operators
with early detection of problems in a
molecular seal system at the earliest
stage. For instance, by monitoring
both the amount and the color of
water at the bottom of the molecular
seal drain line, operators can detect
TABLE 1. MONITORING WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOLECULAR-SEAL DRAIN LINE

Water at the
bottom of
molecular seal
drain
Amount
Water (resulting from condensed steam) should be freely drained through

the drain line; even small amounts can create ice buildup and plug the
drain line. To verify whether the drain line is plugged or not, nitrogen can
be connected at the bottom of the drain line. If the line is clear, then the
nitrogen will reach the open end. If the line is plugged, then the nitrogen
will stay within the closed loop
Color
Black means soot is generated due to incomplete combustion at the molecular seal drum (indicating the presence of air in the system)
OCTOBER 2015
71
Piping inclined more than

45-deg from horizontal
6 mm
3,600-mm max.
Insulation supports
Insulation
12-mm smaller
than insulation
thickness
Outer diameter
of the pipe
Insulation ring
(6-mm-thick
steel plate)
75-mm min.
Metal jacketing
Insulation support
FIGURE 4. Shown here are recommended specifications for installing insulation to the molecular seal drain
line. On vertical or inclined lines (more than 45 deg from horizontal), an insulation support should be provided at the bottom and every 3.6 m, where straight runs exceeds 3.6 m
the earliest signs of critical failures

and take action to prevent the emergency shutdown of the entire plant.
Case history examples

To help reduce the risks of fatal or
unwanted shutdowns of the whole
plant, this article presents three
cases in which the molecular seal
system failed, and provides recommendations to increase the overall
integrity of the molecular seal system
design in order to increase reliability,
operability and the run length for the
flares. It is important to learn lessons
from prior failures that have been
thoroughly investigated. Each of the
following case history examples is
characterized by the failure mode in
the molecular seal system.
1. Freezing of the molecular seal
drain line. In this case, freezing of
the molecular drain line caused a
pressure increase on the flare header,
and it was beginning to approach
the design limit. All of the process
units that feed offgas to the flare had
to prepare for potential shutdown
(since none would be allowed to
operate without proper waste gas
disposal). When analyzing the pressure data on the header, it was found
that the pressure had been relatively
static for nearly a month and a half,
although a slight upward trend was
barely noticeable until it suddenly increased sharply (Figure 3).
The abrupt spike shows that there
was no gradual increase; rather, the
drain line was plugged. If the pressure had been rising slowly and
72
continuously then steps could have

been taken to shut down all related
process units feeding the flare.
We had two options one was to
prepare an unscheduled plant shutdown, and the other was to clear the
pressure buildup problem over the
course of one week while the system
was still operating. However, over
the course of the week, the pressure
could have exceeded the design
limit. Unfortunately, many operators
typically have no experience dealing with drain-line plugging resulting
from icing.
The molecular seal drain is provided to drain water that is created
during operation by steam condensation. Drain line plugging becomes
apparent when the drain valve is
open and no water flows at all. When
operators fully understand the proper
function of the molecular seal system, they will respond immediately
to a pressure buildup in the header
by checking the drain water to discover or rule out a blockage from ice
formation. But in this case, no one at
the facility had a clear understanding
about the plugging of the molecular
seal drain line, once the header pressure began increasing.
During the cold winter season,
condensation will occur at both the
center steam-injecion point and the
upper steam-injection point at the
flare tip. The center steam helps lift
the flame and the upper steam enables smokeless flaring.
Small parts of the center steam will
condense when the shell of the flare
FIGURE 5. The castable refractory shown here is

partially heat damaged and has become loose
at the inside of the flare tip (top). The excessive
build-up of refractory debris and unburned coke
amounted to about half of the height of the
24-in.-dia. manhole (bottom)
tip is cool enough and the atmospheric temperature falls. The condensate drips down along the inside
shell of the flare tip and accumulates
at the bottom of the molecular seal
drum. If there is no proper drainage,
then this condensed water can build
up, freeze and eventually block the
offgas route.
Upon making a close inspection
all along the drain line through the
stack height, there was one area
(around a 1-m span out along the
drain line) where the insulation had
slipped away near the bottom of the
thermal-expansion loop. The steam
tracing was still operating, but because the insulation had slipped on
a portion of it, the bare piping was
still prone to icing during cold winter days (freezing temperatures of
10oC were common).
In order to melt the ice buildup, the
low-pressure steam was serviced
through the drain line bottom connection. However, we had to spend
more than two days clearing the
plugged piping while the flare was
still operating. Due to the limited access near the flare tip during operation, the damaged insulation could
not be repaired during this effort, so
we had to rely on intermittent service of steam to periodically remove
the ice buildup throughout the win-
OCTOBER 2015
45-deg elbow
(typically)
90-deg elbow
(typically)
Flexible hose
FIGURE 6. The new design of the drain cap with

legs (based on bird-cage wire mesh) prevents direct plugging due to refractory or unburned
coke debris
ter season. We had to wait to repair

the insulation during a scheduled
turnaround, and had to spend more
than $0.8 million for scaffolding work
all along the 120-m stack height to
access the right point.
Considering the importance of the
molecular seal drain line, it is important to prepare and maintain vertical
piping insulation carefully. Figure 4
shows recommended specifications
for proper insulation installation.
2. Plugging of molecular seal
drum drain-inlet nozzle. During
the turnaround, we found excessive
buildup of castable refractory debris
and soot at the bottom of the molecular seal drum (Figure 5). Fortunately,
the buildup only created a partial
blockage where a chunk of debris
was about half as tall as the height
of the waste gas route. If the turnaround had been started at some
time later than the scheduled one,
we could have had a severe problem
in terms of pressure buildup at the
flare header.
A close inspection of the debris
showed that the majority was fragmented refractory pieces (an estimated 80%), and soot, iron, FeS and
other materials.
The castable refractory material used during the construction of
flare tips must be resistant to high
temperature and thermal shock.
Flare tips normally experience rapid
changes in temperature. Flare tips
with internal refractory should also
be well anchored, such as the sturdy,
stainless steel hexa-mesh type. Also,
it is recommended that the refractory castable material should include
stainless steel needles, to help hold
it in place.
Even when these requirements
(a)
90-deg elbow
(b)
45-deg elbow
(c)
Spring support with flexible hose
FIGURE 7. To reduce the likelihood of ice and debris formation, any thermal-expansion loop that has a 90deg elbow, such as that shown in (a), should be modified into either a 45-deg elbow type (b), or a newer
design that uses a straight line with spring support at the top and flexible hose at the bottom of the drain
line (c). The 90-deg loop has additional disadvantages, in terms of potential sagging at the horizontal piping, which results in plugging of the pipe
are met, it is crucial to understand

the consequences of a refractory
failure, which will cause refractory
debris to collect at the bottom of
the molecular seal drum, blocking
passageways.
Whenever the refractory particles
or debris fall inside the molecular
seal drum, it increases the risk of
plugging of the seal drain and may
obstruct the flow of the offgas.
To prevent the plugging of molecular seal drain lines by falling castable
refractory, a plugging-protection device, such as a cap with legs, should
be installed at the top of the drain
hole (Figure 6). Also, during operation, the drain line should be routinely checked for plugging. One
way to do this is to attach a temporary nitrogen or low-pressure steam
hose to the drain line to make sure
the drain line is free from refractory
debris plugging.
Many newer flare designs no longer use castable refractory. However, when the refractory-lined flare
tip is inevitable (for instance, in older
flare designs), then the size of the
drain line should be increased by
4 in. or more, to reduce the risk of
plugging and provide easier access
for cleaning.
3. Cracks at the weld joint of the
molecular seal drain line. Upon
making a turnaround inspection of
the flare tip, we discovered significant soot buildup inside of the flare
tip. Most of the buildup was soft soot
but some hard coke buildup was
also strongly adhered to the inside of
OCTOBER 2015
the flare tip shell. We presume that

the soot comes from internal incomplete burning, while the hard coke is
produced by the high-temperature
internal burning. In order to find the
root cause for this internal burning,
operating data for the purge gas rate
and the center steam rate were evaluated. However, there were no noticeable discrepancies in the operating data compared with the design
condition they were all within the
design specifications
We also focused on the possibility of air ingress, which makes the
flare gas burn incompletely inside
the flare tip. If there were corrosion
holes at the bottom of the molecular
seal drum due to condensing toxic
liquids, or if there were small openings at the molecular seal drain line,
then atmospheric air would continuously enter the flare system during
operation. With this assumption in
mind, we finally discovered a relatively large gap (5-mm width with a
length of more than 2/3 of the 3-in.
pipe circumferential welds) between
the weld joint of 3-in. molecular-seal
drain nozzle and the molecular-seal
drum bottom plate.
Note that the 3-in. drain line at
the bottom plate is a relatively small
nozzle connection, so any excessive external force on the nozzle
could lead to damage to the nozzle
or even damage to the molecular
seal drum itself. To avoid this, the
allowable movement and loads
at the nozzle should be designed
to be zero (or as close to zero as
73
possible; most of the movement

and loads will be absorbed at the
thermal-expansion loop). However,
the gap was likely initiated due to
some excessive external force (for
instance, an external bending moment) from the molecular seal drain
line. A close review of the maintenance history revealed that there
had been a modification of the drain
line the original thermal-expansion loop was removed because of
frequent plugging. Taking everything
into account, we concluded that the
root cause of the crack was excessive stress due to the removal of the
thermal-expansion loops.
Since this gap had allowed for
continuous air ingress to the molecular seal drum, that helped to
explain the longterm internal burning that had led to coke buildup during operation. Because there had
been frequent plugging due to refractory debris and ice buildup, a
decision was made to remove the
90-deg elbow-type thermal-expansion loop, which is the critical point
FIGURE 8. The ability to eliminate air ingress

through proper engineering design and ongoing
maintenance and troubleshooting is an important
factor in optimizing the reliability and safety of
flare systems
of debris collection and also critical

for water collection.
A new thermal-expansion loop
must be provided. To help reduce
the risk of plugging or icing, and
any such debris must be cleared as
soon as it is detected, regardless
of the complicated design requirements. If the drain line is straight
all along the flare stack, then it can
be easy for maintenance personnel
to clean the pipe, even if the line
is plugged or frozen. But we must
consider the thermal-expansion of
the drain line, which is steam-traced
and insulated.
It is generally agreed today that, to
improve the reliability of a flare system, special considerations are required, in addition to the installation
of an insulation ring with a sloped
thermal-expansion loop (rather than
a potentially troublesome 90-deg
elbow) on the molecular-seal drain
line. One way to solve this problem
is to design the thermal-expansion
loop with a 45-deg elbow instead of
90-deg elbow, to reduce the oppor-
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arrangement that allows waste salts to be discharged while
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Discharge wastes challenge standard butterfly, slide gate and
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74
OCTOBER 2015
tunity for any debris or water collection at the low point (Figure 7).
Another way to reduce the piping stress is to consider the use of a
spring hanger (which helps to reduce
or eliminate the external force from
the piping) near the drain nozzle. The
straight drain line is resisted by the
spring hanger at the top of the drain
nozzle of the molecular seal drum,
and the drain line at the bottom is
connected with flexible hose, which
can absorb some thermal expansion
and also can make it easier to carry
out steam blowing or cleaning.
Molecular seal drums are commonly made of low-carbon steel,
therefore, the bottom and wall are
subjected to corrosion due to the
formation of condensate with corrosion particles from the off-gas. In
this regard, the molecular seal drum
often requires preventive repairs,
as well as periodic checks of wall
thickness, and removal of condensate and refractory debris from
the bottom.
In order to improve the strength
of the molecular seal drum, an ellipsoidal-type bottom head can be

considered instead of the conventional flat-plate type. This design
provides improved strength of the
weld joint, as well as less plugging
due to the configuration of the ellipsoidal head.
Although most flares (Figure 8) actually operate at a pressure less than
15 psig, it is not usually necessary to
consider the molecular seal drum as
a pressure vessel. Typically for this
design, the rules of the ASME Boiler
and Pressure Vessel code [5] can be
applied, and can be used as means
to ensure fabrication quality.
In order to improve operating
safety, protect personnel and the
environment, and avoid costly shutdowns, it is critical to design, operate
and maintain molecular seal systems
properly. The failure cases discussed
here provide useful insight for improving the design in order to reduce
losses and prevent shutdowns and
flare outages.
Edited by Suzanne Shelley
NEW
References
1. American Petroleum Institute, Guide for Pressure-relieving
and Depressing Systems, API Recommended Practice
521, 6th Ed., January 2014.
2. American Petroleum Institute, API Standard 537, Flare
Details for General Refinery and Petrochemical Service,
API Standard 537, Draft 3rd Ed., Sept. 2001.
3. John Zink Co., "The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion
Handbook," Vol.3, Applications, Chapter 11: Flares, CRC
Press LLC, 2001.
4. Shore, David, Making the flare safe, J. Loss. Prev.Process
Ind., Vol. 9, No. 6, pp. 363381, 1996.
5. ASME, ASME International Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code, Sec. VIII, Div. 1, Pressure Vessels, 2015 Ed.
Author
Hyunjin Yoon is a master engineer of fired equipment at SK Energy (2, Sinyeocheon-ro, Nam-gu,
Ulsan 680-130, South Korea;
Email: hj.yoon@sk.com; Phone:
+82-10-3570-0106). He received
an M.S. degree in material science and engineering from Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.),
and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Hanyang University in South Korea. Yoon
has more than 27 years of petrochemical industry experience. He has broad experience in fired-equipment
design, troubleshooting and maintenance. He is credited with major roles and involvement in the development of specifications and various maintenance procedures for stationary equipment.
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Sturtevant, Inc.
Tuthill Vacuum and Blower Systems
Wyssmont Co.
Detect vacuum leaks with ease

The latest offering from Pfeiffer Vacuum is at home both in
the laboratory and on the production line
feiffer Vacuum has introduced the

ASM 340, a high-performance and durable vacuum leak detector for reliable quality assurance. Its wide scope of application
ranges from R&D to serial production and
maintenance tasks. The instrument is available in conventional and oil-free versions.
Both qualitative localization of leaks and
quantitative integral or local inspection are
possible with the ASM 340 leak detector.
The device features an efficient vacuum system, guaranteeing that it is ready for operation very quickly, and a fast response time
due to the high helium pumping speed.
These features lead to a short cycle time
and high throughput. The ASM 340 is the
only leak detector in its class on the market
that is capable of locating leaks starting at
100 hPa, the company says.
A large selection of interfaces enables
easy integration into production lines. The
removable manual control element and
the optional sniffer probe with LEDs make
the work easier. Measured data can be recorded on an SD card. Wireless remote con-
78
trol enables operation from a distance of

up to 100 m. Thanks to the robust design
and minimal maintenance required, service
costs are also reduced.
Extensive accessories, including those
for the companys ASM and HLT series of
leak detectors, allow the ASM 340 to be
adapted to specific applications. A special
transport cart also enables mobile use.
www.pfeiffer-vacuum.com
Booth 528 at the Chem Show
Versatile: the ASM 340 leak detector
Rubber chemicals, shown here, are

an example of subcooling melts
hence a uniform drop size across the belt.
The circumferential speed of the Rotoform
is synchronized with the speed of the belt,
so drops are deposited without deformation. Heat released during solidification and
cooling is transferred by the stainless steel
belt to cooling water sprayed underneath.
This water is collected in tanks and returned
to the water-chilling system; at no stage
does it come into contact with the product.
The resulting free-flowing, uniform pastilles are easy to handle, bag and transport,
with low dust levels. Typical applications
for the Sandvik supercooling process are
agrochemicals, photochemicals, plastic additives, rubber chemicals, stabilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and flame retardants.
www.processsystems.sandvik.com
OCTOBER 2015
Engineered solutions for chemical processing

Tuthill Vacuum & Blower Systems has the right stuff when it comes to
positive displacement blowers and vacuum pumps
hemical processing applications can demand a multitude of engineering specs.

When facilities need to think outside of the
box, they can rely on 100 years of engineering expertise from Tuthill Vacuum & Blower
Systems. Tuthill not only manufacturers
some of the most rugged and reliable positive displacement blowers and mechanical
vacuum pumps, but it also manufactures
solutions. When custom systems are re-
An air ejector /
KLRC liquid ring vacuum
pump system from Tuthill
quired, Tuthill has a Systems Engineering

Group ready to assist. The team will manage a customers project from start to finish,
with all design and manufacturing completed in Springfield, Mo., USA.
While blower technology may have objective standards and blower packages can
be more basic in design, vacuum can be
more difficult to understand and requires
a more customized approach to design.
Tuthill serves a diverse base of customers
with custom solutions, and certainly plenty
of chemical processing facilities are included. Because of the variety of processes,
Tuthills Systems Engineering Group adapts
standard product to meet customer needs.
Custom engineered system solutions to
12,000 CFM are available with a combination of vacuum boosters/air ejectors and
roughing pumps for any vacuum application
with custom testing available. Tuthill can
also design engineered blower packages
with flow ranges to 9000 CFM with testing,
certification and non-destructive examination of materials available.
Custom liquid ring vacuum pump system

Tuthill Vacuum & Blower Systems, manufacturer of KINNEY vacuum pumps and M-D
Pneumatics blowers and vacuum boosters,
is a leader in the design and manufacture
of high-performance, reliable positive displacement blowers, mechanical vacuum
pumps, vacuum boosters and engineered
systems ready to install and run. Since
1969, Tuthill Vacuum & Blower Systems has
been manufacturing at its main facility located in Springfield, Missouri.
tuthillvacuumblower.com
New multi-shaft mixer for viscous applications

Ross introduces a new VersaMix multi-agitator system featuring a two-wing anchor, a gate
agitator and a high-speed disperser
Some popular applications of the Ross

VersaMix include sauces and syrups, beverages, liquid supplements, creams and
lotions, gels, toothpaste, pharmaceutical
suspensions, ointments, specialty coatings,
printing inks, hot-melt adhesives, formulated epoxies, urethanes, rubber solutions,
plastisols, caulking compounds, greases
and lubricants, electronic pastes, and cleaning solutions.
www.mixers.com
deal for processing viscous pastes and

slurries, the new VersaMix from Charles
Ross & Son Company delivers a unique combination of low, intermediate and high shear
rates. Each agitator is independently driven,
imparting a wide range of mixing intensities
and flow patterns as the product changes
rheologically throughout the batching cycle.
VersaMix Multi-Shaft Mixers are offered
from 1-gal laboratory models to 4,000-gal
production models. Designed for gentle but
thorough blending, the low-speed anchor
agitator may be supplied with helical flights
for improved top-to-bottom mixing. Hinged
Teflon scrapers arranged in a staggered pattern on the anchor further optimize material
and heat transfer. Like the anchor, the gate
agitator also promotes bulk flow through
horizontal cross bars designed to move material in the forward direction and vertical
bars which induce backward flow. The highspeed shaft can include two or more adjustable disperser blade attachments to ensure
rapid powder wet-out and accommodate
varying batch sizes.
Pictured is a Model VMC-1000 with a

working capacity of 1,000 gal. A hydraulic
lift raises/lowers the agitator assembly
into the vessel. The mixer also rotates 90
degrees and can be raised/lowered from
that position for cleaning and servicing.
This customizable product line is built
for atmospheric or vacuum/pressure
operation, with options for a jacketed
vessel, powder loading chute, sight ports,
automated discharge valves, tank lights,
thermoprobes, temperature control unit,
vacuum pump, discharge system, PLC
recipe controls and many other features.
OCTOBER 2015
79
Thermal fluid testing and

analysis will pay off
A choice of solutions for

pressure regulation
Stop issues from becoming problems, with

Eastmans Total Lifecycle Care program
Cashco has launched three new devices

for the control of gas pressure
herminol heat transfer fluids are commonly used in offshore and

onshore oil and gas processing, fractionation, refining, transportation, and recycling operations. Therminol 55, Therminol 59,
Therminol 62, Therminol 66 and Therminol VP1 have successfully
demonstrated low-cost, reliable, and safe performance in these applications for five decades.
When Eastman Therminol heat transfer fluids are used within
suggested temperature limits in a well-designed and well-maintained system, they should provide years of excellent service.
Thermal fluid in a heat transfer/coolant system can operate under
demanding conditions. The fluid can experience degradation that
results from thermal and possibly oxidative stresses. Frequent fluid
testing and analysis can:
extend fluid performance life;
help protect equipment, saving maintenance costs;
help avoid unplanned downtime;
promote safety/fire prevention; and
conform to insurance and fire safety recommendations that may
impact insurance premiums.
Regular sampling, testing, and analysis of thermal fluid will also
satisfy recommended practices published by insurance underwriters and fire prevention associations:
NFPA 87, Recommended Practice for Fluid Heaters
Global Asset Protection Services, GAP.7.1.5
FM Global Datasheet 799 on Heat Transfer by Organic and
Synthetic Fluids: 2.5.4.1 Test samples of the heat transfer fluid
for impurities and/or degradation at least yearly.
Eastman provides heat transfer fluid testing and analysis to help
detect fluid contamination, thermal degradation, moisture, and
other issues that can help avoid corrosion, heat transfer decreases,
start-up issues, blockages, fouling, freezing, pump cavitation, fire,
and other performance issues.
Eastman provides complimentary Therminol fluid sample collection kits. Each kit includes a collection bottle, instructions on safe
sampling, and shipping documents to return the sample to one of
Eastmans in-house ISO-certified laboratories on four continents.
There, expert lab technicians analyze each sample for key quality
indicators, and send back a detailed report with suggestions for
corrective action, if needed. The Eastman technical team will also
answer any questions that may arise.
www.therminol.com
80
he new ULR-1 (Un-Loading

Regulator) valve from Cashco is
more than an enhanced product. It also
brings clarification and new information,
says Clint Rogers, General Manager
of Cashcos Valve Division.
The ULR-1 was originally
marketed as the U1 by Kaye
MacDonald, which Cashco bought
in 1999. Unfortunately, the only
documentation for the U1 and
similar products was the original
schematics, which showed how
the tubing and fittings were to be installed, Rogers says.
Cashco ULR-1
Previously, a customer would have had
to locate the technical bulletin, work their way through its product
coder and then a separate product coder for the correct bill of materials for the hookup, Rogers explains. Not any more. With these
new products, all of the information is in the technical bulletin and
the operating manual.
As Rogers explains, the ULR-1 is a DA4 regulator with a Cashco
CA1 back-pressure valve mounted onto it. Using the inlet pressure
from the valve, the CA1 is set to control the outlet pressure of the
main valve. Because the outlet of the CA1 constantly exhausts into
the atmosphere, the media through the valve must be environmentally safe gas such as oxygen or nitrogen.
For even more choice in pressure regulation, Cashco has also introduced the SLR-1 and SLR-2 Self-Loading Regulators. The SLR-1
is a high-performance, pressure-loaded, pressure-reducing regulator with a self-contained regulator mounted onto it. Inlet pressure
from the main valve is diverted to the pilot, which, in turn, reduces
the loading pressure to the cover dome in order to maintain the set
point of the main valve. The pressure inside the dome is static, so
gas is only released to atmosphere when the outlet pressure setting
is reduced or the system is shut down.
Cashco SLR-1 (left) and SLR-2 (right)

The new SLR-2 self-loading regulator is similar to the SLR-1,
but its loading valve is not self-relieving. Instead, the cover dome
bleeds through a filter and check valve back into the outlet of the
main valve. This feature allows the SLR-2 to be marketed for hydrogen gas, natural gas and sour gas (NACE) applications.
www.cashco.com
OCTOBER 2015
Entire management team API 936-certified

Diamond Refractory Services differentiates itself through certification, quality, and
expertise, and is known especially for its rapid-response service
or Houston-based Diamond Refractory

Services, one measure of the companys
success is the percentage of business that
engages the organization on multiple projects. For the last 15 years, Diamond has
enjoyed a customer retention rate of 85%,
showing how seriously it takes client needs.
Diamond is known for providing a critical service to the petrochemical industry:
rapid deployment in response to emergency
refinery shutdowns. Some of the biggest
names in refining and processing regularly
rely on Diamond to provide repair, revamp,
and construction services for FCCUs, sulfur
units, acids plants, furnaces, and heaters.
Within a highly competitive industry,
Diamond has risen to the top by boasting a
safety record that includes zero recordable
injuries for three consecutive years.
Comprising refractory specialists, alloy
welders, nozzlemen, safety professionals,
skilled laborers, forklift drivers, and other
dedicated employees, Diamond vaunts
an entire management team that is API
936-certified.
Since 1989, APIs Individual Certification

Programs have provided the petroleum
and petrochemical industries with an independent and unbiased way to evaluate the
knowledge and experience of technical and
inspection personnel.
Earning API 936 certification has significantly bolstered Diamonds service offering.
The certification virtually guarantees they
will provide educated, specialized management to each site, and that they have established a minimum standard of knowledge
and skill for their personnel. Similarly, being
certified means Diamond provides a higher
level of management control over quality
inspection practices, while simultaneously
maintaining a high level of safety and performance, and reducing the potential for
downtime due to equipment failure.
Also qualified for rapid arc welding,
Diamonds team is well versed in this fast,
reliable, and accurate method of welding refractory anchors.
Diamonds team of refractory specialists
have completed 98 FCCU turnarounds to
A Diamond Refractory specialist works on

the flue gas inlet of an FCCU
date, and have accumulated an astounding
1.68 million labor hours worked. With over
200 years of combined refractory experience, Diamond Refractorys management
team is uniquely positioned to lead the
company and tackle the industrys most difficult refractory challenges.
www.emcorgroup.com
Turn your phone into a portable water monitor

Combining portability, power and ease of use, pen-type measuring instruments from
Myron L Company connect wirelessly to Apple devices
yron L Company has released three

UltraPen PTBTx Bluetooth-enabled
Pocket Testers for use with Apple iOS 7
and iOS 8 mobile devices. These instruments are accurate, fast and simple to use
in diverse water quality applications, the
firm says. Features include automatic temperature compensation; highly stable microprocessor-based circuitry; user-intuitive
design; and rugged, waterproof housing.
The PTBT1 measures conductivity, total
dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature.
Users may select from three solution types
that model the characteristics of the most
common types of water. The PTBT2 measures pH and temperature with 1-, 2-, and
3-point calibration options. The PTBT3 instrument measures ORP and temperature.
The PTBTx Pocket Testers replace the
standard LCD display typical of most pentype meters with large, easy-to-read characters via a free app that takes full advantage
of the Apple iOS graphical user interface
(GUI). Communication with the Apple device
is via low-energy Bluetooth (BLE). Wireless
iOS devices provide large, clear displays

for PTBTx portable water monitors
operation makes it easy to move quickly
from sample to sample, and allows the mobile device to be held safely away from the
liquid samples being measured.
Each PTBTx can be given a unique userprogrammable name, making it easily iden-
OCTOBER 2015
tifiable no matter what mobile device it is

used with. Locations can be programmed
into the app, either selected automatically
via the Apple devices built-in GPS, or set
manually for sampling sites that are too
close together to be reliably distinguished
via GPS.
Each measurement can be saved to the
mobile devices memory. Saved records include measurement data, sensor settings,
temperature, location, and the name of the
PTBTx device used.
Records can be exported via the mobile
devices e-mail function in various file formats: CSV, MS Excel, or Myron L Companys
proprietary .mlc encrypted format.
Stored measurements are easily sorted,
filtered, e-mailed, or deleted without affecting other records stored in the devices
memory.
The PTBTx combine accurate measurement capabilities with the up-to-date GUI
and computing power of a mobile device to
provide a powerful tool for both field and
laboratory applications. www.myronl.com
81
Process simulation gets debottlenecked

Chemstations releases CHEMCAD Version 7.0, an extension of chemical engineers
thought processes
ts 2015, so why would an engineer

choose to make calculations on the back
of an envelope or in a spreadsheet when
they have the power of simulation software
on their desktop? The answer often is that
the overhead of setting up simple problems in software is too great.
If users dont use the software for
every applicable chemical engineering
challenge, we know its become an underutilized asset, and there is an inefficiency
in the overall workflow of an organization,
says Steve Brown, Chief Operating Officer at
Chemstations. Engineers should not feel
there is a barrier to using rigorous calculation tools, regardless of the size of problem
being solved, and yet we see it every day.
For over 25 years, Chemstations has
been meticulous in collecting and refining
user feedback regarding process simulation software usage. Users have given direct
commentary about likes and dislikes;
Chemstations staff has conducted interviews to learn about users workflow; and
Chemstations engineers have built tens of
thousands of flowsheets to determine best

practices. The result is CHEMCAD version
7.0, which represents the next step in the
evolution of graphical user interface design.
Its ultimate goal is to fit seamlessly into the
chemical engineering computing environment and workflow.
Users have often stated that there is a
significant difference between solving engineering problems and being an expert in
building flowsheets in simulation software,
and they view maintaining proficiency in
their software tools as an expensive requirement. CHEMCAD has always had a
reputation for intuitiveness, and version 7.0
continues this tradition.
We set out to break that barrier to
using simulation software for any problem
size and for any stage of process work. Our
users have had this incredibly powerful
tool at their disposal, and now its easier
than ever to apply whenever an engineering question or challenge comes up, says
Aaron Herrick, Manager of Development at
Chemstations. There is a direct analogy to
CHEMCAD has always had a

reputation for intuitiveness
the way our users work when they improve
their chemical processes. From making
commonly used functions more obvious to
reducing the number of mouse-clicks, version 7.0 was a ground-up rethink of the inwww.chemstations.com
terface.
Turnkey systems for efficient solidification

Pastillation specialist SBS and steel belt expert Berndorf Band work together to provide
dust-free handling of wide range of products
BS Steel Belt Systems Srl is an Italian

company, founded in 1984, which
produces steel belt machinery and turnkey plants for a wide range of industries:
chemical, petrochemical, food, rubber and
Powder Coatings.
SBS is a partner of the multinational
Berndorf Band Group, whose headquar-
Leaders in pastillation for sulfur and other

products: SBS and Berndorf Band
82
ters are in Austria. SBS itself is located in

Venegono lnferiore (Varese), a small town
close to Milans Malpensa airport.
SBS Steel Belt Systems Srl and its partner SBS Steel Belt Systems lnc. (USA) have
pioneered the development of pastillating
units for a wide range of products.
ln recent years SBS Group has moved
into sulfur solidification technology, providing several oil refineries and gas fields with
turnkey solutions complete with:
liquid sulfur pumps and piping;
water cooling systems;
sulfur solidification units equipped with
continuous Berndorf steel belts;
solid sulfur belt collectors and silos;
bagging equipment and truck loaders.
The SBS pastillation head, known as
ACCUDROP, has recently been upgraded
through the use of a very effective rotating
outer shell. With its high pipe wall thickness
and innovative drilling pattern, ACCUDROP
now has the ability to produce pastilles with
a diameter of around 4 mm, better spherical
shape, and higher mechanical strength.
These characteristics help to reduce a

well-known problem in the pastillation industry: dust. Caused by abrasion during
handing (for instance in packing, unpacking, loading, and unloading), dust formation
is influenced by the properties of the product. Small, smooth and strong pastilles produce only a negligible amount of dust, thus
resulting in an eco-friendly product.
The combination of an ACCUDROP pastillation head and a Berndorf steel belt
provides an efficient and secure process.
Excellent flatness of the belt and regular
service from both SBS Steel Belt Systems
Group and Berndorf Band ensure long operating life and lower maintenance costs.
ln recent years SBS Group has collaborated with some of the largest engineering and construction companies to supply
refineries in southern Italy, Spain, Serbia,
Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Jordan and many other countries all
over the world.
www.berndorf-band.at
www.steelbeltsystems.com
Booth 511 at the Chem Show
OCTOBER 2015
A breakthrough in antioxidant protection for hot oil

Heat-transfer specialist Paratherm has launched a new additive that it says rejuvenates
oxidized hot oil by halting the formation of damaging sludge
sually, a new product from Paratherm is a

heat transfer fluid, or sometimes a liquid for
cleaning out deposits of sludge and carbon that
form inside the system when the fluid deteriorates. The companys latest product for hot oil
systems doesnt fit either of those categories,
however. Paratherm AP (Antioxidant Protection)
is instead designed to be added to operating hotoil systems to extend the oils useful life.
Jim Oetinger
Acids are the cause of the most common hotoil system problem: sludge says Jim Oetinger, technical director
for Paratherm (photo, above). When expansion tanks are installed
and operated properly, the oil stays cool and acid formation is very
slow. However some expansion tanks arent installed properly.
Sometimes the expansion line is insulated or is less than 4 ft. long.
Warm-up valves are left open or sunlight hits a tank that is painted
a dark color. These can cause the tank to run hot enough to form
acids when the oil reacts with oxygen. And once the acid number
reaches 0.30.4, carbon starts to form.
Incorporating a sacrificial antioxidant, Paratherm AP prevents
the acids from converting to sludge. Paratherm AP is not a permanent cure sacrificial additives become depleted over time and
eventually the protection stops. So antioxidants dont eliminate
the need for preventive maintenance, they just reduce or delay the
need for oil change-out.
In accelerated oxidation testing, 10% Paratherm AP added to used

thermal oil stops sludge generation in its tracks.
Periodic testing is the only truly accurate way to tell whether the
additive is still present. In 20+ years of analyzing samples and advising customers Ive seen more problems from oxidation than from
overheating or any other single issue, says Oetinger.
Before this product came on the market, the only alternative to
an elevated acid number was to change out the fluid, entirely or in
part. But Paratherm recognizes that change-out isnt always convenient, or even possible, in certain processing situations. In particular, seasonal operations like asphalt production have no time for
downtime when the paving push is on.
Paratherm AP is now available in 55-gal. drums. For smaller syswww.paratherm.com
tems, 5-gal. pails may also be introduced.
Total solution for emissions Dryer simplifies scale-up

Scrubber packages from Bionomic
Industries are flexible yet cost-effective
A new lab-size dryer from Wyssmont Co.

eases the design of full-scale plant
ionomic Industries, Inc., a

leading manufacturer of air
pollution abatement, product
and heat recovery technologies,
has launched its new ScrubPac
custom skid-mounted scrubber.
According to the company,
ScrubPac is the only packaged system available that is
engineered to meet the exact
demands of each customers
application, yet still cost-effective. Recirculation pumps,
piping and valve networks, exchangers, instrumentation, controls, and other essential items
are all included.
Systems are available for batch, continuous, semi-automatic
and fully-automatic operation, along with pretreatment equipment,
a choice of instrumentation and control options, special spill containment skids, and modularized assemblies for large systems in
hard-to-fit spaces. Factory-assembled and tested, the systems require only process and utility connections. They are available for
gas flows from 100 acfm through 150,000 acfm.
www.bionomicind.com
yssmont Co. is exhibiting its test model H-10

TURBO-DRYER at the 2015
PBE Southeast Powder Show,
Atlanta, Ga., October 68. Test
results from this unit are directly scalable to larger capacities.
The dryer is designed for easy
cleaning between products and
is used to dry water-wet or solvent-wet materials with solvent
recovery and without the need
for vacuum.
The benefits of the full-size
TURBO-DRYER models include
the ability to dry to extremely
low moisture, gentle handling
for fragile materials with negligible particle breakage and very low
dust carryover, automatic operation, unparalleled product uniformity, and low horsepower and heat requirements.
The TURBO-DRYER principle is based on a stack of slowly rotating circular trays; wet material enters at the top and falls to the tray
below after one revolution. Diameters of production-scale dryers
range up to 35 ft.
www.wyssmont.com
Booth 502 at the 2015 Southeast Powder Show
OCTOBER 2015
83
Fundamentals of blast-resistant building design

Ali Sari, Ph.D., PE, Structural Analysis Manager with Genesis Oil and Gas Consultants,
explains the basics of designing blast-resistant buildings for petrochemical facilities
hen we design a blast-resistant building, we start with a

framework similar to that of the human rib cage. You can appreciate the strength of this natural construct if you have ever seen
slow-motion video of a boxer taking a punch to the side of the body.
His ribs compress in a way that dissipates the energy of the punch
over a large surface area, protecting the vital organs inside. The
same is true of the steel stiffeners we place at intervals of 1112 in.
in the frame of a RedGuard blast-resistant building. When we weld
steel walls around these ribs we have a structure more redundant
and reliable than a traditional building. The interior walls are often
made from oriented strand board, which minimizes the likelihood of
wall shrapnel breaking free and injuring personnel.
We equip every blast-resistant building with battery-powered
emergency lights, smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher. Broken
glass is a huge danger in a blast, so we use tamper-proof fluorescent light fixtures. They have hard plastic diffuser housings with
shielded fluorescent tubes inside. If a tube breaks, the glass is safely contained inside these two protective layers.
Electrical and communication wiring conduits are deliberately
left exposed so any damage incurred in a blast will be visible, and
personnel will know not to turn power on until its repaired.
Various engineers performed analysis on our design, trying to
predict how it would behave in a blast. Some said it would slide
significantly or roll across the ground. My analysis indicated that it
would not do so, but with all our analysis and real-world observa-
tion, we were not really sure what would happen until we tested it.
We detonated 1,250 lb of high-explosive ANFO charge at a
standoff distance of 110 ft from the building, which created a blast
load far in excess of the ratings required to meet ASCE medium response standards. The building suffered no structural damage. It
did not roll, and slid less than an inch. The furnishings, equipment
and test dummy inside also sustained no damage. redguard.com
Plain exterior conceals careful design within: A proven

blast-resistant building from RedGuard
Fluoroether lubricant aids safe chlorine handling

Krytox performance lubricants supplied by Miller-Stephenson Chemical Co. helped a major
chlorine supplier improve the safety of its rail transportation by replacing PTFE tape
ransferring chlorine and other reactive

materials from manufacturing sites to
railcars and tankers relies on systems to
ensure safe handling and in this respect
a major North American chlorine supplier
faced a challenge.
The company was using PTFE tape to
seal pipe threads on the stabber pipes
used to transfer chlorine from its plant to
railcars. Analysis of some of the railcar
breakaway couplings revealed PTFE tape
residues that could compromise the operational safety of the internal valves, potentially resulting in a chlorine release. This
resulted in the company issuing a safety
mandate requiring implementation of an alternative solution that would meet the critical criteria for this procedure.
After evaluating several products, the
company qualified and implemented Krytox
Thread Sealant grease supplied by MillerStephenson Chemical Co. to replace the
PTFE tape. To date, the Krytox product has
performed 100% leak-free on all railcar
stabbers. Key benefits include:
84
Unlike PTFE tape, Krytox lubricants create

no risk of valve leaks due to residues
cost-effective only a small amount of
sealant needed per application;
fast and easy to apply, even while wearing protective gloves;

unlike PTFE tape, which should be removed before reapplication, Krytox
Thread Sealant can be reapplied over existing Krytox grease;
allows for easy disassembly and reassembly due to its lubricating nature;
Krytox TS3 sealant is non-reactive, nontoxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive and
compatible with most seal, O-ring and
valve polymers;
no auto-ignition at temperatures up to
482C (900F) in oxygen;
industry-approved: the Chlorine Institute
(Pamphlet 164) rates Krytox lubricants a
1 on its safety scale;
tested to 400 psig with air on 1-in. NPT
Schedule 80 pipe (SA-1068) and 1-in. NPT
CL 3000 fittings.
Founded in 1955, Miller-Stephenson supplies solvents, lubricants, release agents,
coatings, and epoxies for a wide range of industrial applications.
www.miller-stephenson.com
OCTOBER 2015
Handle virtually any bulk solid material

Flexicon stand-alone equipment and automated plant-wide systems convey, discharge,
condition, fill, dump and weigh batch bulk materials dust-free
lexicon engineers and manufactures a broad range of equipment that handles virtually any bulk material, from large pellets
to sub-micron powders, including free-flowing and non-free-flowing
products that pack, cake, plug, smear, fluidize, or separate.
Individual bulk handling equipment includes: flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems,
bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag conditioners, bulk bag fillers, bag
dump stations, drum/box/container dumpers, and weigh batching/
blending systems. Each of these product groups encompasses a
broad range of models that can be custom engineered for specialized applications, and integrated with new or existing upstream and
downstream processes and storage vessels.
All equipment is available to food, dairy, pharmaceutical and industrial standards.
For large-scale bulk handling projects, Flexicons separate
Project Engineering Division provides dedicated Project Managers
and engineering teams on four continents to handle projects from
concept to completion. Working with each customers preferred engineering firm or directly with their in-house team, Flexicon adheres
strictly to the customers unique standards, documentation requirements and timelines through a single point of contact, eliminating
the risk of coordinating multiple suppliers.
Flexicons worldwide testing facilities simulate full-size customer
equipment and systems, verify performance prior to fabrication,
demonstrate newly constructed equipment for visiting customers,
and study the performance of new designs.

In 2015 the company doubled the size of its manufacturing facility and world headquarters in Bethlehem, PA, and also operates
manufacturing facilities in Kent, United Kingdom; QLD, Australia;
www.flexicon.com
and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Pilot plant pump solutions
Radar for measuring level
Valveless ceramic pumps from Fluid

Metering are accurate and durable
The new Centurion Guided Radar from Hawk

Measurement works with liquids and solids
ilot plants generate vital information to

be used in the design of full-scale process
and production facilities. Not only do pilot
plants reduce the financial risk associated
with building larger facilities, but they also
test process feasibility and accommodate
process refinement.
Valveless, ceramic pumps from Fluid
Metering, Inc. have proven to be ideal for
pilot plant fluid control. The sapphire-hard internal components of Fluid Metering pumps
eliminate accuracy drift typical of pumping systems that rely on elastomers (flexible tubing and diaphragms) to move fluid through the pump. Fluid
Metering pumps unique valveless rotating and reciprocation piston
design also eliminates the need for check valves, which can clog,
leak or fail over time. The result is a valveless, ceramic metering
pump, which will maintain drift-free accuracy better than 1% for millions of cycles.
In addition, pilot plant operations require the ability to easily change process parameters including flowrate. Fluid Metering
pumps easily accommodate that requirement as flowrates can be
controlled either mechanically and/or electronically via standard industrial control protocols. Fluid Metering pumps have been used in
www.fmipump.com
pilot plant operations for over 55 years.
Flexicon offers stand-alone bulk handling equipment as well as

plant-wide systems integrated with new or existing processes
awk Measurement Systems has added

the Centurion Guided Radar (CGR) to its
portfolio of level measurement equipment.
Based on time domain reflectometry (TDR),
the HAWK CGR has been developed to operate
in some of the most demanding environments.
The CGR has been designed to digitize a
threshold that eliminates extraneous reflections and
noise, and allows the blanking area to be reduced
to 50 mm. HAWK is known for high-accuracy level
products in difficult applications using minimum
power. HAWKs CGR was designed for easy installation and calibration, with an automatic setup
routine which can be performed in wet or dry environments. The start-up menu is clear, with only a
few steps to follow.
The HAWK CGR is able to provide precise and continuous measurement with extremely low-dielectric
(1.5) materials. Since radar pulses are directed via a
guide, factors like surface turbulence, foams, pressure,
dust, vacuum, vapors, temperature, dielectric constant,
and tank obstructions do not influence the measurement. The CGR offers auto-calibration to any dielectric
constant 1.5, adjustable sensitivity and
simple setup.
www.hawkmeasure.com
OCTOBER 2015
85
Samplers provide complete chemical solutions

The Sentry ISOLOK SAA automatic sampler ensures accurate, representative
sampling of liquids and can be customized for any application
epresentative sampling means that the

characteristics of one sample
are the same of that of the
entire batch and the sampling methods used must
be consistent, accurate
and repeatable, points
out Sentry Equipment
Corp. Chemical engineers
face the challenge
of meet-ing stringent regu-latory
requirements using validated
methods, so they must ensure that
each sample reflects the actual flow of the
sample stream. Those seeking complete
confidence in their analysis of hazardous
materials know that the chain begins with a
reliable, representative sample.
For example, Sentry customer requirements might include:
double validation for each sample;
direct indication of each sample completion, so as to fully validate the composite
sample volume related to effluent flow;
ATEX zone 2 design; and
The Sentry ISOLOK SAA automatic sampler

is suitable for hazardous environments
special alloy construction for highly corrosive materials.
To meet the application needs of specific
customer, Sentry Equipment Corp. can customize the construction of its ISOLOK SAA
automatic fixed volume sampler.
For one customer, for example, double
validation of the sample stroke called for
verification of both the extend and retract

functions of the sampling process, thus
providing a direct indication of each sampler stroke. Typically, this easily could be
handled with a standard aluminum
pneumatic cylinder. However, aluminum produces a highly
exothermic reaction
with iron oxide, so it
is not allowed in any
ATEX hazardous environment where rust
is likely to be present.
This particular ISOLOK SAA
sampler therefore was custom designed
using a 316 stainless steel actuating cylinder with embedded magnetics, along with
external ATEX-approved proximity switches
mounted on the cylinder, designed and
built to stay within compact cylinder space
tolerances.
The Sentry ISOLOK SAA automatic sampler can be designed to meet any liquid
chemical sampling application, anywhere,
the supplier says. www.sentry-equip.com
Blowdown simulation: Safe, but at what cost?

Avoiding low-temperature embrittlement when depressuring equipment may involve
expensive over-design, says Honeywell, whose new design tool promises better accuracy
epressuring process equipment in response to fires, leaks, pipe ruptures or

other hazards, as well as for planned shutdowns, is critical to safe operation, notes
Honeywell. Accurate design of blowdown
systems is therefore essential. Blowdown
system design focuses on two main areas:
sizing of components such as relief
valves, orifices, piping and vessels to
allow safe and rapid depressuring; and
selection of construction materials for
pipes and vessel walls, which have to
withstand very low temperatures resulting from auto-refrigeration effects during
rapid depressurization further complicated by uneven temperature distribution
and consequent differential expansion
and contraction in pipe and vessel walls.
The second consideration requires system
designers to consider the risk of brittle failure in process equipment and piping.
Process simulation tools meet these
requirements to a certain extent, enabling
users to predict minimum temperatures and
relief loads, and select appropriate materi-
86
als and component sizes. However, this approach is typically inefficient, because most
models remain relatively inaccurate, lacking
sophistication to model the temperature
changes and loads accurately. To allow for
this, designs are often overly conservative
to ensure safety. Since the materials selected for resistance to very low temperatures
are expensive, this over-design is costly.
The UniSim Design Blowdown Utility

increases accuracy and cuts over-design
The new Blowdown Utility in Honeywells

UniSim Design Suite addresses this problem. Adopting a modeling approach consistent with the API 521 6th edition guidelines
for the fire method, it improves accuracy
through features including: calculations
representing the non-equilibrium conditions
that occur in a vessel during depressuring;
flowsheeting capabilities for blowdown network design; blowdown scheduling to allow
phased depressurization; and a two-dimensional (axial and radial) heat transfer model
for highly accurate calculation of the temperature profile for vessel and pipe walls.
The new tool has been rigorously tested
and extensively validated.
Providing far more accurate models, this
solution enables engineers to design safer
blowdown systems and at the same time to
avoid costly over-design. The UniSim Design
Blowdown Utility is also the first tool in the
market that gives the engineer the ability to accurately model the blowdown of a
flowsheet with blowdown scheduling.
www.hwll.co/UniSim
OCTOBER 2015
Perfecting particle size for agricultural chemicals

The Micronizer jet mill from Sturtevant boosts reactivity by grinding particulate materials to
sub-micron sizes without the heat buildup that can harm sensitive products
he Sturtevant Micronizer brand jet mill

reduces the particle size of pesticides,
herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and
other dry chemicals to narrow particle size
distributions of 0.25 m or larger without
heat buildup.
The Micronizer employs high-pressure
compressed air, steam or other gas to disperse and deagglomerate the particles.
It consistently produces low micron sized
particles, whose far greater surface area
compared to larger particles increases their
chemical reactivity.
The Micronizer brand jet mill utilizes a
unique fluid energy grinding system to generate particle-on-particle impact without
raising the product temperature. Its highperformance design surpasses the economical fineness limit of mechanical grinders.
The Micronizers open manifold design
allows complete access to the internal material grinding chamber and compressed air
chamber for easy cleaning, product changeover or inspection. There are no dead zones
to trap material, no moving parts, and no
grinding media or lubrication to contaminate the material being milled.

Sturtevant can solve the most challenging wear and contamination problems
using interchangeable wear-resistant liners
such as Pureline, ShieldOx and ArmorLine,
and specially engineered coatings like
Lubriguard, to provide contamination-free
wear protection and enhance the performance of agricultural chemicals.
Sturtevant offers a fully equipped test
facility for conducting customer trials with
the objective of determining the optimum
equipment and system layout for each application. Sturtevant invites customers to
witness testing while determining the best
way to achieve fine particle sizes and understand grinding characteristics.
The Sturtevant Micronizer jet mill (right)
yields particle sizes down to 0.25 m. Its
use of fluid energy allows it to out-perform
mechanical grinding systems without
creating undesirable temperature rise.
Remove the bottleneck from water treatment

Using long-lasting walnut shells to trap dirt and oil, the STiR backwashable filter from
Filtra-Systems replaces poorly performing sand filters in multiple applications
iltra-Systems STiR walnut shell media

filter has been selected to replace failing
sand and multimedia filters across a variety
of industries. In each case the original sand
filter reached a point where it was backwashing so frequently the user could not
get reliable performance.
The STiR walnut shell media filter has
an innovative, patented, backwash design
that overcomes the limitations of sand,
A patented backwash system stops the

STiR media from clogging
multimedia, and disposable media filters.

100% of the media bed is cleaned at every
backwash, allowing the unit to recover the
captured contaminant load cycle after cycle,
without increasing the time spent in backwashing or the number of cycles.
Sand filters fail because their backwash
is inefficient and incomplete, Filtra-Systems
says. Portions of the media bed begin to
plug, forming mudballs that are not fluidized or mixed by the backwash. This results
in less filtration area and increasingly frequent backwash cycles. At a certain point,
the filter needs to be drained and the media
replaced on some plants as often as once
a year. Besides being time-consuming, sand
replacement introduces maintenance personnel to airborne sand, an OSHA hazard.
The walnut shell media used by FiltraSystems has a 30-year lifespan, so it never
needs to be replaced. This sustainable technology is a proven solution that has been
used to remove both oil and suspended solids for over 50 years. The walnut shells have
a very high modulus of elasticity, so they do
OCTOBER 2015
Before (l) and after

(r) water samples
not degrade easily.
The STiR proprietary
backwash system
uses the lowest
possible volume of backwash water (12%
of daily throughput), minimizing the total
volume of water to be processed.
The STiR filter is offered in many different sizes, with single units available
that can process 50 gpm (3,600 BPD) to
7,300 gpm (250,000 BPD). It has a high removal efficiency, typically removing 9598%
of suspended solids and 9095% of free
oils. Filtra-Systems has been serving the
industrial water market for over 30 years.
Whether the water filtration application is
in specialty chemical, mining, metal working or metal finishing, or well injection, the
STiR industrial water filter will provide the
removal efficiency and reliable backwash
needed for successful water processing.
www.filtrasystems.com
87
Switch designs promote longer pump life

Flow, level, and pressure switches from Plast-O-Matic signal backup protection in chemical
piping systems
n the battle between media and piping systems, effective instrumentation and signal
switches have been difficult to find. Metal
components not only corrode, but also shed
particulates into ultrapure chemicals.
Without timely signaling of unexpected
conditions, pumps can quickly be damaged
beyond repair. Deadheading, running dry,
or running without proper pressure can all
have drastic consequences on pump life
with consequences including downtime,
spills, fines, and other unexpected costs.
Plast-O-Matic Valves, Inc., a U.S.
manufacturer of corrosion-resistant and
high-purity valves, recognized the need for
switch instruments with no wetted metal
parts that would provide similar operation
and enhanced reliability. After successful
testing and introduction of an all-thermoplastic pressure switch ten years ago, the
company has developed a series of switches to protect piping systems and pumps
from potentially catastrophic problems.

Flow switches are installed directly in
the downstream pipeline to signal low flow,
which can indicate a deadheaded pump.
The advantage of a flow switch versus a
pressure switch in this application is that a
piping system is often fully pressurized in a
low- or no-flow condition. Used with a relay,
a flow switch can be used to switch off the
pump and/or signal an alarm.
In larger systems or where redundancy
is required, Plast-O-Matic has developed an
external inductive limit switch to signal an
unplanned manual valve closure. For example, an operator in a remote location may
not be aware that a maintenance worker
has inadvertently closed the wrong valve.
The inductive limit switch may also be used
with a timer relay to shut off a pump after a
predetermined period.
On the other side of the pump, level
switches are used in supply tanks to sound
the alarm or signal corrective action before

the tank is empty. Due to the complete isolation of all metal parts, the Plast-O-Matic
level switch can be fully submerged in virtually any aggressive liquid compatible with
either PVC or Noryl PPO. A unique pivot-pin
motion enables the level switch to resist
particle build-up, making it also suitable for
liquids that are prone to crystallization.
www.plastomatic.com
Corrosion-resistant switches protect

pumps in chemical piping systems
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Written for engineers, by engineers

More and more, business in the Chemical Process Industries
(CPI) is not local, its global. To keep up with this rapidly
evolving marketplace, you need a magazine that covers it all,
not just one country or region, not just one vertical market,
but the entire CPI. With editorial offices around the world,
Chemical Engineering is well-positioned to keep abreast of all
the latest innovations in the equipment, technology, materials,
and services used by process plants worldwide. No other
publication even comes close.
To subscribe or learn more about membership, please visit
www.chemengonline.com/subscribe
88
OCTOBER 2015
Show Preview
his year, the Chem Show an

event encompassing all sectors of the chemical process
industries (CPI) celebrates
its 100th anniversary. The 2015 Chem
Show, taking place November 1719
at the Jacob Javits Convention Center
in New York City, will include an exhibition and various seminars focused
on all types of process technologies
used in the CPI. The event will also include the announcement of the 2015
Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering
Achievement Award recipient, a biennial award bestowed by Chemical Engineering to honor the most noteworthy CPI technologies that have been
recently commercialized. This show
preview highlights some of the equipment and services that will be showcased at the 2015 Chem Show.
A screen filter with an automatic

self-cleaning mechanism
The Model ORG automatic self-cleaning screen filter (photo) removes suspended solids from process water,
cooling water, condensate or water
for pump seals. The ORG has a large
screen area and connection flange
area for high filtering capacity. This
filter model uses minimal water during the self-cleaning cycle. It traps
organic and inorganic suspended
solids and then cleans the debris off
the screen element automatically with
a very low pressure drop. Booth 619
Orival Inc., Englewood, N.J.
www.orival.com
Use this vacuum dryer for heatand shear-sensitive media

Rototherm D (photo) is a new continuous, indirect vacuum dryer for freeflowing solids, designed to handle
materials that are sensitive to heat or
shear. The dryers shell and rotor are
both heated for a high surface-areato-volume ratio. Dynamic baffles create plug-flow continuous conveying
through the unit. Continuous operation produces consistent results, and
with indirect heating, the unit uses
much less energy than direct dryers,
such as fluidized-bed and convection
dryers, according to the company.
Booth 704 Artisan Industries, Inc.,
Stoughton, Mass.
www.artisanind.com
A portable contamination-free
mixer for plastic totes
This companys ITM Tote Mixer is a
portable high-performance mixer for
plastic totes, and is specifically engineered for portability, ease of use and
power conservation. It has a powerful motor and rugged, collapsible
impellers, and is quick-coupling and
gear-reduced for high-torque mixing.
The mixer completely encloses the
tote and achieves product uniformity
quickly. The device can be used easily by a single operator and eliminates
product contamination, says the
company. Booth 727 Dynamix Agitators, Inc., Richmond, B.C., Canada
www.dynamixinc.com
Monitor sensors, logic

solvers and final elements
The DeltaV SIS process-safety system, which can be standalone or integrated with control systems, helps
to reliably protect assets and improve
process availability. The DeltaV SIS
system continuously monitors the
ability of sensors, logic solvers and
final elements to perform on demand,
diagnosing faults before they cause
spurious trips. DeltaV SIS provides
built-in functionality, eliminating complex custom programming, and enables a consistent approach throughout all safety applications. Designed
to allow easy compliance with the
IEC61511 international standard, DeltaV SIS can lower the upfront costs of
engineering, installing and commissioning. Booth 305 Emerson Process Management, Austin, Tex.
www.emersonprocess.com
Orival
Artisan Industries
Inverting-filter centrifuges
with automated cleaning
This companys inverting-filter centrifuges (photo) are capable of separation and filtration of liquids, and feature pressure-assisted filtration and
thin-cake technology. Fully contained,
there is no residual heel and very low
moisture levels. Certifiable cleaning of
the inverting-filter centrifuge is effectively carried out in a closed-condition,
fully automated clean-in-place (CIP)
cleaning system. Product changeover is quickly and easily completed.
The centrifuges are easy to install,
says the company, requiring a simple
OCTOBER 2015
Heinkel Drying and Separation Group
89
through-the-wall procedure. Booth

104 Heinkel Drying and Separation
Group USA, Swedesboro, N.J.
www.heinkelusa.com
Aalborg Instruments
This digital mass flowmeter is

suitable for use with bioreactors
The ZFM digital mass flowmeter
(photo) provides programmable flow
measurements of gases, as well as
instantaneous and elapsed-time data
recordings for bioreactors and surface
depositions. The device can monitor input-output of nitrogen, carbon
dioxide and other gases in systems,
and features a carbon dioxide reactor, chemical-microcell environmental
monitoring, surface deposition monitoring and multi-gas and multi-range
functionality. The ZFM also offers two
programmable totalizers, Modbus
network interface, automatic sensor
zeroing, self-diagnostics and software for configuration and calibration. Primary calibrations of multiple
gases are included with this meter.
Booth 231 Aalborg Instruments,
Orangeburg, N.Y.
www.aalborg.com
Enardo
Bronkhorst USA
Pressure-vaccum vents for inline

or end-of-line installation
Fluke
Hawk Measurement Systems
90
various protocols for remote chiller

control. The chiller also has 80C,
high-power cooling capacity and high
reliability for continuous heat removal.
Booth 555 Thermonics Corp.,
Mansfield, Mass.
www.thermonics-chillers.com
Versatile flow devices with a very

large control range
Mini Cori-Flow devices, such as the
ML120/M1x model (photo), are suitable for numerous applications within
chemical processing, industrial and
laboratory environments as an alternative to traditional filling and dosing
methods. Features of Mini Cori-Flow
instruments include: measure and
control for almost every fluid without
recalibration; mass flowmeter and controller range of 0.05 g/h to 600 kg/h; a
low-flow Coriolis instrument (down to
0.05 g/h); accuracy as high as 0.2%
of reading; and direct-control capabilities for pumps or valves. Booth 109
Bronkhorst USA, Inc., Bethlehem, Pa.
www.bronkhorstusa.com
This infrared camera helps

diagnose problems in equipment
The TiX560 infrared camera (photo)
is used to detect temperature differences and unusual thermal patterns,
which may indicate abnormalities in
electrical and mechanical equipment.
Inspecting hard-to-reach targets becomes simplified with the TiX560s full
180-deg rotating lens and the large
5.7-in. LCD touchscreen with on-camera analytics. Image-enhancement
features include ultra-high resolution
and continuous blending. Picture-inpicture functionality allows for the overlay of a thermal image onto the equipment itself. Booth 610 Fluke Corp.,
Everett, Wash.
www.fluke.com
This companys family of high-performance, pressure-vacuum vents

(photo) are used to control the pressure in low-pressure storage tanks,
and are designed with special sealing
technology that addresses regulatory
codes that limit emissions. The product line includes an inline model (the
ES-800) and an end-of-line model
(the ES-900). S-800 inline vent valves
maintain pressure in the storage tank.
This valve is installed directly into the
vent-line exhaust. The ES-900 vent
valve, installed directly on the end of
the vent-line exhaust, has both pressure- and vacuum-relief capability.
Booth 709 Enardo, Tulsa, Okla.
Level measurements for
multiphase systems
www.enardo.com
CGR guided-wave radar devices
(photo) are used to measure levels of
These process chillers have
high-power cooling capacity
liquids, gases and powders with emThis companys process chiller is de- phasis on single-level and two- and
signed for reliability during continu- three-phase measurement capabilious temperature control, and features ties for liquids. The devices offer highonboard diagnostics that to help temperature measurements (up to
predict chiller health, touchscreen 250C), HART communications with
interface and communications via additional single 420-mA output,
OCTOBER 2015
explosion-proof classifications and

intrinsically safe two-wire operation.
CGR models are designed to measure difficult applications with multiphase level requirements. Booth
812 Hawk Measurement Systems,
Lawrence, Mass.
www.hawkmeasure.com
A top-mount valve positioner

compatible with any system
The Research Control SRD991 valve
positioner (photo) mounts directly
to the top of a control valve with a
rugged linear potentiometer, avoiding hysteresis between the positioner and actuator. With integrated
network communications, including HART, Profibus-PA and Foundation Fieldbus H1, the SRD991 valve
positioner is compatible with any
systems distributed control system
(DCS) or process logic controller
(PLC), according to the company.
Booth 405 Badger Meter, Inc.,
Milwaukee, Wis.
www.badgermeter.com
An ultrasonic homogenizer
for many applications
The UIP2000hdT digital ultrasonic
homogenizer features 2 kW of ultrasound power for batch and inline processing, and automatic data recording
of power, amplitude, sonication time,
temperature and pressure for many
applications, including homogenization, mixing, dispersing, wet-milling,
emulsification, lysis, cell disintegration, extraction and sonochemical
applications (such as phase-transfer
catalysis, emulsion chemistry, synthesis and nanochemistry). The homogenizer features continuous operation,
an industrial-grade, colored touchscreen display and browser remote
control, with no software installation
required. Booth 628 Hielscher
USA, Inc., Ringwood, N.J.
www.hielscher.com
These graphite gasket sheets are

reinforced with stainless steel
The new Graflit IQ graphite gasket
sheet is constructed from a graphite-based material, and is suitable
for high-temperature applications.
Graflit IQ is a specially engineered,
high-quality sheet made of expanded
natural graphite foil and reinforced by

an expanded stainless-steel (316L)
insert with anti-stick functionality.
This heavy-duty material has improved surface-load resistance (in
particular for cycling operations) and
blow-out resistance, according to
the company. A variety of standard
sheet dimensions are available, with
customizations available on request.
Booth 115 Donit Tesni, d.o.o.,
Medvode, Slovenia
www.donit.eu
Badger Meter
Generate ultra-high purity hydrogen with this modular system

The Hydroprime hydrogen generator
(photo) is intended for use in numerous manufacturing and refining applications in a variety of industries. The
modular, skid-mounted plant produces ultra-high purity (greater than
99.999%) hydrogen at 200 psig onsite
utilizing a steam-methane reforming
technology. The generator is fully automated with load-following controls
to allow unattended operation. The
new product line has a very high natural-gas conversion rate and is highly
heat integrated, which translates into
low operating costs, says the company. Booth 720 Linde Engineering
North America, Inc., Blue Bell, Pa.
www.lindeus-engineering.com
Linde Engineering
Tank linings that are approved

for potable water use
Stonchem 444 lining for tanks and
structures constructed of concrete
and steel (photo) offers very high tensile strength at 3,400 psi. The lining
is fast-curing, dense and waterproof,
with extremely low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Additionally, it is very chemical resistant and is
NSF 61-approved for potable water,
as well as low outgassing. The lining
can also be used in cleanrooms and
biosafety level (BSL) 4 laboratories.
Booth 319 The Stonhard Group,
Maple Shade, N.J.
www.stonhard.com
The Stonhard Group
Inline shear mixers with high

abrasion resistance
The Cavitron family of inline highshear mixers (photo) provides dispersion of fine particles down to singlemicrometer sizes and emulsification
OCTOBER 2015
ARDE Barinco
91
of immiscible liquids to size distributions in the sub-micrometer range. The

mixer has a 7,200-rpm impeller nested
in four stators constructed of tungsten
carbide, making it extremely resistant
to fine, hard-particle abrasion even at
high speeds. Booth 105 ARDE Barinco, Inc., Carlstadt, N.J.
www.arde-barinco.com
CV Technology
A family of basket strainers

with a wide capacity range
Wanner Engineering
This companys multi-basket strainers

and bag filters cover a wide range of
flow capacities and contaminant-holding capabilities. The products contain
anywhere from two to twenty-three
baskets. To serve as a strainer, a unit
can be ordered with perforated stainless-steel baskets. When ordered as
a filter, the device is fitted with perforated stainless-steel baskets that are
designed to hold disposable or cleanable filter bags. They accept industrystandard #1- and #2-size filter bags or
500-series pleated cartridges. Booth
504 Rosedale Products, Inc.,
Ann Arbor, Mich.
www.rosedaleproducts.com
Prevent dust explosions with

this flameless venting device
The Interceptor-QR quench tube
(photo) is a flameless venting device
that can be used on a variety of process equipment, including indoor
equipment and equipment in occupied areas, to eliminate the release of
a flame. The Interceptor-QR is ATEXcertified and compliant with NFPA 68
requirements. It provides an option
for safe indoor venting of combustible
dust explosions in pneumatic conveyors, bins, silos, cyclones, mills, dryers
and more. Booth 726 CV Technology, Inc., Jupiter, Fla.
www.cvtechnology.com
Husky Corp.
These seal-less pumps can

handle a wide viscosity range
Fike Corp.
92
The Hydra-Cell Model P200 metering pump (photo) features capabilities

for metering, injecting, blending, dosing, filling, adding and mixing virtually
any low-to high-viscosity fluid to be
pumped into a chemical-feed processing system. The pump is seal-less,
has a multiple-diaphragm design, a
replenishment valve in every piston, is
spring-loaded and has horizontal-disk

check valves. The pump also includes
new gearbox reducers, variable-frequency and drive-electronic flow adjustment. Model P200 pumps offer
accurate flow throughout the entire
turndown range, with virtually pulsefree linear flow. Booth 612 Wanner
Engineering, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.
www.wannerneg.com
Increase loading and

unloading safety
The SGA loading arm (photo) is designed to carry fluid-handling hose
lines between stationary systems
and mobile units. Whether loading
or unloading chemicals and fluids
to or from tanker trucks and railcars
with top, bottom, or side loading,
the SGA elevates the hoses off the
ground. The loading arms handle
hoses with lengths up to 22 ft and
are height adjustable 4 ft. The SGA
is a low-cost, easy-to-install solution
to protect against operator injury by
making chemical loading and unloading safer. Booth 221 Husky Corp.,
Pacific, Mo.
www.husky.com
High-tolerance rupture discs

for large-diameter applications
Large Atlas rupture discs (photo) deliver last-line-of-defense pressure
relief for applications with relief sizes
of 18 in. (DIN 450) and larger, with a
burst pressure range of 3.25 to 90 psi.
According to the manufacturer, the
reverse-acting disc delivers 95% operating ratio, very high tolerances and
high backpressure resistance. The
Large Atlas delivers long service life
and consistency in applications where
safety relief valves are not a viable alternative and holders with knife blades
are no longer desired. Booth 304
Fike Corp., Blue Springs, Mo.
www.fike.com
Illuminate process vessels with

this cool-operating luminaire
This companys compact LED sightglass luminaire is said to be two times
brighter than a typical sight-glass
light, offering a clear, comprehensive
view inside process vessels. Designed
for cool operation and equipped with
temperature shutdown, LEDs have
OCTOBER 2015
a long service life and are resistant

to vibration and impact. With the
use of these luminaires, no heat radiation is directed into the process
vessel. Booth 431 L.J. Star Inc.,
Twinsburg, Ohio
www.ljstar.com
vent concentrations. The analyzers

lower energy consumption reduces
fuel costs and improves production
rates, while complying with necessary
safety directives. Booth 807 Control
Instruments Corp., Fairfield, N.J.
www.controlinstruments.com
Knead and blend

high-viscosity materials
Simplify vessel opening with

these screw clamps
The Model DKL double-arm kneader

(photo) has a forged stainless-steel
bowl and high-pressure, high-temperature jackets that are used for
kneading high-viscosity materials into
a homogeneous blend. The novel
forged-bowl technology provides
improved mechanical integrity and
durability, says the manufacturer.
Standard capacities vary from 1.5
to 9 quarts, and custom sizes can
be manufactured to fit any process.
Booth 513 Orbis Machinery, LLC,
Waukesha, Wis.
www.orbismachinery.com
This companys segmented pressurevessel screw clamps (photo) are intended for use on high-pressure vessels, filter housings, manways and
more. They eliminate the need for drilling bolt-holes in flanges and reduce
opening and closing requirements
for the covers and flanges on which
they are mounted. The clamps also
decrease the time to open and close
the vessels, housings and manways.
Booth 212 Walter G. Rathmann
Segmentklammerschrauben GmbH &
Co. KG, Koblenz, Germany
www.wgr-rathmann.com
Dry vacuum pumps for

chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Built-in flow-based valve

control with this meter
The CXS chemical dry-vacuum pump

offers high reliability and effluent-free
pumping, even in the most difficult
and harsh chemical and pharmaceutical processing applications. The
pump is simple to install and integrate
with an existing system. According
to the manufacturer, the pump has
a minimum 25-yr design service life,
with 5-yr service intervals, and no routine maintenance is required. Due to
their dry-run technology, these lowvibration, quiet-operating pumps do
not generate any contaminated oil
that must be disposed of. Booth 448
Edwards Vacuum, Crawley, U.K.
www.edwardsvacuum.com
The Model 106-SPI-MV is a single-point-insertion

electromagnetic
flowmeter, installed and calibrated
in conjunction with this companys
control valves. This provides an accurate flowrate that can be utilized
with the metering valve as a standalone option or built into a pilot system to provide complete flow-based
valve control. A water application
provides a 2% flowrate accuracy.
Also included are complete pressure
control, tank level control and pump
control with integral flow metering
on valves ranging from 3 to 48-in. in
size. Booth 708 Singer Valve LLC,
Surrey, B.C., Canada
www.singervalve.com
Quickly monitor flammable

gases and vapors
PrevEx flammability analyzers (photo)
monitor flammable gases and vapors
in process ovens, dryers, kilns and
oxidizers. The devices measure total
flammability with a 1-s response time
and reduced ventilation-air requirements. These heated, standalone
analyzers have a low-maintenance,
failsafe design. They provide consistent and reliable readings even when
faced with multiple or changing solCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Orbis Machinery
Control Instruments
Walter G. Rathmann
A dryer with integrated

solvent recovery
The H-10 Turbo-Dryer (photo) dries
water or solvent-based wet organic
chemicals, metal compounds, food
additives and ceramic products. The
dryer operates continuously with a nitrogen recycle process to evaporate
and recover solvents. It dries to levels as low as 0.01% without the need
for a vacuum, and handles fragile
crystals and preformed pellets with-
OCTOBER 2015
Wyssmont Company
93
out breakage. The low-maintenance

Turbo-Dryer features high onstream
time and has lower heat requirements
than other dryers, according to the
company. Booth 204 Wyssmont
Company, Inc., Fort Lee, N.J.
www.wyssmont.com
This filtration system has a

built-in anti-fouling mechanism
BKT United
Komax Systems
The FMX anti-fouling membrane filtration system (photo) can be employed

for liquid-solid separation and liquid
filtration at any stage of the production process to efficiently concentrate
or recover desired constituents. It has
an anti-fouling mechanism, is specialized for high-solids loading and highviscosity streams, and delivers high
concentration and high recovery. The
FMX also ensures higher purity in the
end product, says the company. The
systems anti-fouling mechanism allows it to filter high-solids and highviscosity liquids beyond the capability
of conventional membrane systems,
while maximizing concentration and
recovery. Booth 444 BKT United,
Anaheim, Calif.
www.bkt21.com
A tank heater that produces

little noise and vibration
The Scepter tank heater (photo) is designed for the direct injection of steam
into tanks for heating water-compatible
products. Water and steam are divided
and mixed in each mixing module,
producing complete contact between
steam and the product to be heated,
with low noise and low vibration. The
heater has a strong stirring action to
help keep any solids or particulate matter in suspension, and produces a uniform temperature throughout the tank,
allowing for accurate thermostatic control. Booth 811 Komax Systems,
Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif.
www.komax.com
Beamex
A calibration instrument with

five different operation modes
Filtra Systems
94
The MC6 (photo) is an advanced, highaccuracy field calibrator and communicator. It offers calibration capabilities
for pressure, temperature and various
electrical signals. It also contains a
full Fieldbus communicator for Hart,
Foundation Fieldbus and Profibus PA
instruments. Designed for ease of

use, the MC6 has a large 5.7-in. color
touchscreen with a multilingual user
interface. The robust IP65-rated dustand waterproof casing, ergonomic and
lightweight design make it suitable for
field use. The MC6 features five different operational modes: meter, calibrator, documenting calibrator, data
logger and Fieldbus communicator. In
addition, the MC6 communicates with
this companys calibration software,
enabling fully automated calibration
and documentation. Booth 710
Beamex Oy Ab, Pietarsaari, Finland
www.beamex.com
A fully automated press for

filtering and dewatering
The fully automated Verti-Press filter
press (photo) can both filter and dewater products and wastewater streams.
The Verti-Press has incorporated all
of the features of the most robust
tower press, with a cost that is an estimated 50% less than conventional
filter presses, according to the manufacturer. In order to dewater slurry
and form a filter cake, the filter utilizes
vertically stacked chambers, each of
which can be isolated for individual
operation, providing flexibility. Available
in various sizes, the Verti-Press can
be installed as a replacement for conventional plate-and-frame filter technology. Booth 428 Filtra Systems,
Farmington Hills, Mich.
www.filtrasystems.com
Benchtop reaction systems

made of resilient materials
This companys benchtop jacketed
reactor systems are constructed of
borosilicate glass that meets ASTM
Specification E438 for chemical and
heat resistance. The reactors also
have an overhead stirrer motor, toolfree connections and optional manifold systems. The systems are fully
customizable, and reaction vessels
range from 100 mL to 100 L in size.
The reaction systems can be used for
chemical synthesis, process development, filtration, purification, evaporation, stirring, dissolving, mixing and
extracting. Booth 454 Chemglass
Life Sciences, Vineland, N.J.
www.chemglass.com
Mary Page Bailey
OCTOBER 2015
Sealing Technology
Sealing Technology 2015 Special Advertising Section
CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
special advertising section
istock/RonFullHD
ESSENTIALS FOR CPI PROFESSIONALS
OCTOBER 2015
95
FSA focuses on subject matter expertise

The Fluid Sealing Association is moving its foundation from standards to knowledge,
explains Ian Baynes of A.W. Chesterton Co., FSA Marketing Committee Chair
or many years the Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) has been predominantly a standards-focused association. Moving forward,
the leading association for technical information and standards in
the fluid sealing market will push to further its recognition as the
premier technical subject matter expert on environmental compliance and the role sealing devices play in energy conservation
and reducing overall VOC emissions. The FSA will also drive more
strongly to provide industry training programs supporting the primary focus of its technical divisions as well as its member companies in the future.
We decided to take a deep breath, step back, and plan a
path forward that would elevate the standing of the Association,
promote its industry technical and subject matter expert leadership, and ultimately enable our collective voice to be heard, FSA
President Mike Shorts said. At the beginning of 2015 we structured
a new strategic plan, focusing the Association on the key issue facing our customers: environmental compliance, which expands into
energy conservation and methane emissions abatement.
The 2015 FSA Fall Meetings are scheduled for October 68 at
Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, La. Registration is now open.
Below are some highlights of the more recent FSA division accomplishments and initiatives.
Compression packings
A fully revised Compression Packing Handbook is scheduled for release at the end of 2015.
The Compression Packing Division members continue to liaise
with and influence key industry standards groups, including API and
ISO, to keep FSA current with regard to EPA regulatory measures,
including fugitive emissions mandates. Standards include API 622,
API 641, and ISO 15848.
Joint work with the European Sealing Association (ESA; Morzine,
France; europeansealing.com) continues in the form of a behavior study that will allow the development of tools to optimize valve
stem packing design so as to improve packing life and reduce fugi-
The power industry has its own specific sealing needs

tive emissions. This work is being carried out at the French research
organization CETIM (www.cetim.fr). In addition, joint work with
the ESA continues at CETIM on a study of friction in pump packing, with energy efficiency and power consumption as its primary
output. This directly ties to efforts by the FSA Government Affairs
Committee to influence trade and tariff legislation on environmental
goods (see below).
96
Refineries and petrochemical plants are key sources of environmental pollution in the form of fugitive emissions. Better knowledge of how to use sealing technology can help, says the FSA.
Results have directly influenced the revision of the power formula used to calculate life-cycle cost (LCC). A tutorial is scheduled
to be presented at the 31st Pump Symposium in September 2015
(http://pumpturbo.tamu.edu/program/pump/pump-tutorials/
icalrepeat.detail/2015/09/15/278/-/tutorial-p06-compressionpacking-a-traditional-sealing-method-achieving-high-levels-ofperformance-with-modern-technologyWebinar).
The division continues to work on its relationship with the Valve
Manufacturers Association (VMA; www.vma.org) aimed at jointly
furthering industry education. Division members continue to promote industry education through FSAs Sealing Sense articles, with
most recent topics aimed at improvements to pump packing performance (http://www.fluidsealing.com/sealingsense/May15.pdf ).
Expansion joints
The Expansion Joint Piping Division is currently working on a full
revision of Piping Handbook 8.0. In addition, it is also completing
work on harmonization of definitions, and updating drawings in the
Piping Handbook from outdated stick figures to 3-D renderings.
The Division will also be adding five new expansion joint designs
to the Piping Handbook, and recently published FSA-PSJ-702-15
Rubber Flanged Non-metallic Expansion Joint Installation,
Maintenance and Storage (http://www.fluidsealing.com/industrystandards/).
The Expansion Joint Piping Division published three rubber expansion joint articles in Pumps & Systems magazine, updated its
Fitters Flyer pamphlet, and is reaching out to other associations
and entities such as Cooling Technology Institute, EPRI, and Caesar.
The Expansion Joint Ducting Division, meanwhile, is working to
complete the harmonization of definitions from ESA, EJMA, NAHAD,
and FSA Piping and Ducting publications, and writing specifications
for ducting expansion joints in various applications.
Gaskets
The FSAs Gaskets Division is targeting a completely updated
Gasket Handbook for release in October 2015.
A new standard on methane leakage performance criteria for
spiral-wound gaskets is currently under development, and a training seminar is being created in conjunction with the VMA for presentation at their 2016 Technical Meeting in March 2016.
OCTOBER 2015
Sealing Technology 2015

M
Water and wastewater treatment need seals, too
Mechanical seals
The FSA Mechanical Seals Division has significantly enhanced its
Life Cycle Cost (LCC) tool. This now provides accurate assessments
of energy consumption and operating costs associated with different seal configurations under various operating parameters,
including metric conversions. A module covering compressor gas
seals has also been added. The existing webinar training programs
have also been expanded to include Fundamentals of Mechanical
Seals, Advanced Mechanical Seals, and Gas Seals for Pumps.
Government affairs
The FSA Government Affairs Committee leaders were in Geneva,
Switzerland, during the last week of July to participate in the 8th
round of negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Their job was to press for sealing devices to be added to the WTOs
Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA).
echanical seals, gaskets, packings, and expansion joints are

key to the safe and profitable performance of every process
facility. This Special Advertising Section on sealing technology
highlights the recent activities of trade associations and vendors
in this field.
Starting on p.96, our report from Ian Baynes of the U.S.based Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) describes how this important trade body is continuing to turn itself from a setter of
standards to a source of knowledge. A key point here is the importance of sealing technology to environmental protection by
reducing atmospheric emissions of natural gas and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The FSA has been aided in this work by
its sister organization the European Sealing Association (ESA).
Industry representatives hope the environmental significance of
sealing technology will allow it to escape trade tariffs in future.
On this and the following pages we present a few of the commercial developments that make possible todays high standards
of sealing performance.
FSA and ESA representatives met with trade negotiators from

the U.S., Switzerland, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan,
Norway, the European Union, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand,
Australia, Canada and Turkey to affirm why mechanical seals, gaskets, packings and expansion joints should be recognized as environmental goods and hence exempt from import and export tariffs.
Trade negotiators intend to complete their work by December
2015 and announce an agreement.
www.fluidsealing.com
Sealing success is based on advanced materials

Thermodyn uses Genuine Viton and other high-performance polymers to formulate a range
of expansion joints, caulks, coatings, and adhesives for demanding conditions
elling advanced polymers and manufacturing high-temperature,

chemical resistant expansion joints and gasket materials since
1979, Thermodyn Corp. continues to lead the development, design
and manufacture of innovative products for these markets.
The primary source for these resistant materials is Genuine
Viton. Thermodyn has been a licensee to sell Genuine Viton materials for over 30 years and extends that tradition as DuPont transitions to Chemours. One of the oldest Viton licensees in the world,
Thermodyn continues to brand its products accordingly.
Thermodyns specialties include the production of expansion
joints used by the power industry in modern scrubber systems designed to protect the environment. Thermodyn also produces Viton
sheet material for all types of industrial, automotive, chemical and
electrical production. Product lines include commercial-grade materials, plus specification grade A, B and F Vitons as well as Viton
Extreme and FDA-approved materials. Thermodyn also manufactures
custom-made diaphragms and extrusions using both Viton and Aflas.
Thermodyn also offers a unique line of caulks, coatings and
adhesives. Mixed with a Viton-based polymer, these products are
ideal for sealing flanges in high-temperature and/or corrosive environments. Fluorodyn Caulk contains 75% solids, making it an
easy-to-apply, single-component caulk. Offering excellent chemical
resistance in both an uncured and cured state, Viton Caulk offers
increased resistance to virtually all chemicals, including nitric, sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, and comes highly recommended for
Manufacturing sheet material at Thermodyn

harsh environments that require flexibility, leak-proof sealing, and
high resistance to permeation. The coatings and adhesives have
been compounded in liquid form, making them easy to use in bonding, splicing, and repairing expansion joints and gaskets.
Thermodyns staff have many years of experience, and are
trained to ensure that the products offered by Thermodyn Corp. will
meet customers needs at a fair and competitive price and are delivered in a timely manner.
www.thermodyn.com
OCTOBER 2015
97
PTFE gaskets reinvented

Durlon 9000 from Triangle Fluid Controls uses PTFE and glass to its best advantage,
to bridge the gap between cold flow and sealability
TFE gaskets generally get a bad rap

because of inherent cold-flow properties of the base material, notes gasket
specialist Triangle Fluid Controls.
Manufacturers have therefore come up
with several ways of modifying PTFE in
order to combat creep, ranging from adding various fillers to expanding the material in one or more directions.
Regardless of these efforts, PTFE gaskets continue to creep. But one physical
property does not a gasket material make.
Gasket material properties are holistic
much like system pressure, temperature,
flow, and line size.
Since its inception more than 25 years
ago, the companys Durlon 9000 has been
engineered to deliver the best performance
based on the interaction of all physical
properties within any given application.
Simply put, Durlon 9000 is designed to be
the ultimate universal PTFE pipe gasket.
Expanded PTFE (ePTFE) resists creep,
but its lack of recovery quickly becomes a
safety liability. To eliminate creep, ePTFE
Gaskets made from Durlon 9000

must be compressed to nearly the thickness
of a piece of paper, significantly reducing its
ability to recover from system fluctuations.
Durlon 9000, on the other hand, balances
creep properties with recovery properties to
maintain its original seal.
Durlon 9000s engineered filler system
incorporates a homogeneous dispersion
of solid architectural glass which provides

superior physical and sealing performance
over hollow glass and other fillers. Solid architectural glass gives the gasket enhanced
structural integrity and low uncompressed
porosity, allowing Durlon 9000 to be used
in aggressive chemicals and at both reasonably high and very low flange loads.
Silica-filled PTFEs, in contrast, are hard
and require significant flange load to seal
tightly. ePTFEs feel soft but still require relatively high flange loads to seal their internal
porosity. Durlon 9000 bridges these concerns while providing long-term sealability
and reliability.
Another advantage to Durlon 9000 is
that unlike calendered and ePTFEs, which
are only available in fixed sheet dimensions,
Durlon 9000 is skived from a large billet and
can be made longer than a regulation NFL
football field. This continuous profile allows
larger one-piece gaskets, improves yield for
gasket cutters, and cuts prices to end users.
Durlon 9000 is PTFE reinvented.
www.trianglefluid.com
Expansion joints with ASME B16.47 Series B flanges

Proco Products explains two ways to accommodate ASME B16.47 Series B flange drilling
when specifying rubber expansion joints
iping system designers: Have you

ever come across the need to supply rubber expansion joints/control units
in a piping system where the flanges have
ASME B16.47 Series B drilling? asks Proco
Products. If so, you will know that the
conventional control rod setup can be chal-
lenging, since the attachment area for a

traditional triangular control rod plate
is greatly reduced. This is because with
Series B drilling the bolt circle for the flange
is closer to the O.D. of the pipe than it is for
Series A drilling, Proco explains.
For example, say a designer has an application for a 30 in. I.D. X 24 in. OAL triplearch rubber expansion joint, where one end
has ASME B16.47 Series A drilling and the
other end has ASME B16.47 Series B drilling. Control rods are used in this example
as the piping system is unrestrained.
For ASME B16.47 Series B drilling, the
best rubber expansion joint design is an
interior tie rod type. This uses a thicker
ring/rod plate to connect the expansion
joint to the adjacent mating flange, while
connecting rods control the thrust loads
and movement of the expansion joint under
pressure. This design eliminates the compli(Left) Interior tie rod rubber expansion
joint design for ASME B16.47 Series B
flange connection
98
cation of a traditional control rod setup on

the back side of the mating flange, where
clearance of the I.D. of the control rod plate
aligning with the mating flange holes becomes difficult (illustration, left).
The only other option when dealing with
ASME B16.47 is a control rod setup with
thick fabricated split flange plates, so that
the resultant thrust loads from the rubber
expansion joints are evenly distributed to
every bolt hole (photo, below). However,
the interior tie rod configuration is prewww.procoproducts.com
ferred.
Exterior control unit design
OCTOBER 2015
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Instrumentation & Control Systems
Mixing, Blending Equipment
Motors, Motor Controls
Piping, Tubing, Fittings
Pollution Control Equipment & Systems
55
56
57
58
59
Pumps
Safety Equipment & Services
Size Reduction & Agglomeration Equipment
Solids Handling Equipment
Tanks, Vessels, Reactors
Valves
Engineering Computers/Software/
Peripherals
Water Treatment Chemicals & Equipment
Hazardous Waste Management Systems
Chemicals & Raw Materials
Materials of Construction
Compressors
226 241 256 271 286 301 316 331 346 361 376 391 406 421 436 451 466 481 496 511
526 541 556 571 586
16
31
46
61
76
91
106 121 136 151 166 181 196 211
17
32
47
62
77
92
107 122 137 152 167 182 197 212 227 242 257 272 287 302 317 332 347 362 377 392 407 422 437 452 467 482 497 512 527 542 557 572 587
63
78
93
108 123 138 153 168 183 198 213 228 243 258 273 288 303 318 333 348 363 378 393 408 423 438 453 468 483 498 513 528 543 558 573 588
18
33
48
19
34
49
64
79
94
109 124 139 154 169 184 199 214 229 244 259 274
20
35
50
65
80
95
110
125 140 155 170 185 200 215 230 245 260 275 290 305 320 335 350 365 380 395 410 425 440 455 470 485 500 515 530 545 560 575 590
21
36
51
66
81
96
111
126 141 156 171 186 201 216 231 246 261 276 291 306 321 336 351 366 381 396 411
22
37
52
67
82
97
112
127 142 157 172 187 202 217 232 247 262 277 292 307 322 337 352 367 382 397 412 427 442 457 472 487 502 517 532 547 562 577 592
23
38
53
68
83
98
113
128 143 158 173 188 203 218 233 248 263 278 293 308 323 338 353 368 383 398 413 428 443 458 473 488 503 518 533 548 563 578 593
24
39
54
69
84
99
114
129 144 159 174
10
25
40
55
70
85
100 115
11
26
41
56
71
86
101
12
27
42
57
72
87
102 117
132 147 162 177 192 207 222 237 252 267 282 297 312 327 342 357 372 387 402 417 432 447 462 477 492 507 522 537 552 567 582 597
13
28
43
58
73
88
103 118
133 148 163 178 193 208 223 238 253 268 283 298 313 328 343 358 373 388 403 418 433 448 463 478 493 508 523 538 553 568 583 598
14
29
44
59
74
89
104 119
134 149 164 179 194 209 224 239 254 269 284 299 314 329 344 359 374
15
30
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60
75
90
105 120 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 255 270 285 300 315 330 345 360 375 390 405 420 435 450 465 480 495 510 525 540 555 570 585 600
116
289 304 319 334 349 364 379 394 409 424 439 454 469 484 499 514 529 544 559 574
589
426 441 456 471 486 501 516 531 546 561 576 591
189 204 219 234 249 264 279 294 309 324 339 354 369 384 399 414 429 444 459 474
489 504 519 534 549 564 579 594
130 145 160 175 190 205 220 235 250 265 280 295 310 325 340 355 370 385 400 415 430 445 460 475 490 505 520 535 550 565 580 595
131 146 161 176
191 206 221 236 251 266 281 296 311
If number(s) do not appear above,

please write them here and circle:
326 341 356 371 386 401 416 431 446 461 476 491 506 521 536 551 566 581 596
389 404 419 434 449 464 479 494 509 524 539 554 569 584 599
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OCTOBER 2015
Advertisers Index
Advertiser............. Page number
Phone number
Reader Service #

Phone number
Reader Service #

Phone number
Reader Service #
Abbe, Paul O. ......................... 21
Miller-Stevenson ....................69
Roto Hammer Industries Inc.... 75
1-855-789-9827
1-800-992-2424
1-800-477-7686
Berndorf Band GmbH ............. 11
Myron L Company ................. 19
Sandvik Process Systems ......59
1-847-841-3300
1-760-438-2021
49 711 5105-0
Bionomic Industries................33
Paratherm Corp. .....................17
1-800-311-6767
1-877-789-0433
Sentry Equipment
Corporation ............................27
Bluebeam Software, Inc. ............

SECOND COVER
Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH ..........35
1-262-567-7256
Sturtevant Inc. ........................26
49 6441 802-0
Cashco VCI ............................23
* Plast-O-Matic Valves, Inc. .... 12I
1-785-472-4461
1-973-256-3000
Chemical Technology &

Equipment Fair/CTEF2016......43
PNC Financial Services

Group ................................. 40a
86-20-8395 3253
1-855-762-2361
1-866-537-1133
Chemshow 2015 ....................45
Proco Products, Inc. ..............33
Tuthill Vacuum & Blower ........29
1-203-221-9232
1-800-825-6937
Chemstations ......................... 13
Diamond Refractory
Services, an EMCOR
Industrial Services company ....9
RedGuard .............................. 14
1-855-REDGUARD
Ross, Charles & Son Company 6

1-800-213-ROSS
1-866-890-7794
Emerson Process Management/

Delta V Group......................... 15
Filtra Systems Technology .....24
1-248-427-9090
Flexicon ....................................5
1-888-FLEXICON
Fluid Metering Inc................... 21

1-800-223-3388
Gemco Valves ........................74

Hawk Measurement ..............69

1-973-304-3000
Honeywell International ..............

FOURTH COVER
Load Controls ........................ 31

1-888-600-3247
* International Edition
Thermodyn.............................20
1-800-654-6518
Triangle Fluid Controls ............22
Wyssmont Company ...........10D

1-201-947-4600
YS Inc. ..................................10D
1-888-352-3343
Classiied Index October 2015
Eastman Chemical Company...3

1-800-426-2463
1-800-992-0209
Advertiser
Phone number
Page number
Reader Service #
Aaron Equipment Company .. 101

1-855-714-8359
Amandus Kahl
GmbH & Co. KG .................. 100
Applied e-Simulators
Software............................... 100
1-800-469-4887
Blackhawk Technology ........ 100
Advertiser's Product
Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Computer Software . . . . . . 100
Equipment, New & Used . . .101
Advertiser
Phone number
Page number
Reader Service #
Micromold Products.............. 101

1-914-338-8840
Ross, Charles & Son

Company .............................. 101
1-800-469-4887
1-800-243-ROSS
adlinks.chemengonline.com/56202-247, 248
H&P Equipment .................... 101
Vesconite Bearings ............... 101
Indeck Power Equipment Co. .. 101
27 11 616 11 11
1-800-446-3325
Wabash Power
Equipment Co. ...................... 101
KnightHawk Engineering ....... 101
1-800-704-2002
1-281-282-9200
Xchanger, Inc. ....................... 101

1-952-933-2559
Send Advertisements and Box replies to: Diane Burleson

Chemical Engineering, 11000 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77042 E-mail: dburleson@chemengonline.com Tel: 512-337-7890
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October 2015; VOL. 122; NO. 10
Chemical Engineering copyright @ 2015 (ISSN 0009-2460) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD, 20850. Chemical Engineering Executive, Editorial, Advertising and Publication Offices: 40 Wall
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purposes only. Certain articles contain the authors personal recommendations only. RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION SUPPLIED IN THIS PUBLICATION IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
OCTOBER 2015
103
Economic Indicators
2013
2014
2015
Download the CEPCI two weeks sooner at www.chemengonline.com/pci
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PLANT COST INDEX (CEPCI)

625
(1957-59 = 100)
CE Index ______________________________________________
Equipment ____________________________________________
Heat exchangers & tanks _________________________________
Process machinery _____________________________________
Pipe, valves & fittings ____________________________________
Process instruments ____________________________________
Pumps & compressors ___________________________________
Electrical equipment ____________________________________
Structural supports & misc ________________________________
Construction labor _______________________________________
Buildings _____________________________________________
Engineering & supervision _________________________________
Jul. '15
Prelim.
Jun. '15
Final
Jul. '14
Final
556.3
669.7
597.9
658.5
829.1
394.9
956.5
512.5
737.7
321.5
541.9
319.0
558.3
673.0
601.7
659.5
836.3
398.7
957.8
512.9
737.7
321.0
541.4
318.7
576.9
700.4
640.3
667.6
878.2
413.3
938.8
516.1
771.1
322.2
544.5
320.6
Annual Index:
2007 = 525.4
600
2008 = 575.4
2009 = 521.9
575
2010 = 550.8
2011 = 585.7
550
2012 = 584.6
2013 = 567.3
525
2014 = 576.1
500
Starting with the April 2007 Final numbers, several of the data series for labor and compressors have been converted to
accommodate series IDs that were discontinued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
CURRENT BUSINESS INDICATORS
LATEST
PREVIOUS
YEAR AGO
CPI output index (2012 = 100) ____________________________________________________

CPI value of output, $ billions _____________________________________________________
CPI operating rate, % __________________________________________________________
Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) ____________________________________
Aug.'15
Jul.'15
Aug.'15
Aug.'15
=
=
=
=
105.5
1,882.9
76.2
249.1
Jul. '15
Jun. '15
Jul. '15
Jul. '15
=
=
=
=
105.5
1,923.0
76.3
247.3
Jun. '15
May '15
Jun. '15
Jun. '15
=
=
=
=
105.1
1,912.1
76.1
241.4
Aug. '14
Jul. '14
Aug. '14
Aug. '14
=
=
=
=
104.1
2171.7
75.6
296.4
Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2012=100)* ____________________________________

Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) ____________________________
Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100) ______________________________
Aug.'15
Aug.'15
Aug.'15
=
=
=
105.3
158.4
122.5
Jul. '15
Jul. '15
Jul. '15
=
=
=
105.8
159.1
122.4
Jun. '15
Jun. '15
Jun. '15
=
=
=
104.9
157.6
121.6
Aug. '14
Aug. '14
Aug. '14
=
=
=
103.9
156.0
121.3
CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS)
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2000 = 100)

110
CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
2300
80
2200
78
2100
76
2000
74
1900
72
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
1800
J F M A M J
J A S O N D
J F M A M J
J A S O N D
J F M A M J
J A S O N D
*Due to discontinuance, the Index of Industrial Activity has been replaced by the Industrial Production in Manufacturing index from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.
For the current months CPI output index values, the base year was changed from 2000 to 2012
Current business indicators provided by Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
EXCLUSIVE AD SPACE AVAILABLE!

Feature your marketing message
The Economic Indicators department includes current industry

trends and the Plant Cost Index. As one of the most valued sections
in the magazine, your ad is guaranteed to reach decision makers
each month. Contact your sales representative to secure this spot.
JASON BULLOCK
jbullock@chemengonline.com
TERRY DAVIS
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DAN GENTILE
PETRA TRAUTES
dgentile@chemengonline.com ptrautes@accessintel.com
104
chemengonline.com/mediakit
CURRENT TRENDS
he preliminary value for the July 2015

CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; the
most recent available) fell compared to
the previous months value, driven by
a decline in the Equipment subindex.
The Construction Labor, Buildings and
Engineering & Supervision subindices
all rose slightly in the July numbers. The
July CEPCI is 3.6% lower than the corresponding value from a year ago at the
same time. Meanwhile, the latest Current Business Indicators (CBI; middle)
numbers showed both increases and
decreases. As a reminder, for the CBI
numbers, the base year for determining the CPI output index and the industrial production in manufacturing
were both changed to 2012 beginning
with last months chart.
OCTOBER 2015
The Chemical Engineering store offers a variety of industry topics

you will come to rely on including textbooks, PDF guidebooks,
wall charts, maps, newsletters, CDs and much more.
Advanced Engineering Mathematics, 5th Edition
Applied Mathematics And Modeling For Chemical Engineers, 2nd
Edition
Avoiding Leakage Seals and Sealing Systems for Machinery and
Piping
Chementator Guidebook Series
Chemical Engineering Buyers Guide
Chemical Engineering Distillation Guidebook
Chemical Engineering Facts at Your Fingertips Guidebook Series
Chemical Engineering Features Report Guidebook Series
Chemical Engineerings Process Water and Wastewater Treatment
and Reuse Guidebook- Volume 1
Chemical Reaction Engineering, 3rd Edition
Compact Heat Exchangers
Compressors: Selection and Cost Engineering- Volume One
Compressors: Applications and Maintenance- Volume Two
Concurrent / Simultaneous Engineering Methods, Tools and Case
Studies Within a Lean Six-Sigma Quality Framework
Control and Automation: Volume 1- Process Control
Control and Automation: Volume 2- Process Automation
Control and Automation: Volume 3- Sensors
CPI Plant Safety: Volume 1- Managing Pressure Risk and Minimizing
Leakage
CPI Plant Safety: Volume 2- Managing Explosion and Fire Risks
CPI Plant Safety: Volume 3- Managing Safety Systems to Reduce Risk
Crystallization and Related Operations
Environmental Management: Air-Pollution Control
Environmental Management: Wastewater and Groundwater
Treatment
Fluid Handling
Gas Engineers Handbook- CD ROM
Gas-Solid and Liquid-Solid Separation
Guidelines for Engineering Design for Process Safety, 2nd Edition
Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety
Hazardous Chemicals Safety & Compliance Handbook for the
Metalworking Industries
Heat Exchanger and Condenser Tubes: Tube Types Materials
Attributes Machining
Heat Exchanger Fouling- Fundamental Approaches and Technical
Solutions
Heat Exchanger Fouling- Mitigation and Cleaning Technologies
Heat Recovery Steam Generators
Instrumentation Guidebook- Volume 1
Instrumentation Guidebook- Volume 2
Liquid-Liquid and Gas-Liquid Separation
Machine Designers Reference
Machine Shop Trade Secrets, 2nd Edition
Machinerys Handbook 29th Edition - Large Print

Managing Bulk Solids
Managing Steam: Volume 1 Best Practices for Producing and
Using Steam
Managing Steam: Volume 2 Focus on Inlet Water Treatment and
Energy Efficiency
Metering Pumps Handbook
Minimizing Corrosion and Fouling: Volume 1 Strategies and
Materials
Minimizing Corrosion and Fouling: Volume 2 Equipment-Specific
Best Practice
Mixers and Mixing
Mixing, Blending and Agglomeration: Volume 1 Combining
Liquids
Mixing, Blending and Agglomeration: Volume 2 Combining Bulk
Solids
Organic Chemistry Wall Chart
Pipe Flow: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide
Pipefitters Handbook, Third Edition
Piping Design and Operations Guidebook- Volume 1
Piping Design and Operations Guidebook- Volume 2
Plant and Personnel Safety
Plant Operation and Maintenance , Volume 1- Chemical Process
Equipment
Plant Operation and Maintenance, Volume 2- Procedures and Best
Practices
Positive Displacement Pumps: Wall Chart
Pristine Processing
Process Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse GuidebookVolume 2
Project Management and Cost Engineering: Strategic Planning and
Implementation- Volume 1
Project Management and Cost Engineering: Equipment-Specific
Tips and Strategies - Volume 2
Pumping Fundamentals Volume 1: Design and Selection
Pumping Fundamentals Volume 2: Operations and Maintenance
Reactors and Reaction Engineering: Volume 1 - Equipment and
Instrumentation
Renewable Chemicals and Fuels: Expansion and Commercialization
Roundup Guidebook
Solids Processing Guidebook- Volume 1
Technology Profiles Compilation Guidebooks
Thermal Management
Valves Wall Chart
Wallchart: Factors For Unit Conversion
Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes
You & Your Job - Practical Resources for Chemical Engineers
Guidebook
Find additional information on these titles by visiting store.chemengonline.com

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What is the best path?

Focus on Milling and

Circle 4 on p. 102 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56202-04

Volume 122 | no. 10

Part 1 Whats Your Engineering Ethics IQ?

Part 2 CE Ethics Survey: Whats Your Opinion?

Newsfront Ionic Liquids Create More Sustainable

Newsfront Modeling and Simulation Move Forward

Technical and Practical

Facts at your Fingertips Industrial Adsorbents

Technology Profile Ethylene Glycol Production

Feature Report Emissions Regulations and Control

Engineering Practice Pipe Insulation: Finding the

Engineering Practice Using Laser Diffraction to

Engineering Practice Optimizing Flare Operation

Equipment and Services

Focus on Milling, Grinding and Screening

Focus on Filters and Membranes

Show Preview: Chem Show 2015

Editors Page Focusing on emissions

104 Economic Indicators

CPI Product Review Section

Fluid Sealing Special Advertising Section

100 Product Showcase

102 Reader Service

Circle 9 on p. 102 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56202-09

ART & DESIGN

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GERALD ONDREY (FRANKFURT)

MARY PAGE BAILEY

CHARLES BUTCHER (U.K.)

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JOY LEPREE (NEW JERSEY)

GERALD PARKINSON (CALIFORNIA)

Jenike & Johanson, Inc.

GERHARD KREYSA (RETIRED)

IIT Madras, India

The Linde Group

Chief Executive Officer

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Low-cost separation of CO2 from fluegas

novel solvent can reduce the costs

the CDRMax to absorb the CO2. In a second

the hydraulic fracturing fluid.