PM 12629

July
2017
www.chemengonline.com
Activated Carbon
Fundamentals
Rupture Discs Setting Specifications
page 32
Steam Valves Training Today’s Workforce

Nitric Acid Facts at Your Fingertips: Zeolites
Packaging Equipment Focus on Software
Circle 15 on p. 62 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-15
July 2017 Volume 124 | no. 7
Cover Story
32 Activated Carbon: Fundamentals and New
Applications Activated carbon sorbents are important tools in water
purification and air-pollution control. This article provides information on the
fundamentals of this diverse sorbent and on new applications for which it
is being employed
In the News
7 Chementator
Low-cost water treatment uses CO2 to remove particles without
membranes; Commercial debut for a process that captures CO2
from air; Responsive coatings lead to stronger 3-D-printed parts; A
first commercial step toward on-site NH3 production; Electrostatic
spray drying protects heat-sensitive products; and more
12 Business News
Ineos announces plans to build a new propane-dehydrogenation
plant; BASF doubles processing capacity at catalyst-recycling site
in South Carolina; Sasol begins construction on an ethoxylation plant
in Nanjing; Sibur to set up dioctyl terephthalate facility in Perm; and more
14 Newsfront Nitric Acid in the Spotlight 32
Efforts continue to make nitric-acid production more efficient with lower emissions
of greenhouse gases
17 Newsfront Packaging Equipment: Product Quality

Improves with Innovations More sophisticated packaging
equipment helps the chemical process industries (CPI) boost product quality and
machine reliability
42
Technical and Practical

28 Facts at your Fingertips Zeolites This one-page reference
provides information on the structure and chemistry of zeolites that allows their
use in the CPI 48
30 Technology Profile Urea Production from NH3 via
a Self-Stripping Process This process description outlines the
manufacture of urea from ammonia via a self-stripping process
42 Feature Report Part 1 Rupture Discs: Effectively
Minimize Leaks and Emissions When installing rupture discs,
there are several mechanical and operational considerations for reducing the
likelihood of leaks and fugitive emissions
48 Feature Report Part 2 Proper Sizing and Installation

for Steam-System Safety Valves Successful operation of
safety valves in steam systems requires careful adherence to established
industry standards for installation and design
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM JULY 2017 1

54 Engineering Practice Setting Specifications in the
Modern World Several methodologies are discussed, and one approach
— utilizing ‘tolerance intervals’ — can help to set more realistic specification
ranges, especially when only small amounts of data are available
58 You and Your Job Training Today’s Workforce

Integrated console, virtual-reality simulation offers learning for maximum
measurable training efficiency
Equipment and Services

22 Focus on Software for Chemical Process Applications
Upgraded meshing capabilities improve CFD modeling output; This software
58 improves tank-inventory management; Enterprise solution helps to manage risk
and compliance; Process-modeling tools help to optimize engineering workflow;
Improve simulation with this mathematical solver; Improved software benefits
these precision balances; and more
24 New Products
A highly adaptable reverse-osmosis system; This gas monitor has a dual-
22 sensor design; Rotary vane pumps for critical applications; These ultrafiltration
membranes offer extreme hydrophilicity; This software suite integrates analytics
and machine learning; A reactive silencer keeps these compressors quiet; Self-
tuning transducer senses position, displacement or proximity; and more
Departments
5 Editor’s Page 2017 Nicholas Chopey Scholarship
The Chopey Scholarship for Chemical Engineering Excellence has been
24
awarded to a chemical engineering student at the University of Oklahoma
64 Economic Indicators
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61 Classified
62 Reader Service
63 Ad Index
Chemical Connections
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Visit us on www.chemengonline.com for Latest News,
Webinars, Test your Knowledge Quizzes, Bookshelf
and more
Coming in August
Look for: Feature Reports on Distillation; and Mixing; A Focus
on Analyzers; A Facts at your Fingertips on Blending; News
Articles on Carbon Capture; and Control Valves; New Products; and
much more
Cover design: Rob Hudgins

Cover photo: Courtesy of Cabot Corp.
2 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM JULY 2017

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Editor s Page
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2017 Nicholas Chopey Scholarship
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In this issue
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC This month’s cover story delves into the fundamentals of activated car-
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Vice President, Digital
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Chementator
Low-cost water treatment uses CO2 to remove
particles without membranes Edited by:
Gerald Ondrey
R
esearchers at Air
Princeton Uni- Waste
particle
versity (Princ- RECYCLING SACHETS
eton, N.J.; www. Particle Later this year, Unilever (Lon-
princeton.edu) have de- suspension
don, U.K.; www.unilever.
veloped a water treatment com) plans to open a pilot
technique that injects Filtered water
C02 plant in Indonesia to test the
carbon dioxide gas into a long-term viability of its new
stream of water to sepa- technology for recycling plas-
rate suspended particles tic sachet (small bags) waste.
Air
that would be difficult to The process, called CreaSolv,
Particle has been developed in coop-
remove by sedimentation suspension
or by microbes. The sys- eration with the Fraunhofer
C02 Institute for Process Engi-
tem, built initially at labora-
neering and Packaging (IVV;
tory-scale, removes sus- Freising, Germany; www.ivv.
Princeton University
pended particles 1,000 fraunhofer.de). The technol-
times more efficiently than conventional a diffusion potential, which can be exploited ogy has been adapted from
filtration units, and does not require mem- to move suspended particles (which have a method IVV developed to
branes, the research team says. significant surface charges) by diffusiopho- separate brominated flame
The low-cost, low-energy system could resis, the researchers say. retardants from waste electri-
be used as a replacement to microfiltration The solids-containing water travels through cal and electronic equipment.
and ultrafiltration, or as an adjunct to con- a gas-permeable material (polydimethylsi- The pilot plant will enable the
ventional filtration, protecting membranes loxane) and the ion gradient induces particle recovery of 6 kg of pure poly-
mers using the same energy
from fouling. The system could also be used motion transverse to the flow direction. The
needed to produce 1 kg of
to separate waterborne bacteria and viruses particles then accumulate in one side of the virgin monomer, says IVV.
without chlorination or treatment with ultra- channel, where they can be separated by Today, only 14% of all plas-
violet light, the researchers say. splitting the water stream (see figure). tic packaging is recycled glob-
The system works by taking advantage of The research project was carried out in ally, says Unilever. Sachets
a principle called diffusiophoresis, whereby the Princeton laboratory of Howard Stone are widely used in developing
the movement of solid particles in water is by post-doctoral researcher Sangwoo Shin, and emerging regions of the
induced by an ion concentration gradient. an engineering professor at the University world because they enable
The ion gradient is set up by dissolving CO2 of Hawaii at Manoa, and Orest Shardt, a low-income consumers to
gas in water, forming carbonic acid. The acid former Princeton scientist now at the Uni- purchase small amounts of
products. In Indonesia, some
dissociates into hydrogen ions and HCO3– versity of Limerick (Ireland). The research
64 million m.t./yr of waste
ions, similar to the chemistry that occurs in was described in a recent issue of Nature is generated, with 1.3 mil-
carbonated beverages. Large differences in Communications. The team plans to scale lion m.t./yr ending up in the
the diffusivities of H+ and HCO3– ions create up the technology. ocean. Unilever has pledged
to make 100% of packaging
recyclable, reusable or com-
Commercial debut for a process that postable by 2025.
captures CO2 directly from air
UREA + SULFUR
O
n May 31, Climeworks (Hinwill/ developing while engineering students at Building on years of joint
Zurich, Switzerland; www.clime- the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in experience in the field of
works.com) inaugurated its — Zurich (ETH; www.ethz.ch). The facility has sulfur granulation, Sandvik
and the world’s — first commer- 18 collectors, each equipped with a fan and Process Systems (Fellbach,
cial plant that captures CO2 directly from a filter. The fans blow air through the filters, Germany; www.process-
systems.sandvik.com)
air. The Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility, which are porous granulates modified with
and Shell joined forces and
located at the waste-utilization plant of amines that absorb CO2 from air. After a successfully demonstrated
KEZO in Hinwill, Switzerland, will supply up few hours, the filter becomes saturated. The the integration of the Shell
to 900 metric ton per year (m.t./yr) of CO2 captured CO2 is then released by heating Thiogro (www.shell.com/
to a nearby greenhouse-cultivation com- to 100°C using waste heat from the waste- sulphur/thiogro) Urea-ES
pany, Gebr. Meier Primanatura AG, which utilization plant. The CO2 is then pipelined to technology and Sandvik
previously had to purchase CO2 delivered the greenhouses located 400 m away. Rotoform equipment during
by trucks. CO2 is used in greenhouses for The plant will operate as a three-year a series of continuous plant
increasing the growth of vegetables, such demonstration project in cooperation with trials at Sandvik’s productiv-
as tomatoes and cucumbers. partners Gebr. Meier and KEZO, and with a ity center in Fellbach. Shell’s
unique technology and
The DAC plant uses an air-filtration sys- contribution toward non-amortizable costs
tem that the company’s founders first began by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. (Continues on p. 8)

the versatility of the Sandvik Responsive coatings lead to stronger
equipment enabled the pro- 3-D-printed parts
duction of Shell Urea-ES gran-
Essentium Materials
ules containing up to 70% of
A
dditive manufacturing (3-D print- Electromagnetic heating
finely dispersed elemental sul-
fur in a urea matrix.
ing) has quickly gained popular-
In the Sandvik Rotoform ity, due in part to its potential for
System, the homogeneous rapidly creating customized parts.
Shell Urea-ES emulsion is fed However, one inherent limitation of addi-
to the unit and deposited in tive manufacturing — specifically the high-
the form of drops (2–4-mm speed fused deposition modeling (FDM)
dia.) across a steel belt cooler. technique — is the potential for weak bonds
Water is sprayed against the between layers, which increases the likeli-
underside of the solid steel hood of mechanical failure. With its Flash-
belt, ensuring no cross con-
Fuse technology, Essentium Materials LLC
tamination either to product or
to water. As the product moves
(College Station, Tex.; www.essentiumma-
along the steel belt, the liquid terials.com) aims to enable stronger and
droplets are converted into tougher FDM 3-D-printed components by
solid pastilles. The final solid employing a sophisticated electric-welding
product is collected at the technique along with proprietary filament
end of the belt and sent to the materials coated with electromagnetically (Lugwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com)
downstream handling system. responsive carbon nanotubes (CNTs). to develop advanced materials for 3-D
One standard Rotoform Electromagnetically heating the CNT skin printing applications. “The partnership’s
High Speed unit can produce on the filaments results in interlayer polymer first wave of products will consist of vary-
up to 150 m.t./d of Shell Urea-
diffusion, producing stronger welds between ing flexible thermoplastic polyurethane
ES granules. To support in-
dustrial deployment, Sandvik
layers (diagram). Furthermore, the CNT coat- grades, polyamides, carbon-fiber filled
and Shell are finalizing their ing enables targeted heating at potentially products and high-heat exotic materials,”
combined design to support weak joints, allowing for improved interlayer explains Teipel. Additionally, the company
installation in greenfield and polymer entanglements, making the finished plans to launch FlashFuse filaments that
brownfield projects, which will parts even more resilient. “FDM 3-D print- incorporate BASF engineered resins later
allow current and new Roto- ing can now attain the same level of utility this year, which, according to Teipel, will be
form owners to expand their and functionality for industrial applications the first isotropic material offering for FDM
product portfolio by enabling comparative to traditional manufacturing 3-D printing when printed with Essentium’s
the production of Shell Urea- methods,” says Essentium Materials presi- core technology. Essentium is also currently
ES fertilizer.
dent and chief technology officer Blake Tei- developing nanocellulose composites for
pel. The company reports that its FlashFuse additive manufacturing. The high strength-
SCRUBBING SHIP’S SOx method creates 3-D-printed parts that retain to-weight ratio of nanocellulose positions it
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, up to 95% of the tensile strength of a com- as a potential sustainable replacement for
Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan;
parable injection-molded part. other filament materials, such as carbon
www.mhi.com) and Mitsubishi
Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd.
Essentium is partnering with BASF SE fiber or glass fiber, says Teipel.
(MHPS; Yokohama, Japan;
www.mhps.com) have jointly
developed a large-scale, rect- A first commercial step towards
angular marine scrubber that on-site ammonia production
efficiently removes oxides of
A
sulfur (SOx) from the exhaust new company — Tsubame BHB — was found to be an order of magnitude
gases emitted by marine die- Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www. more efficient than conventional Ru-based
sel engines. tsubame-bhb.co.jp) — has been catalysts for ammonia production (for more
The new SOx scrubber uses
established to commercialize the details, see Chem. Eng., December 2012, p.
seawater as its cleaning agent,
adopting a simple “open-loop”
world’s first on-site production of ammo- 12). The development is expected to enable
system in which seawater in- nia for supplying amino-acid synthesis, NH3 production at much milder conditions
take is sprayed directly on the fermentation materials and fertilizers. The than the conventional Haber-Bosch process,
exhaust gas. Effective use of company — a joint venture of Ajinomoto thereby lowering costs.
seawater alkaline eliminates Co., Inc., No. 1 UMI Limited Partnership Ajinomoto, a producer of amino acids
the need for chemicals or ad- (both Tokyo) and professor Hideo Hosono (including glutamic acid) and fermentation
ditional processing. Further, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Ti- materials, has been involved in the joint-
because the horizontal and Tech; Yokohhama) — began operations development in order to be able to sup-
vertical dimensions of the rect- last April, and aims to implement first NH3 ply its NH3 feedstock on site. The Japan
angular scrubber tower can
production by 2021. Science and Technology Agency, which
be freely modified, volume ef-
ficiency is higher than previous
The production process will be based on a has funded the basic research, and TiTech
cylindrical scrubbers, providing new catalyst that was developed in the labo- have licensed patents for the new catalysts
ratories of professor Hosono. The ruthenium- developed by Hosono’s research group to
(Continues on p. 10) loaded electride — 12CaO.7Al2O3 (C12A7) the new company.
Electrostatic spray drying protects heat-sensitive products
A
spray-drying technology nozzle, a charge is applied, so that a pulsed manner, so that a mix-
that applies an electrical each product-containing droplet ture of fast-drying (charge on) and
charge to feedstock as it has an electrical charge. Within slow-drying particles (charge off)
exits the atomizing nozzle the charged droplets, the mole- is formed. “When the wet and dry
allows significant reductions in pro- cules of high-polarity solvent (usu- particles collide, they form agglom-
cessing temperature and can elimi- ally water) pick up a higher pro- erates,” Szczap says, so users can
nate downstream processing steps. portion of electrons and achieve spray-dry and agglomerate in the
The charge application can improve a higher charge density, while the same vessel.
control over particle morphology, less polar product molecules pick “Electrostatic spray drying tech-
lengthen shelflife of products and up fewer electrons. nology will open up processing of a
lower energy consumption. The repulsive forces of like whole new branch of active ingre-
Fluid Air, a division of Spraying charges drive the solvent to the sur- dients that previously could not be
Systems Co. (Aurora, Ill.; www. face of the droplet, while the spray- produced in powder form due to
fluidairinc.com), launched a new drying product tends to remain in the high temperatures of traditional
technology, known as PolarDry, in the center, explains Joseph Szczap, spray drying,” Szczap remarks, and
late 2016 after five years of inter- director of operations at Fluid Air. may offer an economical alternative
nal development. The company is “This creates an ideal situation for to freeze-drying that will dramatically
now testing PolarDry with products drying, and the solvent will evapo- cut processing time.
of potential users. These include rate efficiently at much lower tem- Also, PolarDry’s conditions are
heat-sensitive or easily oxidized peratures — 80°C or even ambient well suited for microencapsulation
compounds, such as proteins, ac- temperatures — compared to tradi- applications. With lower tempera-
tive pharmaceutical ingredients, tional spray-drying processes,” he tures, the encapsulated products re-
nutraceuticals, vitamins, antibiotics says, which typically use tempera- tain higher levels of active ingredient.
and chemicals. tures of 200–250°C. Requiring less raw materials results
As feedstock slurry and atom- Fluid Air has also developed a in considerable cost savings, says
izing gas pass through PolarDry’s method for applying the charge in the company.
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space savings. The equipment Finely tuned electrodes for water treatment
configuration is simple, allow-
A
ing easy installation not only new electrochemical water-treat- nanotubes in an organic solvent is used to
in newly commissioned ships, ment process developed in the coat conductive carbon fibers, which serve
but in retrofitted vessels as well. laboratory of T. Alan Hatton, pro- as current collectors and the support system
The new scrubber was
fessor of chemical engineering at for the functional materials. Then, a depo-
developed in response to
stringent new SOx emissions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; sition process produces a porous film that
regulations that come into ef- Cambridge; web.mit.edu), employs func- provides high surface area for contacting the
fect globally in 2020. It is able tionalized electrodes to selectively remove pollutant species, which are released from
to purify exhaust gas emitted contaminants, such as pesticides and phar- the system by applying reverse potential.
from inexpensive heavy fuel oil maceuticals, at extremely low concentra- By functionalizing the cathode and the
to a level equivalent to more tions. The electrode surfaces are treated anode in a targeted asymmetrical fashion,
expensive low-sulfur fuels. (functionalized) with Faradaic materials — both positively and negatively charged ions
those that can undergo both oxidation or are simultaneously removed. In the work
MAKING CO FROM CO2 reduction reactions to take on a positive or done at MIT, a ferrocene-based anode was
Researchers from the École negative charge. These reactions take place used alongside a cobalt-based metallopoly-
Polytechnique Fédérale de at controlled potentials and can change the mer cathode. This specially synthesized
Lausanne (Switzerland; www. chemical properties of the Faradaic materi- cathode material has selective affinity for
epfl.ch) have developed a new als, making them selective toward a certain positively charged pesticides, says Su. The
catalyst, based on abundant,
contaminant species at a certain oxidation technology has been demonstrated at the
inexpensive components, for
the electrolysis of CO2 into CO
state. “Depending on which Faradaic mate- laboratory scale, and the team is currently
and O2. Alternative bi-func- rial you select to incorporate onto your elec- working on a prototype system with elec-
tional catalysts require more trodes, you can design the selectivity to a trodes in the 10–100-cm2 range. At the lab
expensive materials, such as wide variety of contaminants, from organic scale, the electrodes can undergo hundreds
gold and silver. pollutants to inorganic salts and heavy met- of cycles without the need for replacement,
The catalyst is made by als,” explains MIT researcher Xiao Su. To and the team aims to improve the system’s
depositing atomic layers of tin treat the electrodes, a homogeneous disper- chemical stability to withstand 5–6 months
oxide on copper oxide nanow- sion of the Faradaic materials with carbon of continuous operation, according to Su.
ires. Tin oxide suppresses the
generation of side-products,
which are commonly observed CNT membrane aids distillation of brine
M
from copper-oxide catalysts,
leading to the sole production embrane distillation (MD) — a The new membrane is made by spraying
of CO in the electro-reduction thermal desalination technique carboxylated CNTs and PVA layer-by-layer
of CO2. The catalyst was used for recovering pure water onto a traditional PTFE (polytetrafluoroeth-
integrated into a CO2 elec- from concentrated salt solutions ylene) membrane as a support. The func-
trolysis system and linked to a — is hampered by high energy consump- tional groups on the surface of the CNTs form
triple-junction solar cell (GaInP/ tion, low single-pass recovery rates and by crosslinks with PVA, generating a porous, hy-
GaInAs/Ge) to make a CO2 the need to use expensive heat exchangers drophilic and electrically conductive thin film.
photo-electrolyzer. The system to handle the high corrosivity of hot brines. A Coupled with the hydrophobic PTFE, mem-
uses the same catalyst as the
newly developed membrane based on car- brane functions as a traditional MD system,
cathode that reduces CO2 to
CO and the anode that oxi-
bon nanotubes (CNTs) layered with polyvinyl where the vapor formation occurs at the CNT-
dizes water to O2 through the alcohol (PVA) can significantly simplify MD PTFE interface. When a current is applied, the
“oxygen-evolution reaction.” system design by eliminating heat exchang- conductive CNT-based membrane acts as
The gases are separated with a ers, while also improving the water recovery a Joule heater, generating heat at the mem-
bipolar membrane. The system rates by almost an order of magnitude. brane surface. In this way, the membrane
was able to selectively convert The new membrane, developed by a re- heats only the brine in direct contact with the
CO2 to CO with an efficiency of search group at the University of California at surface, dramatically increasing system effi-
13.4% using solar energy. Riverside (www.ucr.edu) led by David Jassby, ciency. Salt rejection rates of 99% were ob-
The work — described in a re- could allow much more effective and efficient served experimentally using the CNT-based
cent issue of Nature Energy —
MD of brines, such as those from reverse membrane, Jassby’s group reports.
was funded by Siemens AG,
and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie
osmosis waste and produced water from hy- CNTs can degrade with the application of
Fellowship from the E.U.’s Sev- draulic fracturing operations. The researchers electric potentials, especially in ionizable envi-
enth Framework Program. recently published details of the membrane in ronments (like brine), so the researchers found
the journal Nature Nanotechnology. a method for applying the electrical potential
ALUMINUM BATTERY Conventional MD works when hydropho- using high-frequency, alternating-current (a.c.)
The Industrial Technology bic membranes allow passage of salt-free electricity. This high-frequency a.c. allows for
Research Institute (ITRI, Chu- water vapor, while preventing the passage sufficient heating to drive the process, but also
tung, Taiwan; www.itri.org.tw) of liquid water and salt. But the single-pass prevents degradation of the CNT membrane in
and Stanford University (Palo water recovery rates for membrane distil- brine solutions. Above a threshold frequency,
Alto, Calif.; www.stanford. lation are limited to 10% or lower, the re- electrochemical oxidation of the nanotubes
edu) have developed URA- searchers say. Also, MD’s reliance on a con- was avoided, allowing the nanotube films to be
Bat, an aluminum battery that stant stream of hot brine requires specially operated for significant lengths of time with no
(Continues on p. 11) designed (and expensive) heat exchangers. reduction in performance, the researchers say.
A continuous biotreatment process that uses an aluminum anode, a graphite-
degrades phenol in wastewater structured carbon cathode, and an
ionic liquid electrolyte. According to
ITRI, the battery can be fully charged
A
lthough there are several ways mixed consortium of bacteria isolated
in 1 min., and can be recharged up to
to reduce the phenol concen- from the East Calcutta wetlands. The 10,000 times. The electrode with gra-
tration in industrial effluent, degradation rates and removal efficien- phitic foam material allows a 120°C
they each have drawbacks. cies of phenol by soil bacteria from East fast-charging within 30 s. Single-cell
Chemical treatment, such as adsorp- Calcutta wetlands under various mean discharge capacities of 200 mAh/g can
tion and stripping, is fast but expen- hydraulic retention times, air flowrates be obtained and 30,000 times cycle life
sive, and the chemical degradation of and temperatures were observed and has been proven in the laboratory, says
phenol leads to the formation of toxic processes were optimized for both co- ITRI. The URABat offers several advan-
intermediates. On the other hand, current and counter-current conditions. tages over lead-acid batteries, which
biological treatment is economic and The researchers observed that the are not very environmentally friendly;
and lithium batteries, because lithium
leads to complete mineralization of bacteria could degrade phenol at a
is expensive and chemically unstable.
phenol, but the technique has been higher rate in the co-current mode, with ITRI says the battery’s stability can
mainly limited to batch operations. optimized conditions, including the fol- be attributed to aluminum’s deposit
There have been few studies involving lowing: a temperature of 30°C, substrate (charge)/dissolve (discharge) reaction
a continuous phenol-degradation pro- flowrate of 3.33 mL/min and a hydraulic within ionized liquid of up to 99.8% cou-
cess by mixed cultures. retention time of 300.3 min. The rate of lombic efficiency. The anode does not
Now, a study by professors Bhas- phenol degradation was 2 mg/L.min and cause dendritic crystallization, which
wati Chakraborty and Srabanti Basu the phenol removal efficiency was 82%. quickly damages conventional batter-
from the Department of Biotechnol- To validate the performance of the co- ies. ITRIsays the battery is inherently safe
ogy, Heritage Institute of Technology, current, continuous packed-bed reactor because all components, including the
aluminum and graphite electrodes, and
(Anandapur, Kolkata City, India; www. system in an actual industrial application,
the isolating membrane, are inert. Ionic
heritageit.edu) compared the perfor- a phenolic industrial effluent was fed to liquids can be eco-friendly solvents be-
mance of a co-current and a counter- the system in real time. The phenol deg- cause of their low volatility, non-toxicity
current continuous, packed-bed reac- radation rate for this field trial was found and non-flammable nature.
tor (continuous reactor packed with to be 1.43 mg/L.min and the phenol re- ITRI plans to establish a company to
solid waste) in degrading phenol by a moval efficiency was 72.85%. n bring products to international markets.❑
WORLD-LEADING TRADE FAIR

NUREMBERG, GERMANY
26 - 28.9.2017
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LINEUP Plant Watch the construction phase of its new polyethylene
Ineos announces plans to build new PDH production facility in Freeport, Tex. The
AKZONOBEL 400,000-m.t./yr unit is the first of four new
plant, increase ethylene capacity
BASF June 12, 2017 — Ineos (Rolle, Switzerland; derivative investments currently under way
www.ineos.com) announced plans to construct at Dow’s sites in Texas and Louisiana.
CABOT
a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Europe.
CHEVRON PHILLIPS The plant will produce 750,000 metric tons per BASF doubles processing capacity at
year (m.t./yr) of propylene. Ineos also intends catalyst-recycling site in South Carolina
CHROMALOX
to increase the ethylene capacity of its cracker June 5, 2017 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
CLARIANT facilities at Grangemouth, Scotland and Rafnes, Germany; www.basf.com) has completed an
Norway to over 1 million m.t. each. expansion at its Seneca, S.C. operation that
DOW
will more than double the precious metals
EXXONMOBIL Kemira opens sizing-agent milling and sampling production capacity of
HEXCEL production lines in Nanjing the site. The Seneca site is BASF’s global
June 12, 2017 — Kemira Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; production hub for the recycling of end-of-life
HONEYWELL www.kemira.com) opened new production lines automotive and chemical catalysts, allowing
HUNTSMAN for the sizing agents alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) for the recovery and recycling of platinum
emulsion and cationic rosin at its production group metals.
INEOS
site in Nanjing, China. Sizing agents are used
KEMIRA for improving water resistance in paper and Sadara starts up
board. In addition to these new production world-scale PMDI plant
MITSUBISHI CHEMICALS June 1, 2017 — Sadara Chemical Co. (Jubail,
lines, Kemira plans to open a new alkenyl
NIPPON ELECTRIC succinic anhydride (ASA) production line in Saudi Arabia; www.sadara.com) commenced
GLASS Nanjing by the end of 2017. commercial production of liquid polymeric
methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) at
PPG
Sasol begins construction on its Jubail chemical complex. Sadara’s Jubail
SADARA ethoxylation plant in Nanjing complex is considered to be the world’s first fully
June 8, 2017 — Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, integrated PMDI manufacturer, combining units
SAFRAN
South Africa; www.sasol.co.za) formally began that produce nitric acid, mono-nitrobenzene,
SASOL construction of its new ethoxylation plant in formalin, benzene, aniline and chlorine, as well
SINOPEC Nanjing, China. The new plant is expected to as hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
be fully operational in early 2019. This project
SPIRAX-SARCO entails the construction of a new plant with a BASF and Sinopec to increase
SIBUR capacity of approximately 150,000 m.t./yr, propionic acid capacity at Nanjing site
with the option of using either branched or June 1, 2017 — BASF-YPC Co., a 50-50 JV
linear alcohols as raw materials. between BASF and Sinopec, will increase
propionic acid production capacity by 30,000
Cabot breaks ground for new m.t./yr in Nanjing, China. The expansion will
fumed-silica plant in China go onstream in 2019. With this expansion,
June 8, 2017 — Cabot Corp. (Boston, Mass.; the propionic acid production capacity at the
www.cabot-corp.com) and joint venture (JV) Nanjing site will increase to 69,000 m.t./yr.
partner Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone
Co. (HYC) broke ground on their new fumed- AkzoNobel completes organic
silica manufacturing facility in Wuhai, China. peroxides expansion in Mexico
The companies are investing approximately May 31, 2017 — AkzoNobel’s (Amsterdam,
$60 million in the new facility, which will have the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com)
a capacity of 8,000 m.t./yr, and is scheduled Specialty Chemicals business has completed
to be completed in 2019. an organic peroxides expansion project at its
Polymer Chemistry production facility in Los
Sibur to set up dioctyl terephthalate Reyes, Mexico. The investment will increase
facility in Perm the company’s peroxyester capacity in North
June 8, 2017 — Sibur (Moscow; www.sibur. America by 40%.
com) signed an investment contract to set
up a new facility in Perm, Russia to produce Chevron Phillips increases
100,000 m.t./yr of dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), organosulfur capacity at Tessenderlo site
a general-purpose plasticizer. Production is May 24, 2017 — Chevron Phillips Chemical
scheduled to start in 2019. Co. (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.
com) has expanded its Tessenderlo, Belgium
Dow finishes construction on new plant by debottlenecking its production unit
Look for more Freeport polyethylene unit for ethyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene.
latest news on June 6, 2017 — The Dow Chemical Co. This expansion increased production capacity
chemengonline.com (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) completed for these products by 65%.
ExxonMobil completes two new
polyethylene lines in Mont Belvieu
May 23, 2017 — ExxonMobil Chemical Co. (Houston; www.
exxonmobilchemical.com) announced the mechanical
completion of two new 650,000-m.t./yr high-performance
polyethylene lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu,
Tex. The company expects production to begin during
the third quarter of 2017.
RECE
Mergers & Acquisitions IVE FU
Honeywell to boost cybersecurity
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ACCELL
June 12, 2017 — Honeywell (Morris Plains, N.J.; www.
honeywell.com) has agreed to purchase Nextnine, a specialist
in industrial cybersecurity. Nextnine’s flagship technology,
ICS Shield, protects industrial sites from cybersecurity
to ALL
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PACKED PDF ARTICLE includes
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Hexcel to acquire French
ing processes you deal with on a daily
composites producer Structil basis. This is the tool you will come to
June 2, 2017 — Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn.; www. rely on, referring back to the information
hexcel.com) has entered into exclusive negotiations to
acquire composites producer Structil S.A. Structil is a JV
again and again with just the click of a
between Safran Ceramics and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. mouse.
that is headquartered in Vert-le-Petit, France. Structil’s
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Chromalox acquired Topics Include:
by Spirax-Sarco Engineering
May 30, 2017 — Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc (Cheltenham, • Conservation Economics: Carbon
U.K.; www.spiraxsarcoengineering.com) signed an Pricing Impacts
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provider of products and systems for industrial process • Burner Operating Characteristics
heating and temperature management with manufacturing • Measurement Guide for Replacement
facilities in North America, France and China.
Seals
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www.ppg.com) has reached a definitive agreement to • Low-Pressure Measurement for
sell its remaining fiberglass operations to Nippon Electric Control Valves
Glass Co. (NEG), including manufacturing facilities in South • Creating Installed Gain Graphs
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Clariant and Huntsman to combine
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May 22, 2017 — Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; Receive full access today
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The transaction is targeted to close by year-end 2017. ■ 24670
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Newsfront
Nitric Acid in the Spotlight

Efforts continue to make nitric-acid production more efficient with lower emissions of
greenhouse gases
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
L
ike the ammonia used to to produce via
FIGURE 1. This 1,150-m.t./d nitric acid plant,
make it, nitric acid (NA) con- the conventional which started up this year in Hungary, uses
tinues to be produced by a Ostwald process, a dual-pressure process together with En-
process nearly a century old says Groves, and viNOx NOx/N2O abatement. The nitric acid is
— the Ostwald process. Although thyssenkrupp has used for fertilizer production
the basic chemistry has not changed a patented pro-
over the last century, the process cess for making
technology certainly has. On the one this azeotropic
hand, NA license providers continue concentration — a
to find ways to improve the energy variation of the Os-
efficiency and yields, as well as make twald process —
the production plant more reliable. that prevents the
On the other hand, catalyst provid- concentrated 68%
ers continue to improve the composi- HNO3 emerging
tion and structure of their catalysts to from the absorp-
boost yield, while reducing the formation tower from being diluted by high maximum metal content of less than
tion of harmful byproducts. And more levels of water vapor in the atmo- 1 part per billion (ppb), and even
recently, engineering companies and spheric air used in the plant, he says. down to less than 0.1ppb,” he says.
catalyst manufacturers have com- “On the part of some fertilizer com-
bined their skills to reduce the emis- panies, we are seeing an interest in Ammonia oxidation
sions from NA plants. diversification,” explains Groves: ei- Large-scale NA production is still
ther for new plants or for revamping performed using the Ostwald pro-
Applications of HNO3 existing plants to be able to produce cess (Figure 3), whereby NH3 is first
Nitric acid is used for a large num- different concentrations simultane- oxidized with air over a platinum
ber of applications, but the majority ously — 60% for fertilizer manu- catalyst at temperatures of around
of the acid is used for making fertiliz- facture and a higher concentration, 900°C. NH3 combustion forms ox-
ers (Figures 1 and 2). Around 80% of typically 68%, for organic nitration ides of nitrogen [NOx; Reactions (1)
the NA produced globally is used for to produce, ultimately, polyurethane and (2)], which is then absorbed in
making ammonium nitrate, which is foams and other products. water to form HNO3 [Reaction (3)]:
the second-largest nitrogen fertilizer For many applications, such as
after urea, says Mark van Denderen, the production of explosives, pig- 4NH3 + 5O2 → 4NO + 6 H2O (1)
head of marketing, Stamicarbon ments and rocket fuels, higher con-
B.V. (Sittard, the Netherlands; www. centrations are required, says Edgar 2NO + O2 → 2NO2 (2)
stamicarbon.com). About 75% of the Steffin, head of marketing, QVF, De
ammonium nitrate produced is used Dietrich Process Systems GmbH, 3NO2 + H2O → 2HNO3 + NO (3)
in fertilizers, and the rest for making Mainz, Germany; www.dedietrich.
explosives that are used in the min- com). De Dietrich supplies plants How these three steps (all exo-
ing industry, he says. that achieve 99.8% HNO3 concen- thermic) are performed is the basis
The demand for plants that produce tration using reactive rectification of today’s different NA production
60 wt.% NA for fertilizer manufacture with sulfuric acid. Plants for these processes. These processes can
remains strong, says Michael Groves, QVF processes are built with highly be broadly categorized as mono-
head of nitric acid at thyssenkrupp corrosion-resistant components pressure, in which combustion and
Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Ger- (columns, packing and piping) made absorption take place at the same
many; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial- from QVF borosilicate glass 3.3 and pressure (typically 4–6 bars) or dual
solutions.com). An increasing interest De Dietrich glass-lined steel. pressure, in which combustion oc-
in higher concentrations — typically More recently, we are seeing a de- curs at a lower pressure (4–6 bars)
68 wt.% — has, however also been mand for purified, high-concentrated than that of absorption (10–14 bars).
observed, he says. This 68 wt.% is nitric acid for the semi-conductor in- The oxidation reaction is more favor-
the maximum concentration possible dustry, says Steffin. “They require a able at lower pressures, whereas
absorption is more efficient at higher Nitric acid
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
pressure, explains Paz Munoz, a pro-

~80% consumption ~15% consumption
cess engineer at Stamicarbon. De-
ciding between the two processes
is a tradeoff between capital expen- Fertilizer Non-fertilizer
ditures (capex), and operating costs

(opex), which are related to the costs
of feedstock, utilities and energy, AN NP AN (technical grade) Chemicals
says Stamicarbon’s van Denderen.
Dual-pressure processes CN CAN UAN ASN Adipic Dinitro- Nitro-

Capro-
The general trend today is for bigger lactam acid toluene benzene
plants, and companies are looking
closely at the total cost of ownership, Uses of nitric acid:
says van Denderen. “That means ef- AN: ammonium nitrate TDI MDI
NP: nitrophosphate
ficiency [of the NA plant] is very im- CN: calcium nitrate
CAN: calcium ammonium nitrate
portant.” Dual-pressure technology UAN: urea ammonium nitrate solution
ASN: ammonium sulphate nitrate Poly- Poly- Poly- Poly-
is especially competitive for produc- TDI: toluene diisocyanate amide 6 amide 6.6 urethane urethane
tion capacities of 500–600 metric MDI: methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (Flexible PU) (Rigid PU)
tons per day (m.t./d) and upwards,
he says. With this in mind, Stamicar- FIGURE 2. Nitric acid is used for a number of applications, with the bulk going into the production of
fertilizers
bon has revitalized its dual-pressure
technology, he says. krupp’s Groves. “For small plants recently, Heraeus also introduced a
Munoz will introduce Stamicar- (up to around 500 m.t./d) we would secondary catalyst that reduces N2O
bon’s newest dual-pressure process still consider mono-pressure de- emissions by up to 95%.
at the Ammonium Nitrate — Ni- sign,” he says. Johnson Matthey plc (JM; Lon-
tric Acid Producers Group (AN-NA) The present style of dual-pressure don, U.K.; www.matthey.com) also
conference (October 1–6; Austin, plant with a sieve-trayed absorber offers a variety of Pt-based gauzes
Tex.), with a presentation entitled was introduced in the 1970s, Groves with unique production and knitting
“An improved dual-pressure nitric says. “Of course, there have been patterns. For example, its Eco-Cat
acid process with maximum energy many improvements,” he adds. technology uses palladium in a con-
recovery.” The company declined to trolled manner to replace some of the
reveal any details in advance, but van Ammonia oxidation catalysts Pt in the gauze. Exploiting its metal-
Denderen says that “the energy ef- The NH3 oxidation catalyst is typically recovery properties, the Pd catches
ficiency of our design is unbeatable.” a gauze composed of platinum group lost Pt without compromising the
Last year, Weatherly Inc., a wholly metals (PGMs). Over the decades, NH3 conversion. This increases the
owned subsidiary of KBR Inc. (Hous- the gauze has been refined and opti- gauze performance and gives a sus-
ton; www.kbr.com) also introduced mized. For example, Hereaus GmbH tainable and efficient system for NA
a new dual-pressure technology for (Hanau, Germany; www.heraeus. production, says the company.
producing NA at a large scale. com) first began supplying Pt-wire In 2014, the Platinum Engineered
KBR Weatherly’s dual-pressure gauzes for NH3 oxida-
Air Compression
process (for more details, see Chem. tion in 1916, and subse-
Eng., October 2016, p. 8) is said to quently replaced the Pt Air
deliver lower operating costs with its wire with platinum-rho- Ammonia Combustion
NO gas
more efficient heat-recovery design. dium wire gauzes in 1928.
NO gas
Tailgas exits the system at 620°C, Today, the company now
Excess energy
compared to the lower (490°C) tem- supplies gauzes with di- Tailgas Energy recovery
perature of alternative processes. ameters greater than 6 NO gas
This enables more efficient recovery m. In the 1990s, Here-
Gas cooling
of heat that is subsequently used to aus introduced its FTC Tailgas
NO gas
generate energy to power up the sys- (functional total control) + acid condensate
tem. As a result, the new process of- gauzes designed to re- Process
Absorption Nitric acid
water
fers an operating cost advantage over duce the formation of
Tailgas
competing technologies of $4–5/ton N2O emissions by 50%.
Tailgas treatment
of NA produced, says the company. (N2O is a combustion by-
“Over the past 20 years, about a product that is a green-
quarter to a third of the plants [built house gas (GHG) with a Block diagram of nitric acid process thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
by thyssenkrupp] have been mono global-warming potential
FIGURE 3. Industrial production of nitric acid uses the Ostwald
pressure, but the trend is toward (GWP) that is 265 times process, which involves ammonia oxidation, followed by absorption
dual pressure plants,” says thyssen- higher than CO2.) More of NO2

A GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO REDUCE N2O EMISSIONS
I
n December 2015, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, world, around 140–160 (mostly in the E.U. and a few in North America)
Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB; Berlin, have already implemented N2O reduction, estimates Schmidt.
Germany; www.bmub.de) established the Nitric Acid Climate Ac- N2O emissions from NA production can be reduced relatively eas-
tion Group (NACAG; Berlin, Germany; www.nacag.org), with the aim ily and at a low cost compared to other GHG abatement options,
to assure global abatement of N2O emissions from nitric-acid produc- says Schmidt. Technical abatement costs range from €0.90 to 3.20/
tion by 2020. The initiative offers all governments and plant operators tCO2eq depending on the employed abatement technology and spe-
guidance and information on technological and regulatory questions cific plant characteristics, according to NACAG.
regarding N2O abatement. It also provides financial support to facilities There are two main abatement techniques: secondary controls re-
in countries that are not able to bear the associated costs of abatement duce the N2O directly after it is formed in the oxidation reactor; and
technology by themselves, says Volker Schmidt, adviser for NACAG, tertiary controls reduce N2O by installing a catalytic reactor either
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GEZ; upstream or downstream of the tailgas expansion unit following the
Berlin, Germany; www.giz.de). Last September, the German Chemical absorption stage at which the final product NA is produced.
Industry Assn. (VCI; Frankfurt; www.vci.de) joined the NACAG — the The most common secondary N2O abatement catalyst technology
first industry association to “jump on the train”, says Schmidt. “This is consists of a base metal catalyst made of cylindrical pellets. Its opera-
a good example of cooperation between industry and government.” tion requires no additional heat or energy input. The very high tem-
Globally, the cumulative N2O abatement potential is estimated at 300– perature levels inside the ammonia oxidation reactor are sufficient to
400 million m.t. of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq) between 2016 and 2020 ensure effective operation. The abatement efficiency can reach more
and 600–800 million m.t. of CO2eq between 2021 and 2030, according than 98%, but is usually lower, varying from plant to plant depending
to NACAG. The initiative wants to help companies get started by provid- on different factors. Heraeus, for example, introduced such a catalyst
ing financial support, which comes with the caveat that the national gov- in 2005 that achieves a 95% N2O reduction, and has been success-
ernments of the countries in which the respective plants are located will fully used in a number of plants, says the company.
make a commitment for continued abatement after 2020, says Schmidt. We are now preparing for a big information campaign, says Schmidt.
According to NACAG, the most successful example of comprehen- “Over the next few weeks, we will be distributing information to all
sive N2O abatement to date is the E.U., where N2O emissions from NA plant operators and governments around the world that are eligible
production are covered by the E.U. Emissions Trading System. Over re- for the financial-support option of the initiative. We are also inviting all
cent years, this has achieved the consistent abatement of around 90% parties and stakeholders to contact the NACAG secretariat for further
of N2O emissions in the E.U. A number of countries intend to follow the elaboration of options and possibilities,” he says. For more informa-
E.U.’s example. Of the 580 NA production plants operating around the tion, go to www.nitricacidaction.org. ❏
Materials division of Umicore AG & N2O emissions in steady continu- technologies for over a decade. The
Co. KG (Hanau-Wolfgang, Germany; ous operation has to all intents and company collaborates with its part-
www.pem.umicore.com) introduced purposes been solved with the En- ner thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
a new gauze generation for catalytic viNOx process, there still remains to provide tertiary N2O abatement
NH3 oxidation. Compared to the com- the problem of transient emissions of solutions at more than 25 NA pro-
pany’s established MKS systems, the NOx at plant startup and shutdown, duction plants globally. Combined,
new Multi-Combination Gauze Pack says Groves. Such emissions are the installations reduce annual N2O
(MPAC) technology is said to allow a troublesome, especially for plants emissions equivalent to approxi-
larger number of combinations, de- located in populated areas, due at mately 15 million tons of CO2.
signs and functionalities of gauzes, least in part to the unsightly brown In August 2015, Clariant intro-
including separators, getters, and the plume of NOx-containing gas exiting duced EnviCat N2O-S, a secondary
platinum gauze itself. By selecting the plant stack. The company is now catalyst that can be easily installed in
the right combination of gauzes for performing ongoing development existing NA plants without revamping
a given application, the new catalyst work aimed at reducing such emis- the facility, and converts the majority
system is said to improve product sions safely without, for example, the of N2O generated into harmless N2
yield with a lower weight of PGMs risk of forming ammonium nitrate by and O2. At the same time, the cata-
and reduced N2O emissions. inappropriate operation of the NOx lyst reduces NH3 requirements for
abatement system, he says. the same amount of NA production,
Reducing emissions NOx abatement and N2O abate- thus considerably lowering operating
“In all parts of the world, we are see- ment are now a requirement on costs, says the company.
ing an increased emphasis on lower nearly all new plants (certainly within Meanwhile, Haldor Topsoe A/S
NOx and N2O emissions,” says thys- the U.S. and Europe), says David (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.
senkrupp’s Groves (see box above). Boyd, director of Operations, KBR com) recently introduced TertiNOx, a
The company offers two variants of its Weatherly. Current emissions stan- new catalyst for reducing both NOx
EnviNOx process, both of which re- dards in the U.S., for instance, are and N2O emissions from the tail-
duce tailgas N2O emissions to below requiring greater than 98% removal gas of NA plants. Unlike traditional
30 ppm, while also reducing NOx of NOx and N2O, he says. Catalyst pellet-type catalysts, TertiNOx is a
emissions. Since the process was manufacturers are answering the call monolith structure that is impreg-
first commercialized in 2003 (Chem. for the lower emission limits with en- nated with iron zeolite that enables a
Eng., November 2002, p. 19), there hanced catalysts. simpler, smaller and less-expensive
are now about 30 EnviNOx systems For example, Clariant AG (Munich, reactor design (see Chem. Eng.,
in operation around the world. Germany; www.clariant.com) has May 2017, p. 10). n
Now that the issue of NOx and been developing N2O abatement Gerald Ondrey
Newsfront
Packaging Equipment:
Product Quality Improves
with Innovations
More sophisticated packaging equipment helps the CPI boost product quality and machine reliability
Optima Consumer
IN BRIEF
W
hen it comes to packaging their
products, chemical, pharma- QUALITY THROUGH
ceutical and food processors list SOPHISTICATION
product quality, often directly re-
lated to health and human safety, as the top RELIABILITY AND
concern, followed closely by efficiency and EFFICIENCY
reliability of equipment. Always aware of these
needs, manufacturers of packaging systems
are adding sophistication to their equipment
to help meet chemical process industries’
(CPI) requirements.
“Human health and safety are of high-
est importance to processors,” says Stefan
Bauer, sales director, chemical solutions, with FIGURE 1. Packaging equipment providers are working on
Optima Consumer GmbH (Schwabisch Hall, innovations based on robotics, innovative product transport
systems, integrated solutions and incorporating servo tech-
Germany; www.optima-packaging.com) nology combined with clever software solutions
“Furthermore, highly reliable, flexible and safe
equipment secures processors’ daily busi- place (CIP) is a standard feature in our liquid
ness and produces top-quality products.” filling equipment and sometimes steriliza-
To ensure these goals, Bauer says pack- tion in place (SIP) may also be required,” he
aging equipment providers are working on says. “We also offer trolley solutions in which
innovations based on robotics, product all machine parts in direct contact with the
transport systems, integrated solutions and product — for example in filling systems —
the incorporation of servo technology com- are located on an exchangeable trolley. The
bined with clever software solutions. “This trolleys can even be coded, which means the
results in equipment with a small footprint, machine control will only accept a correctly
high product and format flexibility and track- identified trolley for a specific product. While
and-trace capability, as well as full process one trolley is in operation, other trolleys can
control,” he says. “In addition, product data be cleaned offline. With this procedure, the
management, condition monitoring, track uptime of the equipment is increased, while
and trace, serialization and batch size 1 (the cross contamination and all the related risks
economically efficient production of highly are avoided.”
customized products) are no longer just Bauer says quality control systems are
buzzwords. They are currently available so- also important. “Net weigh systems for liq-
lutions,” Bauer adds (Figure 1). uids or powders, torque control devices,
track-and-trace solutions, camera control
Quality through sophistication systems, checkweighing and further qual-
It’s no secret that the CPI — especially ity-increasing features are available,” says
chemical, pharmaceutical and food pro- Bauer. He adds that, if required, line control
cessing — are highly regulated by global and systems can verify each process. “All mea-
local agencies, so fulfilling external and inter- surable quality parameters can be tracked
nal regulations is crucial to ensuring product and documented. Only if a process is con-
quality and human health and safety. ducted with a pre-defined limit, can the next
For example, cross-contamination is often process step be released by the system.”
a big issue, says Optima’s Bauer. “clean in Markus Schade, head of market man-

Mettler-Toledo Bosch Packaging Technology
FIGURE 2. The C3570 checkweigher uses preci- FIGURE 3. To combat counterfeit pharmaceuticals, Bosch has developed CPI Track & Trace software for
sion and speed to weigh products in all types of pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract packagers
packaging
agement at Mettler-Toledo Garvens quality of the label and its readability.” intelligence and transparency into
GmbH (Giesen, Germany; www. The pharmaceutical industry is production to ensure quality and
mt.com/vn/en) agrees that quality strongly regulated, because qual- safe manufacturing processes. To
can be improved via added sophis- ity correlates with patients’ health, combat counterfeit pharmaceuticals,
tication of packaging equipment. says Johannes Rauschnabel, chief for example, Bosch has developed
“Checkweighers play a key role pharma expert with Bosch Packaging a specific track-and-trace solution
here, as they enable processors to Technology (Waiblingen, Germany; (CPI Track & Trace software) for
produce products within a defined www.boschpackaging.com). For this pharmaceutical manufacturers and
range from a fill-level perspective,” reason, all kinds of quality attributes contract packagers. It connects Car-
he says. “Consumers expect to re- are the focus of regulatory bodies. ton Printing System (CPS) machine
ceive exactly the amount of product “In-process control is superior to modules that print data matrix codes
they paid for, therefore, monitoring quality by sampling. Aseptic quality and tamper-evident seals with CPI
and correcting fill levels and ensuring is a key requirement for sterile liquid Track & Trace software from Bosch,”
the repeatability of that process is a formulations. This means disinfection Rauschnabel says (Figure 3).
critical element.” (Figure 2) of the process environment, all man- Dave Harty, head of professional
In addition, he says, machine safety ufacturing equipment and filtration. services, Americas, with Adents (East
regulations and weighing regulations In-line inspection techniques, as well Windsor, N.J.; www.adents.com),
must be fulfilled, so most processors as final inspection of vials, ampoules, adds that a large percentage of the
follow the Measuring Instruments cartridges and syringes for cosmetic recalls that occur in the pharmaceu-
Directive (MID) approval to produce defects or container closure integrity tical market deal with packaging is-
products in a defined range for under (CCI) ensure high quality,” he notes. sues. “Wrong label stock, incorrect in-
and overfilling. But where the real ad- CCI is extremely important in this serts, poor readability and dynamically
vances come in is in the combining industry to ensure sterility and sta- printed data are all issues,” he says.
of technologies to ensure quality. bility — and thus quality and safety. “A great deal of effort is currently being
“Checkweighers, for example, can “It requires the inspection of a large spent on ‘right the first time’ (RFT)
be linked to vision systems,” says number of parameters. The United programs and, correspondingly, an
Schade. “Vision systems are able States Pharmacopeia has revised its increase in using various technologies
to check if labels are correct, which general chapter 1207, demanding to reduce human error and increase
is particularly useful where product more quantitative, non-destructive the verification of the packaging pro-
changeovers are concerned. Many CCI test methods.” cesses to reduce the packaging is-
processors run multiple products on To help meet these needs, Raus- sues and move the company closer
the same lines, therefore when there chnabel says Bosch offers an entire to RFT goals,” Harty says (Figure 4).
is a changeover, the checkweigher range of technologies based upon To do so, Harty says, there has
will recognize that the product is dif- their expertise of visual inspection been an increase in cost-effective
ferent due to its programming. What and CCI. Examples are high-voltage vision inspection technologies that
may not be picked up is if the label leak detection or headspace analy- provide the ability to inspect every
has not changed correctly, which sis. But perhaps the greatest areas individual item for a multitude of con-
could lead to potential problems. A of innovation are in the automa- ditions that currently are managed
vision system, in conjunction with the tion and connectivity of packaging by human beings and are subject
checkweigher, is able to detect this equipment, suggests Rauschnabel. to a great deal of error and incorrect
while, at the same time, checking the “Industry 4.0 solutions bring more evaluation. The ability to add these
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Adents
To respond to the ficiency and cost reduction, as well
growing demand for as the system output.”
safety in food packag- Baumeister says the system solu-
ing, Linde developed tion often provides a seamless ap-
the in-line MAPAX proach to efficiency. “The customer
leak-detection system gets from us a fully functioning sys-
for foods packaged tem with all mechanical and electrical
with tray sealers or components, as well as the associ-
thermoforming ma- ated software program. We often see
chines. It tests pack- software-based strategies as being
ages in-line and can the key to increasing performance or
achieve 100% sam- energy efficiency,” he says.
pling at speeds up A typical, sophisticated system
FIGURE 4. A great deal of effort is being spent on “right the first time” to 120 packages per solution might work as follows: Bulk
programs and, correspondingly, an increase in using various technolo- minute. It works by materials pass from the silo along a
gies to reduce human error and increase the verification of the pack-
aging processes to reduce the packaging issues
adding a small volume conveyor section to the form-fill-seal
of hydrogen as an in- system. The bagging machine is fit-
additional inspections and apply the dicator to the modified atmosphere ted with an integral high-precision
same evaluation in a repeatable and mixture at the package sealing weigher, which ensures the accuracy
consistent manner is helping to re- stage. The sensor checks for the of the bag weights, then high-per-
duce packaging issues. gas after the sealed packages travel formance palletizers stack the bags
“We are seeing a combination of into the leak-detection unit. If the quickly and accurately on pallets.
advances in both the equipment itself, non-destructive test detects a leak, “Because efficient palletizing is
as in machines and devices, and the a visual alarm signals so issues can such an important characteristic for
software applications that interoper- be immediately resolved and a de- chemical processors, our palletizers
ate with the equipment becoming far fective item can be removed from can be fitted with a rotary clamp or
more sophisticated, especially in the the production line with minimal in- double belt turning device, which
areas of event notification and con- terruption to the process flow. moves the filled bags into the required
nectivity options,” he says. “Internet “Food safety is a major risk. While position,” explains Baumeister. “Even
connectivity and email support are the ultimate goal is to protect the bags filled with granulate can be gen-
two of the technologies that have be- consumer, processors also know tly palletized, remaining dimensionally
come standard functionality instead that one incident can stop a plant stable when stacked. Customers can
of optional or add-on functionality.” or close a business,” says Fihlman. use the high-performance packaging
Food processors also have to “Processors have hazard analysis system in the stretch hood series to
deal with industry-specific regula- plans in place to mitigate those risks, secure the load. The film fits snug-
tions, such as the Food Safety & and this type of equipment makes it gly over each product on the pallet,
Modernization Act of 2011, which easier for the processor to check off ensuring safe transport and good
shifted the focus from contamina- that box. They can be more secure load stability. These filling, palletizing
tion response to prevention, and ne- that the product leaving the plant and packaging systems help fulfill the
cessitated the development of more and going to the consumer is in the complex requirements of chemical
sophisticated inspection equip- state it’s expected to be in.” processors,” he says (Figure 5).
ment. “In-line testing on the front Built-in intelligence and connectivity
end became a goal because it has Reliability and efficiency combined with application technolo-
advantages over previously exist- For chemical processors, efficient gies are also helping to enhance the
ing leak-detection methods, such packaging of their palletized goods performance of packaging equipment.
as immersion testing, which tests is a deciding competitive factor, cre- For example, the Beumer Group
packages at random intervals or a ating the need for efficient palletizing has developed the Beumer Over-
determined sampling number,” says solutions, which are often part of an all Operation Monitoring application
Erik Fihlman, program manager for overall packaging solution designed that enables staff to maintain an
bakery, prepared foods and sea- specifically to enhance efficiency. overview of all the relevant param-
food for Linde LLC (Bridgewater, “Some of the crucial factors related eters of their packaging line on their
N.J.; www.lindeus.com). “Previ- to palletizing are transport security, mobile devices at any time. “The ap-
ous methods were effective for that anti-theft protection and display plication shows the status quo of
particular package, but by the time characteristics of the packaged availability, performance and qual-
you noticed a leak on that package, goods, as well as weatherproofing ity levels, as well as the energy and
you’d already produced X number for outside storage,” says Gregor compressed air consumption. This
of packages that may or may not Baumeister, manager of palletizing ensures efficient operation of all sys-
also have leaks, so processors had and packaging systems division tems. The program can be adapted
to either discharge, re-package or at The Beumer Group (Aarhus N, to customer-specific requirements,”
re-check all the packages that came Denmark; www.beumergroup.com). says Baumeister.
between the two checkpoints.” “Further key factors are process ef- Pineberry Manufacturing Inc. (On-
The Beumer Group Pineberry Manufacturing
FIGURE 5. The high-performance packaging system in Beumer’s FIGURE 6. Open Source friction feeders from Pineberry Manufacturing include a PLC
stretch hood series can be used to secure the load. The film fits touchscreen with smartphone app capabilities
snugly over each product on the pallet, ensuring safe transport and
good load stability
tario, Canada; www.pineberryinc. Pereira, marketing manager with Pine- ments, moving forward.”
com) also upped the intelligence and berry Manufacturing. “The app can With the goals of product qual-
added an app to enhance the reliabil- report realtime machine data on both ity, efficiency and reliability in mind,
ity of its equipment. “All of our friction the machine’s PLC and the smart- today’s packaging equipment and
feeders used to come equipped with phone app. In addition, increased use systems are being developed with
a control box, but now most of our of automation greatly reduces bottle- innovative solutions that help pro-
Open Source friction feeders include necks, human errors and label costs, cessors meet all these product
a PLC touchscreen with smartphone improves order fulfillment and will help packaging requirements. n
app capabilities (Figure 6),” says Chris meet new packaging demand require- Joy LePree
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Focus
Focus on software for

chemical process applications
Pointwise Upgraded meshing capabilities tives. — ProcessMAP, Sunrise, Fla.
improves CFD modeling output www.processmap.com
Ensuring optimal output from com-
putational fluid dynamics (CFD) This software improves
software requires reliable, high-fi- tank-inventory management
delity meshes to be created for the SupplyCare 3.0, software for tank-
complex geometries that are being inventory management (photo) pro-
modeled. The latest version of this vides a complete overview of levels
company’s CFD mesh-generation and product inventory in a company’s
software, Version 18.0 R3, includes tanks and silos worldwide. Recent
more than two dozen new features enhancements include hardware and
and advanced graphics capabili- software options that allow level, flow
ties (photo), and it is said to improve and pressure data to be displayed at
the resolution of details at very small a desk or on a handheld device, re-
scales on complex geometries, gardless of location. The SupplyCare
thereby improving the visualization Enterprise system’s advanced inven-
of results. The company’s software tory-managaement tools improve
generates structured, unstructured, forecasting, reporting, stock analysis
overset and hybrid meshes, and it and more. Operators and adminis-
interfaces seamlessly with CFD solv- trators can access the application
ers from a range of vendors, as well via a web browser from their desks
as many neutral formats. — Point- or handheld devices, such as smart-
wise, Inc., Fort Worth, Tex. phones and tablets. SupplyCare can
www.pointwise.com create reports in various formats, in-
cluding Excel, PDF, CSV and XML,
Enterprise solution helps to and data can be shared with, and
manage risk and compliance used by, other systems and comput-
The ProcessMAP Incident Manage- ing platforms. — Endress+Hauser,
ment enterprise solution helps com- Greenwood, Ind.
panies manage data and processes www.us.endress.com
Endress+Hauser in order to improve performance
related to environmental health and Process-modeling tools help to
safety, risk management and other optimize engineering workflow
considerations. It streamlines report- The process modeling capabilities
ing and tracking of worker injuries that are enabled by this software
and illness, environmental issues, allow engineers to create a num-
property damage and vehicular in- ber of steady-state, dynamic mod-
cidents. By creating enterprise-wide els for plant and control design and
access to a web-based platform and optimization, hazard and operability
improving organizational alignments, (HAZOP), and safety-system stud-
the program utilizes “big data” ana- ies, performance monitoring, trou-
lytics to create actionable insights to bleshooting, business planning and
improve safety efficiencies and miti- asset management. UniSim Design
gate risks. The program can also be Suite, Release 450 (photo) is the
used to centralize safety programs newest version of the company’s
Honeywell Process Solutions — that are often manual and frag- process-modeling software. The
mented — into a single centralized, many process-design and simulation
cloud-based platform that stream- tools that are included in this soft-
lines data and provides realtime vis- ware portfolio are designed to help
ibility to relevant metrics. The pro- operators in the oil-and-gas, petro-
gram also allows users to identify the leum-refining, petrochemical, chemi-
most frequent types of incidents, to cal and power industries to increase
support ongoing-improvement initia- their engineering effectiveness and
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number on p. 62, or use the website designation.
optimize their process designs, says ity and safety), and correlate alarms Integration Objects
the company. — Honeywell Process with process data for better trouble-
Solutions, Houston shooting and root-cause analysis. —
www.honeywellprocess.com Integration Objects, Houston
www.integrationobjects.com
Improve simulation with this
mathematical solver Improved software benefits
Comsol Multiphysics and Comsol these precision balances
Server software, Version 5.3, is a This company’s XPE precision labo-
mathematical tool that benefits simu- ratory balances, combined with its
lation specialists with faster modelling proprietary LabX software (photo),
capabilities, development tools and are designed to enhance laboratory
solvers. Its many user-driven features bench operations and scaled-up
are said to improve app development manufacturing processes. Specifi-
and enable shorter solution time, cally, the ability to record before-and-
thereby increasing research and de- after weight values against unique
velopment throughput across many sample-identification information,
industries. In many cases, users will and all calculations are performed
experience a speedup of ten times and results recorded automatically,
or more in software responsiveness, eliminating manual transcription and
such as in pre-processing tasks for assuring traceability. Meanwhile, as
handling models with several thou- instrument-control software, LabX
sand boundaries and domains, says runs on the instruments and sup-
the company. For instance, Version ports the laboratory technician using
5.3 provides the boundary element a touchscreen that provides com-
method (BEM), which can improve plete user guidance to both operate
the modeling of electrostatics and the instrument and follow standard
corrosion effects. Users handling operating procedures. — Mettler To-
large CFD models also benefit from ledo AG, Greifenssee, Switzerland
the new algebraic multigrid (AMG) www.mt.com
solver, which requires only a single
mesh level and is now the default Software improves pattern
option for many fluid-flow and trans- recognition, trend analysis Mettler Toledo
port-phenomena interfaces. — Com- TrendMiner 2.0 is the latest version of

sol, Burlington, Mass. this company’s predictive-analytics
www.comsol.com software (photo), which is designed
to improve collaboration for achiev-
Data-analytics software helps ing better process-performance op-
make sense of raw data timization. Its high-performance
The latest version of Knoweldge- analytics engine for process-data
NetAnalytics (also known as KNet capture in time series helps pro-
Analytics; photo) provides advanced cess engineers and operators easily
capabilities in capturing, storing, pro- identify trends in their processes to
cessing, analyzing and visualizing optimize both efficiency and quality.
raw data, to benefit operations and With improved “self-service” analyt-
manufacturing intelligence, “big data” ics capabilities, and using multivari-
analytics, plant automation, com- ate pattern recognition, the software
mand-and-control systems. Among allows users to question the data
its varied aspects, the KNet Analytics directly without requiring help from a
new alarm-analytics module com- data scientist, says the company. It TrendMiner
bines several data-analytics and ad- also provides improved self-service
vanced techniques to allow users to monitoring. For instance, users can
extract knowledge from alarm data- easily define a “golden batch” and
bases and go beyond classical alarm fingerprint it, then set up multivariate
management/ The added capabili- alarms with predefined boundaries.
ties provide better auditing, to allow The software monitors these finger-
users to pinpoint nuisance alarms, prints and sends notifications to the
identify alarm correcations and clust- engineering and control room staff in
iering (to remove redundant alarms the event of deviation or issues. —
and reduce alarm floods), use pattern TrendMiner, Houston
recognition to predict the future be- www.trendminer.com n
havior of alarms (to increase reliabil- Suzanne Shelley

New Products
GE Water & Process Technologies A highly adaptable purity and ultrapure water filtration, as
reverse osmosis system well as in surface water, seawater and
The PROflex reverse osmosis (RO) groundwater treatment facilities. While
system (photo) features a new online PolyCera Hydro is designed for drink-
product configurator that allows users ing-water applications, the PolyCera
to select the exact flowrate required by Titan model is available for industrial
an application from a range of PROflex wastewater treatment. All PolyCera
RO products. The recently redesigned membranes offer extreme hydrophi-
system has a smaller footprint than licity, which leads to improved fouling
previous models and boasts several resistance and ease of cleaning, says
design features that enable systems the manufacturer. The membranes are
to be designed for specific flow, flux stable in extreme pH conditions, high
and water requirements. Ten base temperatures and oxidants, and are
configurations are available with up to highly tolerant to oil and solvents. —
72 8-in. elements. Various pump sizes Water Planet, Los Angeles, Calif.
are available, along with many options www.waterplanet.com
for instrumentation and programmable
logic controllers (PLC). Simplified pip- This gas monitor has
ing streamlines cleaning and modifica- a dual-sensor design
tions, and the pump has been placed The Ultima X5000 gas monitor (photo)
Pfeiffer Vacuum
in front of the skid for easier mainte- is a replacement for this company’s Ul-
nance access.— GE Water & Process tima X device, eliminating the need for
Technologies, Trevose, Pa. specialized setup tools or a separate
www.gewater.com controller. The Ultima X5000 can be
operated from the two touch buttons
Rotary vane pumps for on its OLED display or wirelessly via
critical applications a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or
The DuoLine two-stage high-perfor- tablet from up to 75 ft away. Shown
mance rotary vane pumps (photo) prominently on the display screen are
cover all low- and medium-vacuum a gas reading gage, progress bar, op-
applications, achieving pumping erational status, maintenance alerts
speeds of 1.25 to 11 m3/h. Applica- and alarms. With the ability to connect
tions range from mass spectrometry two sensor inputs into one transmit-
or optical coating to critical industrial ter, wiring costs and installation time
applications, such as drying pro- are significantly reduced. Equipped
cesses, metallurgical processes or with this company’s XCell electro-
resin casting systems. The company chemical sensors, catalytic bead sen-
has significantly improved the water- sors or point infrared (IR) sensors, the
vapor tolerance of the pumps by using monitor detects any two combina-
Water Planet an optimized gas-ballast system. The tions of combustible gases; H2S or
DuoLine has a long service life and a CO in multiple ranges; and 0–25%
pumping speed that is independent O2. — MSA Safety Inc., Cranberry
of the type of gas. Because of their Township, Pa.
compact design and optimized cool- www.msasafety.com
ing, the pumps are very well suited for
system integration. — Pfeiffer Vacuum This software suite integrates
GmbH, Aßlar, Germany analytics and machine learning
www.pfeiffer-vacuum.com Asset Performance Management
(APM) is a complete software suite
These ultrafiltration membranes for site, process and equipment-
offer extreme hydrophilicity performance management that com-
The PolyCera Hydro (photo) is a new bines process modeling with realtime
ultrafiltration membrane for drinking big data and machine-learning solu-
water applications where total sus- tions. The APM suite is designed to
pended solids (TSS), turbidity and increase asset uptime, improve reli-
pathogen removal are of concern. ability, extend the life of equipment
PolyCera Hydro can be used in place and achieve optimal process perfor-
of conventional polymeric membranes mance system-wide. The integrated
MSA Safety for drinking-water treatment in high- suite of APM analytics provides pre-
Safety Measures
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Aerzener Maschinenfabrik scriptive guidance to address multiple dustrial cleaning chemicals, as well as
levels of asset performance, includ- particulate matter. In the event of a flash
ing: site-wide risk analysis via Fidelis fire, Tychem 2000 SFR garments will
Reliability software; process analytics not ignite, and therefore do not contrib-
to assess the root causes of process ute to additional burn injury if the wearer
disruptions, predict future occurrences uses appropriate flame-resistant (FR)
and prescribe actions to avoid them; personal protective equipment (PPE).
and equipment performance analyt- If a fire hazard exists, Tychem 2000
ics via Mtell software to predict when SFR garments must be worn over an
failures will occur. Also included in appropriate FR garment, along with
APM are pre-packaged analytics for other PPE that protects workers’ faces,
column troubleshooting that use en- hands and feet. Special features of the
semble modeling to provide operational Tychem 2000 SFR coverall include: a
guidance, as well as advanced multi- respirator-fit hood; chin flap with dou-
variate analytics for process and batch ble-sided adhesive tape for secure
monitoring.— Aspen Technology, Inc., placement; and elastic at the waist and
Bedford, Mass. tunneled elastic at the hood, wrists and
www.aspentech.com ankles for improved fit. — DuPont Pro-
tection Solutions, Richmond, Va.
A reactive silencer keeps personalprotection.dupont.com
DuPont Protection Solutions these compressors quiet
The sound waves from the discharge An efficient motorized actuator
side of this company’s Delta Screw for globe and diaphragm valves
compressor can reach 170–190 dB. The new eSyDrive motorized actuator
Therefore, a downstream silencer is (photo) is designed on the basis of the
obligatory, as with other compres- hollow shaft principle in conjunction with
sors. In conventional dissipative silenc- technology that does not use brushes
ers, the high frequencies of the sound or sensors. The self-locking actuator
waves lead to considerable vibration also offers a high level of reproducibil-
forces, which have a damaging effect ity for positioning and is therefore par-
on the piping and the insulating mate- ticularly suitable for use in precise con-
rial. This so-called microfriction wears trol applications. The Ethernet-based
out the filter material over time and eSy web interface, in conjunction with
can damage even stainless steel in an integrated web server, enables the
the long run, thereby reducing the ef- exchange of parameterization and di-
fectiveness of the silencer. The erosion agnostics data and the networking of
of fine particles can also contaminate several devices. Depending on the size,
the process air. To eliminate these chal- the actuator has an actuating speed
lenges, the company has patented a of between 2 and 6 mm/s. — GEMÜ
reactive silencer (photo). The special Gebr. Müller Apparatebau GmbH & Co.
piping system generates a defined KG, Ingelfingen, Germany
counter-noise, which superimposes the www.gemu-group.com
sound waves with a certain delay and
thus neutralizes them. The company Self-tuning transducer senses
GEMÜ Gebr. Müller Apparatebau now also equips its direct-drive screw position, displacement or proximity
compressors with reactive silencers. The new digiVIT digital variable imped-
— Aerzener Maschinenfabrik GmbH, ance transducer for linear position,
Aerzen, Germany displacement and proximity sensing
www.aerzen.com (photo) features a self-tuning bridge
that can work with nearly any sensor
New PPE garment protects and any conductive target. The trans-
against both chemicals and fire ducer also features simple pushbutton
Tychem 2000 SFR (photo) is a new pro- calibration, temperature compensation
tective garment designed for use in op- and zeroing. Its embedded intelligence
erations where dual protection against ensures that all functions are acces-
chemical and fire hazard threats is par- sible, with no need to connect to a PC
amount to worker safety. Tychem 2000 to download a configuration file when
SFR provides a barrier against a range changing sensors or performing high-
Kaman Precision Products of inorganic acids and bases, plus in- level calibrations. The operating tem-
perature range for digiVIT devices is 32 detected, allowing appropriate safety Bürkert Fluid Control Systems
to 122°F, with recommended storage measures to be taken. — Emerson,
temperatures ranging from –4 to 158°F. St. Louis, Mo.
— Kaman Precision Products, Inc., www.emerson.com
Middletown, Conn.
www.kamansensors.com A new probe for measuring
hydrogen peroxide vapor
Precise measurement The HPP272 probe for the measure-
and control of gases ment of vaporized hydrogen perox-
The new generation of high-precision ide (photo) can measure not only the
mass flowmeters (MFM) and control- hydrogen peroxide content (ppm)
lers (MFC) for gases (photo) feature an of bio-decontamination processes,
integrated Industrial Ethernet switch but also temperature, relative humid-
and support all standard Industrial ity (RH, only water vapor) and relative
Ethernet protocols. This allows the de- saturation (RS, whole gas mixture). The
vices to be flexibly integrated in exist- probe’s sensor has a purge function
ing systems. The two versions (Type that helps maintain measurement ac-
8741 and 8745) cover a broad mea- curacy between calibrations and ex-
surement and control range. They are tends the operating life of the probe.
used at high and low pressures, as well This function heats the sensor rapidly
as for low and high flowrates. Typical to remove possible impurities left in the
applications for mass flowmeters and sensor’s polymer films. According to
controllers are in the areas of metal, the manufacturer, the HPP272 probes
glass or ceramic processing, coat- require calibration only once a year and
ing technology or in the production of very little maintenance. The sensor’s
foams. MFCs/MFMs are also used in intelligent measurement algorithm and
fermenters and water treatment sys- heating function ensure water cannot
Emerson
tems. The Type 8741 handles nomi- condense on the sensor. This keeps
nal flowrates of up to 150 L/min, while measurement data reliable, even in ex-
the Type 8745 devices permit a maxi- tremely high humidities. — Vaisala Oyj,
mum of 2,500 L/min (both relative to Helsinki, Finland
N2). — Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, www.vaisala.com/h2o2
Ingelfingen, Germany
www.burkert.com A ‘single-pot’ system for
the food industry
Detect the presence of steam Mixing, granulating, coating, drying
and water in boilers and drums and heating and cooling can be per-
The Mobrey Hydratect 2462 detection formed in this company’s “single-pot”
system (photo) is used in applications process developed for the food indus-
where the detection of water or steam try. The process performs chemical
is vital, such as boilers, steam drums reactions or mechanical product treat-
Vaisala
and steam-line drain pots. A functional ment in one machine; several process
safety assessment carried out by Exida steps can take place without having
determined that the Mobrey Hydra- to isolate the intermediate products.
tect system meets the requirements Depending on the application, all reac-
of safety integrity level (SIL) 3. With ca- tants can be added into the machine
pabilities to operate at up to 300 bars right at the beginning of the process or
and 560°C, Hydratect is intended as sequentially, as required. The system
a replacement for conventional float consists of a mixer composed of a hor-
switches, and consists of a compact izontal, cylindrical drum equipped with
twin-channel electronic unit connected a main mixing shaft fitted with a shovel
to a pair of electrodes. Each channel that generates a mechanical fluid bed
gives independent indications of the by rotating. Vacuum drying can then be
presence of water or steam that are performed in the same machine, saving
said to be more reliable than those ob- time and treating the product with care.
tained with electro-mechanical devices. — Gebr. Lödige Maschinenbau GmbH,
By installing the electrodes in vessels Paderborn, Germany
or steam lines and measuring the re- www.loedige.de ■
sistance, the presence of water can be Mary Page Bailey and Gerald Ondrey Lödige Maschinenbau

Facts At Your Fingertips
Zeolites
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
T
he physical properties of zeolites a wider range of properties, in-
make them extremely important cluding Si-to-Al ratio, pore size
in many industrial processes. and geometry, and the abil-
This one-page reference provides in- ity to incorporate metals and
formation on the structure and chem- other elements into the active
istry of zeolites that allows their use in sites. Most synthetic zeolites
the chemical process industries (CPI). are made using a process of
slow crystallization of a silica-
Zeolite structure alumina gel in the presence of
Zeolites are a class of hydrated alu- alkalis and organic templates.
minum silicates made up of silica and Many possible zeolite struc-
alumina tetrahedra (SiO4 and AlO4 tures are theorized.
linked in a tetrahedral configuration).
The linked tetrahedra form complex Major industrial uses
three-dimensional structures with Zeolites are widely used in the CPI;
large, cage-like cavities and chan- the majority in the following three
nels (Figure 1). Zeolites have open, general areas: FIGURE 1. The linked silica and alumina tetrahedra
non-dense structures — 20–50% Catalysis. Because zeolites are of zeolites create cage-like cavities and channels
that can be exploited to control chemical reactions
of a zeolite’s volume is void space. cation exchangers, it is possible to
Zeolites’ uniform framework of pores introduce a variety of cations with Zeolites can be designed to sepa-
can be exploited to control chemical different catalytic properties into the rate molecules according to differ-
reactions by adsorbing reactant mol- zeolite’s crystal structure. Simulta- ences in size, shape and polarity,
ecules within the zeolite pores. Cer- neously, their rigid pore geometry making them useful as dessicants
tain reaction pathways will be favored serves as a steric influence on reac- and in gas separation.
based on the shape and chemical tions, where the pore size and shape Ion exchange. Hydrated cations
composition of the zeolite pores. controls the access of reactants and within the zeolite pores are bound
There are 45 types of naturally oc- products. By controlling the pore loosely to the zeolite framework, and
curring zeolites, but their structures size and architecture, engineers can can exchange with other cations in
and properties are limited from an suppress formation of undesired aqueous media. This ability makes
industrial perspective. Most indus- products, for example. Zeolites serve zeolites useful as industrial water-soft-
trial uses employ one or more of as catalysts for many important re- eners, where sodium and potassium
the close to 200 synthetic zeolites actions involving organic molecules ions in the zeolite are exchanged for
that currently exist. The International in the petroleum refining and petro- calcium and magnesium ions in the
Zeolite Association (www.iza-online. chemical sectors (see Table 1). water. Also, zeolites can be used to
org) Structure Commission assigns Adsorption and separation. Zeo- remove radioactive or toxic heavy-
a three-letter code for each class of lites’ porous crystalline structure can metal cations from liquid nuclear
zeolites, corresponding to its three- be exploited as a molecular sieve, waste and groundwater, respectively.
dimensional crystal structure. where molecules with certain prop-
Synthetic zeolites allow control of erties are preferentially adsorbed. Catalysis chemistry
In addition to cations, zeolites can
TABLE 1. SAMPLE ZEOLITE-CATALYZED REACTIONS IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
have protons bound into their frame-
Process Zeolite platform/car- Reaction
rier catalyst type work. This molecular structure gives
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) Zeolite Y (IZA code High-molecular-weight hydrocarbons are broken rise to high acidity, which can be
of crude petroleum fractions, FAU). ZSM-5 (IZA code into C5 to C8 hydrocarbons, as well as C3 and C4 useful in many key organic reactions.
such as vacuum gas oil (VGO) MFI) olefins, such as propylene Protons can act as Brønsted acids
Isomerization of light gasoline Acidic zeolite with Conversion of straight-chain alkanes to branched-
noble metal chain isomers to achieve higher octane numbers
(proton donors) in reactions with hy-
Hydrocracking of heavy pe- Zeolites X and Y (IZA Converts poor-quality feeds into gasoline and drocarbons that form carbocations,
troleum distillates code FAU) kerosene for example. n
Catalytic dewaxing ZSM-5 (framework Selectively hydro-isomerizes or cracks straight-
code MFI) and others chain and slightly branched paraffins. Used to Selected references
improve cold-flow properties of diesel fuel and
1. Baerlocher, C., McCuskar, L.B., and others, “Atlas of
lubricant oils
Zeolite Framework Types,” 6th ed., Elsevier, Amster-
Alkylation of benzene HZSM-5 (ion-exchange Combining ethylene with benzene to create ethyl- dam, The Netherlands, 2007.
sites occupied by H+) benzene for styrene and other purposes
2. Martinez, C. and Perez-Pariente, J. (editors), “Zeolites
Disproportionation of toluene ZSM-5; others may be Transfers methyl group to create more valuable and Ordered Porous Solids: Fundamentals and Applica-
used also para-xylene and benzene from toluene tions,” Valencia (Spain) Polytechnic Institute, 2011.
Isomerization of xylenes ZSM-5 Creates para- and ortho-xylene from meta-xylene, 3. Peskov, M., Zeolites, University of Stockholm, www.
a less valuable product asdn.net, accessed May 2017.
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Technology Profile
Urea Production from NH3 via a Self-Stripping Process
By Intratec Solutions Ammonia, Urea synthesis
Steam reform./
NH3 synthesis/ Natural gas, air
carbon dioxide
U
urea synthesis
rea is a nitrogenous com-
pound consisting of a car- Steam reform./ Partial oxidation/
Naptha, air NH3 synthesis/ Urea NH3 synthesis/ Coal, air
bonyl group attached to two urea synthesis urea synthesis
amine groups. Urea plays an
important role in many biological pro- Hydrogen, NH3 synthesis/
Electrolysis/
NH3 synthesis/ Water, nitrogen
nitrogen urea synthesis
cesses, but is also an important ma- urea synthesis
terial in synthesis (for example, resins n Raw material n Pathway n Main product
and plastics), as well as in fertilizers
FIGURE 2. Several possible production pathways exist for urea
and animal feed.
tially free of carbamate, is obtained. manufacture occurs exclusively from
The process The off-gas from the decomposers NH3 and CO2, in such a way that dif-
The process described is similar to is rectified in a medium-pressure ab- ferent production routes are related to
Saipem’s (formerly Snamprogetti) self- sorber, from which gaseous ammonia different sources of those materials.
stripping process, based on formation is obtained as the top product and a Figure 2 shows the different pathways
of ammonium carbamate from liquid liquid ammonium carbamate stream is by which urea is produced.
NH3 and gaseous CO2, followed by obtained as bottom product. The am-
dehydration of the ammonium carba- monia is condensed, mixed with fresh Economic performance
mate to urea. Figure 1 presents a sim- ammonia and routed to urea synthe- The total operating cost (raw materi-
plified flow diagram of this process. sis, while the ammonium carbamate is als, utilities, fixed costs and deprecia-
Reaction. Initially, CO2 and a liquid directed to the condenser. tion costs) estimated to produce urea
mixture of ammonia and carbamate, Urea concentration. At this point, the is about $220 per ton of urea. The
recovered downstream, are fed to the urea-water mixture is concentrated analysis is based on data from the
urea reactor, part of the high-pressure in a two-stage evaporator, forming a second quarter of 2013 from a plant
synthesis loop. Here, the ammonia urea melt suitable for prilling (pelletiz- with capacity to produce 1.3 million
and the CO2 react, yielding ammo- ing). The vapor obtained is condensed metric tons of urea per year. It was as-
nium carbamate and urea. and directed to a condensate treat- sumed that the plant is integrated to
Stripping. The reactor effluent, con- ment unit. The treatment consists of an ammonia unit that supplies ammo-
taining carbamate, is fed to a falling- stripping and hydrolysis steps, and the nia, at its cost of production.
film stripper, where excess NH3 strips condensate obtained is used as pro- This column is based on “Prilled
out the carbamate from the effluent. cess water and boiler feed water, while Urea from Ammonia via Self-Strip-
The off-gas from the stripper is ab- the off-gas, containing ammonia and ping Process – Cost Analysis,” a re-
sorbed in a liquid carbamate stream CO2, is recycled to urea synthesis. port published by Intratec. It can be
recovered downstream, and fed to Finishing. Here, the urea melt is found at: www.intratec.us/analysis/
a kettle-type boiler to be condensed sprayed at the top of a prilling tow- urea-production-cost. n
and recycled to the reactor. The heat er, forming spheroidal urea particles Edited by Scott Jenkins
exchanged is used to produce steam. (called prills) which are packed in bags
Carbamate decomposition. The urea and stored. Editor’s note: The content for this column is supplied by In-
tratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us) and edited by
solution is directed to two successive Chemical Engineering. The analyses and models presented
decomposers for the removal of resid- Urea production pathways are prepared on the basis of publicly available and non-
ual carbamate and CO2. After decom- Urea was first produced in 1828 from confidential information. The content represents the opinions
of Intratec only. More information about the methodology for
position of carbamate and evaporation ammonia and cyanic acid in aqueous preparing analysis can be found, along with terms of use, at
of ammonia, a urea solution, substan- solution. Modern commercial urea www.intratec.us/che.
Ammonia 7 1. C02 compressor

2. Urea reactor
3. Stripper
ST ST 4. Carbamate condenser
11
4 9 5. Medium-pressure decomposer
BFW CW 12 6. Low-pressure decomposer
7. MP absorber
3 8. Vacuum evaporators
9. Condensate treatment
10 10. Prilling tower
5 11. Steam boiler
Carbon 2 Process
dioxide 12. Cooling tower
condensate
CW Cooling water
6 ST Steam
1 BFW Boiler feed water
8 Urea pills
FIGURE 1. This diagram shows prilled urea production from ammonia via a self-stripping process
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM JULY 2017 31
Cover Story
Activated Carbon:
Fundamentals and
New Applications
Activated carbon sorbents are important tools in water purification and air-pollution control. This
article provides information on the fundamentals of this diverse sorbent and on new applications
for which it is being employed
Cabot
G
Ken Koehlert lobal sustain-
Cabot Corp. ability trends
are creating in-
creased demand
IN BRIEF for purification of air and
ACTIVATED CARBON water, as well as more en-
BASICS vironmentally friendly pro-
cess alternatives. Activated
RAW MATERIALS carbon (AC) sorbents play
ACTIVATION PROCESSES important roles in applica-
tions throughout the chemi-
POST-PROCESSING
cal process industries (CPI).
ADSORPTION These range from traditional 1,000 nm 100 nm
FUNDAMENTALS applications, such as mu- FIGURE 1. These images from a helium-ion microscope show the pore structure of
FACTORS AFFECTING nicipal water purification lignite-based activated carbon
PERFORMANCE and fluegas treatment, to
cutting-edge applications, such as ad- ner. The degree of order varies based on
APPLICATION TYPES
sorbed natural gas storage and double- the starting raw material and thermal his-
BIOGAS PURIFICATION layer capacitors. tory. Graphitic platelets in steam-activated
SEDIMENT REMEDIATION In this article we review the basics of ac- coal are somewhat ordered, while more
tivated carbon, as well as the link between amorphous aromatic structures are found in
activated carbon properties and adsorption chemically activated wood.
performance. In addition, the article provides Randomized bonding creates a highly po-
an overview of two emerging applications for rous structure with numerous cracks, crev-
activated carbon sorbents — biogas purifi- ices and voids between the carbon layers.
cation and sediment remediation. Activated carbon’s molecular size porosity
and the resulting enormous internal surface
Activated carbon basics area make this material extremely effective for
Activated carbon is a highly porous, high- adsorbing a wide range of impurities from liq-
surface-area adsorptive material with a uids and gases. To provide some perspective
largely amorphous structure. It is composed for the internal surface area of activated car-
primarily of aromatic configurations of carbon, the annual activated carbon production
bon atoms joined by random cross-linkages. of the author's employer has a surface area
Activated carbon differs from another form nearly equal to the total land area on Earth
of carbon — graphite — in that activated (148 million km²). Figure 1 shows two micro-
carbon has sheets or groups of atoms that graphs of the internal structure of steam-ac-
are stacked unevenly in a disorganized man- tivated lignite.
Cabot
Activated carbon sorbents are tailored reactions in the raw material at tempera-
for specific applications mainly based on tures between 100 and 400°C.
pore size and pore volume requirements. Charring. Higher-molecular-weight or-
Porosity and other parameters are con- ganic materials are converted to a car-
trolled by the following: 1) raw material bonaceous char residue at temperatures
selection; 2) activation process condi- of 400–600°C. At this point, incipient
tions; and 3) post-processing steps. porosity and increased internal surface
Depending on the application, activated area begin to form. A B
carbon may be in the form of powder Activation. Activation is generally con-
(PAC), granule (GAC) or extrudate (EAC). ducted in a steam atmosphere at tem-
All three forms are available in a range of peratures between 700 and 1,050°C,
particle sizes. depending on the pore structure of the
carbon being produced. The desired re-
Raw materials action is shown in Equation (1).
Almost any carbon-containing mate-
rial can be used to produce activated C + H2O ➞ CO + H2 (1) C D
carbon. In practice, economics and FIGURE 2. This series of diagrams il-
target product properties are the deter- This reaction gasifies portions of the lustrates pore development during steam
activation
mining factors in the selection of raw solid carbon to create pore volume.
materials. The base raw material has a Typically, about half of the carbona-
significant impact on the final product ceous char material entering the activa-
properties, including pore size distribution step will be reacted away to create
tion and volume, hardness and purity. the desired internal pore structure. The
Most commercial activated carbons diagrams in Figure 2 depict the develop-
are manufactured from the following ment of porosity during steam activation.
raw materials: Chemical activation is used to pro-
• Coal (anthracite, bituminous, sub- duce carbons with pore structures and
bituminous, lignite) compositions that are somewhat differ-
• Coconut shell ent from those in steam-activated car-
• Wood bons. For example, chemically activated
Some types of activated carbon are wood has higher mesoporosity and
produced from less conventional raw higher oxygen content than a steam-
materials, such as peat, olive stones, activated carbon. The chemical activa-
fruit pits, petroleum coke, pitch, syn- tion process consists of mixing raw bio-
thetic polymers, scrap tires and waste mass with a strong dehydrating agent
cellulose materials. and heating to about 400 to 700°C. The
Raw materials may undergo pre-pro- dehydrating agent (typically phosphoric
cessing steps to control size, form and acid or zinc chloride) extracts the mois-
other properties. They may be crushed, ture from the raw material and fixes the
milled, briquetted or mixed with binders volatile component of the biomass while
and extruded prior to activation. the activation occurs. The degree of
activation is determined by the ratio of
Activation processes raw material to dehydrating agent and
Activated carbons are manufactured via by the heating time and temperature.
one of two processes: steam activation After activation, the product is extracted
at high temperature or chemical activa- to yield a highly porous activated carbon
tion using a strong dehydrating agent. product and the the dehydrating agent
Steam activation is the most com- is recovered.
monly used method for activated car- Chemical activation with potassium
bon production. It is performed in rotary hydroxide is of great recent interest be-
kilns, shaft kilns, multi-hearth furnaces cause it can produce highly micropo-
or fluidized beds, and proceeds through rous carbons with specific surface areas
the following steps: at or beyond the theoretical value for
Drying. Activated carbon raw materi- graphene (about 2,600 m2/g).
als in commercial use contain residual
moisture that must be removed before Post-processing
activation can take place. Following activation, activated carbon
Devolatilization. Volatile organic com- sorbents may undergo a series of post-
pounds (VOCs) are formed by cracking processing steps, including the following:

Cabot
0.9 Bituminous
range of applications. Silver is commonly
0.8 Lignite
used to disinfect water. A more special-
Wood
ized example is impregnation with metal
0.7
Peat
salts and amines for military gasmasks.
Pore volume, mL/g
0.6 On a larger scale, impregnation is used

0.5 to promote the oxidation of mercury in
0.4 coal-fired utility fluegas applications.
0.3 Products for enhanced sulfur removal
0.2
are impregnated with potassium iodide
or sodium hydroxide. Another example
0.1
of impregnation by end-users is the de-
0 position of precious metals on activated
< 2 nm 2-50 nm > 50 nm
Pore diameter carbon to form heterogeneous catalysts.
Re-activation. Some granular and ex-
FIGURE 3. The distribution of pore vol- Washing. Activated carbon may be truded products can be re-activated
umes differs depending on the starting acid-washed to reduce ash content and and recycled after use to minimize cost
material for the activated carbon
remove soluble impurities, such as iron. and environmental impact. In this pro-
Varying levels of increased purity are re- cess, spent carbon loaded with organic
quired for some applications, including contaminants is thermally treated in a
double-layer capacitors, pharmaceuti- process similar to steam activation. Re-
cals and food and beverages. activation desorbs and destroys volatile
Sizing. Granular products may be contaminants and restores much of the
sieved to specific particle size ranges. original pore volume and adsorptive ca-
Common mesh-size specifications pacity. Typical product loss during re-
range from 20 x 40 to 4 x 8 mesh (ap- activation is 5–15%, requiring makeup
proximately 0.4 mm x 0.8 mm to 2 mm with virgin material.
x 5 mm). Extrudates are produced with
diameters ranging from 0.8 to 5 mm and Adsorption fundamentals
length-to-diameter ratios between about Activated carbon sorbents remove low
1:1 to 4:1. Granule and extrudate sizes concentrations of chemicals (adsorbates)
are specified to balance mass transfer from a fluid (liquid or gas) by adsorption,
and pressure drop. Powder products the process of accumulation of materials
are often ground in roller, hammer or onto a solid surface. Adsorption occurs
jet mills to achieve a target particle-size within the activated carbon pore struc-
distribution (PSD), often specified by the ture by two distinct mechanisms: physi-
terms d5, d50 and d90, which are mea- cal and chemical adsorption.
sures of particle diameters. D50 (median Physical adsorption. Molecules are
particle size) can range from 5 to about attached to the carbon surface by van
20 micrometers (µm). Smaller particles der Waals attractive forces. These in-
improve mass transport, but can lead termolecular forces are very weak and
to filterability challenges. Tight control of diminish with increasing distance be-
PSD can optimize the balance. tween the carbon surface and the ad-
Shaping. Powdered activated car- sorbate molecule. Because the weak
bons may be formulated with binders attractive forces are greatly dependent
and shaped into cylinders, tubes, hon- on distance, physical adsorption occurs
eycombs and other extruded forms to primarily within pores that have a radius
optimize surface-to-volume ratio and only a few times greater than the molec-
pressure drop for various applications. ular diameter of the adsorbed molecule.
Granules and extrudates may also be Pores that are smaller than the size of
formed into filter blocks and plates using the impurity molecule are inaccessible
polymeric binders. and do not participate in the adsorp-
Impregnation. Some contaminants, tion process. Pores that are significantly
such as formaldehyde, elemental mer- larger than the adsorbate molecule are
cury and hydrogen sulfide are not ad- not as effective at adsorption because
sorbed on activated carbon. Chemical the attractive force diminishes as the
impregnation can add functionality to the distance between the pore surface and
carbon sorbent to catalyze a reaction or the adsorbate is increased.
promote chemisorption. Activated car- Adsorption occurs after the impurity
bon manufacturers add functionality for a molecule has diffused into the carbon
Landfill gas mixture Process & Industrial user
(methane w/C02) treatment
H2S removal
system Electricity
generation
Commercial user
Moisture
separator
Activated
Activated carbon
carbon
Landfill
well Boiler
room
Siloxane Processed gas
Landfill Blower removal
Additional
processing
Biogas system Residential user
Gas collection Gas control and processing Gas utilization
pore structure to an adsorption site. The adsorption isotherm. The Freundlich FIGURE 4. This schematic diagram shows
process is diffusion-rate-limited and the adsorption isotherm, shown below in the collection, purification and use of bio-
gas from a landfill site
large pores play a role in transporting Equation (2), is commonly used to em-
adsorbate to the adsorption sites. Phys- pirically define this relationship.
ical adsorption is an equilibrium process
and is very dependent on the concen- Ccarbon = kfCwater1/n (2)
tration of the adsorbate in the solution.
The relationship between the amount Where:
of adsorbate on the surface versus Ccarbon = concentration of adsorbate
that in the solution is described by the adsorbed on carbon
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Coconut AC Lignite AC Factors affecting performance
Factors that affect the performance of
activated carbons can come from the
specifics of the application, or from the
100
activated carbon itself.
Application-related factors. Several
AC capacity NOM/
factors can aid or hinder adsorption.

AC capacity DI, %
75
The principal factor is the molecular size
50
of the compound being adsorbed. Ac-
tivated carbon adsorption increases as
the size of the molecule being adsorbed
25
increases. Certain types of functional
groups on the impurity molecule can
0 also affect its adsorbability.
0 5 10 15 Because the physical adsorption
PCB-118 conc. (ng/L)
process is an equilibrium reaction, the
FIGURE 5. This diagram shows a com- Cwater = equilibrium concentration of concentration of the molecule to be ad-
parison of lignite- and coconut-based ac- adsorbate in solution sorbed strongly affects the amount ad-
tivated carbon performance with 50 mg/L
natural organic material (NOM) Kf and n are constants for a given HOC sorbed, as described by the adsorption
and carbon at room temperature isotherm. The solubility of the adsorbed
The partition coefficient (Ccarbon / compound is also important, with lower
Cwater) can be calculated from Freun- solubility resulting in greater adsorption.
dlich equation at a given equilibrium Adsorption rate increases with tem-
concentration. perature. However, desorption rate also
If a single compound is being ad- increases with temperature and it is not
sorbed by activated carbon, all pores possible to predict the net effect in liquid-
of a suitable size are available for ad- phase applications. The principal reason
sorption and the amount of material ad- for adsorbing at elevated temperatures in
sorbed is the maximum achievable by the liquid phase is to lower viscosity and
the particular carbon. increase diffusion rate. In gas-phase ap-
If several adsorbate molecules are plications, adsorption always decreases
present, there can be competition for with higher temperature.
the adsorption sites. In that situation, Activated-carbon-related factors. In
the larger impurity molecules will block adsorption applications, the most criti-
some of the smaller pores. This may re- cal performance parameter is the distri-
duce the carbon’s ability to adsorb the bution of pore size and volume. Since
smaller-sized adsorbates. adsorption occurs almost exclusively in
Chemical adsorption. Chemical ad- pores just a few times larger than the ad-
sorption refers to the direct reaction of sorbate molecule, it is the pore volume
the adsorbed molecule with an active within this size range that determines
site on the carbon surface. As a result of adsorption capacity. The highly porous
the reaction, a chemical bond is formed nature of activated carbon gives rise to
between the adsorbate and the carbon surface areas as large as 3,000 m²/g.
surface. The active sites on the carbon Pore sizes are classified as micro-,
surface involved in chemisorption are meso- or macropores, according to the
mainly functional groups that contain conventions of the International Union
oxygen and alter the electron balance of Pure and Applied Chemisty (IUPAC;
of the carbon surface. If the molecule iupac.org). Micropores with widths less
being adsorbed is chemically bound to than 2 nm are useful for adsorbing small
the carbon surface (shared electrons), molecules, especially in vapor applica-
the process is termed chemisorption. tions. Mesopores, ranging in width from
If the adsorbed molecule resides only 2 to 50 nm, are in the right size range
temporarily on the carbon surface, picks to adsorb many contaminant materi-
up an electron, and then leaves the car- als. Macropores greater than 50 nm in
bon surface, the process is described as width have minimal adsorption capac-
catalytic conversion. This is the mecha- ity, but are critical in determining ad-
nism responsible for the dechlorination sorption kinetics within the particle. The
reaction used by bottlers to convert free larger pores provide transport paths for
chlorine in water to chlorides. molecules to diffuse into the mesopores
and micropores, where adsorption High purity is critical in some appli-
takes place. Figure 3 compares the cations. Food, beverage and potable
pore distribution of four different ac- water applications require low levels
tivated carbons from a variety of raw of extractables. Pharmaceutical acti- STATE-OF-THE-ART
materials and activation processes. vated carbons must have ultra-high
Surface area can be determined purity and full traceability. Emerging MIXING TECHNOLOGY
by nitrogen adsorption using the uses in double-layer capacitors and
BET (Brunauer, Emmet, Teller) other electrochemical applications
method. Pore size distribution can depend on high purity for extended Technologically optimized
be quantified by examining the ad- cycle life.
sorption and desorption of nitrogen, for your application
carbon dioxide and other adsor- Application types
bates. Mercury porosimetry is well Activated carbon sorbents are used Cost effective
suited to measure macropore and in two broad application classes: mixing technology
large mesopore volume. However, vapor and liquid purification. Within
it is more common and convenient each class are examples of two Available in 4 weeks
to measure and rank activated car- types of fluid-sorbent contacting.
bon performance using specific ad- These are PAC dosing and GAC/
sorbates that mimic the application. EAC packed columns. Beyond purifi-
Examples include iodine adsorption cation, activated carbons are used in
to assess small pore capacity and a number of specialized applications.
dye molecule adsorption (methylene In PAC dosing systems, activated
blue, bromophenol blue, and so on) carbon particles are injected into the
to assess medium-sized pores. In contaminated fluid, dispersed within
some cases, the characterization the fluid for an appropriate contact
test is directly related to the final ap- time, and then removed by sedimen-
plication, as in the case of molasses tation or filtration. PAC dosing may
decolorizing efficiency as a predictor be used in batch or continuous in-
of performance in sugar applica- jection systems. PAC contact times
tions, and butane working capacity range from 0.05 to 2 seconds in gas-
as a performance metric for carbons phase systems and 1 to 60 minutes
used to control automobile gasoline in liquid-phase batch applications. In
vapor emissions. municipal water treatment, PAC may
Particle size and distribution im- be added continuously as a slurry or
pact performance in both PAC and powder and then can be removed
GAC applications. For PAC, size and by flocculation, sedimentation and
size distribution correlate to mass- filtration. In coal-fired utility mercury
transfer resistance and filterability. removal, PAC is injected into the
In batch applications, a fine particle fluegas through a distribution lance
size provides rapid adsorption, but and removed in the electrostatic pre-
also a high pressure drop and slow cipitator or fabric filter.
filtration when removing the sorbent. In packed-bed systems, fluid flows
The best balance of performance is through a static bed of GAC or EAC.
often found by narrowing the size As the contaminant concentration
distribution. In GAC and extrudate in the fluid decreases, the loading
packed-bed applications, size is on the carbon increases, creating
again related to mass-transfer resis- a concentration gradient along the Your fast lane to
tance and pressure drop. column. The mass-transfer zone is advanced mixing technology:
Durability is of particular concern defined by the gradient between
for GAC and EAC forms. Particles the inlet concentration existing in
must be able to resist damage and the fully loaded bed and the outlet Phone: +1 201 825 4684
fines formation during transport, col- concentration. Breakthrough occurs Ext.: 222
umn loading and use — especially if when the mass-transfer zone travels
the application involves column back- to the exit of the column. Packed- usa@ekato.com
washing. Activated carbons for gold bed systems are sized based on
extraction have some of the most either calculated or experimentally
stringent durability requirements. Du- determined isotherms, contact time www.ekato.com
rable particles are also required to based on estimated or measured ki-
minimize losses during re-activation. netics and mass transfer, and pres-

sure drop requirements. bic digestion using animal manure or
Vapor-phase purification applications vegetation. The main constituents of
cover a wide range of contaminant mol- biogas are methane and carbon diox-
ecules from mercury to volatile organic ide, however, it also contains undesir-
materials. Some specific examples in- able impurities like hydrogen sulfide
clude gasoline vapor in automobile evap- (H2S), siloxanes and VOCs. These un-
orative-loss-control devices, mercury wanted impurities are present in low
in coal-fired utility fluegas and dioxin in concentrations, but must be removed
incinerator offgas. Another vapor-phase to reduce combustion equipment dam-
application is pressure- or temperature- age and downtime, to ensure emission
swing adsorption for solvent recovery targets are met, and to meet gas-purity
and hydrogen purification. Impregnated specifications. After purification, the
carbons are used in military gasmasks biogas can either be sent to an engine
and industrial respirators to protect per- to generate power, sold into the natu-
sonnel from toxic gases. An emerging ral gas grid or sold as a transportation
fuel in the form of biomethane. Figure 4
shows where activated carbon adsorp-
One of the most effective technologies for high- tion is used in a typical biogas system.
performance impurity removal in biogas is a two-step One of the most effective technolo-
gies for high-performance impurity re-
treatment with activated carbon moval in biogas is a two-step treatment
with activated carbon. For optimal per-
application in this area — removal of hy- formance, an operator will first direct a
drogen sulfide and siloxanes from biogas humid gas through an activated carbon
— is highlighted below. bed where H2S is reduced to elemental
Activated carbon sorbents are used sulfur by a catalytic process. After H2S
to purify a wide range of liquid systems, removal, the gas is dried and sent to a
including potable water, wastewater, in- separate activated carbon bed, where
dustrial process water, chemicals, phar- siloxane and VOC impurities are re-
maceuticals, foods and beverages. Re- moved by physical adsorption.
moval of taste and odor contaminants H2S purification. H2S is a hazardous
and harmful pollutants from potable chemical compound present in biogas.
water is one of the main purification ap- Biogas producers need to remove H2S
plications. Activated carbon is used to because it is poisonous, corrosive, flam-
remove precious metal catalysts after mable and malodorous. Traditionally,
synthesis of pharmaceutical active in- biological scrubbers, iron-oxide-based
gredients. Liquid sugar decolorization is media, or impregnated activated car-
one of the earliest activated carbon ap- bons have been used for H2S removal in
plications and remains important today. biogas. All technologies are capable of
Activated carbon is used to remove un- removing H2S; however, none of these
desirable taste compounds and color technologies has been optimized spe-
precursors from processed fruit juices. cifically for biogas. Biological scrubbers
Color removal from natural-gas liquids are very effective at removing high con-
is a more recent application. Activated centrations of H2S, but can be difficult to
carbon application in sediment remedia- operate and capital-intensive to install.
tion is covered in more detail below. Iron oxide media are low-priced, but
Non-purification applications of ac- generally demonstrate very low removal
tivated carbon include gold recovery efficiency. Iron oxide media are also no-
from cyanide leaching solutions, stor- torious for bricking (bridging between
age of gases, such as hydrogen and particles, forming lumps), which leads
methane, and electrodes for double- to costly and time-intensive removal ef-
layer capacitors and catalysts. forts. Chemically impregnated activated
carbon has a higher loading efficiency,
Biogas purification but can be quite expensive. Impreg-
Biogas is an environmentally friendly nated carbons can also pose safety
and sustainable fuel derived from the challenges, as they may cause bed fires
breakdown of organic matter. It is typi- due to an exothermic reaction with H2S.
cally produced at landfills, wastewater Many operators today are focusing on
treatment facilities, or through anaero- total cost of ownership and are choos-
ing a media or engineered solution that gas-limited source, they will likely prefer
offers the lowest cost per mass of H2S using activated carbon only. TSA units
removed. In making this calculation, the are also known to struggle with remov-
operator considers capital investment ing some lower-molecular-weight si-
for each technology, followed by analysis loxanes, which means that they often
of long-term operating costs. For media- require activated carbon polishing ves-
based solutions, they must consider the sels to remove all siloxane compounds.
amount of media needed to fill the ves- High concentrations of siloxane in a bio-
sel, the operating time until media satu- gas can lead to high operational costs
ration, the cost and time associated with to replace a standard activated carbon
media changeouts, and ultimately, how because much of the carbon pore vol-
the downtime impacts the ability to pro- ume is spent removing different families
cess gas. It is important to consider total of compounds from the gas. Specifi-
lifecycle cost in developing activated cally designed surface modifications to
carbons for biogas H2S removal. standard activated carbon can allow the
Siloxanes and VOC purification. Si- preferential adsorbtion of siloxanes over
loxanes are a group of synthetic com- VOCs. This results in significantly better
pounds used in the manufacture of per- siloxane loading capacity versus stan-
sonal hygiene, healthcare and industrial dard activated carbon products. Since
products. Disposal of these products this type of modified product does not
creates the risk of siloxane impuri- require a TSA unit to achieve high per-
ties in biogas, posing significant risks formance, it is a way that processors
depending on the final application. In could avoid the need to invest in an ex-
combustion engines, boilers, turbines pensive system upfront, but still realize
and fuel cells, siloxanes can form silica long-term savings.
that causes damage, destruction and Biogas is one of the more challenging
reduced operating efficiency. Siloxane gas-purification applications. Depend-
damage leads to higher operational ing on the source, the amount and the
costs and can seriously impact biogas speciation of impurities is constantly
upgrading and even prevent sales of variable. When deciding which adsorp-
contaminated biogas. tion technology to deploy, an operator
VOCs are impurities often found in bio- must consider many factors to deter-
gas derived from agriculture, landfills and mine the highest-performance and most
wastewater-treatment facilities. Depend- cost-effective solution for their site.
ing on the application, VOCs can be
viewed either as beneficial or detrimental Sediment remediation
to the quality of the gas. If the biogas is Sediments accumulated on the bot-
sent for combustion, the VOCs are often tom of waterbodies are sinks for toxic,
considered a beneficial high-Btu addi- bio-accumulative chemicals that can
tive. When biogas is further upgraded be transferred to invertebrates and fish
to biomethane, VOCs must be removed via food webs. Increasingly, remedia-
to prevent significant damage to mem- tion practitioners are turning to in-situ
branes and to limit emissions of sulfur treatment of contaminated sediments
oxides and nitrogen oxides. Pipeline gas to reduce the ecological and human-
has strict limits on VOC concentration. health risks posed by contaminants.
Activated carbon has traditionally This is mainly because conventional
been used for siloxane and VOC re- technologies (such as dredging and
moval, as it is effective at physically conventional sand capping) have not
removing both compounds. For dedi- always demonstrated risk reduction. A
cated siloxane removal, users often new approach of in-situ sediment treat-
opt for temperature-swing adsorption ment via contaminant sequestration in-
(TSA) using an activated-carbon bed volves placing activated carbon amend-
as a polishing step. The decision to use ments on contaminated sediments.
activated carbon versus TSA typically In this application, activated carbon is
comes down to operating conditions used to adsorb HOCs, such as poly-
and costs. TSA systems have relatively cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
high upfront capital costs and also use and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)
significant amounts of gas for regen- from sediment pore water. One chal-
eration. If an operator is pulling from a lenge in this application is interference

from natural organic matter (NOM). which can be calculated from a Freun-
Large organic molecules present in the dlich adsorption isotherm equation at a
water matrix, such as humic and fulvic given equilibrium concentration of the
acids, can cause blockage of the acti- contaminant in pore water.
vated carbon pore structure, leading to The author’s employer has generated
reduced adsorption capacity for target partition coefficients for a wide range
contaminants. Highly microporous car- of PAH and PCB contaminants for ac-
bons are particularly prone to blockage. tivated carbon products in this area.
Activated carbon with a tailored blend These data, combined with knowledge
of mesoporosity and microporosity is of site conditions, enables the design of
required for resistance to NOM and re- reactive caps using the CAPSIM model.
moval of target contaminants. Using the right activated carbon amend-
ment and cap design can provide in-situ
Increasingly, remediation practitioners are turning to sediment remediation solutions that pre-
vent breakthrough from contaminated
in-situ treatment of contaminated sediments to reduce sediments for 100 years or more.
human health and ecological risks
Summary remarks
Lignite-derived, activated carbon Activated carbon is a sorbent with wide-
grades now exist specifically for remov- ranging uses in the purification of vapor
ing PCBs, PAHs, dioxins and furans in and liquid systems, as well as special-
contaminated sediments. Activated ized uses in fuel storage, catalysis and
carbons developed for this application electrochemistry. Activated carbon can
have an optimal pore size distribution be tailored for specific applications by
that is designed to be highly effective for a combination of raw material selec-
the removal of these compounds in the tion, activation process conditions and
presence of NOM concentrations typi- post-processing, including shaping and
cal in sediment pore water. This broad chemical impregnation. Adsorption per-
pore-size distribution is critical for high formance is driven by pore size and vol-
performance, as NOM can partially or ume distribution, and other factors, such
completely block the adsorptive capac- as durability and particle size, influence
ity of more microporous carbons. Figure the choice of activated carbon for a spe-
5 compares microporous coconut AC cific application. Activated carbon can
and lignite AC with tailored porosity in be used in liquid or vapor applications
removal of PCB-118. The chart shows in either PAC or GAC/EAC form. Biogas
the ratio of PCB removal in water with purification and sediment remediation
50 mg/L NOM to removal in distilled are two recent applications that highlight
water and clearly demonstrates lignite’s the versatility of activated carbon sor-
resistance to pore blockage. bents for purification applications. n
Activated carbon amendments are Edited by Scott Jenkins
applied to the sediment either by direct
mixing, as a component in a geotextile Author
mat, or by incorporating it into a cap that Ken Koehlert is the product line and
creates a physical and adsorptive bar- technology director for Cabot Norit Acti-
vated Carbon (157 Concord Road, Bill-
rier between the contaminated sediment erica, MA 01821; Phone: 1-978-663-
and water. The cap consists of sand or 3455; Email: ken.koehlert@cabotcorp.
aggregate and carbon can be added as com). Koehlert has spent more than 30
years at Cabot, and has held positions
GAC or as a PAC coating applied to the in process and product R&D and manu-
surface of the aggregate. facturing across several of the compa-
ny’s businesses. He received B.S.Ch.E.
In order to design reactive caps using and M.S.Ch.E. degrees from the Massachussets Institute of
activated carbon, engineering firms Technology. Koehlert’s team develops and supports a wide
frequently use the CAPSIM model, de- range of products, including two unique activated carbons for
biogas purification. DARCO BG1 material optimizes the cost
veloped by professor Danny Reible of of H2S removed while limiting the concern for exothermic
Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Tex.; reactions associated with impregnated activated carbons.
www.ttu.edu). To assess and approve Cabot’s recently launched NORIT SilPure product has a spe-
cifically designed surface to preferentially adsorb siloxanes
a specific activated carbon grade in a over VOCs. The team also works with NORIT SedimentPure
reactive cap, engineering firms require activated carbons with tailored porosity to remove target con-
specific activated-carbon performance taminants in the presence of natural organic matter.
data, namely the partition coefficient,
We create
chemistry
that makes
feedstocks
love purity.
Adsorbents are critical for the removal of contaminants

from a variety of process streams and feedstocks in the
refining, petrochemical, chemical, and gas processing
industries. BASF offers a broad range of adsorbents
including proprietary alumina, silica, bentonite, and
molecular sieve technologies. Optimized product selection
from brands such as Selexsorb®, PuriStar®, Prosorb®,
Sorbead® and other BASF adsorbents provide tailored
purification solutions based on technical expertise and
economic considerations. At BASF, we create chemistry.
www.catalysts.basf.com/adsorbents
Feature Report
Rupture Discs:
Effectively Minimize
Leaks and Emissions
When installing rupture discs, there are several mechanical and operational considerations for
reducing the likelihood of leaks and fugitive emissions
O
Alan Wilson verpressure
Mike Quimby relief systems
Oseco consisting of
rupture discs
and relief valves are vital
IN BRIEF for preventing damage
Ring
Flow
Rupture disc
RUPTURE DISCS UNDER and injury within chemical
RELIEF VALVES Process media
processing plants and pe-
RUPTURE DISC troleum refineries. These
TECHNOLOGIES systems experience leak-
HOLDER SEALING
age or fugitive-emission problems when in- FIGURE 1. Holder design is important for ensuring that rup-
TECHNOLOGIES
stalled, maintained or specified improperly. ture discs are installed in the proper orientation
Consequences for such leakage issues
A NEW TECHNOLOGY may include plugging, corrosion, prod- fluids until the pressure drops below the set
LEAKS THROUGH THE uct loss and contamination. More serious pressure. At this point, the sealing surfaces
RELIEF SYSTEM consequences may also occur, including close to contain the remaining pressure. Re-
endangering employees and the public, lief valves used without rupture discs often
LEAKS OUTSIDE THE
fines or cleanup fees issued by regula- leak, especially if operating pressures are too
PLANNED FLOW PATH
tory agencies and lost production due to close to the set pressure of the relief valve.
IMPORTANCE OF unplanned shutdowns. Leakage from a relief valve results in product
TRAINING Rupture discs do a good job of minimiz- loss, corrosion of sealing surfaces, sticking
ing leaks through the planned overpressure and additional wear on the valve. The added
relief path. However, preventing leakage to stresses on the relief valve will commonly
the atmosphere between the rupture disc lead to system shutdowns for maintenance
and holder requires proper device specifica- at more frequent intervals. Unplanned shut-
tion and correct installation. There is also a downs for maintenance prove very costly to
need for careful inspection, proper cleaning plants and can be avoided by placing rupture
and regular maintenance of components. discs under pressure relief valves.
Understanding the various rupture disc tech- Rupture discs open much faster than relief
nologies, assembly types and sealing mech- valves, create a leak-tight seal, and may be
anisms employed will help users prevent readily manufactured in a variety of materials
leakage and fugitive emissions in their plant’s for compatibility with most process media.
overpressure relief systems. They are quicker and more cost-effective to
produce from expensive, corrosion-resistant
Rupture discs under relief valves alloys compared to relief valves. Once acti-
The most common application for rup- vated, the rupture disc remains open until
ture discs is the isolation of pressure relief replaced. Placing a rupture disc on the up-
valves. Pressure relief valves use springs stream side of a relief valve is an effective
or other mechanisms to apply pressure way for plants to utilize the advantages pro-
to sealing surfaces to contain the process vided by each technology.
media. Overpressure events force the seal- Rupture discs help maintain the sealing sur-
ing surfaces to separate, releasing process faces of a relief valve and keep the valve in
pristine condition. In the event of an to describe them. For more informa-
overpressure situation, the relief valve tion on rupture disc types and maxi-
will reliably reseat itself, without risk of mizing their operating performance,
product buildup or corrosion. Utilizing see Modern Rupture Discs Support
rupture discs as a first line of defense Increased Capacity, Chem. Eng.,
will help extend the life of the relief valve, June 2016, pp. 38–43.
increase the time between required Pre-bulged and composite types
maintenance intervals and reduce over- of forward-acting rupture discs were
all costs related to the overpressure the industry standard for decades.
relief systems. Though they can be effective solu-
Pairing the two technologies for tions for simple applications, they
overpressure relief raises an addi- offer little flexibility for improving sys-
tional layer of consideration to en- tem performance. For example, nei-
sure the desired result is achieved. ther is ideal for relief valve isolation.
According to American Society of Both designs are susceptible to frag-
Mechanical Engineers (ASME; New mentation, making them unsuitable
York, N.Y.; www.asme.org) Boiler for use under pressure relief valves. FIGURE 2. Leaks can occur through the relief sys-
and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Fragmenting rupture discs can dam- tem if rupture discs become compromised
XIII-1 UG-127(a) (3) (-b) (-4), the age or get stuck in the sealing sur-
space between the rupture disc and faces of pressure relief valves. This out the plant. To reap these benefits,
the relief valve must be monitored for prevents proper closure when the supervisors must provide training
changes in pressure. Rupture discs overpressure event subsides. These and continued education for all staff
are differential pressure devices, disc types are also subject to lower involved in specifying and installing
meaning that the burst pressure of operating ratios, fatigue in cyclic en- these devices.
the disc is dependent on the pres- vironments and require additional
sure both upstream and downstream vacuum supports in the presence Holder sealing technologies
of the rupture disc. If a rupture disc of negative pressures. Both designs Angle-seat holders have long been
develops a small leak due to mishan- are still manufactured today for use used in the rupture disc industry. The
dling, corrosion or other damage, in angle-seat holders and more angled surface creates a partial cone
the pressure builds up between the modern flat-seat holders. shape, which wedges together the
rupture disc and the relief valve. A Rupture disc performance was surfaces of the inlet and the outlet.
pressure buildup downstream of the elevated with the advent of scoring Rupture discs designed for these
rupture disc effectively raises the ac- technologies paired with the anneal- holders have matching angle-seat
tual burst pressure of the disc. This ing of the metal to control the ten- geometry. Angle-seat holders are
additional pressure causes the disc sile strength and minimize stresses prone to pinching through the com-
to activate at a pressure higher than from cold-working. These processes ponents of the rupture disc. Applica-
the intended burst pressure of the yielded two new families of rupture tion of excess torque alters the ge-
disc. As a result, it is critical to moni- discs: the forward-acting scored and ometry of holders, deforming them
tor this space for pressure, which the reverse-buckling scored discs. to a point where they are unable to
is typically accomplished by using Both disc types outperform their pre- properly seal. Most rupture disc sup-
a pressure gage or a monitored bulged and composite counterparts pliers discourage the use of angle-
pressure switch. in terms of higher operating ratios, seat holders in favor of flat-seat hold-
non-fragmenting designs and preci- ers or alternative designs.
Rupture disc technologies sion of activation pressures. Flat-seat holders come in two
Before evaluating possible causes While users will pay higher prices main varieties, designed for either
of leaks related to rupture discs, it is for these more advanced technolo- forward-acting or reverse-buckling
important to understand the various gies, they will benefit from increased discs. Both are designed to ac-
assembly types and the limitations of performance and productivity through commodate corresponding rupture
their technologies. Rupture discs are reduced downtime and the ability to disc designs and help to seat the
available in many different types. How- operate at higher pressures. They will disc in its proper orientation. Each
ever, this article limits its consideration also find opportunities to save money manufacturer has proprietary holder
to “insert type” assemblies intended to by consolidating applications and designs intended to work only with
be mounted between piping flanges. reducing inventory levels. Because its corresponding rupture disc. The
Most rupture discs can be described both scored-disc types perform well seating surfaces are perpendicular
as one of four types: pre-bulged, in demanding applications, replace- to the flow path and parallel to one
composite, forward-acting scored ment costs and scheduled mainte- another (Figure 1). Each disc manu-
and reverse-buckling scored. Manu- nance intervals may be reduced. The facturer also has a slightly different
facturers usually make one or more consolidation of inventory paired with method for creating a concentrated
versions of each type, and may use higher-performing discs helps users force through the use of a reduced
different names or model numbers realize much larger savings through- contact area. Often called a nubbin

Figure 4A
Holder
outlet
Ring
Rupture
disc
Holder Process media
inlet
FIGURE 3. Leaks can occur outside of the planned

flow path in rupture disc systems if all compo-
nents are not correctly installed Figure 4B
seal, this designed force creates a Leak path

leak-tight seal between the inlet side
of the holder and the process side
of the rupture disc. This arrange-
ment makes the rupture disc and
holder much less prone to damage
when torque forces exceeding the
holder’s individual torque specifica-
tions are applied to the flanges. It
also minimizes the damaging effects
of uneven torque application. Today,
nearly all high-performance scored
rupture discs are mounted in flat-
seat holders.
Pre-torque holders are flat-seat
holders that allow the user to install the
FIGURE 4. Shown in Figure 4A is a rupture disc with a ring on the outlet. The concentration of stress on the
rupture disc into the holder and apply ring (Figure 4B) can make the system more susceptible to leaks outside the planned flow path
torque to cap screws in a controlled
environment. Applying controlled circumstances. These assemblies equate cleaning, corrosion damage,
amounts of torque to the preload cap must be carefully cleaned and in- holder wear and lack of inspection. A
screws better ensures proper disc spected by well-trained individuals. hermetically sealed assembly keeps
seating before the holder is installed They must then be installed in prop- the process in the piping, effectively
between the actual piping flanges. erly aligned piping precisely accord- reducing a potential leak point in the
Many facilities use this type of holder ing to all installation procedures. system. This technology eliminates
so that a trained individual can clean the need for installers to determine
and inspect the holder for damage A new technology if holders are too worn, corroded or
that may cause leakage. The installer One-piece units are the most recent damaged to be reused. The use of
can then verify that the correct disc is evolution in rupture-disc assembly one-piece units ensures there will
being installed and that the disc is in technology. They are a variation of be no unplanned downtime resulting
its proper orientation. Proper torque is flat-seat holders, and are beginning from leakage related to a damaged
then evenly applied to the preload cap to emerge in chemical processing holder. Finally, the simplified installa-
screws to ensure the disc-to-holder plants. These units consist of a rup- tion process leads to faster installa-
seal is achieved. The pre-torqued ture disc and holder combination that tion times and less required training
disc and holder assembly can then is typically assembled at the factory for maintenance teams.
be passed to an individual with less utilizing high-integrity welds. Compa-
training and expertise to install it into nies that have experienced problems Leaks through the relief system
the piping system. This type of assem- involving overpressure-relief systems As discussed, rupture discs are typi-
bly may help reduce installation and understand the value derived from cally mounted in holders designed for
leakage issues when combined with a sealed rupture disc and holder as- a specific brand and type of rupture
proper training and maintenance. sembly. One-piece units eliminate disc. These holders are designed in
Usually, the technologies de- installation errors due to improper such a way that, barring any speci-
scribed previously provide satisfac- torquing, mismatched discs and hold- fication or installation errors, the only
tory performance under the right ers, improper disc orientation, inad- way for a rupture disc to leak through
the system is if the disc has been disc will burst at or below the marked cially prone to permanent damage
compromised (Figure 2). This can burst pressure. Discs not considered due to excess torque. Proper train-
happen in several ways, as described to be fail-safe may open at a burst ing and tools help prevent this kind of
in the following sections. pressure several times the marked error, as well as emerging assembly
Corrosion. Rupture discs are manu- burst pressure when installed upside types, such as a one-piece unit, that
factured from thin material. End users down. The results from an overpres- make it impossible for torquing force
usually have several disc materials sure situation in the above described to damage the rupture disc within
from which they may choose. Material scenario could prove catastrophic for its assembly.
choice is sometimes dependent upon a plant. Forcing the rupture disc and Fatigue. Forward-acting rupture
the type of assembly selected. Plants holder between flanges that have not discs that have endured multiple ex-
can upgrade from 316 stainless steel been opened far enough, or that are cursions close to the set burst pres-
to a more corrosion-resistant alloy, misaligned, can create similar issues. sure can experience fatigue. Over
such as Hastelloy, without significant Therefore, the selection of a rupture time, this reduces the amount of
increases in cost. Fluoropolymer lin- disc assembly that reduces the risk of pressure required to create an open-
ers or coatings provide additional simple installation errors and requires ing in the disc, usually resulting in a
protection in many cases. No matter less training for personnel needs to crack or split rather than a full open-
the assembly type in question, proper be considered. ing. Such a crack in the disc creates
material specification is critical for Excess or uneven torque. Excess a leak through the system and may
corrosive media applications. torque on the holder or flanges can cause the disc to activate at a lower
Improper installation. Installing a damage the seating surfaces of a burst pressure. This phenomenon,
rupture disc in the wrong holder or rupture disc holder, making it dif- often identified as premature failure,
in the wrong orientation can damage ficult to seal when the rupture disc can prove very deceptive to person-
the rupture disc. This can either alter is replaced. Excess torque can also nel, especially when operating pres-
the burst pressure or create potential lead to splitting, wrinkling, tearing or sures are not continually monitored.
leak paths. Newer, high-performance other damage to rupture-disc sealing High-performance, scored reverse-
rupture discs are sometimes de- components in multilayer or compos- buckling rupture discs are much
signed to be fail-safe, meaning that in ite designs in particular. Angle-seat more resistant to premature failure
the event of improper installation, the rupture discs and holders are espe- due to fatigue.
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Physical damage prior to instal- damage from handling. Another ben- ing leakage associated with pressure
lation. Rupture discs are precision efit of the ring is its ability to eliminate relief valves. Understanding the ad-
devices made of carefully selected fragmentation. These rings provide a vantages of the various rupture disc
and crafted materials. The materi- concentration of stress, or teeth, to assembly types is vital for preventing
als of construction can be very thin assist in the opening of a reverse- leaks while providing overpressure re-
— sometimes just 0.001 in. thick. It buckling scored rupture disc. Finally, lief. With proper specification, training
is very important that rupture discs the ring provides a more robust at- and maintenance, many of the tech-
are transported and handled care- tachment point for identification tags. nologies described in this article can
fully to prevent dents, scratches and Placing the heavy ring on the outlet provide satisfactory results. If the ap-
holes. If a rupture disc is damaged, side of the rupture disc ensures that plication is challenging, or if mainte-
it should be discarded rather than the reduced area on the holder inlet nance, inspection and training levels
repaired. Pushing a dent out of a seat seals tightly against the sealing are not maintained, selecting a more
rupture disc, for example, does not member of the rupture disc prior to advanced technology, such as a one-
restore it to its pre-damaged condi- the disc opening. However, if the disc piece unit, can offset these deficits.
tion. Most rupture discs can be pro- is operating under a relief valve and Rupture disc manufacturers can help
vided in individual boxes to encour- the system remains under pressure sort through performance issues and
age installation crews to leave them after the rupture disc relieves, process often have training programs available
in protective packaging until installa- media may leak in between the thicker for maintenance staff and installers.
tion. Employee training in the proper ring and the holder outlet (Figure 4). Most importantly, engineering
handling of discs will greatly reduce The thicker ring spreads the sealing teams can assist with proper speci-
these errors. The specification of fully force applied by the mating flanges fication. Plants with well-trained
integrated one-piece assemblies over a larger area on the outlet side of employees utilizing the best rup-
may also offer additional protection the disc. This leaves the outlet side of ture disc technologies will experi-
for the rupture disc as it is carried by the assembly more vulnerable to leak- ence peak system performance
an installer to the application site. age. Manufacturers offer holders with with minimal downtime related to
Physical damage due to debris. bite seals on both the inlet and outlet; process leakage. Ongoing innova-
Rust, grit and debris that may be however, the results are not 100% reli- tion efforts in device design continue
present on flanges and in piping can able. The only certain way to prevent to increase the reliability, perfor-
cause leaks in a system. Remem- this source of leakage is with a one- mance and ease of use of these vital
ber, some of the rupture disc com- piece unit offering a hermetic seal. safety components. ■
ponents can be as thin as 0.001 Edited by Mary Page Bailey
in. Compressing a piece of sand Importance of training
or grit into those thin materials can Rupture disc installation training is Authors
easily create a leak path. Hermeti- vital to preventing leaks and other Alan Wilson is senior field engi-
cally sealed, fully integrated, one- types of failures. Some rupture disc neer for Oseco (1701 W. Tacoma,
Broken Arrow, OK 74012; Phone:
piece disc assemblies may help to manufacturers will set up training at 918-258-5626; Email: awilson@
reduce this risk. They eliminate the users’ facilities to cover the basics oseco.com), a manufacturer of
need to remove the rupture disc of installation. One may want to de- rupture discs and other safety
pressure-relief devices. He holds a
from its holder, a process that may sign their own basic training course B.S. degree in mechanical design
allow debris to interfere with the to focus on situations specific to the technology from Oklahoma State
University and an M.B.A. from
sealing mechanisms. facility. Relevant topics may include Oklahoma City University. Wilson has been with Oseco
the following: for 27 years, serving as an engineering expert in re-
Leaks outside the planned flow path • Application types, including search and development, rupture disc analysis and
ASME code. Wilson has earned several patents for his
In certain situations, rupture discs primary relief, secondary relief or contributions to the Oseco portfolio, and sits on two
can leak outside of the planned flow relief-valve isolation ASME committees. He has helped to design, build and
path (Figure 3). Most of the causes • Rupture disc designs, such as teach training seminar programs for the proper use, in-
stallation and specification of rupture discs in onsite
listed in the previous sections can forward-acting, reverse-buckling learning events for chemical processing plants and oth-
lead to process media leaking be- or flat ers in the field. Wilson was also on the first team to co-
tween the inlet of the holder and • Installation preparation, focusing ordinate with television’s Mythbusters program, when
they featured Oseco rupture discs in the first of seven
the process side of the rupture disc. on safety, cleanliness and holder episodes, using them to measure explosion intensity.
There is also an additional cause for inspection Mike Quimby is a business devel-
leakage that is rarely considered. • Installing a disc in a holder, con- opment specialist for Oseco (same
Some rupture discs are designed sidering orientation and side lugs address as above; Phone: 918-
259-7124; Email: mquimby@
and manufactured to include a • Installing rupture disc and holder oseco.com). He holds a B.A. in
thicker ring that is spot-welded to the between flanges, focusing on psychology from the University of
outlet side of the rupture disc. This gaskets and proper torque Oklahoma and an M.B.A. from
Oklahoma City University. Quimby
ring is usually constructed of 0.010- When properly specified and in- has been with Oseco for 2 years
to 0.125-in. thick metal. There are stalled, rupture discs are a reliable and has 20 years of experience in
business development. He has managed hundreds of
several purposes for this ring. First, means of protecting plants from accounts for chemical processing plants, as well as
it makes the disc more resistant to overpressure situations and prevent- many Fortune 500 companies.

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30120
Feature Report
Part 2
Proper Sizing and Installation

for Steam System Safety
Valves
Successful operation of safety valves in steam systems requires careful adherence to
established industry standards for installation and design
Kelly Paffel
O
ne of the most critical safety de-
Inveno Engineering, LLC vices in a steam system is the
safety valve. Figure 1 is an illustra-
tion of a typical safety valve, and
Figure 2 shows a valve in context on a steam
IN BRIEF line. Safety valves protect personnel, equip-
DOCUMENTING SAFETY ment and property from potentially dangerous
VALVES high temperatures and forces caused by ex-
SIZING GUIDELINES cessive steam pressure in the steam system.
Steam safety valves are required by
INSTALLATION
industry standards, as well as insur-
GUIDELINES
ance and corporate mandates. There-
DISCHARGE VENT PIPING fore, it is important that the safety valve
BEST PRACTICE be properly sized and installed to meet all

ROADMAP code requirements.
The code that establishes the require-
ments for steam safety valves is written by
the American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers (ASME; New York, N.Y.; www.asme.
org). ASME, through its committees, has FIGURE 1. A safety valve used in a steam system should meet
published and continues to update the Boiler the rigorous requirements of the ASME Boiler and Pressure
Vessel codes
and Pressure Vessel Codes (BPVC) for safety
valves. It is the responsibility of plant person- valves in the steam system is necessary
nel — primarily the plant’s steam team — to to ensure reliable, safe plant operation.
know which codes apply to the different parts The database should include all relevant
of the steam system. The proper selection, information about all safety devices. The
installation and use of safety valves require plant can rely on this database as it con-
a complete understanding of the ASME ducts yearly inspections of the Section I
code and any additional requirements ad- and Section VIII BPVC safety valves. The
opted by insurance companies or the local safety valve database should always be
jurisdictional authority. updated with the yearly information from
inspections and changes based on plant
Documenting safety valves standards and insurance company recom-
Maintaining a well-documented database mendations, as well as federal, state or local
that contains up-to-date records of all safety government requirements.
on the same steam system. The
safety valves can have different set-
7 ft minimum points so long as the setpoints are
Roof line below the steam system’s maximum
design pressure. The total steam ca-
Drip-pan elbow
pacities must be equal to or greater
than the maximum steam flow to the
system to ensure that they never ex-
ceed the maximum steam pressure.
10 pipe diameters Keep in mind that the total capac-
ity might change depending on the
location of the safety valve. When
considering a safety valve down-
stream of a steam-pressure-control
valve, the total capacity of the safety
valve at the setpoint must exceed
the steam control valve’s maximum
flow capacity (the largest orifice
available from that manufacturer) if
the steam valve were to fail in the
FIGURE 2. A safety valve in a steam line protects against potentially dangerous situations, including ex-
cessive steam pressure and high temperatures
fully open position.
When a safety valve is installed
Sizing guidelines a valve capacity based on the con- downstream of a control valve or a
When sizing safety valves, plants trol valve’s maximum flow. To do so, regulating valve, and a bypass valve
should follow a number of guidelines engineers should calculate the inlet is installed, the bypass valve must
to avoid failures and to comply with steam pressure (PI) at the maximum always have a smaller diameter than
applicable codes. steam pressure, which is the safety the control valve to ensure it has a
First, the setpoint for the safety valve setting of the steam supply lower flow coefficient (Cv) than the
valve should be set so that there is source. The engineer should not control valve. If the bypass is the
at least 10% between the operat- calculate using the steam system’s same size as the control valve, then
ing system pressure and the safety nominal operating pressure. the safety valve has to be sized for
valve set pressure. This will prevent In many cases, it is not possible to the valve (control valve or bypass)
the safety valve from operating in install a single safety valve because with the higher Cv.
the simmer mode, which the code of high steam capacity or physical Finally, the plant should adjust the
does allow. limitations. An acceptable alternative set pressure of the safety valve to be
Second, the plant should choose is to employ multiple safety valves equal to or below the maximum al-
lowable working pressure (MAWP)
of the component with the lowest
MAWP in the steam system. This in-
cludes, but is not limited to, steam
Safety-valve discharge vent boilers, pressure vessels, equip-
line should not make contact
with the drip-pan elblow ment and piping systems. In other
words, if two components on the
same system are rated at different
pressures, the safety device protect-
ing the steam system for both de-
vices must be set at the lower of the
two MAWPs.
Installation guidelines
Figures 3 through 5 show three
Safety valve drain port to be different types of safety valve in-
piped to a drain stallations: Figure 3 shows a typi-
Drip-pan drain port
piped to drain
cal installation; Figure 4 depicts a
safety valve installed after a pres-
Make as short as possible
sure-reducing valve; and Figure 5
illustrates a safety valve installed on
FIGURE 3. There are many aspects to consider when installing a safety valve into a typical steam-system a heat-transfer process. No mat-
application ter which purpose the safety valve

ing shutoff valves between the safety
valve inlet and the steam compo-
Bypass properly sized 7 ft minimum nent. Shutoff valves could isolate the
arrangement
Roof line
safety valve from the system or could
restrict the steam flow to the safety
valve. Finally, inspect for plugged or
Drip-pan
capped drains or vent openings on
Condensate
return elbow the body of the safety valve. The pur-
pose of the drain or vent openings is
Straight piping for at least 10 pipe to allow any liquid that might accu-
diameters before the safety valve
mulate above the discharge valve to
evacuate properly.
Safety valve flanges should be in-
FIGURE 4. Safety valves can be installed downstream of a pressure-reducing valve, as shown in this stalled according to the appropriate
illustration bolt torque specifications, proce-
serves, the foundation of a success- flow. Finally, safety valves must dures and torque patterns.
ful installation is proper preparation be mounted vertically. The valve’s When using more than one safety
of the steam system. Engineers spindle must be in an upright posi- valve, the discharge vent piping must
must ensure the steam system is tion and no more than 1 deg away be sized to accommodate the full
clean and free of any dirt or sedi- from vertical. flow of all safety valves in a fully open
ment. They can prepare the steam In addition, engineers should re- position simultaneously when there
piping before installing it or, after in- view the context of the valve to is no backpressure on the safety
stallation, by conducting controlled make sure it does not interfere with valve outlets. For multiple safety
steam blowthroughs. safety valve operation. First, check valve installations using a single con-
Plants must keep a number of pa- the steam line or pressure vessel. It nection, the internal cross-sectional
rameters in mind when choosing a should be free of any vibration or wa- area of the inlet should be equal to
location for the installation. Safety terhammer that could change the set the combined inlet areas of all the
valves should be connected to the pressure of the safety valve. Second, safety valves.
steam line independent of any other review the inlet steam piping. The All safety valves should use a pur-
type of connection. Also, the safety inlet steam piping to the safety valve chased or custom-made drip-pan
valve should be located as close as must be equal to or larger than the elbow on the safety valve outlet.
possible to the steam line or vessel. safety valve inlet connection. For ex- Drip-pan elbows improve the perfor-
Additionally, they must be installed at ample, if the safety valve has a 3-in. mance of safety valves in two ways:
least 10 pipe diameters downstream inlet connection, the piping from the they isolate the safety valve from the
of any valve, elbow or other com- vessel or header should be 3 in. or weight of the safety-valve vent pip-
ponent that could disrupt the steam larger. Third, look for any interven- ing; and they change the steam flow
at the outlet of the safety valve from
horizontal to vertical.
When installing a drip-pan elbow,
7 ft min. engineers should remember that the
Roof line steam will not escape from the drip-
pan elbow configuration if the safety-
Drip-pan elbow valve discharge vent line is properly
sized. In addition, the safety-valve
discharge vent pipe should not touch
Temperature
transmitter 10 pipe diameters the drip-pan elbow. The discharge
before safety valve vent piping should be supported
independently from the safety valve
Heat exchanger
and drip pan elbow assembly to pre-
vent undue stresses on the safety
valve. Furthermore, the drains on the
drip-pan elbows are designed to col-
lect any condensed liquid and rain,
and to allow flow to move safely away
from the safety valve, so the drip-pan
elbows should not be plugged.
Plants should also mind one addi-
FIGURE 5. Several special considerations should be understood when installing safety valves into tional caveat when it comes to valve
heat-transfer applications installation: be aware of the tempta-
the safety valve is not intact, the valve the closest location where free dis-
is no longer in compliance with the charge of the safety device will not
code, and it should be replaced as pose any safety hazard to person-
soon as possible. nel. The typical safety-valve dis-
charge point is above the roofline
Discharge vent piping or above the plant’s operating unit.
Plants must follow several prin- The safety-valve discharge vent
ciples when installing safety-valve should be no less than 7 ft above
discharge vent piping. First, the di- the roofline or the operating unit, as
ameter of the discharge vent pipe Figure 7 shows. The top of the dis-
must be equal to or greater than the charge vent line should be cut at a
safety valve outlet. Second, the dis- 45-deg angle to dissipate the steam
charge vent line should be sized to discharge thrust, to prevent capping
avoid creating any backpressure on of the pipe and to visually signify to
the safety valve during the discharge plant personnel that it is a safety
mode. Figure 6 depicts an incorrect valve vent line. Again, Figure 6 is an
installation. The discharge vent line incorrect installation since the dis-
is firmly attached to the safety valve charge vent line is firmly attached to
FIGURE 6. In this photo, the discharge vent line is outlet, which will put stress on the the safety valve outlet, which will put
attached directly to the safety valve, which is an safety valve. Third, the plant should stress on the safety valve. Never at-
incorrect configuration that can result in excess minimize the length of the discharge tach the safety valve discharge vent
stress being placed on the valve body
vent pipe. A rule of thumb is that if piping directly to the safety valve,
the discharge vent pipe exceeds 30 because this will place undue stress
tion to tamper with safety valve set- ft and has more than one elbow, then and weight on the safety valve body
tings. Safety valves are set, sealed the discharge vent piping must be in- and change the set pressure of the
and certified by the manufacturer or creased in size to prevent backpres- safety valve. A very short section of
an authorized and certified assem- sure on the safety valve. vent pipe must be used to connect
bler to prevent tampering by unau- Finally, the discharge outlet of the safety valve drip pan elbow to
thorized personnel. If the wire seal on the vent pipe should be piped to the safety valve if the drip pan elbow
is not directly connected to the
safety valve.
Best practice roadmap

There are three primary steps to
a successful safety valve opera-
tion. First, establish plant standards
7 ft min.
for safety valve installation and
selection. Second, add all safety
valves to a database. Finally, re-
view all safety valves periodically,
Roof line depending on plant standards, in-
surance company recommenda-
tions, and federal, state, or local
government requirements. ■
Edited by Mary Page Bailey
Drip-pan elbow Author

Kelly Paffel currently serves as
technical manager at steam engi-
neering firm Inveno Engineering,
LLC (7320 East Fletcher Ave,
Tampa, FL 33637; Phone: 239-
289-3667; Email: kelly.paffel@
invenoeng.com; Website: www.
invenoeng.com). Paffel has 41
years of experience in steam and
power operations and is an experi-
enced lecturer who has published many technical pa-
pers on the topics of steam system design and opera-
tion. He is known for writing “Steam System Best
Practices,” which are used by plants and engineers
globally to ensure proper operation of steam and
FIGURE 7. The safety valve discharge vent line should be at least 7 ft above the operating unit condensate systems.

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Engineering Practice
Setting Specifications in the Modern World
Utilizing ‘Tolerance Intervals’ can help to set more realistic specification ranges,
especially when only small amounts of data are available
Noel Sutton companies take minimum and maxi- TABLE 1. VISCOSITY DATA & STATISTICS,
Amway mum values observed during prod- CENTIPOISE (CPS)
S
pecifications provide a uct development and scale-up and Batch 1 15,397
framework by which one then utilize them as specification Batch 2 14,697
can gage whether prod- boundaries. Others rely on statistical Batch 3 16,796
ucts have been manufac- concepts, such as the widely known
tured successfully. They identify a Six Sigma method, to establish ac- Minimum 14,697
product’s key characteristics and, ceptance criteria. Maximum 16,796
Mean 15,630
for each attribute, quantify how When pre-production measure-
Standard deviation 1,069
much deviation from a target value ments or test results originate from Count 3
is allowed. Normally, specification normally distributed populations
ranges are derived from either the — a very common situation — the
“voice of the customer” (that is, cus- equations below stipulate the Six when in reality, nothing is wrong with
tomer requirements) or the “voice of Sigma outer limits. They depend on it; the OOS test result or measure-
the process” (that is, process capa- the data’s mean, µ, and standard ment emerged from normal process
bilities). deviation, : variation — not some aberration of
For example, when formulating a the manufacturing process.
material that will be sold in tubes, Lower release limit (LRL) = µ – 3 
what rheology or flow properties Upper release limit (URL) = µ + 3  The Tolerance Intervals method
should the product have? Custom- To balance a company’s compet-
ers ideally want the substance in- (Note: Six Sigma represents the ing objectives (to be “first to market”
side the tubes to be stiff enough span of –3 to 3 standard deviations. versus ensuring outstanding product
(with a high enough yield point) so For large amounts of data, that span quality), more businesses should
that it won’t flow unintentionally, but covers 99.73% of all measurements adopt Tolerance Intervals (TIs) as a
thin enough that when a reason- if the data are normally distributed.) specification-setting technique. This
able amount of force is applied, the What many don’t realize is that method compensates for pared-
product dispenses. To control this, a both specification-setting methods down data sets, and produces
viscosity specification would be cre- mentioned above are only appropri- wider, more realistic specification
ated to guide manufacturing. ate when appraising large data sets ranges while requiring just a fraction
In both cases, whether specifica- (containing at least 30, but maybe of the customary amount of pre-pro-
tions are dictated by customer or 50 or more data points). They are duction data. TIs are defined by:
process requirements, development invalid when just a few data points • The number of data points
engineers must carry out enough have been acquired. However, obtained
experimentation to uncover how many companies these days have • The minimum proportion of a pop-
much the product and its properties a conflicting mandate — to shorten ulation that must be covered by
are affected by innate manufacturing product-development schedules the TI (50, 75, 90, 95 or 99% are
variability. In addition, when speci- so products can be delivered faster typical values picked)
fications are driven by customer to the marketplace. This frequently • The confidence level chosen (90,
needs, one must substantiate that translates into less time available for 95 or 99% are common values),
the manufacturing process is capa- experimentation in the laboratory or indicating the likelihood that the
ble of unfailingly supplying product in pilot plants (and thus, less data range or interval will cover the pro-
that meets those obligations; if the generated during preproduction). portion of a population selected
process cannot meet them, then it When creating specification TI endpoint equations [1] are ex-
should be modified until it can. ranges from a limited number of data pressed similarly to the Six Sigma
After collecting pre-production points, boundaries generally end up method, with k2, the tolerance fac-
data, how should that information being too close together because tor for normal, two-sided popula-
be employed to predict future prod- small “sample” quantities seldom tion distributions, replacing the three
uct variability? The chemical pro- exhibit the degree of variation found values in the earlier definition of LRL
cess industries (CPI) currently have in larger data sets. With undersized and URL:
no widely accepted, standard way or inadequate specification ranges,
of establishing process capability- some future output will be flagged LRL = µ – k2
based specification limits. Some as being out of specification (OOS), URL = µ + k2
TABLE 2. COMPARISON OF RELEASE LIMITS DERIVED BY VARIOUS SPECIFICATION TABLE 3. VISCOSITY STATISTICS
SETTING METHODS Minimum 10,800
Min & Max Six Sigma Tolerance Interval Maximum 19,600
Lower release limit (LRL) 14,697 12,424 5,827 Mean 15,609
Upper release limit (URL) 16,796 18,836 25,433 Standard Deviation 1,995
Count 27
The equation shown below furnishes What proportion of a population
an approximate value for k2, where: and confidence level should be cho-  = Confidence Level = 90%
N = the number of data points sen when creating the TI specifica- 21–,N–1 = Lower tail critical
z = the critical value of a standard tion ranges for this new product? value of Chi-Square distribution
normal probability Through some evaluation, the au- = 20.1,2=0.211
 = the minimum proportion of a thor found that selecting a 99% pro- k2 = [2*(4/3)*.6.65/0.211]0.5 = 9.17
population, % portion of a population and a 90%
 = a confidence level, % confidence level usually works well, Thus:
2 = a Chi-Square distribution creating specification ranges that are LRL=
x21–,N–1= Lower tail critical value of neither too wide nor too narrow.
Chi-Square distribution
z((1–)/2)=Critical value of the stan- URL =
dard normal distribution for a cumu-
lative probability of ((1 – )/2) ~
Table 2 summarizes the specification
A practical example ranges created by the three speci-
Recently the author’s company de- Where: fication methodologies (Minimum/
veloped a new product whose vis- N = Number of data points = 3 Maximum, Six Sigma and TIs) dis-
cosities are very similar to those of  = Proportion of population to be cussed here. Clearly, the Tolerance
another product that has been pro- covered = 99% Interval release limits are significantly
duced for a while. Three pilot plant z((1–)/2)) = The critical value of wider than those generated by the
batches were made, with the vis- a standard normal probability other two approaches.
cosity data and resulting statistics = z((1–0.99)/2) = z0.005 = –2.58 As mentioned previously, the
shown in Table 1. z2((1–)/2)) = (-2.58)2 = 6.65 new product’s viscosities are very
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TABLE 4. PREDICTED OOS FREQUENCY FOR A SINGLE PRODUCT CHARACTERISTIC level turns out to be sufficiently high,
Min & Max Six Sigma Tolerance Interval the adjusted specification range
Out of specification (OOS) Results 59.7% 10.7% 0.0% should be adopted. An example of
how to do this is discussed below.
TABLE 5. VISCOSITY DATA & STATISTICS TABLE 6. PROPOSED VISCOSITY RANGES Option 2. Generate some supple-
Batch 1 394,000 Tolerance Alternative mentary preproduction data. Pro-
Batch 2 341,000 interval range
Lower release 23,306 200,000
ducing just a few additional test
Batch 3 418,000
limit (LRL) results (not the 30–50 data points
Mean 384,333 Upper release 745,361 500,000 required by other specification set-
Standard Deviation 39,400 limit (URL) ting techniques) ordinarily leads to
Count 3 enough convergence between ob-
servations so that the Tolerance In-
similar to those of another prod- P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A and B)= terval will shrink considerably. The
uct that’s been manufactured for a (1/10)+(1/10) – [(1/10)*(1/10)] = 19% k2 value is driven down through in-
while. Table 3 contains statistics for Considering the negative conse- creased knowledge about the new
the established product. Comparing quences typically associated with product, and the standard deviation
the proposed specification ranges manufacturing OOS products, they generally decreases as well. This is
in Table 2 with information acquired should be avoided, especially when demonstrated in an example below.
from the older product is informa- they arise from routine variation, not
tive. Assuming both products have from a process deviation that could Calculating confidence level
identical viscosity-population distri- adversely impact a product’s quality. Discussed next are recommenda-
butions allows one to estimate OOS Admittedly, small data sets some- tions for calculating the confidence
frequencies for the three specifica- times contain considerable variabil- level of a designated specificaiton
tion ranges (shown in Table 4). This ity. Applying the Tolerance Interval range. Table 5 shows viscosity data
demonstrates how unsuitable the method to such data can lead to associated with a very thick product.
first two methods can be at creating very wide specification limits that are Since these data were not consis-
specification ranges for situations in- neither feasible nor desirable. For in- tent, the proposed viscosity range
volving small data sets. stance, the lower viscosity-release using Tolerance Intervals, as shown
It should be noted that the OOS limit could end up as a negative num- in the middle column of Table 6, was
percentages listed in Table 4 are for ber, which is physically impossible. In quite wide. The LRL (at a 90% con-
a single quality parameter. If an in- all instances, before calculating a TI, fidence level) was unacceptably low
valid methodology is used to create the following should be done: at only 23,306 cps. As a result, an al-
the specification limits of more than Check for and exclude outliers/ ternative viscosity range of 200,000–
one quality parameter, the likelihood anomalies from the data set. Sev- 500,000 cps was proposed and
of making OOS product increases eral statistical methods are available evaluated. What confidence level
correspondingly. This is illustrated by for detecting outliers. coincides with that range when 99%
the two-factor probability equation If the calculated TI is still wider of future production viscosities must
shown below: than expected or desired, proceed fall within that range?
with one of the following options: Referring to Figure 1, since the
P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A and B) Option 1. Propose a narrower, average viscosity of 384,333 is not
more pragmatic specification range the midpoint of the proposed range
If the odds of having OOS product by and identify what confidence level of 200,000 – 500,000, both sides of
parameter A are 10%, or by parameter corresponds with it. The confidence the population distribution will be ex-
B are 10%, then the odds of having level associated with a tighter, but amined separately. For the lower tail
OOS product from either A or B are more reasonable, specification range of the distribution:
calculated using the following equation: can be computed. If the confidence
LRL=
TABLE 7. EFFECT OF UTILIZING ADDITIONAL DATA POINTS ON TOLERANCE INTERVALS
Drug active #1 Drug active #2 Drug active #3
kL =
Desired release limits 2.7 – 3.3 6.75 – 8.25 0.45 – 0.55
LRL – URL LRL – URL LRL – URL
3 Sets of test results 2.56 – 3.27 6.05 – 8.99 0.43 – 0.58
6 Sets of test results 2.72 – 3.17 6.79 – 8.16 0.47 – 0.53
FIGURE 1. Shown here is
the predicted population dis-
tribution for the calculating
confidence level example
To determine 1– one should specify

the degrees of freedom (N–1) and cal-
culate the Chi-square cumulative dis-
tribution function (Some spreadsheet
programs or online calculators can do
100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 this computation). The result is 0.332.
The confidence level for the lower por- duction data as mentioned in shown on the bottom row of Table
tion of the specification range is: Option 2 above. Low confidence 7. Each TI contracted considerably,
levels indicate high levels of sta- with all TIs now falling inside the
 = 1 – 0.332 = 66.8% tistical uncertainty. Producing just prescribed boundaries. This dem-
a few additional test results (not onstrates how supplying just a few
This means there is a 66.8% con- the 30–50 data points required extra data points can have a pro-
fidence level that future test results by other specification setting nounced impact on a TI because
will be > 200,000 cps. techniques) will help to decrease statistical uncertainty is reduced. n
Performing similar calculations on the TI. The discussion that fol- Edited by Suzanne Shelley
the upper portion of the prospective lows next illustrates this option.
specification range reveals that there References
is only a 35.8% confidence level Reducing Tolerance Intervals 1. NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods,
that prospective viscosities will be Providing supplementary information http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/prc/section2/
prc263.htm, May 23, 2016.
< 500,000 cps. can help to reduce TIs. With over-
In situations like this, where the the-counter drugs, the LRL and URL
confidence level is not very high, a for active ingredients are typically set Author
risk assessment should be carried at or within 10% of the target level. Noel L. Sutton is a senior princi-
out. Is there a high likelihood that Table 7 provides an example of a sit- pal process development engineer
at Amway (7575 Fulton E., Ada, MI
OOS results will occur down the uation that involved augmenting the 49355; Phone: 616-787-5714;
road? If the risk of generating OOS initial test data. As shown, the row Email: noel_sutton@amway.com).
results is unacceptably high, select with the sought-after release limits In this capacity, he has scaled up
one of the options below: is highlighted. Below that, Tolerance processes for a wide variety of
products. He began his career as
1. Widen the proposed release Intervals were calculated using test a process design engineer at
limits and recalculate the con- results from only three pilot batches. Amway for four years, then gained
fidence level for the new range. All TIs were wider than the targeted over 32 years experience in process development at
both Helene Curtis, Inc. and Amway. Sutton holds a
This can be repeated in an itera- release limits — not desired. B.S.Ch.E. from the University of Washington, and a
tive fashion until an acceptable The effect of supplementing the Master’s in engineering management from Northwest-
confidence level is reached, or original data with test results from ern University. He is a member of AIChE.
2. Produce additional prepro- three additional pilot batches is

You and Your Job
Training Today’s Workforce

Integrated console, virtual-reality simulation offers learning for maximum,
measurable training efficiency
Graham Provost have a difficult time measuring the Learning retention rates
Schneider Electric Industry Business effectiveness of time spent in train-
78
ing and overall competency of their
M
odern techniques are employees. In addition to the clas- 20
being used for realistic sic reasons to use simulation, such n Simulation
n Audiovisual
plant training for control as “reduce trips” and “speed time to 10 n Reading
n Lectures
room operators, field op- commissioning,” employing struc- 5
erators, and operations and mainte- tured simulation training and other
nance personnel. Simulator training modern methods, such as tutorial 0 25 50 75 100
Percentage
has been shown to result in better video and virtual reality simulation,
retention by participants than most maximizes the value of the time FIGURE 1. Simulation offers a 78% learning reten-
tion rate, which is much higher than other training
other learning methods. This article spent in training. options (Source: Ref. 1)
describes these training platforms,
when they should be used, and Integrated platform for O&M with the exception of true tactile
how to set up a performance-based A complete, integrated simulation feedback and maintenance-related
competency grid. and training platform can be used to psychomotor skills. The benefit of
Simulation training and blended train control room, and field opera- a simulation platform is that it is al-
learning can be tied to an organizations and maintenance (O&M) per- ways available and can be set up
tion’s key performance indicators sonnel through the development of for trainee self-study. This alleviates
(KPIs) through a Personnel Effective- targeted models and trainee activi- some of the training responsibility
ness Model that utilizes simulation to ties. These solutions typically consist that often falls on senior personnel,
maximize training value for time spent. of portions of control-panel-based whose time is already stretched thin.
To understand how to employ a simulation, which are traditional op- In addition, simulation training can
Personnel Effectiveness Model, con- erator training simulators (OTS), inte- also be deployed over the “cloud,”
sider first that time spent in struc- grated with small virtual-reality (VR) making global deployment and man-
tured, measurable simulation train- training environments. Learning is agement a possibility. A competency
ing is significantly more valuable targeted at high-consequence, diffi- grid should be constructed assum-
than time spent by any other learn- cult and important items. Both oper- ing that simulation will accommodate
ing method [1]. Simulator training ations and maintenance training are the training. This is antithetical to the
achieves 78% retention, while the av- considered, and scenarios are built traditional practice that we must first
erage of all other methods is 11.6% to accommodate items such as pro- identify what can be accomplished
when blended equally (Figure 1). This duction, abnormal operations (O&M with simulation. This mindset is ob-
means that simulator training is nearly team training), maintenance and re- solete because modern simulation
seven times more effective than any pair procedures. can replicate nearly any environment
other learning method, not including By developing and deploying a and condition.
on-the-job training (OJT). In many training platform such as this, orga- The modern competency-grid
cases, even OJT is unstructured and nizations are able to maximize the model should be built such that, at
not measurable. While this experien- effectiveness of the time person- the end of the analysis, we iden-
tial learning is valuable, it can also be nel spend in training, and raise their tify exception items that should be
accomplished using simulation. level of retention and therefore com- physically experienced based upon
Therefore, it is reasonable to say petency. VR platforms also enable those that affect the KPI-related
that one, 8-hour day of simulator inclusion of items such as orienta- training scenarios to be built. This
training is effectively worth 7 days, tion, and environmental, health and maintains the focus on performance
or 56 hours of training by any other safety electronic-learning as part of and training as related to the solution
method. The Personnel Effective- the dedicated training environment. that is being designed.
ness Model considers that techni-
cal competency should be one of When should simulation be used? Competency grid model
an organization’s KPIs. This is true All O&M training items can and Constructing a performance-based
for most large industrial organiza- should generally be accomplished competency grid for a facility or
tions, however historically, most using simulation of various types, workgroup is a scientific process
Review key performance Review any existing Conduct simulation and Identify past problems;
develop simulation
organization, then we should also
indicators for the site/ valuable job position training needs analysis consider this training seat time to be
performance analysis via job task analysis and training plan based upon
organization personnel effectiveness
data job hazard analysis
KPI an asset expenditure on personnel
competency and growth.
Develop training Using integrated simulation and
Integrate simulation and
Develop and implement training platform with Deploy personnel program requirements training applications raises the return
initial and continuing effectiveness simulation and combined OTS-VR
training programs
learning management
training platform simulation training on competency investment by en-
system (as desired)
platform abling 78% retention, as compared
to an average of 11.6% for all other
Assign an initial Assign minimum Categorize, assign Develop competency
methods. In the example below,
"effectiveness rating" weighting criteria and
to all trainees based
competency rating for
values to all training
grid based upon items shown for a combined O&M worker,
existing O&M personnel identified as training
upon previous training & based upon job position items in competency items related to KPIs we can also directly correlate her or
experience grid
his 84.5% personnel effectiveness
FIGURE 2. This graphical depiction of a personnel effectiveness competency model shows the steps rating to training and retention cost.
involved This also allows organizations to tie
effectiveness ratings to pay scale,
that serves as the foundation for criteria and values to all training bonus or promotion as a measurable
any training program. It is what tells items in the competency grid element for the worker.
the management team what training 7. Assign minimum competency rat- If the training was given in tradi-
their people need, given the facility’s ings for existing O&M personnel tional non-simulation ways, such as
current KPIs. It can be accomplished based upon job position required reading, lecture and so on,
by a dedicated workgroup experi- 8. Assign an initial “effectiveness rat- that have a cumulative retention rating
enced in instructional systems de- ing” to all trainees based upon of 11.6%, the return on investment in
sign at industrial facilities. The steps previous training and experience training is only $116,000. Using simu-
involved in the work include the fol- 9. Develop and implement initial and lation for the same activities improves
lowing (Figure 2): continuing training programs the training experience for all users
1. Review key performance indica- 10. Integrate simulation and training and raises the ROI in training time
tors for the site or organization platform with a learning manage- to $780,000. This example equates
2. Review existing, valuable, job-po- ment system (as desired) to $664,000 of wasted training time
sition performance analysis data 11. Deploy personnel effectiveness investment, or approximately 13,280
3. Conduct a simulation and training simulation and training platform hours of wasted time spent in largely
needs analysis ineffective and often unenjoyable
a. Job task analysis — Conduct a Personnel effectiveness rating training by employees just to com-
performance review of control Table 1 represents a simplified ex- plete their required qualifications.
room, field operator and main- ample of a completed competency
tenance job positions to deter- grid for personnel consisting of 48 The importance of flexibility
mine the difficulty, importance discrete training items. Let’s con- Of course all of this takes time and
and frequency of normal and sider that it takes 200 hours to com- money, and we recognize there is a
abnormal operations expected plete all training items in the grid and finite amount of this every year. That’s
b. Identify items that directly re- that there are 100 total persons at why getting the most value for time
late to KPIs, such as those that the site. Assuming an average hourly and money spent is so important.
directly affect production, per- rate (O&M, supervision) of $50 per One of the benefits of employing a
sonnel safety and environmen- hour, it costs $1,000,000 to imple- virtual reality or “immersive training”
tal compliance ment all of the items in the grid per environment (Figure 3) is that it can be
c. Job hazard analysis (JHA) — 100 persons. If personnel effective- expanded and updated year after year
O&M tasks with high conse- ness is considered as a KPI for an even if the control system is changed.
quence JHAs should be con-
sidered for simulation training as
well as those that affect KPIs
d. Past problems — Identify any
past problems or incidents that
should be included in training
e. Develop a simulation training
plan based upon personnel ef-
fectiveness KPIs
4. Develop training program require-
ments and combined OTS-VR
simulation training platform.
5. Develop a competency grid based
upon items identified as training
items related to KPIs
6. Categorize and assign weighting FIGURE 3. Virtual and augmented reality can be combined in immersive operations training

TABLE 1. COMPLETED COMPETENCY GRID EXAMPLE
Trainee Name O&M Personnel Effectiveness Rating 84.5%
Competency Area Competency Group Simulation & Training Competency Item Area Effective- Maximum Score
(each column represents a different item) ness Rating
Integrated O&M Scenario 10 10 10 10 36 40
Team Training (item value) High-value team training
(trainee score) 90% 85% 90% 92%
9 9 9 9 28.8 36
Integrated panel op / field training
75% 76% 75% 94%
8 8 8 8 22.16 32
Panel operator training scenarios
42% 71% 78% 86%
Operations Personnel
6 6 6 6 19.68 24
Field operator training scenarios
75% 78% 94% 81%
4 4 4 4 15.52 16
Operator fundamentals
100% 100% 100% 88%
7 7 7 7 21.49 28
Maintenance procedures
87% 100% 62% 58%
Maintenance Personnel
4 4 4 4 14.92 16
Maintenance fundamentals
100% 81% 92% 100%
6 6 6 6 22.92 24
Past problems and incidents (industry-wide)
100% 96% 100% 86%
5 5 5 5 16.8 20
System-based fundamentals
89% 92% 72% 83%
3 3 3 3 10.38 12
All O&M Personnel Core training (fundamentals)
82% 79% 95% 90%
1 1 1 1 3.75 4
Site EH&S
100% 100% 85% 90%
1 1 1 1 4 4
Site orientation
100% 100% 100% 100%
Total Effectiveness Score 84.5% in this example (based on a score of 216.42 out of 256) 216.42 256
A good VR environment will allow know these approaches are ineffec- and how it is best delivered, don’t
connection to more than one con- tive, and therefore a poor choice both be afraid to answer … and don’t
trol system so that the client is not for the experience of the trainee as be afraid to recommend the use of
“locked in” to one VR vendor. It is well as for the longterm investment simulation as an economical, power-
also practical to enter into multi- that is made in training time and com- ful and highly efficient option that can
year service agreements where the petency development at any facility. deliver far more than you had previ-
platform is designed and developed Using a personnel effectiveness ously thought possible. ■
as part of a capital expense (capex) training model and deploying simu- Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
project in year one with subse- lation and training in immersive, ex-
quent development in following periential environments can give an Reference
years under the same expenditure. organization a sustainable model 1. Based on information from the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral
Science (www.ntl.org) as cited in the report "Strategies for Operator
In subsequent years, operational for competency development that Training Simulators," by the ARC Advisory Group, Feb. 2014 (www.
expenses (opex) can also be used quantifies the value of advanced arcweb.com)
to add additional training items and training applications, time and activi-
scenarios to the VR environment to ties. In addition, it is true to say that Author
raise the effectiveness of training a more competent, effective O&M Graham Provost is the senior
provided, thereby raising the effec- workforce will undoubtedly raise managing consultant for Simsci
Simulation and Training, Industry
tiveness of personnel. This is also the quality and value of production Business with Schneider Electric
especially important as overall train- and any other targeted KPI if an ef- (2406 Madison Ave., Baltimore,
ing needs change over the years. fective simulation training model is MD; Email: graham.provost@
employed. This model can lend in- schneider-electric.com). He has
22 years of training, operations
Personnel effectiveness & KPIs creased credibility to training prac- and maintenance experience, in-
Using a model for personnel com- tices at industrial facilities by tying cluding 16 years of experience in
petency development that incor- the activities directly to KPIs and training and instructional design in petroleum refining,
chemical and power plants, and more. This includes 10
porates the most efficient and ef- high consequence items determined years in the Navy Nuclear Power Program as a supervi-
fective training methods available is through a rigorous scientific method sor, operator and trainer, time in the cement and mining
an important factor for responsible with room for evolution. industry as an electrical maintenance manager and in
waste energy as a shift supervisor. Provost has experi-
managers. Given the technology op- Using an immersive, integrated ence in all facets of training curriculum design, develop-
tions that exist today, it hardly makes simulation and training platform to ment, and implementation for all types of training topics
sense to just rely on approaches that train today’s workforce quantifies in various formats, including simulation and e-learning.
were developed nearly two decades and maximizes the value of training As a classroom instructor, he has presented numerous
courses for operations, maintenance and supervision,
ago — including PowerPoint pre- time and helps to monetize the value totaling thousands of hours of classroom presentation
sentations or overhead projectors. of providing better tools for train- time. Provost is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Nuclear
Research findings have validated the ing. The next time someone asks Power Training program and has a B.S. in human re-
source management from the Milano School of Man-
inefficiencies of these methods. We how to quantify the value of training agement and Urban Policy, New School University.
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Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service #
Abbe, Paul O .........................35 Load Controls ........................45 Rembe GMBH........................55

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adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-01 1-800-624-8765 adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-17
H. Butting GmbH & Co. KG ...35 Swagelok .............................. C4

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*Plast-O-Matic Valves, Inc. ..... 6i
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Classiied Index July 2017
Advertiser Page number
Ekato Process Technologies Phone number Reader Service #
Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
GmbH ....................................37 Equipment, New & Used . . . 61
1-201-825-4684 x222 Engineering Software ............. 61
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Flexicon, Inc. ............................3 Advertiser Page number

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adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-08 1-708-748-7200 Visimix .................................... 61
adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-243 +972 52 383 4174
* International Edition Indeck Power Equipment
Company ............................... 61 Wabash Power Equipment
1-800-446-3325 Co .......................................... 61
See bottom adlinks.chemengonline.com/66430-244 1-800-704-2002
of opposite Ross, Charles & Son Co......... 61

1-800-243-ROSS Xchanger, Inc. ........................ 61
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advertising Vesconite Bearings ................ 61
sales representatives' 1-866-635-7596
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Economic Indicators
2015 2016 2017
Download the CEPCI two weeks sooner at www.chemengonline.com/pci
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PLANT COST INDEX (CEPCI)

625
(1957-59 = 100) Apr. '17 Mar. '17 Apr. '16 Annual Index:
Prelim. Final Final
2009 = 521.9 600
CE Index ______________________________________________ 566.8 561.9 535.3
Equipment ____________________________________________ 684.2 676.6 638.0 2010 = 550.8
Heat exchangers & tanks _________________________________ 600.9 590.9 545.2
2011 = 585.7 575
Process machinery _____________________________________ 672.2 672.1 644.8
Pipe, valves & fittings ____________________________________ 885.0 863.7 800.3 2012 = 584.6
Process instruments ____________________________________ 404.4 403.2 383.0 2013 = 567.3 550
Pumps & compressors ___________________________________ 978.6 982.3 969.7
Electrical equipment ____________________________________ 515.5 514.3 508.3 2014 = 576.1
Structural supports & misc ________________________________ 735.7 733.3 697.4 2015 = 556.8 525
Construction labor _______________________________________ 324.6 325.8 323.3
Buildings _____________________________________________ 556.7 555.1 538.4 2016 = 541.7
Engineering & supervision _________________________________ 315.2 314.7 315.7 500
J F M A M J J A S O N D
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) ____________________________________________________ May '17 = 101.2 Apr. '17 = 101.1 Mar. '17 = 100.9 May '16 = 100.4
CPI value of output, $ billions _____________________________________________________ Apr. '17 = 1,831.9 Mar. '17 = 1,830.1 Feb. '17 = 1,842.8 Apr. '16 = 1,690.2
CPI operating rate, % __________________________________________________________ May '17 = 76.1 Apr. '17 = 76.0 Mar. '17 = 75.8 May '16 = 75.9
Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) ____________________________________ May '17 = 257.3 Apr. '17 = 256.5 Mar. '17 = 251.8 May '16 = 226.9
Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2012=100)* ____________________________________ May '17 = 103.3 Apr. '17 = 103.7 Mar. '17 = 102.6 May '16 = 101.9
Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) ____________________________ May '17 = 174.6 Apr. '17 = 177.4 Mar. '17 = 172.3 May '16 = 163.7
Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100) ______________________________ May '17 = 101.2 Apr. '17 = 100.9 Mar. '17 = 102.2 May '16 = 102.0
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2000 = 100)† CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
110 2300 80
105
2200 78
100
2100
95 76
2000
90
74
1900
85
72
80 1800
75 1700 70
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 month’s CPI output index values, the base year was changed from 2000 to 2012
Current business indicators provided by Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
CURRENT TRENDS
T he preliminary value for the April CE

Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; most re-
cent available) rose compared to the pre-
FREE On Demand Webinars
CHEMICAL vious month’s value, making it the seventh
ENGINEERING
ESSENTIALS FOR THE CPI PROFESSIONAL
straight month of increasing values. The
gain in the overall PCI was driven by sig-
nificant jumps in several categories within
the Equipment subindex, such as Pipes,
Learn about the industry’s critical Valves & Fittings and Heat Exchangers &
topics by viewing the latest Tanks. The Buildings and Engineering &
On Demand webinars. Supervision subindices increased slightly
in April, while the Construction Labor
subindex declined by a small margin. The
For a list of FREE preliminary overall monthly CEPCI value
webinars, visit for April 2017 stands at 5.4% higher than
chemengonline.com/webcasts the corresponding value from April 2016.
Meanwhile, the latest Current Business In-
dicators (CBI; middle) saw the CPI Output
Index for May edge upward slightly.
BULK SOLIDS
HANDLING WORKSHOP
Best Practices for Challenges, Safety & Solutions
Thursday, September 14, 2017 | Sky Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA
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Presenter: Brian Pittenger, Vice President,
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Jenike & Johanson
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This session will cover the basics of bulk solids handling,
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working together with your bin and benefits of gravimetric
Effective Powder Blending feeders and their drawbacks.
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As many as 42 percent of safety incidents are due to errors that could have been
prevented. While you may know us for our reliable fluid system components, we’re made
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Learn more at swagelok.com/safety
© 2017 Swagelok Company


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July

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July 2017 Volume 124 | no. 7

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