Chemical Engineering Magazine, March 2015

www.chemengonline.com

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Managing Steam Systems

March 2015

03Improving Rotating

Machinery Operations

Interphex Show Preview

Facts at Your Fingertips: Steel

Corrosion

Process Control: Integrating

Instruments and Systems

page 50

Preventing Combustible Dust Explosions

Carbon Capture Technologies

Targeting Methane Emissions

As the global leader in catalysis, BASF draws on the talent and expertise of more than 1,100 researchers working in close partnership with our customers. This collaboration results in innovations that drive new levels of performance and achievement, today and over the long term. When global catalyst innovations help our customers become more successful, it’s because at BASF, we create chemistry.

www.catalysts.basf.com

We create chemistry that lets individual needs love global innovation.

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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 2015 1

March 2015 Volume 122 | no. 3

Cover Story50 Part 1: Why Bad Things Happen to Good Steam

Equipment Accounting for an entire steam trap population is crucial

to avoiding safety incidents and sub-optimal production — high-priority

consideration must be given to steam-system management

60 Part 2: Mitigate Corrosion in Condensate-

Return Systems Understanding the chemistry behind

corrosion in condensate-return systems can aid in selecting and

properly employing the best mitigation technique

In the News7 Chementator

Catalytic filter bags can slash investment cost for offgas treatment;

This process enables Mg alloy to be cast economically; ‘Anode-

less’ lithium battery prototype doubles energy density; Scaleup

for modular H2 production via PEM electrolysis; Carbon fibers

enhance swine wastewater treatment; CO2 capture with

permeable polymer microcapsules; and more

16 Business News

Prayon to build food-grade hexametaphosphate plant in Georgia; Showa

Denko JV starts up alumina plant in Indonesia; Kuraray boosts production

capacity for ethylene vinyl alcohol; Arkema starts up thiochemicals plant in

Malaysia; Methanex starts up relocated Geismar methanol plant; and more

20 Newsfront Targeting Methane Emissions

New sensor, sealing and vapor-recovery technologies aim to reduce

methane (CH4) emissions

27 Newsfront Process Control Provides A Holistic View

Integration between instruments and systems allows manufacturers to align

process parameters with business performance

Technical and Practical46 Facts at your Fingertips Steel Corrosion

This one-page reference provides descriptions of corrosion mechanisms and

corrosion resistance of various types of steel

48 Technology Profile Propane Dehydrogenation to Make Propylene: the Oxydehydrogenation Approach

A process to manufacture on-purpose propylene by dehydrogenation of

propane is described

64 Feature Report Prevent Combustible Dust Explosions With Nitrogen Inerting

Targeted use of blanketing with inert gas offers an effective strategy for

preventing combustible dust explosions in CPI facilities


60

20

27

50

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 20152

70 Environmental Manager Post-Combustion Carbon

Capture Technologies Several carbon-capture processes hold much

promise, but there are challenges yet to be met

74 Engineering Practice Rotating Machinery: What You Should Know About Operational Problems

Follow this guidance to improve the operation, safety and reliability of rotating

machinery in CPI plants

Equipment and Services33 Focus Bulk Solids Handling

A high-level detector has a mercury-free tilt switch; Magnetic pulleys help belt

conveyors to separate metals; This firm offers flow-properties testing services;

This radar level-detection probe is undaunted by uneven surfaces; Protect

powder-handling systems from explosion risk; and more

37 New Products

Tank-cleaning nozzles that can handle lower flowrates; A fully temperature-

compensated handheld pressure calibrator; These industrial-gas pressure

regulators have three outlet ports; A sealless thermoplastic pump for open tanks

and sumps; and more

42 Show Preview Interphex 2015

The Interphex conference and tradeshow will take place April 21–23 in New

York City. Here are a few of the many products and services to be showcased

Departments5 Editor’s Page A ‘most-wanted’ safety improvement

Combustible dust is too often cited as the cause of serious accidents. The U.S.

Chemical Safety Board recommends a comprehensive standard

84 Economic Indicators

Advertisers36I-1 European Special Advertising Section

79 Product Showcase

80 Classified

82 Reader Service

83 Ad Index

Chemical Connections Follow @ChemEngMag on Twitter

Join the Chemical Engineering MagazineLinkedIn Group

Visit us on www.chemengonline.com for Latest News, Web-exclusive articles, Information on the Nicholas Chopey Scholarship, Test your Knowledge Quizzes, Bookshelf and more

Coming in AprilLook for: Feature Reports on Distillation; and Vacuum Dryers;

A Focus on Compressors, Fans and Blowers; A Facts at your

Fingertips on Biotechnology; a Solids Processing article on Size

Reduction; an Engineering Practice article on Rectangular Tanks;

News Articles on Metals Recovery; and Analyzers; and more

Cover: Rob Hudgins, photo courtesy of TLV Corp.

33

42

37

74

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Editors Page


In the chemical process industries (CPI), dust can present an issue far more menacing than a housekeeping nuisance. Combustible dust is in fact, much too often listed as a cause of serious, and even fatal accidents.

IncidentsIn January of this year, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; Wash-ington, D.C., www.csb.gov) issued its report on the U.S. Ink plant flash fire that burned seven workers. This incident, which occurred in October 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J., was found to have resulted from the accumulation of combustible dust inside a dust-collection system that had been put into operation four days prior to the ac-cident. One of the key findings in the report is that while the dust-collection system was designed for dust collection, it was modified to include a housekeeping function, which caused insufficient flowrates. The CSB report notes that the volume of air flow and the air velocity were below industry recommendations.

In 2006, the CSB issued a comprehensive report on combustible dust hazards that was based on investigations of three major indus-trial explosions that occurred in the U.S. in 2003 alone. The three incidents, in North Carolina, Kentucky and Indiana, cost 14 lives and numerous injuries. In that 2006 study, the CSB identified 281 com-bustible-dust incidents that occurred in the previous 25 years and claimed 119 lives with over 700 injuries. Since 2006, the CSB docu-mented 50 combustible-dust incidents that resulted in 29 fatalities and 161 injuries. These include the 2008 Imperial Sugar disaster near Savannah, Ga., and three incidents over a six-month period in 2011 at a powdered-metal plant in Gallatin, Tenn.

Standards and regulationsWhat is striking in the reports about dust explosions is that at least in some cases, known engineering controls may have been preventa-tive. In its 2006 investigation report “Combustible Dust Hazard Study,” the CSB recommended that the Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA; Washington, D.C.; www.osha.gov) issue a standard to prevent combustible-dust fires and explosions based on standards already available from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA; Quincy, Mass.; www.nfpa.org). The CSB reiterates this recommenda-tion in numerous subsequent reports including its most recent one issued in January. While standards exist, they are voluntary and not enforced through federal regulations. In 2013, the CSB designated a comprehensive general industry standard for combustible dust as its first “Most Wanted Chemical Safety Improvement.”

ResourcesIn the meantime, a wealth of information about combustible dust is available. The CSB website contains many lessons learned from incident investigations in both report and video format. The NFPA offers a number of relevant standards. OSHA offers various resources, includ-ing information on its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP). And numerous articles, such as the Feature Report in this issue (Prevent Combustible Dust Explosions With Nitrogen Inert-ing, p. 64) help to share knowledge and insight into this important issue. ■

D orothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief

A ‘most wanted’ safety improvement

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(Retired) The Linde Group

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Chementator

Edited by:Gerald Ondrey


Last January, Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyn-gby; www.topsoe.com) and FLSmidth

A/S (Copenhagen, both Denmark; www.flsmidth.com) began a joint, global effort to commercialize a new catalytic filter-bag technology, which the part-ners have developed over the past four years. Trade-named EnviroTex, these fil-ter bags are capable of re-ducing dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in a single, integrated process, says Mikkel Nygaard Lar-sen, general manager, marketing and sales at Haldor Topsøe. Because EnviroTex treats several pollutants in a single step, the physi-cal footprint of the treatment process is re-duced compared to alternative technologies that require separate, standalone systems to handle a specific pollutant, says Nygaard Larsen, and capital expenditures (capex) are significantly reduced — “by as much as 80% for some applications.”

The patent-pending EnviroTex filter bags consist of three layers of filter fabric, each of which contains a tailored catalyst that has been optimized for removing specific pollut-ants from offgases (diagram). The three-layer fabric has a porous, woven structure and the catalyst is a mixture of active base and pre-cious metals. As the offgas passes through the filter, dust is filtered on the first layer, and

pollutants are catalytically decomposed into harmless compounds (CO2, N2, O2 and H2O). Even under “the highest” dust load, Enviro-Tex will remove particulate matter to below 2 parts per million, says Nygaard Larsen. VOC and NOx removal is typically more than 90% of the incoming concentration, he says.

The new filters are said to be suitable for a wide range of industries, including cement, glass and steel production; power genera-tion; waste incineration; and coffee and grain roasting. The new filters will be manufactured at FLSmidth’s bag-production facilities in Evans, Ga. The bags will then be “catalyzed” and assembled at Topsøe’s production site in Houston. Topsøe’s production site will be ex-panded to include a new production line ded-icated to producing EnviroTex. Construction on this facility is slated for the end of 2015.

Catalytic filter bags can slash investment costs for offgas treatment

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Or-ganization (NEDO; Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and Sankyo

Tateyama Inc. (Takaoka, both Japan; www.st-grp.co.jp) have developed technology that enables the cast-ing of small-diameter (500–100-mm dia.) magnesium-alloy billets, which are suitable for direct, compact forg-ing. The production costs are said to be half those of existing technology, which involves an expensive and inef-ficient extrusion and forging process. The breakthrough is expected to en-

able a wider application of magnesium in automotive, consumer electronics and robotic products as an alternative to aluminum and iron.

The new casting procedure uses an adiabatic, structured template, which suppresses the coagula-tion of the melted materials within the template and enhances the rapid quenching and coagulation by means of cooling water injected at the bottom of the template. This procedure enables the structural re-finement and formation of a dense solid texture, with average crystal-

grain size of 50 μm, and a dendrite arm spacing (DAS; a measure of the metal’s microstructure) of less than 15 μm. These parameters are about half those generated by existing bil-let-formation technology, and thus show that the magnesium-alloy billet has a significantly finer and homoge-neous coagulation texture.

Sankyo Tateyama has begun ship-ping samples of the cast billets. The partners have also started to develop multi-face, concurrent continuous casting technology, which will enable mass production.

This process enables Mg alloy to be cast economically

(Continues on p. 8)

COMPOSITE COATINGA new composite material

that prevents metal corro-

sion, even under extreme

conditions, has been devel-

oped by researchers from

the INM – Leibniz Institute

for New Materials GmbH

(Germany; www.inm-gmbh.

de). The patented compos-

ite consists of layers of par-

ticles placed on top of each

other in a staggered fashion,

creating a self-organized,

highly structured barrier,

says Carsten Becker-Will-

inger, head of the Nano-

mers Program Division. The

protective layer is just a few

micrometers thick and pre-

vents penetration by gases

and electrolytes. It provides

protection against corrosion

caused by aggressive aque-

ous solutions, including salt

and acids, as well as corro-

sive gases under pressure.

After thermal curing, the

composite adheres to the

metal substrate, is abrasion-

stable and impact-resistant.

It can be applied by spray-

ing or other commonly used

wet-chemistry processes,

and cures at 150–200°C. It

is suitable for steels, metal al-

loys and metals such as alu-

minum, magnesium and cop-

per, and can be used to coat

Note: For more information, circle the 56-digit number on p. 82, or use the website designation.

Raw gas with dust and pollutants

Raw gas sideClean gas side

Clean gas side

HAP*

CO2

NH3

N2

NOx

O2

CO

Dust

CO2

N2

O2

H2O

Three layers glass bags and e-PTFE membranes

Dust is collected on the surface

Pollutants removal by catalytic process

Cleaned glass pass filter element

*Organic HAP includes formadehyde, benzene, toluene, styrene (m-, p-, o-) xylene, acetaldehyde and napthalene

Three-layers woven glass bags with embedded catalyst. One of the glass bags with e-PTFE membrane


A new prototype lithium battery with a very thin metal anode

achieves an energy density of 1,200 W-h/L at room temperature — double that of conven-tional Li-ion batteries using graphite anodes. The prototype battery, developed by Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT; Cambridge, Mass.; www.mit.edu) spin-off SolidEnergy (Waltham, Mass.; www.soliden-ergysystems.com), uses a standard lithium-cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode with an ultrathin, two-layer, lithium-on-copper anode that al-lows larger energy density. SolidEnergy has developed a specialized electrolyte that al-lows the system to work.

“The key know-how is really in the elec-trolyte,” says Qichao Hu, “because conven-tional electrolytes do not work with this kind of battery system.” SolidEnergy’s electrolyte has two parts: a liquid around the cathode and a solid polymer composite electrolyte on the anode of the battery. To make it work at

room temperature, SolidEnergy developed a proprietary mixture of ionic liquids, a new salt species and other new materials with high conductivity and efficiency.

SolidEnergy partnered with fellow MIT prod-uct A123 Venture Technologies (Waltham, Mass.; www.a123systems.com) to fabricate the prototype. Going forward, SolidEnergy will focus on supplying the new electrolytes and anode materials to large manufacturers of Li-ion batteries used in consumer elec-tronics and other applications. The company plans a pilot facility, to be completed in late 2016, that will be able to produce the materi-als for the equivalent of 30 million cell phone batteries per year, says Hu.

‘Anode-less’ lithium battery prototype doubles energy densityany shape of plates, pipes,

gear wheels, tools or ma-

chine parts. The composite

does not contain chromium

VI or other heavy metals.

SELECTIVE MEMBRANE

New selective hollow-fiber

membranes that could en-

able water purification in

a single step have been

developed by research-

ers from the University of

Twente’s (www.utwente.nl)

MESA+ Research Institute,

in collaboration with Pentair

(Enschede, both the Neth-

erlands; www.pentair.com).

The membranes make it

possible to purify water in a

single process step (elimi-

nating pretreatment required

in existing water-treatment

plants) while removing mi-

cropollutants, such as phar-

maceutical residues (medi-

cine residues, hormones

and pesticides).

The selective membrane is

applied to thin porous straws

(5-nm pore sizes). Multiple

thin layers of polymer coating

(of about 2-nm thick) are ap-

plied over the holes by means

of a relatively simple chemical

process that avoids solvents.

Creation of the polymer lay-

ers can be controlled very

accurately, so the number

of layers, the density and the

charge of the layers, and so

on, can be chosen to suit the

desired application.

Modules containing more

than 10,000 of the fibers (1-m

long) can be numbered up for

an industrial water-treatment

plant. Pentair is taking over

the further product develop-

ment of the membrane.

‘GREEN’ TIRESAt last month’s Tire Technol-

ogy Expo (February 10–12;

Cologne, Germany), Solvay

S.A.’s Silica business unit

unveiled Efficium, which the

company says is a break-

through highly dispersible

silica (HDS). Used as a rein-

forcing filler, Efficium allows

for higher productivity and

greater flexibility in produc-

ing “green” tire compounds

for cars and trucks.

Carbon anode

Silicon-composite anode

SeparatorSeparator

Cathode

Carbon anode cell600 Wh/L

Silicon anode cell800 Wh/L

Near “anode-less” cell1200 Wh/L

Cathode Cathode

Ultra-thin metal anodeSolid polymer ionic liquid

Scaleup for modular H2 production via PEM electrolysis

Two new proton-exchange-mem-brane (PEM) electrolysis systems have debuted, targeting applica-tions that require large volumes

of hydrogen. Prior to the launch of Pro-ton OnSite’s (Wallingford, Conn.; www. protononsite.com) M1 and M2 modular H2-generation systems, the largest capacity commercially available from PEM modules was just 30 m3/h H2, says the company. The M1 and M2 systems can produce 200 m3/h and 400 m3/h of H2, respectively, representing an intensive scaleup effort. Multiple units can be connected to achieve even greater production capabilities for huge-scale projects. In order to reach these higher capacities while ensuring safe operation, the M1 and M2 were designed with a specific emphasis on the differen-tial pressure (DP) between the H2 and O2 sides of the membrane. Maintaining a DP of 30 bars across the membrane minimizes gas crossover problems, and also allows the system to produce a very high-quality H2 stream. Furthermore, this DP approach

enables a simplified, low-pressure water-circulation loop that removes any hazards due to pressurized O2, and allows for a passive system shutdown. Another safety advantage of employing onsite H2 genera-tion is that the safety risks associated with longterm H2 storage (in the case of pur-chased hydrogen) are eliminated. This is especially important for remote manufac-turing locations.

Applications for the M1 and M2 include pharmaceuticals and semiconductor manu-facturing, as well as large-scale industrial heat-treating. In semiconductor applica-tions, the generated H2 can be used for oxygen scavenging or as a carrier gas. Potentially, the most promising outlet for large-scale H2 generation lies in the fields of energy storage and fuel cells, where the modules can be installed into existing in-frastructure. The generated H2 can also be injected into methanation processes and integrated into the natural-gas grid or used for upgrading biogas.

(Continues on p. 14)

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Takahiro Yamashita and col-leagues at the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agricul-

ture and Food Research Organiza-tion (NARO, Tsukuba, Japan; www.naro.affrc.go.jp) have developed an aerobic bioreactor that can reduce nitrous oxide emissions by nearly 90% in the treatment of swine wastewater. The reactor uses an array of horizontal carbon fibers (CF) within the reactor column to support microorganisms.

A CF reactor with an effective vol-ume of 10 L was tested against a con-ventional activated-sludge (AS) reactor (diagram), and was shown to achieve a 90% reduction in the released N2O — a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 300-times higher than that of carbon dioxide. The CF reactor also showed a “dras-tic” reduction in dissolved nitrogen.

The researchers evaluated the water quality of influent and efflu-ent during 73 to 176 days operation

after 72 days acclimation period. The removal effi-ciencies of the CF reactor were 96% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), 94% for suspended solids (SS), 93% for total organic carbon (TOC) and 90% for total nitrogen (TN). In the CF reactor, 156 mg/L of the dissolved inorganic nitro-gen (DIN) was removed as NH4-N, which left 14 mg/L DIN as NO3-N; the DIN as NO2-N was almost unde-tectable. In comparison, the removal efficiencies of the AS reactor were 94% for BOD, 76% for SS, 82% for TOC, and 26% for TN. In the AS reactor, 144 mg/L of the DIN was removed as NH4-N, leaving behind 183 mg/L DIN as NO3-N; the DIN as NO2-N was also undetect-able. N2O and CH4 emissions from the CF reactor were 42 g-CO2 eq/m3/d, while those from the AS reac-

tor were 725 g-CO2 eq/m3/d.NARO has now started to conduct

tests with a demonstration-scale re-actor with an effective working vol-ume of 700 L, and the researchers are optimizing the reaction condi-tions for further scaleup.

Carbon fibers enhance swine wastewater treatment

(A) Aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fi bers (CF reactor)(B) Aerobic bioreactor mixed with activated sludge (AS reactor)

Mesh cylinder to support carrier

Top view

5 cm

5 cm

Carbon fi bers fi xed at a 90-deg angle

Side view 55 cm

Distance: 5 cm 11 units

Plastic mesh cylinder

Effl uent

Effl uent

Pump

Pump

Infl uent

Blower

Blower

Air

A

B

Swine wastewater


Scaleup for a test facility to grow algae for biofuels

A new type of CO2-capture media based on per-meable polymer microcapsules has been devel-oped by teams of scientists at Lawrence Liv-ermore National Laboratory (Livermore, Calif.;

www.llnl.gov), Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; www.harvard.edu) and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (www.illinois.edu). The materials have sev-eral advantages over amine-based approaches to ab-sorbing CO2 from power-plant fluegas.

CO2 capture with permeable polymer microcapsules

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Devel-opment Organization (NEDO, Kawasaki; www.nedo.go.jp) and partners IHI Corp. (Tokyo; www.ihi.co.jp), Kobe University (www.kobe-u.ac.jp) and

Neo-Morgan Laboratory Inc. (NML; Kawasaki, all Japan; www.neo-morgan.com) have completed construction on an outdoor test site with 1,500-m2 of pond surface area for further development work on the production of biofu-els (including jet fuel) from algae. Located at Nanatsu Is-land, Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan, the facility will start up next month, and be used for developing a complete process for biofuel production, including the extraction process, working to lower production costs and enable stable mass-production. The facility is part of the NEDO project, “Development of the application technology of the strategic next-generation bio-mass energy.”

The project will be looking at further developing the algae, Botryococcus braunii, which has a good poten-tial for algaculture because of the type of hydrocarbons (HCs) it produces, and the fact that up to 86 wt.% (dry) can be long-chain HCs, which can be hydrocracked into fuels. The main drawback for this promising algae had been its slow growth rate.

But in 2013, IHI NeoG Algae LLC (a joint venture of IHI, Gene & Gene Technology (G&GT; Suita, Japan) and NML operated a 100-m2 outdoor facility in IHI’s Yokohama site. With NEDO support, the company demonstrated the world’s fasted growth rate for a Botryococcus braunii strain — 1,000 times faster than ordinary Botryococcus braunii. This fast-growing strain was first discovered by professor Taira Enomoto at Kobe University, further re-fined by G&GT, and improved by NML. The collaborations led to new strains with notable characteristics, such as larger algae bodies with improved floating performance.

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Using microfluidics techniques, the scientists produced microcapsules (photo, p. 12) that contain a liquid sorbent — sodium carbonate solution combined with a catalyst — that can absorb CO2 quickly. The microcapsules are made from a highly permeable silicone polymer material that allows CO2 molecules to pass through, but prevents the sorbent material from escaping. By forcing the sor-bent to remain in small droplets, the microcapsules can maximize the surface area that contacts CO2.

The permeable microbeads are inexpensive to make, easy to handle and produce minimal waste, the research-ers say, and with encapsulated fluids inside, they allow users to combine the advantages of solid and liquid CO2-capture media in the same system, while avoiding many of the environmental and corrosion issues posed by amine-based CO2 capture.

Microcapsules have been used in a variety of products previously, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food, but the scientists say their work is the first demon-stration of the use of microcapsules in CO2 capture. The project was detailed in a research paper published in a recent issue of Nature Communications. The research-ers are working on enhancements that will allow scaleup of the technology.

Perfluorinated compounds may pose a risk to firefighters

Perfluorinated compounds — firefighting foams — such as perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS) have been used as fire suppressants, but some of them, such as perfluoroalkyl acids have been

associated with serious environmental contamination. Also, several new fluorinated surfactants have been developed lately, and there has been concern over the effect of those substances on wildlife and on firefight-ers who are most exposed to them. However, several of those new compounds have not yet been identified and it may be very difficult to identify them.

Now, a team from the University of Queensland (Bris-bane, Australia; www.uq.edu.au), Örebro University (Örebro, Sweden; www.oru.se), and Queensland Uni-versity of Technology (Brisbane, Australia; www.qut.edu.au) has developed a method borrowed from medi-cine for identifying those substances in the blood of firefighters. The team compared the fluorinated surfac-tants found in the blood of 20 firefighters with com-pounds in the blood of 20 people who had not been exposed to firefighting foams.

The team ran the blood samples through the tradi-tional quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spec-trometry (QTOF-MS/MS) and has identified more than 3,000 organic and fluorinated compounds. However, when the team applied a statistical analysis to the data, a clear distinction appeared between the firefighters and the controls. The team found nine fluorinated com-pounds in the firefighters’ blood, either exclusively or at much higher levels.

Only five of those compounds appeared in online chemi-cal databases or in the literature interpreting the MS data. The team has tentatively identified the other four, unknown compounds as sulfonic acids analogous to PFOS.

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Photosynthesis is one of the best ways to convert carbon dioxide into renewable energy and at the same time, reduce the concentra-

tion of CO2 in the atmosphere. In plants, there are two main steps in photosynthesis: First, water is split (via solar energy), gen-erating a proton and releasing oxygen. The second step (Calvin cycle) is a dark reaction where CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere is reduced to glucose. A proton is carried via NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase) and transferred to the Calvin cycle as a source of hydrogen and energy. A key step in the process is the hy-drogenation of CO2 to organic compounds.

Professor Jeffrey Chi-Sheng Wu, of the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, National Tai-wan University (Taipei; ntu.edu.tw), has stud-ied the photocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2 by a novel twin reactor to mimic photosyn-thesis under light irradiation. His process is said to have a higher photoconversion yield of CO2 than that achieved in a single reactor.

The twin reactor divides the hydrogen photocatalyst and the oxygen photocata-

lyst into two compartments using a mem-brane, which separates the H+ ions and O2 molecules, preventing a reverse reaction. Wu used Pt/SrTiO3:Rh as the hydrogen photocatalyst and BiVO4 as the O2 photo-catalyst. Iron is used as an electron media-tor. Oxygen is released at one side of the reactor, while H+ ions diffuse through the membrane to the other side. There, CO2 molecules are reduced to hydrocarbons by the photocatalyst.

Wu investigated the diffusion of the Fe2+/Fe3+ through a Nafion 117 membrane. The transfer rate of mediator ions was signifi-cantly larger than the photoreaction rate, indicating that the membrane did not delay the water-splitting reaction in the twin re-actor. The H2 generation rate reached 0.65 µmol/g.h and matched the H2/O2 stoichio-metric ratio of water splitting. Wu found that the hydrogen-generation in the twin reac-tor system was the rate-limiting side. By using a twin reactor, the deactivation of Pt/SrTiO3:Rh could be minimized due to the suppression of Fe(OH)3 formation on the photocatalyst surface. ■

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Plant Watch

Prayon to build food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate plant in Georgia

February 11, 2015 — Prayon S.A. (Engis, Belgium; www.prayon.com) plans to build a manufacturing plant for food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) in Augusta, Ga. Projected capacity of the new SHMP unit is 10,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Supplementing an existing SHMP production site in Roches de Condrieu, France, the Au-gusta plant will double the company’s global SHMP production capacity.

Showa Denko JV starts up alumina plant in Indonesia

February 9, 2015 — P.T. Indonesia Chemi-cal Alumina, a joint venture (JV) owned by Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) and PT Antam (Persero) Tbk., of Indonesia, has started com-mercial operations at its new alumina plant in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The plant’s production capacity for alumina is 300,000 m.t./yr.

Kuraray boosts production capacity for ethylene vinyl alcohol in Belgium

February 6, 2015 — Kuraray Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.kuraray.co.jp) will increase the production capacity for ethylene vinyl alco-hol copolymer (EVOH) resin at the Antwerp, Belgium site of EVAL Europe N.V., a wholly owned Kuraray subsidiary. The capacity in-crease will add 11,000 m.t./yr of EVOH pro-duction capability. The expanded facilities are expected to begin operations in late 2016.

Styrolution opens styrene-butadiene copolymer pilot plant in Antwerp

February 5, 2015 — Styrolution Group GmbH (Frankfurt am Main, Germany; www.styrolution.com) launched a styrene-butadi-ene copolymer (SBC) pilot plant in Antwerp, Belgium. An identical but scaled-down version of Styrolution’s larger production SBC plant in Antwerp, which has a production capacity of 65,000 m.t./yr, the pilot plant will be used to conduct research, and to enhance specialty styrenics products.

Technip awarded contract for Qingdao ethylbenzene styrene monomer plant

February 3, 2015 — Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) was awarded a contract by Qingdao Soda Ash Industrial New Mate-rial & Technology Co. to provide the technol-ogy, engineering and services for an ethyl-

benzene styrene monomer (EBSM) plant to be located in Qingdao City, China. The plant’s planned EBSM production capacity is 500,000 m.t./yr.

PPG plans capacity expansion for precipitated silica at Netherlands site

February 3, 2015 — PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) is increas-ing production capacity for precipitated silica at its manufacturing location in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, by more than 15,000 m.t./yr. The capacity expansion is expected to come online in 2016.

Arkema starts up thiochemicals plant in Malaysia

January 30, 2015 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) has started up a new thiochemicals-production facility. Lo-cated in Kerteh, Malaysia, the new site pro-duces methyl mercaptan for use as a synthe-sis intermediate in animal feed and dimethyl disulfide. Arkema’s investment in the con-struction of this facility totaled €200 million.

Methanex starts up relocated Geismar methanol plant

January 26, 2015 Methanex Corp. (Vancou-ver, B.C., Canada; www.methanex.com) started up its methanol plant in Geismar, La. The plant’s capacity is 1 million m.t./yr of methanol. The plant was relocated from the company’s site in Punta Arenas, Chile.

BASF plans worldwide expansion of PVP production

January 22, 2015 — BASF SE (Ludwig-shafen, Germany; www.basf.com) plans to invest up to €56 million in the expansion of its polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) value chain over the next four years. Through revamp-ing existing plants in Ludwigshafen and Gei-smar, and introducing PVP technology at a site in Shanghai, the company will increase its global PVP production capacities by up to 6,000 m.t./yr.

Solvay building new hydrogen peroxide plant in the Netherlands

January 22, 2015 — Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) plans to build a new manufacturing and filling facility to produce hydrogen peroxide grades for the pharmaceutical industry. The new facility is located at Solvay’s peroxide-production site in Linne-Herten, the Netherlands, and is ex-pected to be completed in July 2015.

Look for more latest news on

chemengonline.com

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Mergers & AcquisitionsBentley acquires modeling software company Acute3DFebruary 10, 2015 — Bentley Sys-tems, Inc. (Exton, Pa.; www.bentley.com) has acquired Acute3D (Val-bonne; France; www.acute3d.com), a provider of software for reality mod-eling. Acute3D’s software automates the generation of high-resolution, three-dimensional representations from digital photographs.

Thermo Fisher Scientific acquires Advanced Scientifics

February 5, 2015 — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.; www.thermofisher.com) has acquired Ad-vanced Scientifics, Inc. (ASI; Millers-burg, Pa.; www.asius.com) for $300 million. ASI designs, manufactures and delivers single-use systems and equipment for the preparation, pro-cessing, storage and transportation of biopharmaceuticals.

W.R. Grace to split into two separate companies

February 5, 2015 — W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com) has announced a plan to separate into two independent companies. The two companies, to be named prior to closing, will be “New Grace,” comprised of Grace’s Catalysts Technologies and Mate-rials Technologies business seg-ments, and “New GCP,” comprised of Grace’s Construction Products business segment and the Darex packaging business.

Johnson Matthey and Anellotech to jointly develop catalytic systems February 4, 2015 — Anellotech Inc. (Pearl River, N.Y.; www.anellotech.com) and Johnson Matthey plc (Lon-don; www.matthey.com) will co-de-velop advanced catalyst systems for Anellotech’s Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Process for producing bio-based benzene, toluene and para-xylene.

FMC sells Alkali Chemicals business to Tronox for $1.64 billion

February 4, 2015 — Tronox Ltd. (Stamford, Conn.; www.tronox.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire FMC Corp.’s (Philadelphia, Pa.; www.fmc.com) Alkali Chemicals business for $1.64 billion.

Lubrizol acquires Brazilian coatings company EcoQuimica

February 2, 2015 — The Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) has acquired São Paulo-based EcoQuimica Industria e Comercio Produtos Quimica Ltda., a manu-facturer and supplier of coatings technology. EcoQuimica is now part of Lubrizol Advanced Materi-als, reporting to the Performance Coatings business.

Solvay to divest Frankfurt-based refrigerant business to Daikin January 30, 2015 — Solvay S.A. will sell its refrigerant and pharma propel-lants business based in Frankfurt, am Main Germany, to Daikin Industries, Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; www.daikin.com). The divestiture comes as Solvay in-creases focus on fluorine specialties and high-purity chemicals. ■ Mary Page Bailey

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Newsfront


On January 14, the Obama Admin-istration announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil-and-gas (O&G) sector by

40–45% from 2012 levels by 2025. The an-nouncement builds on the foundation for fur-ther action laid out by the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov), which in 2012 issued standards for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the O&G industry. Last April, EPA published five technical white papers* that focus on technical issues of compres-sors; “completions” (the process of getting a well ready to produce gas after it is drilled and fractured) and ongoing production of hydraulically-fractured oil wells; leaks; liquids unloading; and pneumatic devices.

Based on peer reviews and public input received, EPA will initiate a rule-making ef-fort to set up standards for CH4 and VOC emissions from new and modified O&G pro-duction sources, as well as natural gas (NG) processes and transmission sources. The rule is expected to be issued this summer, with a final rule ready by 2016.

Sources of methane emissons

Methane emissions accounted for nearly 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions in 2012, of which nearly 30% came

from the production, transmission and dis-tribution of NG. Although emissions from the O&G sector are down 16% from 1990 levels, the emissions are projected to rise more than 25% by 2025 without additional steps to lower them, according to The White House Office of the Press Secretary. Achieving the Administration’s target would save up to 180 billion cubic feet of NG. The initiative would also support businesses that manufacture and sell cost-effective technologies to iden-tify, quantify and reduce emissions.

One of the largest sources of methane emissions in the O&G industry is the flaring and venting of associated gas from oil-pro-duction facilities. The two main contributors are storage-tank vent gas (26.6 billion ft3/yr) and well venting and flaring (18 billion ft3/yr), according to Hy-Bon Engineering Company, Inc. (Midland, Tex.; www.hy-bon.com) — a major supplier of vapor-recovery technology (Figure 1). In the past, this associated gas has simply been vented at various places during the path from the well to the storage tank, says Inayat Virani, vice president, sales at Hy-Bon. This includes the gas released from the separator, as well as the vapors that accumu-late in the headspace of the storage tank. In the U.S. alone, CH4 vent-gas emissions are lost from storage tanks at the rate of 26.6 bil-lion ft3/yr, he says.

Vapor recovery units (VRUs) are one of the Best Management Practices of the EPA’s Nat-

Targeting Methane EmissionsNew sensor, sealing and vapor-recovery technologies aim to reduce methane emissions

IN BRIEF

SOURCES OF METHANE

EMISSIONS

INEXPENSIVE

MONITORING

SEALING TECHNOLOGY

Compressor building

Tank battery

Vapor combustor unit (VCU)

Vapor recovery tower (VRT)

Vapor recovery unit (VRU)

Low pressure separator

To well headsFIGURE 1. Instead of being released to the atmosphere, associated gas from oil wells can be recovered at various stages of the production process, and then be either com-pressed and fed to gas pipelines or used as fuel, or burned with heat recovery

Source: Hy-Bon

* www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/whitepapers


ural Gas STAR program,* and they capture 95% or more of hydrocarbon (HC) vapors being vented from stor-age tanks. These recovered vapors have a higher energy (Btu)content than pipeline-quality NG. Recovered vapors are thus more valuable than NG, and have multiple uses, includ-ing condensate recovery. “In a ma-jority of cases, VRUs have a return on investment of about six months,” says Virani.

Inexpensive monitoringAlthough CH4 is easily detected using infrared (IR) absorption spec-troscopy and other techniques, the high costs of sensing technology have prevented routine applications for identifying and quantifying leaks — especially in remote, outdoor lo-cations involving large numbers of wells and pipelines. Today there is a diverse group of leak detectors available, with IR cameras being state-of-the-art, says Ben Ratner, senior manager, Environmental De-fense Fund (EDF; Washington, D.C.; www.edf.org). The problem is, such devices are very expensive (costing $80,000–100,000). Also, they tend to be less selective and are only able to find large leaks, he says. Because of this, the number of detectors being used in the field is limited, and then, only for periodic spot-checks. As a result, a leak could go undetected for many months. The challenge is to develop CH4 monitors that are inexpensive, have good quality and ultimately can lead to reduced emis-sions, says Ratner.

With this in mind, EDF and seven O&G companies began the Methane Detectors Challenge in order to en-courage the development of the next generation of sensors. “We want cheap, distributed sensors that can find leaks in realtime, thus changing the detection of leaks from months to minutes,” says Ratner.

From the 22 teams submitting pro-posals in 2014, the following four most promising were selected by a team from EDF, industry and independent advisors to advance to round two:

SensAir AB (Delsbo, Sweden) and •

Honeywell’s RAE Systems (San Jose, Calif.; raesystems.com) for a leak detection system that inte-grates continuous sampling and a non-dispersive IR sensor for low parts-per-million methane detectionThe University of Colorado (Boul-• der; www.ucolorado.edu) for a metal-oxide sensor network on a single integrated circuit boardDalian Actech, Inc. (Dalian, Liaon-• ing, China; www.dlactech.com) and Foller & Associates (San Fran-cisco, Calif.; www.foller.net) for an IR laser-based system for continu-ous monitoring Quanta3 LLC (Longmont, Colo.; • www.quanta3.com) for a CH4-spe-cific diode laser detection systemNext month, round two of the com-

petition begins, in which these sys-tems will undergo independent testing by the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI; San Antonio, Tex.; www.swri.org). By the end of this year, round three will begin, which involves dem-onstrations at industry pilot sites.

Meanwhile, last December, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE; Washington,

D.C.; www.energy.gov) announced the funding of 11 new projects to enable CH4-emissions reductions through its Advanced Research Proj-ects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E; www.arpa-e.energy.gov). As a part of ARPA-E’s newest program, Methane Observation Networks with Innova-tive Technology to Obtain Reduc-tions (MONITOR), $30 million has been distributed among 11 projects involving U.S. companies for devel-oping new detector technologies.

For example, IBM (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; www.research.ibm.com) has received $4.5 million to develop new, low-cost optical sen-sors and integrate them in a distrib-uted sensor network. The sensors will use on-chip, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy enabled by shortwave IR silicon photonics tech-nology. In another project, Palo Alto Research Center (PARC; a Xerox company; Calif.; www.parc.com) will

use a variety of modified carbon nan-otube (CNT) sensors to build (print) a sensor array that can identify, quantify and locate CH4 leaks. And GE Global Research (Niskayuna, N.Y.; www.ge-globalresearch.com) will use a novel microstructured optical fiber as part of an IR spectroscopy system. The design will allow detection along the length of hollow optical fibers.

Sealing technologyAs work on lower-cost leak detection progresses, another group of compa-nies has been developing new sealing systems and gaskets that last longer and have reduced leakage. Some of these technologies have already been proven in other sectors of the chemi-cal process industries (CPI), such as the chemical industry, where even miniscule leaks can lead to hazards or lost revenue. And others are being specifically developed to handle com-mon leak sources in the O&G sector.

The Fluid Sealing Association (FSA; Wayne, Pa.; www.fluidsealing.com) has endorsed the EPA’s goals for reducing CH4 emissions, and

has offered its support to help the Obama Administration reach its CH4-reduction target. Normally, nobody thinks about seals unless they leak and a fire or explosion ensues, says FSA’s technical director Henri Azib-ert. For example, nobody is going to dedicate a $10,000 VOC analyzer to monitor for leaks for a joint that uses a $10–50 gasket. One can look at any gasketed joint, and it might only be releasing a few parts-per-million of CH4. However, because there are such large numbers of gasketed joints at a production facility, the ac-cumulated emissions can become very significant, he says. “Aside from the environmental issues, that is lost product,” says Azibert. Reduc-ing these fugitive emissions can be achieved through the proper selec-tion and installation of gaskets. In the end, such good practice is not only good for the environment, but it will save money, he says.

* For more information on the EPA's STAR pro-gram, see the longer version of this article at www.chemengonline.com

“The problem is, everyone wants to see a return on

investment within three months instead of two to three

years,” says FSA’s Henri Azibert

The sad part is, the O&G industry can actually benefit by being more con-scientious. Good sealing solutions can save money in the long run, says Azib-ert. The problem is, everyone wants to see a return on investment within three months instead of 2–3 years. “That is being too short-sighted.”

FSA has developed a calculator to help users determine the lifecycle costs for sealing systems. In some cases, a user can save millions of dollars over the lifetime of the sys-tem by using a $600 seal versus a $200 seal, says Azibert.

One area prone to fugitive emissions is compressors, which are widely used throughout the O&G sector, as well as across the CPI. Recent developments in sealing technology can greatly re-duce — and even eliminate — CH4 leakage from compressors.

The O&G sector uses two types of compressors, centrifugal and recip-rocating. For centrifugal compres-sors, there are two sealing options. One uses oil as a barrier to seal the system. Because of the high rota-

tional speeds involved, this type of seal needs to leak oil, otherwise the system will burn up due to frictional heat, explains Azibert. Although the oil is recycled, it is full of gas, and this gas has typically been vented in the past. The alternative is to use a dry seal, which uses gas for the seal-ing. FSA is working on an economic analysis of changing from wet to dry seals. The idea is that not only is the gas contained, but in doing so, it will save money over time, says Azibert.

In recent years — in part due to the efforts of EPA’s STAR program — wet seals have actually become obsolete for centrifugal compres-sors, says Chris Kapp, head of Compression Technology Sys-tems at Hoerbiger (Houston; www.hoerbiger.com). But because older machines are still in operation, some still need to be convinced to make the switch, he says.

For reciprocating compressors, the situation is totally different, because these machines use a system of valves and pistons to compress gas, similar

to that used in car engines, instead of a rotating shaft. The piston rod-sealing system is one of the key factors de-termining the efficiency and reliability of the reciprocating compressor. With conventional packing, no matter how elaborate the design, there will always be a certain amount of leakage — as much as 500 to 1,000 L/h from a single packing, and a compressor can have up to eight packings, says Christian Hold, global product manager, Rings & Packing at Hoerbiger Ventilwerke GmbH & Co. KG (Vienna, Austria).

In 2008, Hoerbiger introduced its BCD packing technology, which incorporated a new seal ring. The packing features a split design that enables it to compensate for wear. As a result, leakage rates from this design are reduced by 2–3 times, and wear occurs uniformly. The lifetime of the packing has also been extended significantly — by 50% to even 800% in some cases. But it is still impos-sible to predict the integrity of such packing, so leakage rates are also impossible to predict, says Hold.

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Now, Hoerbiger offers a completely new system tradenamed XperSEAL (Figure 2). Whereas leakage rates with BCD are cut in half, XperSEAL is inherently leak-free — true zero leak-age — under both dynamic and static operations, says Hold. The sealing system also has the advantage that it does not require a packing cooling system, and it allows packing condi-tion to be monitored continuously.

In XperSEAL, a pressurized volume of oil surrounds the reciprocating rod and is sealed by specially designed oil seal rings. This oil barrier prevents pressurized process gas from leaking along the rod. Another effect that oc-

curs with using oil (as opposed to gas seals) is that the reciprocating motion of the rod makes it possible to “pump” oil after it has leaked out of the bar-rier, back into the barrier against the counteracting pressure gradient.

The first XperSEAL system was in-stalled in the field in February 2012 at a CNG (compressed natural gas) refilling station operated by Öresundskraft AB (Helsingborg, Sweden). In this case, NG is compressed in four stages from 4 to 250 bars. Measurement showed that indeed CH4 emissions were below the detection limit.

Other applications include a gas-compression unit at a NG gather-

ing and treatment operated at NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij) B.V. — a JV of Shell Nederland B.V. and ExxonMobileNAM — in Assen, the Netherlands, where the new seal was specifically tested for its ability to prevent gas leakage. In another application — a compressor for a propane refrigeration unit in Egypt, the user was able to reduce operat-ing costs by more than $100,000/yr by preventing loss of the valuable propane through leakage. All three of these field trials were presented at the 9th EFRC Conference (Sept. 11–12, 2014; Vienna, Austria). ■

Gerald Ondrey

FIGURE 2. The XperSEAL (left) completely eliminates leakage from the piston rod of reciprocating compressors. It does this by means of a pressurized oil bar-rier (right)

Source: Hoerbiger

Piston rod

Oil seals

Gas

Pressurized oil barrier

Main packing

Oil


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27

As technological advances in instru-mentation and control continue to progress, processors are beginning to realize that not only can their pro-

cess control system keep a watchful eye on the process, but with the addition of some newer technology, it can also be used to de-termine the effect the process has on the en-tire enterprise. However, properly integrating the various instruments and systems, and dis-tributing the data and information that would allow this holistic view can be a challenge. For this reason, more and more processors are asking for intelligent instruments and smart add-on systems that integrate flawlessly and securely with their distributed control systems (DCS), as well as a simple way for separate departments to view, analyze, interpret and use the collected information and data.

“Processors want more capabilities in their instruments, which can be addressed through hardware, software and technology that can be put inside protective envelopes and de-ployed in the chemical process industries (CPI),” says Donald Clark, vice president of global application consulting with Schneider Electric (Palatine, Ill.; www.schneider-electric.com). “This practice has generated more in-

formation than we’ve traditionally collected,” explains Clark. “At the same time, processors are realizing that the plant process isn’t just about making a product, but also about mak-ing a profit. In other words, there’s more to examine than temperatures and pressures. There’s a business here and they want to make sure that not only are the pressure and other process parameters under control, but that they are also making money via the con-trolled process. As a result, more demands from both the operational and business seg-ments are being placed on control systems.”

And, when you begin to extend process control into the business domain, he says, you can obtain business information in real-time. “Processors can’t afford to wait until the end of the month for these critical numbers. They want to know right now how much en-ergy the process is consuming, how much product they are making and if they are on target to meet production and profitability goals,” says Clark.

Transparent integration of systemsIn order to achieve this view of the business domain without departing from process control, it becomes necessary to integrate,

Integration between instruments and systems allows manufacturers to

align process parameters with business performance

Process Control Provides A Holistic View

IN BRIEF

TRANSPARENT

INTEGRATION

SIMPLIFIED

CONNECTIONS

INTERNET OF THINGS

Source: Rockwell Automation

FIGURE 1. Modern DCS systems have plantwide capa-bilities, such as the PlantPAx modern DCS system installed at BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany


nearly transparently, a large number of foreign instruments and systems under one larger infrastructure. So, providers of control systems are at-tempting to make this not only pos-sible, but also seamless and simple.

As such, Schneider Electric offers its Foxboro Evo product. “It’s like an integrating umbrella and hanging off it are controllers, maintenance sys-tems, laboratory systems and the like,” explains Clark. “And Foxboro EVO brings all these systems under one common infrastructure while providing a single human interface with schematics and diagrams and the ability to fetch information from any of these sources and integrate it into the ERP [enterprise resource planning], where it can be viewed, managed and administrated.”

Foxboro Evo is referred to as an “enterprise control system” (ECS) that provides users with the oppor-tunity to expand from process control into enterprise control with a single system through the available capabil-ities including a scalable network, cy-bersecurity hardening, unified control and safety, engineering tools, human/machine interface, enterprise histo-rian and a maintenance dashboard.

Gordon Bordelon, industry solu-tions principal, chemicals, with Rock-well Automation (Milwaukee, Wisc.; ww.rockwellautomation.com) agrees that tighter integration between pro-cess and business networks is indeed a trend. “This allows information to be shared between the plant floor and the enterprise,” he says. “This is not traditional chemical process control. Instead, it’s blurring the line between process control and information technology (IT). Modern DCS and in-formation systems now provide real-time process analytics to operations to empower process manufacturers to make more informed decisions resulting in improved profitability of production assets.”

Bordelon says the DCS can no longer be an isolated operation. As organizations move toward gaining greater visibility into their operations, their need to establish a seamless flow of information from device to en-terprise has become a requirement of a modern DCS. For this reason, the PlantPAx system from Rockwell Automation (Figure 1) is based on

open communication standards, leveraging EtherNet/IP as its back-bone. As a result, secure, realtime information can be made available throughout the enterprise for bet-ter business decisions. In addition, it allows the use of commercial, off-the-shelf products, smart field instru-ments and supports the adoption of the latest IT technology for automa-

tion infrastructure, such as virtualiza-tion and industrial data centers.

At the same time, he says, many CPI processors are looking to stan-dardize controls across the en-terprise. “This means they would employ the same control system in-frastructure, consistent applications and the same implementation meth-ods across multiple plants,” explains Bordelon. “As technology evolves, the technologies become easier to standardize, allowing processors to have common controls, standards, practices and management across many plants.”

The PlantPAx modern DCS plat-form with open and common building blocks, sample code and

FIGURE 2. Improved integration efficiency with smart device connections is simplified by the Del-taV S-Series Ethernet I/O Card

Source: Emerson Process Management

FIGURE 3. MACX signal conditioners meet the standards for functional safety in all phases of the product lifecycle, while also making integration and wiring easy

Source: Phoenix Contact

Source: Endress+Hauser

FIGURE 4. The Promass Coriolis density and mass flow family of flowmeters, as well as other flow and analytical instruments from this manufacturer, implement the ODVA EtherNet/IP Standard


configuration tools provides the groundwork for creating standards across an organization, says Borde-lon. “We’ve created standard refer-ence architectures for how networks are deployed. Our controller and I/O platform, which is the core of our modern DCS platform, has the abil-ity to span multiple levels of a com-pany’s enterprise.”

Simplified connections While the sharing between operations and enterprise or between multiple plants opens up a host of business-optimization opportunities, getting the data from the instruments to the control system to facilitate such sharing can be a problem. For this reason, Emerson Process Manage-ment’s (Austin, Tex.; www.emerson-process.com) DeltaV digital control system offers I/O on Demand. Re-gardless of I/O type — traditionally wired I/O, Foundation Fieldbus, Pro-fibus DP, DeviceNet, AS-ibus or even redundant wireless — users can add and begin using the information, na-tively and with far less engineering, design and fieldwork.

Most recently, says Dave Imming, vice president of product and ser-vices and marketing with the Process Systems and Solutions business unit of Emerson Process Management, the company has added Ethernet I/O cards (EIOC) to provide a platform to access data from intelligent field de-vices within the DeltaV system (Fig-ure 2). Field devices capable of Mod-bus TCP, EtherNet/IP and EIC 61850 MMS protocols are all supported. The EIOC provides access to and control over the data of the device network by running control modules inside. In this way, PLCs, whole motor control or centers of single drives or switch-gears can be controlled directly by the EIOC. The EIOC can be used to monitor or control directly any Eth-ernet protocol-based intelligent field devices. All the data coming into the EIOC can be used in control mod-ules running inside the EIOC, allow-ing them to generate alarms when needed and be monitored by the operator. Each EIOC is capable of handling large amounts of data in up to 2,000 control modules received from a maximum of 256 physical and 256 logical devices. Up to 60

EIOCs can be added to the DeltaV I/O network, allowing freedom when it comes to segregation of networks. And, user-configurable IP address-ing allows the EIOC to be used in almost any plant environment. The EIOC and the intelligent field devices must simply be on the same IP sub-net to communicate.

“We see a lot of devices with Eth-ernet capability and this allows us to bring in a large amount of data via Ethernet ports and then bring things

together, keep data relevant and get it to the right people,” says Emer-son’s Imming.

Similarly, Emerson also offers Del-taV Virtual Ethernet I/O Card (vEIOC) for realtime, smart-device control and data integration. The vEIOC card re-sides in the I/O network in the DeltaV hierarchy. The card can be used with both online and offline systems. Mod-ules needed to process the data from the field devices are configured, as-signed and run in the vEIOC. In this

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way, the vEIOC is self-contained and does not need an external controller to process the data. Values can be read from another controller’s control strat-egy via external references. Access to interface graphics, as well as alarming and history collection, is the same as any other module in the DeltaV DCS.

In addition to making it easier to get data from the devices into the system, the devices themselves are becoming easier to integrate. The ability to easily integrate is especially

important when it comes to safety integrity level (SIL)-rated equipment. “Easy connection helps ensure that everything is working properly and meeting the safety regulations, as well as safety-related business goals,” says Zachary Stank, prod-uct marketing specialist with Phoe-nix Contact (Harrisburg, Pa; www.phoenixcontact.com). “Processors don’t need or want to spend a lot of time putting safety products into the DCS, so they want something that

FIGURE 5. A cloud-based server will likely be the center of the industrial Internet of Things

Source: Skkynet

Industrial IoT

Corporate

Plant Device

Cloud

Remote

Outbound

connection

Two-way

data fl ow


THE INTERNET OF THINGS MEETS PROCESS CONTROL

The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined as the interconnection of devices within the existing

Internet infrastructure. It is suggested that it will offer connectivity of devices, systems

and services operating on a multitude of protocols. How this may translate into the

future of process control is still up in the air. However, experts in control and computing have

some ideas.

“Automation will look different in the future because we can push the intelligence of devices

further into the process, because smart devices are getting smaller and cheaper,” says Don-

ald Clark with Schneider Electric. “In the past, automation was stuck on, like an appendage

outside of the process, but with wireless and smart devices becoming smaller, we are able to

take a sensor or controller and put it inside a reactor, pipe or pump and allow the equipment

to not only report on temperature or pressure, but also provide diagnostics on itself, too. This

means a pump could report on and control the process, but also administrate itself and send

this information where someone can see it and act upon it.

“Putting automation directly inside pieces of equipment and collecting those data is where

the Internet of Things is taking us,” says Clark.

Already, some companies are taking steps that they say may redefine the future of process

control. Skkynet Cloud Systems (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; skkynet.com) has partnered

with B+B SmartWorx (Ottawa, Ill.; www.bb-smartworx.com) to create intelligent networks that

can collect, manage and analyze data generated by billions of sensors, transforming those

data into actionable intelligence that lets companies make predictions and prescribe actions

to cut costs, increase productivity or increase revenue.

The partnership is being launched with a focus on the IoT. B+B SmartWorx will provide a

cellular router that collects raw data from devices and protocols and emits the data to Skky-

net’s Secure Cloud Service via the cellular network. From the Cloud, users — from operators

to plant engineers to managers, analysts and customers — can access the information in a

secure manner (Figure 5). “This is a more secure option than a VPN because the central plant

is not attached, so there’s no opportunity to attack,” says Andrew Thomas, CEO with Skkynet.

The service is capable of handling over 50,000 data changes per second per client, at speeds

just a few milliseconds over Internet latency. Secure by design, it requires no VPN, no open

firewall ports, no special programming, and no additional hardware.

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integrates easily.”For this reason, Phoenix Contact

developed MACX signal condition-ers (Figure 3) with functional safety for processors who want to do ana-log signal conditioning but need to maintain an SIL rating. The signal conditioners have been developed and produced according to the stan-dards for functional safety. In addi-tion, they are available with maxi-mum explosion protection and, with MACX Safety, users can integrate

analog signals easily into the safety application, for intrinsically safe cir-cuits in hazardous areas.

Another example of simplified integration of devices includes Endress+Hauser’s (E+H; Green-wood, Ind.; www.us.endress.com) Promass Coriolis density/massflow family of flowmeters, as well as other E+H flow and analytical instruments, which implement the ODVA Ether-Net/IP Standard (Figure 4).

“Intelligent devices continue to

flourish by moving from supplying self-diagnostic information to provid-ing operators/technicians with ac-tionable problem-solving guidance,” says Craig McIntyre, industry man-ager, chemical, with E+H.

The benefits of employing a Web-based device like the Promass Corio-lis flowmeter are many, according to McIntyre, including a direct, two-way, high-speed digital communication of density, flow, volume flow, tempera-ture and diagnostics/configuration information into an EtherNet/IP archi-tecture environment in place of a tra-ditional one-way analog/frequency/pulse I/O and associated controller scaling/integration programming.

The server-based Promass has an embedded Electronic Data Sheet and associated add-on profile, which are installed on the controller side, supporting rapid pre-configured in-tegration for control and visualiza-tion. Pre-engineered faceplates for Promass are provided for rapid HMI visualization development. And add-on instruction exchanges data be-tween each process variable located in the Promass and the faceplate in-stalled on the display. The name of the specific add-on instruction be-comes the link from the Promass to the faceplate on the graphic.

Further, says McIntyre, addi-tional cost and risk reductions can be gained during the integration, field implementation and field ser-vice phases through the associ-ated lifecycle-management system. Integrated application-engineering tools, factory-maintained device documentation and maintenance tools, and information-integrated support of engineering software im-plementations can bring increased information value and access to as-sociated stakeholders.

“The use of server-based devices integrated into secure local and WAN implementations to reduce integration costs and facilitate remote manage-ment is increasing,” says McIntyre.

And, this type of intelligent device, with its ability to seamlessly deliver data and information to a control system that ties process information to enter-prise information in realtime, may mark the arrival of the Internet of Things in the process control industry. ■

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Focus

High-level detector has mercury-free tilt switchThe patent-pending BM-TSM tilt switch (photo) used for high-level detection of powders and bulk solids mounts on the top of bins and ac-tivates an alarm when material rises and tilts the switching mechanism by 15 deg. The shaft of the tilt switch can be custom made in lengths from 1 to 8 ft, to accommodate site-spe-cific needs. It is available with either a paddle or sphere mount at the end of the shaft, and can be used with ma-terials that have a bulk density of at least 15 lb/ft3. Its simple mechanical design can be used as an alternative to a top-mounted rotary level indica-tor, and it is suitable for a wide range of solid materials in many industries, says the manufacturer. It can be in-stalled through a 1.24-in. NPT pro-cess connection on the roof of the bin and sends an alert status to a horn, light or control panel.— Bin-Master, Div. of Garner Industries, Lincoln, Neb. www.binmaster.com

Magnetic pulleys help belt conveyors to separate metalsWhen used with conveyor belt sys-tems, these permanent and elec-tric magnetic pulleys (photo) auto-matically separate heavy tramp iron contaminants from the transported materials. Facilities can convert their belt conveyor into a self-cleaning magnetic separators by adding the pulley. These pulleys are constructed of steel center tubes with welded dividers to securely hold magnet stacks. Standard pulley models use powerful ceramic magnets in an axial interpole circuit. These magnetic pul-leys are available in a wide range of diameters, and larger sizes and cus-tomization options are available. — Eriez, Erie, Pa.www.eriez.com

Ensure proper material flow with these vibrating hoppersThese fully assembled, self-con-tained vibrating hoppers are de-

signed to promote the flow of any dry material. Capacities range from 3 to 100 ft3 of storage. The Live Bin (photo) is designed to provide posi-tive discharge of fine particles and fibrous or flaky materials, on a first-in, first-out basis, ensuring mass flow and eliminating material segre-gation. These hoppers can be used to discharge to any feeder or pro-cess line, or in applications where a surge bin is required. They are suit-able for use in sanitary applications, says the company.— Vibra-Screw, Totowa, N.J.www.vibrascrew.com

This firm offers flow-properties testing servicesTo ensure sound, predictable op-eration of processes involving bulk solids, operators must have a thor-ough understanding of the bulk material’s flow properties. Such in-sight is essential when designing silos, bins, hoppers, feeding sys-tems, chutes, conveyors and more, and can help to identify the cause of poor flow, powder flooding and rate limitations, segregation issues and product non-uniformity. This company provides a wide array of testing services, to assess a mate-rial’s cohesive strength, wall friction, internal friction, compressibility, per-meability, angle of repose, density and more.— Jenike & Johanson, Tyngsboro, Mass.www.jenike.com

This level-measuring device is undaunted by dustPulse radar is a proven technique for sensing bulk-materials level in silos and tanks, and is reliable and accurate when the space has a high level of suspended particles. The MP Series microwave-based, pulse-radar devices are used to determine the level of bulk solids in silos or tanks. The MP70 model has a mea-suring distance of up to 230 ft (70 m). Transmitting at a frequency of 26 GHz with a narrow beam angle of 8 deg, the MP Series radar de-

Handling Bulk Solids

Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number on p. 82, or use the website designation.

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Eriez

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vices provide consistent, accurate measurements even in dusty environ-ments, says the firm. — Bindicator, Spartanburg, S.C.www.bindicator.com

Thermoformed belt makes this conveyor ideal for sanitary use

The Sanitary Belt Conveyor (photo, top left) is designed for bulk tablets, capsules, softgels and powders, as well as ingredients handled on regu-lated and over-the-counter pharma-ceutical and nutritional-supplement manufacturing and packaging lines. Featuring a positive-drive, urethane belt, stainless-steel frame and com-ponents, open construction and other sanitary features, this belt con-veyor eases cleaning, which reduces labor, speeds product changeover and increases uptime while improv-ing equipment and product hygiene. Designed for conveying ingredients to blending and mixing operations, and finished products to packaging operations, the versatile conveyor comes in cantilever, flat and inclined configurations that can be mounted to the floor, mounted on casters or suspended. The belts can be de-signed with a flat surface or with a va-riety of shaped flights or flexible side walls to contain the product in the pockets during operation. The FDA-compliant belting is thermoformed to ensure a homogeneous and seam-less belt, which reduces the risk of bacterial contamination and fouling. It can accommodate throughput from less than 2,000 lb/h to more than 60,000 lb/h. — Symetix, Walla Walla, Wash.www.symetix.com

These devices provide the full range of level detection

The full family of Dynatrol bulk-solids level indicators (photo) provide probes that are well-suited for a diverse array of bulk solids materials. The DJ Series handles products ranging from low-density flakes and powders to heavy granules and pellets. The GJ Detec-tor is constructed to handle problem applications that have a tendency to pack or bridge. The GSS sensor op-erates successfully with consistent results on difficult product applica-tions (such as precipitated powders, fines, low-density powders and ma-terials as light as 0.5 lb/ft3. Side-wall-mount and suspended models are available. These rugged probes have no moving parts, ensuring long life in service. — Automation Products, Dy-natrol Div., Houstonwww.dynatrolusa.com

Bulk-bag filling station has a variety of design features

The stainless steel, sanitary Bulk Bag Filler (photo) fills bags by weight. It includes an integral metal detector/separator that removes tramp met-als as the material enters the filler,

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and then ejects the collected met-als through a chute. The filler frame uses a patented “twin centerpost” design, which is said to maximize strength and improve accessibil-ity to bag hooks. The height of the fill head is adjustable, to allow for bags of many sizes to be used, and an inflatable cuff forms a high- integrity seal to the bag inlet spout. An automated vibratory deaeration and densification system maximizes capacity and stabilizes the bag for storage and shipment. This bulk-bag filler has received USDA accep-tance, is constructed of Type 316 stainless steel and finished to sani-tary standards, and is configured with full-length forklift tubes, allow-ing it to be easily moved through-out the facility.— Flexicon Corp., Bethlehem, Pa.www.flexicon.com

Radar level-detection probe is undaunted by uneven surfacesThe Optiwave 6300 C radar instru-ment provides accurate measure-ment of solids level in silos, hop-pers, bulk storage containers, and on conveyor belts, and is said to be especially well-suited for measuring the uneven surface of silo contents. The patent-pending drop form of the plastic antenna generates a smaller beam angle (2 deg) compared to conventional antennas, eliminating the need for an antenna-aiming kit to amplify the reflected signal. The drop form also helps to minimize crusting or dust buildup on the antenna, mak-ing it ideal for applications involving materials with high dust potential, such as mineral powders, granulates and wood chips. Users can choose from a 3-in.-dia. antenna made from polypropylene or polytetrafluoro-ethylene, or a 6-in.-dia. (DN150) antenna made from polypropylene. Conventional stainless steel horn an-tennas up to 6 in. (DN150) are also available. An installation wizard and comprehensive help capabilities, available in nine languages, ease setup and startup. — Khrone, Inc., Peabody, Mass.www.us.krohne.com

Lightweight, flexible conveying hose resists abrasionNorplast PUR 387 hoses (figure) provide good abrasion resistance,

making them well-suited to handle high flowrates of extremely abrasive solids, such as sand gravel, grain, refuse glass and chips. The abrasion resistance of this hose is 2.5 to 5 times higher than comparably sized hoses of most rubber materials, and is about 3 to 4 times higher than those constructed from most soft polyvinylchlorides (PVC), says the company. The smooth interior helps to optimize flow. A sister product — the Norplast PUR-CU 387 AS — fea-tures metallic grounding wire and a permanently antistatic polyurethane inside liner, which extends the scope of applications by making the hose suitable for use in areas exposed to potential explosion hazards.— Norres Schlauchtechnik GmbH, Gelsenirchen-Schalke, Germanywww.norres.com

Protect powder-handling systems from explosion riskA full line of explosion-protection so-lutions offers protection for facilities handling potentially explosive bulk solids. This company offers a wide array of ATEX-certified explosion vents, flameless explosion-venting systems, explosion-suppression systems, explosion-isolation sys-tems, and explosion detectors. The company also offers state-of-the-art explosion-testing services to evalu-ate materials in accordance with ASTM and ISO procedures. — Fike Corp., Blue Springs, Mo.www.fike.com

Particulate-monitoring device is approved for hazardous duty

The Auburn U3400H is a two-wire, loop-powered, dynamic-range par-

Norres Schlauchtechnik


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Auburn Systems


ticulate monitor for both high- and low-temperature applications using HART protocol (photo). It is de-signed for use in particulate-matter monitoring applications that require hazardous location certification. It is designed for emission monitoring and process flow applications (such as bag-leak detection, or monitor-ing flow increases or decreases) for which a continuous 4-20-mA signal is needed. The HART protocol allows for bi-directional communication with the unit for remote access and con-trol. The U3400H is designed to be wired directly to a PLC, DCS, data logger or any control device capable of providing the 24-V loop power while simultaneously receiving the continuous 4-20-mA signal. — Auburn Systems, Danvers, Mass.www.auburnsys.com

Vibratory feeders convey bulk solids smoothlyAvailable in electric or air-operated models, these heavy-duty vibratory feeders are designed with above-, below- or side-mounted drives and

can be arranged for base mount-ing or overhead suspension (photo). Feeders come in a range of vibrating trough lengths and special designs are available. The company’s op-tional BPS Inertial Isolation System is designed to eliminate the transfer of vibratory energy to support struc-tures and buildings.— Best Process Solutions, Brunswick, Ohiowww.pbsvibes.com

This vacuum technology uses the venturi effectVacuum conveying technology is widely used to provide gentle transport of dry bulk solids and

powders in a range of applications. This firm offers a family of vacuum pumps and vacuum generators, based on patented, multistage Coax technology. The vacuum pump (photo) uses compressed air as the input, and through a venturi effect, is able to generate 22-in.-Hg vacuum, while driving air volumes (std. ft3/min) that are three times the volume of the compressed air inlet. Through the use of multiple stages, high vacuum is generated as the air flow is ramped up. This pump has no electric parts, which reduces maintenance and ensures long life and inherent safety in dusty or hazardous environments. — Piab USA, Hingham, Mass.www.piab.com

This vibratory separator can handle wet or dry materialsThe Finex Separator vibratory sepa-rator is designed for accurate grad-ing, scalping or sizing of wet or dry materials, and can produce up to five different size fractions in a single operation. Compared with traditional spring-suspension separators, these systems are said to have improved accuracy, capacity, noise levels and flexibility in terms of system up-grades. Four sizes are available: 30-, 40-, 48- and 60-in. dia. — Russell Finex, Inc., Pineville, N.C.www.russellfinex.com

Seal designs and more for powder handling are offeredMaintaining a proper seal against dry particulates or chemicals can present challenges. This company offers a variety of seal designs and materials, such as quick connect and discon-nect seals for hoppers, bulk-bag filler systems and transfer cars, inflatable follower plate and drum-filling seals, FDA-compliant thermoplastic elas-tomer compression gaskets to seal doors and other machine closures, and more. — Pawling Engineered Products, Pawling, NY.www.pawlingep.com ■

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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 2015 36I-1

Europe 2015 Special Advertising Section

CHEMICALENGINEERINGESSENT IALS FOR CP I PROFESS IONALS

AUMA

Berndorf Band

BEUMER Maschinenfabrik

Bürkert Fluid Control Systems

Buss-SMS-Canzler

Dec Group

Finder Pompe

GEA Process Engineering

GEA Wiegand

Italvacuum

LIST

Müller

Pfeiffer Vacuum

Phoenix Contact

Pompetravaini

Sandvik Process Systems

ThyssenKrupp Industrial

VEGA

This 2015 Europe Special Advertising Section celebrates European equipment

manufacturers and service providers across the chemical process industries (CPI). In the next 16 pages you will find entries from Germany, Austria and Italy – the heartland of Europe’s success in process equipment, engineering services and complete plants.

Germany is also the undisputed leader in international trade shows, and this year

brings several events of interest to en-gineers and managers in the CPI. Anuga FoodTec (www.anugafoodtec.com), show-casing food and drink technology, takes place in Cologne, 24–27 March. The previ-ous event in 2012 attracted nearly 1,300 ex-hibitors and around 43,000 visitors.

The European Coatings Show (www.european-coatings-show.com) will be held in Nuremberg,

Trade fairs such as ACHEMA are meeting places for vendors, customers and researchers

> page 36I-2

Inside the Europe Special Advertising Section 2015

PHO

TO: D

ECH

EMA

Germany’s 2015 trade fair season celebrates European successGiant ACHEMA event in June is a world forum for the CPI

Italian quality

Your vacuum drying specialist

[email protected] | italvacuum.com

Planex System:

multi-patented paddle vacuum dryer with ZeroFriction® planetary

movement eccentric agitator

Criox System:

patented rotaryvacuum dryer/pulverizer

Multispray Cabinet Dryer:

tray vacuum dryerwith extractable shelves

Saurus939:

low maintenanceLubriZero® vacuum pump

Frankfurt (Germany), 15 - 19 JuneStand B44, Hall 4.0

Brilliant technology


CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 201536I-2 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 2015


21–23 April, covering paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, print-ing inks, and construction chemicals.

Chemspec Europe (www.chemspecev ents.com/europe/), held 24–25 June in Cologne, targets manufacturers and suppli-ers of fine and specialty chemicals, formula-tors, and custom processors.

For the CPI as a whole, the most impor-tant event of the year is ACHEMA (www.achema.de), which takes place 15–19 June in Frankfurt. This three-yearly exhibition and congress is a world forum for process engi-neering and biotechnology. Around 3,800 exhibitors and 170,000 visitors are expect-ed, says organizer DECHEMA eV (Frankfurt, Germany; www.dechema.de).

In terms of exhibition groups, the lead-ers in terms of numbers are the traditionally strong areas of instrumentation, control and automation; mechanical processes; and lab-oratory and analytical techniques. High de-mand has also brought additional space for pharmaceuticals, packaging and storage.

These strengths reflect overall trends in ACHEMA’s core sectors: machinery, plant engineering, and the chemical industry. Despite the turbulent international busi-ness environment, these sectors are prov-ing surprisingly resilient, DECHEMA points out. Particularly at international level, they are “hard-wired” for growth, and exhibitor numbers reflect trends such as the shale gas bonanza in the US and continuing in-dustrial growth in India and China.

The three focal themes of ACHEMA 2015 are BiobasedWorld, Innovative Process Analytical Technology (PAT), and Industrial Water Management. Visitors should not ex-pect to see separate exhibition areas for

these, however. “What distinguishes focal themes is that they impact and shake up the process industry as a whole,” explains Dr. Thomas Scheuring, CEO of DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH. “The development of new technologies and solutions thrives on the interplay of different sectors and disciplines.”

As a result, exhibitors involved in these themes can be found in diverse areas of the exhibition. BiobasedWorld, for instance, celebrates the bio-based economy through a spectrum ranging from process devel-opment to sensors, and from suppliers of stainless steel fermenters to processors of bio-based packaging materials.

The soon-to-be-published ACHEMA con-gress program will be more streamlined than before, DECHEMA says, and will avoid parallel scheduling of thematically related sessions. Hot topics include energy effi-ciency, materials and materials testing, and safety technology.

On four days a panel discussion or ple-nary lecture will tackle key themes like the implications of the shale gas boom for the bioeconomy, trends in chemical production, Germany’s energy turnaround, and devel-opments in industrial water use. There will also be many guest and partner events.

New this year will be the ACHEMA PRAXISforums: short presentations held near the relevant exhibition halls. This will help to promote the exchange of views by shortening the distance between lecture areas and exhibition stands. Topics include Single-Use Technologies, Pharmaceutical Production, Components and Equipment, Mixing and Separation, and Safety and Plant Control. ■� www.achema.de

Discussions in front of real equipment items are a traditional part of the ACHEMA formula: here, a screw compressor on show at ACHEMA 2012

> page 36I-1

pho

to: D

ECh

EMA

Simulation proves control systemsGEA Wiegand highlights the advantages of testing

Like any other plant asset, automation systems can benefit from simulation at

the design and construction stage, says thermal processing and separations special-ist GEA Wiegand.

Automation systems for large process plants combine supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), long-term data storage, and associated engineering sys-tems, allowing investment and operating costs to be optimized on the basis of real plant data. Simulations before the plant is commissioned reveal any weak points in both the system itself and the un-derlying process-es, so problems can be corrected in time.

GEA Wiegand uses its own pro-grams based on WinMOD soft-ware to model complex plants. Customized pro-gram modules simulate the process itself, and this system connects to the real automation system via field-bus. This “virtual plant” allows en-gineers to check the performance of the automation system in real time and to simu-late incidents. Simulation facilitates:• communication checks between the

plant’s measurement and power devices and the control system;

• verification of control program steps;• safe testing of critical process steps;• accurate setting of control parameters;• testing of complex control algorithms such

as predictive and state-space control;• operator training before the physical plant

is complete;• testing unusual or time-consuming plant

conditions;• rapid checks on the feasibility of requests

from demanding customers.www.gea-wiegand.com

As the real plant is being built, a virtual

model allows checks of the control system

to avoid any surprises when the time comes

for commissioning


GEA Process Engineering A/S

Gladsaxevej 305, DK-2860 Soeborg, Denmark

Tel: +45 39 54 54 54, Fax: +45 39 54 58 00

[email protected], www.gea.com

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With the acquisition of BORA Blowers, Italian manufacturer Pompetravaini has again extended its offer in the world of

rotating equipment. BORA, now Pompetravaini-BORA, started two decades ago in Modena, a city famous for the production of “dream cars” – including Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati – and for fine mechanics in general.

BORA lobe blowers and vacuum boosters have always been technology leaders in terms of their design, materials, casting and machining quality, and the care taken during assembly. As a result, the performance and reliability of these machines are well known to users all over the world, Pompetravaini says. The acquisition will contribute to the wider distribution of BORA products, which from now on can take advantage of Pompetravaini’s worldwide network of skilled distributors and service centers.

The range comprises four main product families: blowers, ex-hausters (including air-cooled versions), vacuum boosters, and the FP (Food Packaging) range of accelerator boosters. Together, the Pompetravaini-BORA range covers pressures of 0.01–2800 mbar (a) and flowrates up to 3000 m3/h. Blowers and exhausters can be sup-plied completed with filters, silencers, valves, and sound cabins. Boosters can be fitted with the DVD2 PLC control system, which pro-tects the machine from misuse while pushing it safely to the best efficiency limit. Pompetravaini also offers integrated packaged so-lutions in the form of customized skids for boosters, ejectors, and liquid-ring vacuum pumps. www.pompetravaini.com

Fit for the race track: BORA blowers will become more widely known now that they are owned and distributed by Pompetravaini

Lobe blowers feature the finest Italian engineeringPompetravaini has added a range of blowers and vacuum boosters manufactured in Modena, a city with a long tradition of high-quality mechanical engineering

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions is the amalgamation of ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies (itself created by the

merger of ThyssenKrupp Fördertechnik and ThyssenKrupp Polysius) and ThyssenKrupp Uhde. Each of these companies in itself is a global player; by combining its plant engineering and construction expertise in the Process Technologies and Resource Technologies business units, the group is now able to offer its customers “Engineering Excellence3”.

With numerous subsidiaries on every continent, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions is a world leader in international heavy plant engineering, helping customers to realize their projects through in-novative technology and comprehensive know-how.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions always strives for solutions that are “outside the box” and consequently able to provide better value to customers. The group is also committed to better use of natural resources. When environmental and climate protection con-cerns have to be taken into account, and with raw materials prices rising, ThyssenKrupp’s engineering expertise enables its customers to achieve considerable competitive advantages. Innovation means not standing still, so the organization adapts continually to opti-mize its processes and structures.

The Process Technologies business unit is one of the world’s leading engineering experts in planning and constructing chemical works, refineries, and plants for coke and other products. It offers the full range of services of an EPC contractor, with cost-efficient

high-tech solutions covering the entire life cycle of the plant.www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com

For the Egyptian Propylene & Polypropylene Company (EPPC) ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions built a turnkey petrochemical

complex in Port Said, some 170 km north-east of Cairo. The complex consists of a propylene plant and a polypropylene plant

with respective annual production capacities of 350,000 tonnes

Amalgamation creates Engineering Excellence3

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions offers the combined capacity of three established engineering companies within the ThyssenKrupp group

Level measurement with bulk solids radar, making the impossible possible:

The most modern radar level technology and a frequency range of 79 GHz has made the new VEGAPULS 69 radar the sensor of choice for bulk solids industries. This sensor is capable of measuring poorly relecting bulk solids over long ranges, in narrow, or even segmented vessels.

϶ Measuring range: up to 120 m

϶ Encapsulated antennas: reliable results even with buildup

϶ Very good focusing: simpliies the setup

϶ One device for all bulk solids: Standardization of sensors

The radar sensor for bulk solids VEGAPULS 69

Link to website: www.vega.com/vegapuls69

Level measurement with bulk solids radar, making the impossible possible:

The most modern radar level technology and a frequency range of 79 GHz has made the new VEGAPULS 69 radar the sensor of choice for bulk solids industries. This sensor is capable of measuring poorly relecting bulk solids over long ranges, in narrow, or even segmented vessels.

϶ Measuring range: up to 120 m

϶ Encapsulated antennas: reliable results even with buildup

϶ Very good focusing: simpliies the setup

϶ One device for all bulk solids: Standardization of sensors

The radar sensor for bulk solids VEGAPULS 69

Link to website: www.vega.com/vegapuls69




The Beckum-based BEUMER Group (Germany), with its affilia-tions around the globe, is a leading international manufacturer

of intralogistics systems. BEUMER specializes in conveying, load-ing, palletizing and packaging technology, as well as in systems for

sorting and distribution. Together with Crisplant a/s and Enexco Teknologies India Limited, the Group employs about 3,900 people and achieves an annual turnover of about EUR 627 million (2014).

A new addition to the product range is the BEUMER fillpac, which fills bulk materials in bags. This allows BEUMER to offer its customers a full line of packaging machinery from a single source. A built-in electronic weighing system ensures that each bag has the correct weight.

Another recent development is an addition to BEUMER’s stretch hood range (photo). The company’s specialists designed the new model from scratch, optimizing the components in terms of func-tion, arrangement and ergonomics. The layer palletizers in the BEUMER paletpac series, meanwhile, palletize bags with geometric accuracy and high stability. This enables easy storage and ensures secure conveyance to the packaging system downstream.

BEUMER also provides extensive customer support, ensuring that all of the user’s systems have a high level of availability. Highly capable experts located all over the world provide professional re-pair and maintenance services, deliver spare parts and carry out customer training.

The BEUMER Group is committed to a “total value of owner-ship” (TVO) approach based on ecological and social considerations – such as ergonomic human-machine interfaces – as well as eco-nomics. This allows customers to maximize the total value of their investments over the long term. www.beumergroup.com

BEUMER’s new stretch hood machine in action

Long-term value in solids handling and packagingA new bag filling system is the latest addition to BEUMER’s range of sustainable systems for conveying, loading, palletizing and packaging granular products

Electrical isolation and power amplifica-tion are the primary goals of safe cou-

pling relays. Although the relays are vital and necessary in many applications, for the user they involve additional space and effort for the integration. With its PSRmini product family, Phoenix Contact now provides the world’s narrowest solution for SIL-certified coupling relays. Though they are just 6 mm wide they ensure a high level of functional safety, thanks to proven EN 50205-certi-fied, force-guided contacts. The compact design is made possible through Phoenix Contact’s newly developed relay technology. The design is based on a slim but powerful elementary relay characterized by minimal space requirements, low energy consump-tion, and high system availability.

Comprehensive tests and approvals en-sure that the safe coupling modules can also be flexibly used in applications and environments that exceed the norm. For example, the relays are G3-compliant in accordance with ISA S71.04 for use in es-pecially corrosive atmospheres, and are

IECEx-certified to facilitate the decentral-ized design of an application in Ex Zone 2. The proof test prescribed by the standards can easily be performed via a simple visual check of the device. Complex and time-consuming manual measurements that are mandatory when using standard relays that do not comply with EN 50205 are, therefore, no longer required. In addition, the cou-pling modules feature built-in diagnostics that change the line input signal to A1 in the event of an internal fault. This is registered as an alarm by the control system, and re-duces to a minimum the effort required for a proof test. The use of the existing control system infrastructure eliminates the re-quirement for additional alarm inputs and wiring installation, minimizing downtime and significantly increasing system efficien-cy. Corresponding termination carriers are also available for the PSRmini product fami-ly, which provide the option of using system cabling solutions for quick, error-free com-missioning and connection in the field.

www.phoenixcontact.comSafety at 6 mm: The new safe coupling

relays from Phoenix Contact

High-performance safe coupling relays just 6 mm wideThe world’s narrowest solution for SIL-certified safe coupling relays saves space, cuts energy use, and simplifies testing, says Phoenix Contact

Via per Turbigo, 44 • 20022 Castano Primo (Mi) • Tel. +39.0331.889000 • Fax +39.0331.889057 [email protected] • w w w.pompetravaini.it

www.pompetravaini.it

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Recent investment by Finder Pompe

to rationalize and simplify the design of its API 676 positive-displacement (PD) twin-screw

pumps, as well as a new oil test loop specifically designed for screw pumps, have already brought interesting results, the company says.

In fact Finder has recently delivered its biggest-ever order. Besides ISO 5199 vertical turbine and sump pumps and API 610 vertical sump pumps, this also included a significant

number of API 676 twin-screw PD pumps. The pumps will be in-stalled at SEC’s Jeddah South Thermal Power Plant, Saudi Arabia, to handle heavy fuel oil/crude oil, boiler water, seawater, and process water, depending on the various applications.The pumps had to meet challenging specifications, including high flowrate (>2,000 m3/h) and 380 CSt viscosity for the steam-jacket-ed screw pumps, with double API Plan 53B sealing system serving

four mechanical seals; and high-capacity (>1800 m3/h) vertical tur-bine pumps made from duplex steel for seawater service.Besides its ability to meet the difficult technical requirements, Finder won the order from lead contractor Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) thanks to its good previous performance, excellent customer support, and competitive pricing and delivery times. Finder was considered a crucial vendor because of its wide range of approved API and non-API centrifugal pumps, as well as API 676 screw pumps.

Finder is now working on a second project for HHI, for delivery in mid-2015. This is the Shuqaiq power plant, also owned by SEC and a twin of the Jeddah South plant.

Finder plans to further develop its range of twin-screw pumps, improving their performance in terms of differential pressure and the fluid viscosities they can handle. www.finderpompe.com

Finder supplies large twin-screw pumps like the one above to handle heavy fuel oil in Saudi power stations

A wide range of pumps for heavy-duty tasksFinder Pompe’s ability to supply both centrifugal and positive-displacement pumps in large sizes has helped the company win two large orders in Saudi Arabia

SBS Steel Belt Systems Srl is an Italian company, founded in 1984, which pro-

duces steel belt machinery and turnkey plants for a wide range of industries: chemi-cal, petrochemical, food, rubber and pow-der coatings.

SBS is a partner of the multinational Berndorf Band Group, whose headquar-ters are in Austria. SBS itself is located in Venegono Inferiore (Varese), a small town close to Milan’s Malpensa airport.

SBS Steel Belt Systems Srl (Italy) and its partner SBS Steel Belt Systems Inc. (USA) have pioneered the development of pastillating units for a wide range of products.

In recent years SBS Group has moved into sulfur solidification technology, provid-ing several oil refineries and gas fields with turnkey solutions complete with:• liquid sulfur pumps and piping• water cooling systems• sulfur solidification units equipped with

continuous Berndorf steel belts• solid sulfur belt collectors and silos

• bagging equipment and truck loaders.The SBS pastillation head, known as ACCUDROP, has recently been upgraded through the use of a very effective rotating outer shell. With its high pipe wall thickness and innovative drilling pattern, ACCUDROP now has the ability to produce pastilles with a diameter of around 4 mm, better spherical shape, and higher mechanical strength.

These characteristics help to reduce a well-known problem in the pastillation in-dustry: dust. Caused by abrasion during handling (for instance in packing, unpack-ing, loading, and unloading), dust formation is influenced by the properties of the prod-uct. Small, smooth and strong pastilles pro-duce only a negligible amount of dust, thus resulting in an eco-friendly product.

The combination of an ACCUDROP pas-tillation head and a Berndorf steel belt provides an efficient and secure process. Excellent flatness of the belt and regular service from both SBS Steel Belt Systems Group and Berndorf Band ensure long oper-ating life and lower maintenance costs.

In recent years SBS Group has collabo-rated with some of the largest engineer-ing and construction companies to supply refineries in southern Italy, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and many other countries all over the world. ACHEMA Hall 5.1, D61

www.berndorf-band.atwww.steelbeltsystems.it

Leaders in pastillation for sulfur and other products: SBS and Berndorf Band

Turnkey systems for efficient solidificationPastillation specialist SBS Steel Belt Systems and steel belt expert Berndorf Band work together to provide dust-free handling of a wide range of products

Relay Technology Designed by PHOENIX CONTACT

ION04-15.001.L1 © PHOENIX CONTACT 2015

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Process intensification – the reduction of processing steps and equipment – is a revolutionary approach to process and plant

design that minimizes costs, increases flexibility and delivers higher yields. The gateway to process intensification for both living and free-radical polymerization is the innovative LIST KneaderReactor.

Conventional stirred-tank reactor technology has many short-comings due to its requirement for solvents with a concentration of up to 90% to transfer heat and facilitate the mixing of the polymer solution during polymerization. Additionally, the likely occurrence of hotspots and thermal degradation make it difficult to reduce the solvent concentration. Once polymerization is complete, the sol-vents must then be removed and treated – increasing cost, safety risks and environmental impact.

The LIST KneaderReactor is designed to operate in the concen-trated phase with little to no solvent, reaching a polymer concentra-tion of 40–99% during polymerization. Its design provides constant surface renewal that improves heat transfer, allows excellent tem-perature control, and minimizes the diffusion and mass transfer lim-itations – particularly effective for exothermic bulk polymerizations with a polydispersity index less than 2.

Due to this process intensification, several process steps can be eliminated. As a result, the optimized process saves raw ma-terials, reduces energy consumption, increases process efficien-cy, improves product quality, and lowers both CAPEX and OPEX. Processing in the concentrated phase also minimizes the environ-mental impact by eliminating solvents and toxic materials.

www.listdryprocessing.com

Solvent

To solvent separation and recovery

Reactants Vapor

Dry Processing

Final product

LIST KneaderReactor

Reactants

Conventional technology

New KneaderReactor technology

Excellent heat transfer allows LIST’s KneaderReactor to operate at polymer concentrations of 40–99%

Energy-efficient processes for polymersRoland Kunkel of LIST AG explains how equipment designed to operate with little or no solvent can simplify process design, improve product quality and cut emissions

Radar level measuring instruments have created their own suc-cess story, largely superseding measurement principles such

as electromechanical sounding systems or ultrasonic devices in many sectors of industry. Yet although radar’s areas of application have gradually grown, experts agree that no single radar level in-strument is currently able to cover every application. Thanks to its high operating frequency and other advances, however, the new VEGAPULS 69 from VEGA comes very close to this ideal.

The VEGAPULS 69 features a much wider range of application than previous radar instruments. With a measuring range of up to 120 m and an accuracy of ±5 mm, it has enough power reserves even for unusual assignments such as mine shafts and distance mea-surement in conveyor systems.

The VEGAPULS 69 operates with a frequency of 79 GHz and an antenna size of 75 mm to achieves a beam angle of just 4°. The narrow beam avoids obstacles or deposits on vessel walls, and so makes measurements more accurate and reliable.

A large dynamic range (120 dB) allows the VEGAPULS 69 to de-tect even the smallest reflections. For highly reflective media such as coal, ore, and rock, this guarantees even better certainty and reliability in measurements. For poorly reflective media such as plastic powders, fly ash and dry sawdust, it means measurements of much higher quality, with reliable operation at distances up to 120 m. The VEGAPULS 69 can even measure substances such as polystyrene pellets and fumed silica powder that are traditionally

beyond the reach of radar level measurement altogether.

Inspired by the “spirit level” apps available for smartphones, VEGA engineers came up with a clever idea. They developed an app that can be used to set the angle of incli-nation when installing the VEGAPULS 69. To do this, the phone is simply placed on the instrument, allowing the sensor to be aligned quickly and optimally. www.vega.com/

vegapuls69

Focusing on the essential in level measurementVEGA’s new radar sensor for bulk solids, the VEGAPULS 69, detects even the smallest reflected signals thanks to its 79 GHz operating frequency and high dynamic range

±5 mm at 120 m: The VEGAPULS 69 takes radar to new levels


A new supercomputer – an HPC cluster with 512

cores, 90 TB of disk space and 2 TB of RAM – puts GEA Process Engineeringin a league of its own for computational fluid dy-namics (CFD) simulations of spray drying processes. The benefit for customers is even better and more efficient spray drying plants, the company says.

Process simulations are the key to developing high-

performing and cost-effective processing plants, and here

GEA Process Engineering has been ahead of the game since the

company introduced the DRYNETICS method in 2008. By using real dry-

ing properties established from single-droplet experiments, the CFD simulations

provide far more precise results than they would otherwise. Compared to the previ-

ous computer used for CFD, the new 512-core HPC cluster has more and faster CPUs, more RAM and larger storage capacity, making it more than six times as powerful. This allows GEA’s fluid mechan-ics specialists to push the boundaries of possibility even further, whether the job is to prove the performance of a given design, help with troubleshooting on an existing plant, or develop new dryer components.

“With this computer we can process the smaller and less com-plicated simulations a lot faster, avoiding bottlenecks, and at the same time complete far larger and more complicated calculations within a reasonable amount of time,” says Mads Reck from the Fluid Mechanics R&D team in Copenhagen. “It allows us to do simula-tions so advanced that it puts us ahead of any and all competition. Had competitors started to catch up, this is a giant leap effectively leaving them behind,” Reck says.

Extensive CFD simulations were key when GEA designed the world’s biggest dairy spray drying plant, Fonterra’s Darfield D2 in New Zealand. Every component was examined and optimized for operation as part of the complete process line. Advanced CFD mod-elling techniques were then used to further optimize and confirm the design of all critical parts. The plant was started up successfully last year and has continued to perform as designed throughout its first season. Another use of CFD simulation is in troubleshooting and optimizing existing spray dryers, where it is applied during re-configuration of the dryer for new operating conditions or to remove any bottlenecks.

GEA is using the new supercomputer to simulate not just spray dryers but also mixing equipment. www.gea.com

Modern CFD simulation of spray dryers on powerful computers provides a high level of accuracy, making it possible to optimize

the design of entire plants as well as individual components

Simulation for better dryingA new supercomputer aids spray dryer design

at GEA Process Engineering

SBS Group designs and builds

continuous process plants, equipped

with steel belts from Berndorf Band,

for a wide range of applications in

the chemical, petrochemical, rubber

and food industry.

Having been pioneers in the develop-

ment of pastillating units, SBS now

supplies also complete packages for

the solidiication of liquid sulphur into pastilles.

Rolldrop® and Accudrop® are

registered trademarks of SBS Group.

Endless steel belt systems for the chemical &

petrochemical industry

SBS Steel Belt Systems s.r.l.Phone: +39 0331 [email protected]

www.steelbeltsystems.itwww.berndorfband-group.com




Steam is widely used in the process in-dustries for heating and hygiene. Yet

among all the specialisms required on a modern plant, steam equipment is some-

times overlooked, notes Ian Webster, Hygienic Processing Segment Manager at the UK subsidiary of fluids handling special-ist Bürkert. “This can lead to breakdowns that could have been avoided if some basic principles were better understood,” he says.

As a rule of thumb, engineers should use 25 m/s as the reference velocity when sizing pipes and valves. This is a crucial part of the design, since oversized pipework costs more in terms of materials and instal-lation. Larger pipework also means greater heat loss, more condensate, and hence ad-ditional steam trapping to stop wet steam from reaching the point of use. On the other hand, undersized pipework results in re-duced pressure at the point of use, which may impede the performance of the equip-ment. High steam velocities can also cause water hammer and erode pipework.

Tables are available to help in sizing pipework, valves and fittings, including

steam traps. However, the designer needs accurate information on the system lay-out, the available steam pressure, and the flowrate of steam required.

As a general rule, drain pockets should be of the same pipe diameter as the steam main, up to a size of DN100, and at least 100 mm deep. Condensate can skip over narrower pockets, and if these overflow they can also cause water hammer.

Condensate pipework needs to be sized to account for the presence of flash steam, which can make up 95–99% of the total flow by volume.

Control valve sizing is more complex, and here it may be advisable to seek expert assistance from a manufacturer such as Bürkert. Provided the basic design informa-tion is available, proper sizing tools can cal-culate valve sizes and orifice diameters, and warn of possible cavitation, flashing and choked flow. www.burkert.com

Element steam valves from Bürkert

The importance of correct steam pipe and valve sizingEfficient and reliable plant operation often depends on specialist steam equipment that is properly designed and maintained, says Bürkert Fluid Handling Systems

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A new process for recovering TDIBuss-SMS-Canzler explains Combi Fluidization

Production of toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI) yields a large amount of distillation

residue containing 30–70% free TDI, notes Buss-SMS-Canzler, so overall profitability depends on economic recovery of TDI from this residue. Thermal separation by evapo-ration and drying gives 100% TDI recovery, and is therefore accepted as state-of-the-art technology. However, in practice this recov-ery process is highly demanding, since the concentrated residue becomes highly vis-cous and sticky. It can solidify suddenly and may block the system with solids.

Buss-SMS-Canzler’s Combi Fluidization Technology (CFT) is excellently suited to overcome these challenges. The unique CFT dryer combines contact and fluidized bed drying, and has its strengths in the econom-ic treatment of sludges and pastes.

A rotor within the horizontal dryer pro-duces a mechanically fluidized bed. The wet product is evenly dispersed, so the dryer can handle materials that pass through vis-cous, pasty, sticky, crust-forming or crystal-lizing phases during drying. The CFT dryer thus offers a simple and economic way to treat TDI residue. www.sms-vt.com

Spray condenser

Cooler

RecoveredTDI

Vacuum

Vacuum

Dry tar

Coolingmedium

Coolingmedium

Heatingmedium

CFTDryer

Vapor dome

Separation column

Heatingmedium

Lock vessel

TDIcooler

Combi Fluidization Technology is a simple and economic way to treat TDI residue

The horizontal CFT dryer uses a rotor to fluidize and disperse material to be dried

The PrismaPlus from Pfeiffer Vacuum is a mass spectrometer for qualitative and

quantitative gas analysis and leak detec-tion. Its key feature is a combination of high sensitivity, stability and intelligent opera-tion, while during routine operation users benefit from its robust, compact design and simple systems integration.

The PrismaPlus delivers precise results over three different mass ranges (1–100, 1–200 and 1–300 amu) down to a detec-tion limit of 1 × 10–14 mbar. With a choice of Faraday or electron multiplier detectors, even low-level contamination in vacuum systems can be quickly identified. In addi-tion to displaying selectable partial pres-sures, direct attachment of a pressure gauge also enables the PrismaPlus to moni-tor total pressure accurately.

The supplied Quadera software is easy to operate and offers an easy-to-read plat-form for capturing and visualizing both

measured data and parameter records. Together with a wide selection of interfaces such as Ethernet, digital and analog inputs and outputs, this makes systems integra-tion easy. A simple mouse click activates the pre-programmed functions, while the integrated VSTA editor lets advanced users write their own automated measurement routines. www.pfeiffer-vacuum.com

Pfeiffer Vacuum’s PrismaPlus mass spectrometer

This mass spectrometer adds valuePfeiffer Vacuum’s PrismaPlus is a compact, sensitive and intelligent mass spectrometer




Proven success for pastillationSandvik marks 35 years of its Rotoform process

Uniform, free-flowing pastilles are pro-duced by controlled cooling of droplets

deposited onto a water-cooled endless steel belt. It’s a simple principle but one that has endured: after 35 years of worldwide suc-cess, the Rotoform system remains the most effective process for the pastillation of many chemical products, says Sandvik.

The Rotoform device itself consists of a heated, cylindrical stator and a perforat-ed rotating shell that turns concentrically around the stator, depositing measured drops onto the steel belt. The speed of the Rotoform is synchronized with that of the belt cooler so the drops are placed without deformation. Cooling water sprayed onto the underside of the belt solidifies the drop-lets into consistently sized pastilles. The

indirect heat transfer avoids any danger of cross-contamination.

Products handled include sulfur, resins, waxes, fatty chemicals, antioxidants, and fine chemicals. Sandvik has developed so-lutions for products of widely varying prop-erties. Some, for instance, have a tendency to curl away from the steel belt; this can be overcome through carefully calculated tem-perature profiles and special heating of the drum that drives the steel belt cooler.

Subcooling melts are another challenge associated with rubber chemicals, agro-chemicals, photochemicals, stabilizers, and plastic additives. Here the product remains liquid even when the temperature falls below the melting point. Sandvik’s super-cooling process overcomes this by introduc-ing a homogeneous suspension of seeding crystals into the upstream melt. This re-mains the only viable way to produce high-quality pastilles from subcooling melts.

www.processsystems.sandvik.com

Rotoform yields free-flowing pastilles even from difficult subcooling melts

In factories producing pharmaceuticals and food products, wooden pallets are

taboo for reasons of hygiene. This means that incoming materials must be repallet-ized between the delivery dock and the pro-

cessing area. To reduce the labor needed for this task to a minimum, Müller offers pallet transfer units that can also act as an up-to-date and reliable clean zone interface.

Since 1988 Müller pallet transfer units have been easing loads delivered on wood-en pallets onto hygienic pallets.

Pallet transfer units can be loaded for material flow in one or both directions, from the gray zone into the white zone or vice versa. Loads are transferred smoothly, and nothing gets damaged or tilted. Moving a 1,000 kg load takes only 30 seconds.

This system is simple and can handle various types of loads – even asymmetrical ones. It is easy to operate, requiring just one person, and transfers the load from one pallet onto another without problems or the need for muscle power.

In the same way loads ready for ship-ment can be transferred from the internal metal or plastic pallets back onto wooden pallets. Fully automated versions, with transfer in one or both directions, are avail-able too. www.mueller-gmbh.com

A single operator can transfer a 1,000 kg load in just 30 seconds

Move products between palletsPallet transfer units from Müller makes light work of moving incoming goods from wooden to plastic pallets

The CosmoDry System from Italvacuum is an innovative horizontal paddle vacuum

dryer with a concentric agitator. Designed for maximum ease of cleaning, maintenance and internal inspection, it is ideal for multi-product applications.

The CosmoDry System targets the drying of wet powders from filters or centrifuges, especially pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and intermediates. Its mixing power, load-ing flexibility, drying speed, ease of unload-ing, and product quality are all givens.

What sets the CosmoDry System apart from conventional paddle vacuum dryers, however, is the fact that the concentric agi-tator on its heated shaft can be dismounted in sections for easy cleaning and inspection.

The agitator is designed for optimum mixing and heat transfer, while limiting me-chanical and thermal stresses to aid the drying of temperature-sensitive products. Product deposition is kept to a minimum.

The design facilitates both exterior and interior cleaning, the latter with the aid of an efficient CIP system.

The CosmoDry System is available in volumes of 150–4,400 l. Loading capacity is 30–80% of the chamber volume, depending on the product. The dryers are designed and manufactured to strict safety standards, and meet cGMP and ATEX regulations.

www.italvacuum.com

The CosmoDry System features a dismountable agitator for ease of access

The evolution of the speciesThe CosmoDry System from Italvacuum takes drying performance for granted; ease of cleaning is the key

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 2015 36I-15CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MARCH 2015


Charging reactors with hazardous bulk materials is still a major cause of ac-

cidents, says Dec. Risks can be avoided by using Dec’s patented Powder Transfer System (PTS), which uses low-velocity dense-phase (plug-flow) conveying to avoid

electrostatic charges. All components are grounded, and the system keeps the reactor inert by separating the air from the powder.

As well as reactor charging, the PTS can be combined with other powder handling equipment to boost production and reduce risks in filling, discharging, blending, and dosing applications. A recent advance is the Dosivalve, which works with the PTS to create a low-cost dosing system that is eas-ily integrated to overcome problems when handling materials with poor flowability. The Dosivalve, which works with a pneu-matic piston, eliminates the need for a buf-fer vessel between transferring and dosing. With a Continuous Liner System (CLS), the PTS/Dosivalve also enables accurate dosing and packaging of powders into bags.

Dec provides integrated solutions from a single source. The company is the North American representative of LUGAIA, a pro-vider of packaging and transfer solutions, and now MAVAG, a specialist in filtration, drying and agitation. Interphex booth 1025

www.dec-group.net

Dryer discharging and precise dosing into drums with Dec’s PTS, Dosivalve and

Drum Containment System (DCS)

Experts in reactor chargingVery few can match bulk handling expert Dec when it comes to safely adding powders to reactor vessels

Functional safety, one of the most high-profile topics in the process industries,

is especially important for chemical, oil and gas installations, where protection of people and the environment is essential and financial losses in event of accidents can be extremely high. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric actuators, AUMA offers a broad range of devices pro-viding cost-effective solutions for different SIL requirements.

Internationally renowned test institutes have determined the safety parameters and SIL capabilities of AUMA products. A new TÜV certificate confirms that the company’s SA multi-turn actuators and SQ part-turn actuators with AC.2 SIL integral controls are suitable for applications up to SIL 3 (in re-dundant systems). These products comply with the second edition of IEC 61508.

Design advantages of AUMA’s SIL ac-tuators include configuration with differ-ent seating criteria, such as forced limit or torque seating, for example, to protect the mechanical integrity of the valve.

AUMA can supply customers with safety parameters, test reports, certificates, com-prehensive safety manuals, and checklists for commissioning and proof testing.

Reinforcing its commitment to safety matters in actuation, AUMA is co-organizer of an international functional safety confer-ence in October 2015 in Copenhagen (www.fscph.com). www.auma.com

AUMA SIL actuators in a typical safety instrumented system (SIS), including

sensor (1), safety PLC (2) and actor (3), consisting of actuator and valve

1

23

Safe actuation for SIL applicationsElectric actuator specialist AUMA has a wide range of approved solutions for safety-critical applications

GW

2e1

5

Evaporation and

Rectification

Recovering recyclables

Treating solvents

Producing alcohol

Cleaning waste water

This is just a small selection of

applications for which we can

offer the most economic plant

concepts and equipment. Our

experts will ﾜnd the optimum solution for

your require-

ments.

engineering for a better world


GEA Wiegand GmbH

Phone: +49 7243 705-0

Internet: www.gea-wiegand.com

ACHEMA 2015

15-19 June

Hall 4.0, Stand F46


C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

8x10.5 AD-PLASTO-1-22-2014.pdf 1 1/22/14 2:33 PM



New Products

37

Tank-cleaning nozzles that can handle lower flowratesThe expanded HydroWhirl Poseidon line of tank-washing nozzles (photo) now includes lower flowrates. The nozzles can now handle flowrates ranging from 4.45 to 26.3 gal/min. The smaller-sized nozzles are de-signed to fit through openings as small as 2 in., while maintaining a slow and controlled rotation speed. Complete 360-deg omnidirectional coverage al-lows for increased cleaning efficiency, and the nozzles’ slow-spinning spray and longer spray dwell time on the target surface increase impact when compared to conventional rotating designs. Fluid-driven and lubricated, these rotating tank-cleaning nozzles are constructed of corrosion-resistant polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mate-rial and are ideal for harsh chemical environments. — BETE Fog Nozzle, Inc., Greenfield, Mass.www.bete.com

A fully temperature-compensated handheld pressure calibratorThe new HPC40 Series handheld pres-sure calibrator (photo) is said to be the world’s first milliamp-loop calibrator that is fully temperature compensated from –20 to 50ºC, enabling it to deliver the same accuracy whether measuring pressure, current, voltage or tempera-ture. Suitable for calibrating pressures ranging from vacuum to 15,000 psi, with an accuracy of 0.035% of reading for all ranges, HPC40 instruments are designed for process-control applica-tions, such as verification or calibration of pressure gages, transducers, trans-mitters, pressure switches and safety valves. A single HPC40 Series device can typically replace several gages or calibrators. — Crystal Engineering, San Luis Obispo, Calif.www.crystalengineering.net

These industrial-gas pressure regulators have three outlet portsThe T39 Series of industrial-gas pres-sure regulators (photo) incorporates three outlet ports within a single regu-lator, allowing for more versatility, as well as potentially simplified piping layouts. T39 Series regulators are available with a choice of seat materi-als, in six spring-pressure ranges from

0–30 to 0–225 psig. The regulators are equipped with 302 stainless-steel diaphragms, and nickel and stain-less-steel housings are available on request. Each regulator comes with a four-seat valve-disc block, which can be rotated to provide a fresh valve-disc sealing surface, with spare valve discs provided. — Marsh Bellofram Corp., Newell, W. Va.www.marshbellofram.com

Use this wireless device to remotely monitor storage tanksThe TankLink 95 (photo) is a wireless monitoring device for chemicals in vented and unvented storage tanks in hazardous locations, providing ac-cess to tank data (such as critical level and daily usage history) remotely. The TankLink 95 utilizes 3G and 4G mo-bile networks to monitor tank data, preventing personnel from having to enter hazardous areas (such as those where flammable vapor and gases or other ignition threats are present) to collect tank information. — Telular Corp., Chicago, Ill.www.tanklink.com

This new SmartBob features horizontal mountingThe SmartBob HM (horizontal mount) is a weight-and-cable-based level sensor that can be mounted on the side of a bin, tank or silo. The Smart-Bob HM features a rigid extension to install on the side of the bin. Precise level measurements are taken at pre-determined time intervals at a location directly below the probe to continu-ously monitor the inventory of material inside of the bin. The device’s continu-ous level sensor works like an auto-mated tape measure, but eliminates the need to climb bins for manual measurements. It is listed for Class II, Groups E, F, & G and enclosure types NEMA 4X, 5 and 12, ensuring the sensor is safe to use in locations where combustible dust may be present. — BinMaster, Lincoln, Neb.www.binmaster.com

A pod system that eliminates the need for hand dosingThis modular “pod” system (photo, p. 38) is a self-contained, batch weigh-ing and metering system that delivers

BETE Fog Nozzle

Crystal Engineering

Marsh Bellofram

Telular


dry powder ingredients directly into a vacuum-conveying line with high ac-curacy and low cost, according to the company. The new pod system is suitable for the food and pharmaceu-tical industries, where a product may have a number of different ingredients

that traditionally have been dosed by hand. The system can be made of one or any number of pods linked together via a common vacuum conveying line and a central controller. The ingredient is loaded onto each pod from flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs) or sacked product. The system is sealed, so airborne dust is eliminated. — Ingredient Batching Systems, London, U.K.www.ingredientbatchingsystems.com

Rugged cellular router offers broadband wireless connectivityThe Ruggedcom RX1400 (photo) is a multiprotocol intelligent node that combines Ethernet switching, routing and firewall functionality with various WAN connectivity options. The device is IP40 rated, does not use fans for cooling, operates continuously within a –40 to 85°C temperature range and comes with a rugged metal housing that supports DIN rail, panel or rack mounting. The Ruggedcom RX1400 provides a high level of immunity to electromagnetic interference, heavy

electrical surges, extreme tempera-ture and humidity for reliable opera-tion in harsh environments. — Sie-mens AG, Munich, Germanywww.siemens.com

A fl oat-level transmitter with many fi ttings optionsThe NML-308 is a miniature, syn-thetic float-level transducer suitable for level measurement in vessels up to 48 in. tall. The floats are made from PTFE and the tubes are 316

Ingredient Batching Systems Siemens AG

Müller GmbH - 79618 Rheinfelden (Germany)Industrieweg 5 - Phone: +49(0)7623/969-0 - Fax: +49(0)7623/969-69A company of the Müller group [email protected] - www.mueller-gmbh.com

Chemical Engineering e 1.6 86x123 2013

Transferringpotent ortoxicsubstances?Müller Containment Valve MCV–Suitable for EEB 5 (OEL < 1 μg/m3)–Available sizes: DN100, DN150, DN200 and DN250–Explosion pressure shock resistantup to +10 bar–Vacuum-tight version down to –1 bar–Explosion-proof to ATEX for Zone 0/20–Easy-to-wipe flat surfaces–AISI 316L stainless steel, Hastelloy available on request– GMP-compliant design

Mu?llerGmbH_ChemicalEngineering_e_86x123_2013.qxd:MüllerGmbH_Che

Did you know…? The Bürkert Type 330 is

more than just a solenoid valve: it’s many in

one. Featuring a body made of plastic, brass,

aluminium or stainless steel and with various

ports and sealants, it adapts to perfectly fit

every requirement. Which means its unique

and versatile valve technology is suitable for

use in nearly all industries. Full encapsulation,

the IP65 rating and an explosion-proof enclo-

sure make the 330 fit for rough environments

and critical media. Its long service life ensures

it won’t be a thing of the past tomorrow.

So spread the word!

| Process & Control Valves | Pneumatics & Process Interfaces | Sensors | Transmitters & Controllers | MicroFluidics | Mass Flow Controllers | Solenoid Control Valves

Manufactured in West Des Moines, Iowa, USA

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Our spring loaded check valves are assembled to your exact needs, ensuring absolute precision and reliability. They work as they should in any orientation. Most lead times are less than one week. That’s what makes Check-All® the only choice.

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stainless steel. The fittings are avail-able in PTFE, polyethylene (PE), poly-propylene (PP) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The transmitted level signal is converted to a 4–20-mA analog sig-nal via a remotely mounted DIN rail transmitter. — Kobold Instruments Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.www.koboldusa.com

A sealless thermoplastic pump for open tanks and sumps

The new range of ARBO sealless, thermoplastic immersible centrifugal

pumps (photo) are ideal for situations where metal pumps could suffer from the effects of corrosion. ARBO single-stage immersible pumps can handle capacities up to 300 m3/h at differential heads up to 80 m and liquids with viscosities up to 100 cP. The pumps can be supplied in PP as standard, as well as the options of high-modulus PE, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and PTFE for appli-cations where more corrosive liquids, higher temperatures, or higher solid concentrations are involved. — Mi-chael Smith Engineers Ltd., Woking, Surrey, U.K.www.michael-smith-engineers.co.uk

A space-saving digital indicator with many functionsThe model DI32-1 (photo) is multi-functional and, with its small dimen-sions (48 × 24 × 52 mm), ideal for applications with limited mounting space. The multifunction input of the DI32-1 digital indicator offers 23 input configurations. Thus, the measured values from transmitters with current

and voltage signals, as well as those from resistance thermometers and thermocouples can be displayed. The instrument is also suitable for frequency and rotational-speed mea-surements, and, in addition, as an up/down counter. The indicator also records minimum or maximum val-ues, enables the linearization of sen-sor values with up to five program-mable points and has a tare function. — WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG, Klingenberg, Germanywww.wika.com

Analyze steels in the field, even for hot-tapping applicationsThe Belec Compact Port (photo, p. 40) is a versatile mobile spectrometer currently going through the evaluation process with a Fortune-500 oil-and-gas organization for the detection of

WIKA Alexander Wiegand

Insider Tip!

Did you know…? The Bürkert Type 330 is

more than just a solenoid valve: it’s many in

one. Featuring a body made of plastic, brass,

aluminium or stainless steel and with various

ports and sealants, it adapts to perfectly fit

every requirement. Which means its unique

and versatile valve technology is suitable for

use in nearly all industries. Full encapsulation,

the IP65 rating and an explosion-proof enclo-

sure make the 330 fit for rough environments

and critical media. Its long service life ensures

it won’t be a thing of the past tomorrow.

So spread the word!

We make ideas flow.

www.burkert.com

| Process & Control Valves | Pneumatics & Process Interfaces | Sensors | Transmitters & Controllers | MicroFluidics | Mass Flow Controllers | Solenoid Control Valves


Michael Smith Engineers


sulfidation corrosion in hot applica-tions. The Compact Port incorpo-rates features required by oil-and-gas inspection professionals. The system has ultraviolet (UV) probes to detect C, P, S, B and N in Duplex stainless steels, with probe lengths from 3 to 5 m for hard-to-test areas. The system has temperature-stabi-lized optics for stable low-level de-tection limits. The system detects low levels of carbon in stainless or low-alloy steels while meeting the requirements of API 578 and API 939-C in the field, and is capable of conducting carbon-equivalency cal-

culations at 350°F for hot tapping applications — Innovated Analytical

Solutions LLC, Bremen, Ala.

www.steelanalyzer.com

CFD optimizes this modular range of blowing seal valvesOne of the problems faced with blowing-seal type rotary valves is to maintain the air velocity between the valve and the conveying pipe while still achieving a good rotor pocket purge. Designers at this company have solved this problem using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, in conjunction with a standard CAD package to deter-mine the profile that would guar-antee minimum pressure loss and maximum pocket purge. One of these CFD-designed profiles was chosen (photo) for the comany’s new modular valve range. There is hardly any drop in air velocity dur-ing conveying with the smoother airflow through the valve, which results in improved rotor life and efficient pocket purging. This in

turn leads to increased valve life, because high velocity-wear erosion is reduced by the fuller, smoother airflow. — Rota Val Ltd., Chippen-

ham, Wiltshire, U.K.

www.rotaval.co.uk

A highly concentrated additive that prolongs biodiesel shelf lifeIntroduced in January, Baynox Ultra is a highly active liquid stabilizer specially designed for biodiesel made from polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as soybean and sunflower methyl esters. This easily metered additive contains a balanced blend of highly active an-tioxidants and a chelator, dissolved in a “green” solvent. Thanks to the high active-ingredient content of over 40%, 200 to 500 ppm of Baynox Ultra is generally sufficient to ensure a reliable shelf life for biodiesel. As the product also remains liquid to –5°C, storage

www.dec-group.net

An Alliance of Technology & Expert Knowledge

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Visit usInterphex NY 21 – 23 April 2015booth 1025

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tanks and pipes do not need to be heated in winter. Another additive (Baynox Cargo), designed to stabilize biodiesel tanks in ships and ports, has also been introduced. — Lanxess AG, Cologne, Germanywww.lanxess.com

Safety and diagnostic features enhance this flowmeter line

The new Rosemount 8700M Mag-netic Flowmeter line (photo) provides enhanced safety for hazardous-area applications, along with intelligent di-agnostics. Glass feed-throughs trans-mit signals between isolated compart-ments of the transmitter enclosure, providing the most effective barrier for safety and reliability. The all-welded sensor design and dual-compartment

transmitter housing keep critical com-ponents isolated from environmental hazards — a leading cause of elec-tronics failures. Enhanced diagnos-tics, including Smart Meter Verifica-tion and the new Electrode Coating Detection provide users with more in-formation than ever before about the flowmeter, installation and process, enabling more informed decision-making, easier identification of pro-cess issues, and simplified flowmeter verification. The Electrode Coating Detection diagnostic identifies coat-ing on the electrode before the sensor signal is compromised, helping to pre-vent inaccurate flow measurement. — Emerson Process Management, Shakopee, Minn.www.rosemount.com/8700

A new full-stroke, integral piston diaphragm modelThis manufacturer of air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps has recently introduced its 76-mm (3-in.) size Full-Stroke Integral Piston Diaphragm (FSIPD). The new FSIPD

(photo) is ideal for use in the com-pany’s Saniflo FDA pumps, as well as its Original, Advanced and Ad-vanced FIT series of AODD pumps. These 3-in. diaphragms are said to be well-suited for hygienic applica-tions because they are constructed of food-grade Wil-Flex (Santoprene), and unlike conventional diaphragms, the integral piston is completely encapsulated within the TPE ma-terial, meaning there is no outer piston that can trap fluid and par-ticles. The diaphragms withstand temperatures from –40 to 107°C, and meet the requirements of FDA CRF 21.177, EHEDG and 3A. — Wilden, part of PSG, a Dover Co., Grand Terrace, Calif.www.wildendiaphragms.com ■Gerald Ondrey and Mary Page Bailey

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Show Preview

42

Highlighting technology and innovations in the sectors of pharmaceutical and biophar-maceutical manufacturing,

Interphex 2015 is taking place April 21–23 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Over 12,000 professionals are expected to visit the event’s workshops, networking sessions and exhibit hall. The follow-ing product descriptions represent a small selection of the more than 600 exhibitors who will be showcased at Interphex 2015.

These strainers handle both coarse and fi ne-particle fi lteringThe SaniClean line of strainers are specifically designed for use in pro-cessing applications where cleaning is critical, such as those requiring coarse straining or fine-particle filtra-tion in the pharmaceutical, food, dairy and beverage industries. The strainers are suitable for both continuous pro-duction cycles and small-batch runs. A variety of capacities are available, ranging from low creeping flowrates to high-volume production outputs. The strainers can be integrated into existing or new piping configurations. The standard material of construc-tion is 316L stainless steel (photo), but other corrosion-resistant alloys are available. Booth 3370 — Newark Wire Cloth Co., Clifton, N.J.www.sanicleanstrainers.com

Positively validate materials with this handheld Raman analyzerThe Progeny line of handheld Raman analyzers (photo) is designed for quick, non-destructive material vali-dation, allowing for immediate re-jection of non-conforming materials and fewer quarantined shipments. The raw-material identification pro-vided by Raman spectroscopy helps to ensure that manufacturing stan-dards are met, and that final products meet specifications and comply with regulations. With a design inspired by smartphones, Progeny analyzers fea-ture touchscreen user interfaces, an integrated digital camera and large-sized display buttons. Also included are a 1,064-nm excitation laser and a built-in, adjustable nose cone, which

allows measurement even through thick polymer materials or dark glass. Booth 2878 — Rigaku Raman Tech-nologies Inc., Wilmington, Mass.www.rigakuraman.com

This compact tablet counter accommodates four modulesThe Cremer Model CFS-622*4 four-module tablet counter (photo) can count almost any kind of tablet or cap-sule, and fill almost any kind of plastic or glass bottle, including those with round, oval or rectangular shapes. The small-footprint design allows for simple integration into new or existing lines, and its transparent enclosure provides accessibility. A vision-inspec-tion feature allows for the detection of broken and rogue tablets; when a faulty container is detected, the CFS-622*4 will reject it. Other standard features include a central product hopper, a touchscreen control panel and a servo-driven feedscrew. A cen-tral dust-extraction mechanism, a product eject system and an ionizer to eliminate static electricity are op-tional add-ons. Booth 2353 — NJM Packaging, Lebanon, N.H.www.njmpackaging.com

This isolator system features a fast decontamination processThe Pharmaceutical Safety Isolator L-Flange (PSI-L) system is a modu-lar isolator system outfitted with an L-shaped flange. The unique flange design enables equipment to be changed quickly, and the possibil-ity of using an empty flange plate provides maximum flexibility. The system’s short (less than 20 min) de-contamination cycle and a return air filter create a sterile environment for aseptic or highly active pharmaceuti-cal products. Booth 3055 — SKAN AG, Allschwil, Switzerlandwww.skan.ch

Constant-pressure processors that ensure uniform handlingThis company’s Microfluidizer fam-ily of high-shear fluid processors en-ables uniform particle-size reduction, bottom-up crystallization and efficient cell disruption, and can be used in the development of nano-enabled

Newark Wire Cloth

NJM Packaging

Rigaku Raman

CASE STUDY SUCCESSES

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medicines, chemicals and consumer products. The key to the Microfluidiz-er’s uniform material-handling capabil-ity is its ability to maintain a consistent process pressure within the system. Suitable for a variety of applications, including both laboratory use and full commercial production, these proces-sors provide size reduction and dis-ruption in the sub-micrometer range, and numerous scaleup options are available. Booth 1653 — Microfluidics International Corp., Westwood, Mass.www.microfluidicscorp.com

Forming, filling and sealing for multi-product manufacturersThe QuickPouch Vertical (photo) is a compact, customizable machine de-signed to form, fill and seal pouches. The system can handle package sizes of up to 6 in. in width and 9 in. in height. The machine’s simple design is advan-tageous to manufacturers with multi-ple products; changeovers are simple, taking as little as 15 min. The Quick-Pouch Vertical is available with many options, including printing, automatic loading, liquid or powder filling, die-cutting and more. Applying a hot die to imprint the pouch form, the cycle-on-demand system is equipped with time, pressure and monitoring functions. Pouch materials include foil laminate, paper laminate and plastic laminate. Booth 3857 — Adaptive Manufactur-ing Technologies, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.www.amtautomation.com

A compact filling and closing machine with 10 filling positionsThis company’s H4 filling and closing machine (photo) can process nested vials, syringes and cartridges, and also allows for the pre-manufacture of cer-tain modules, providing cost savings and flexibility for a number of diverse applications. Even within a compact footprint, the H4’s transport system achieves a high output rate of 24,000 objects/h, which can be expanded to 36,000 objects/h with certain retrofit-ting options. The H4 comes equipped with a ten-position filling system. For filling flexibility and simple format changes, rotary-piston pumps, as well as peristaltic or time-pressure filling systems can be added at any time. Further customizations are avail-

able through the addition of upgraded in-process controls and the insertion of vacuum stoppers. Booth 3103 — Optima Packaging Group GmbH, Schwäbisch Hall, Germanywww.optima-packaging-group.de

Safeguard sensitive connections with this toolThe BocLock intelligent connection sys-tem (photo) safeguards process con-nections in mechanical and automated systems, and is specifically designed for flow-transfer panels with frequent connections. Suitable for very sensitive processes, the system features a multi-colored indicator light that continuously informs the operators of the connection status. This includes notifying the opera-tor if the connection is awaiting action, or if the connection is dirty, clean or incom-patible. The BocLock’s stainless-steel construction allows for in-situ cleaning, and the system comes equipped with an integral passage with a standard hy-gienic seal. Booth 3168 — Boccard Life Sciences, Inc., Sugar Land, Tex.www.boccard-bls.com

Cloud-based temperature and humidity monitoringThe OneVue intelligent platform is a cloud-based system that monitors critical temperature and humidity data. With its responsive design, the One-Vue platform can be configured on any tablet, smartphone, laptop or desktop computer. Alert routing rules can be set up to deliver notifications via email, text message or phone. According to the company, the platform is unique in that the data generated by sensors are tied to the room, physical equip-ment (such as refrigerators) or inven-tory (such as pharmaceuticals) being monitored, rather than to the sensor itself, creating historical data trails. Booth 1015 — Primex Wireless, Lake Geneva, Wisc.www.primexwireless.com

Single-use fluid-path components designed for bioprocessingThis company’s BioPure family of single-use fluid-path components is manufactured specifically for biopro-cessing applications, and includes the following products: BioClamp plastic quick-release tri-clamps (photo); Bio-

Boccard Life Sciences

Adaptive Manufacturing Technologies

Watson-Marlow Pumps Group

Optima Packaging Group


Barb hose-tail to tri-clamp adap-tors; FlatBioEndCap connectors for endcaps, BioEndCaps, which are designed to permanently terminate a disposable manifold until an in-process new sterile connection is to be made; BioY equal-barbed Y-connectors; and BioValve restriction flow-control and shutoff valves for silicone tubes. These fully traceable components are intended to emulate over-molded products. Featuring full-through bore diameters, these components are designed to reduce dead spots in processes. Booth 2833 — Watson-Marlow Pumps Group, Wilmington, Mass.www.watson-marlow.com

Filter bags designed with safety and security in mind

This company’s Pharma-Grade Fil-ter Bags (photo) for fluid-bed dry-ers are constructed in a dedicated cleanroom to ensure high standards of purity and detail. The bags have been developed to avoid possible contamination from staple fibers. A microporous membrane laminated on polyester or polytetrafluoroeth-ylene (PTFE) provides efficient fil-tration. An antistatic version of the bags is available, with an incorpo-rated high-conductivity stainless-steel matrix, which provides excel-lent explosion protection. Booth 2137 — Sefar, Inc., Depew, N.Y.www.sefar.com

These dry granulators have sensor-controlled rollersBRC 25 dry granulators (photo) process powders into free-flowing granules. Fed via a dosing unit, the powder is compacted between two rollers and discharged as flakes. The

gaps between the rollers are con-trolled and monitored with sensors, and can range from 1 to 6 mm. Sen-sors also monitor the forces on the rollers. Below the rollers is a chopper unit, where the flakes are processed into granules. A built-in conical sieve with exchangeable sieve units allows control over particle size. Within the machine, the axes are mechanically stable so that elastic deformation is prevented, eliminating the need for complete axis control. Booth 2811 — L.B. Bohle Maschinen + Verfahren GmbH, Ennigerloh, Germanywww.lbbohle.de

Achieve precise wet milling and emulsifying with this systemThe HV model combination emul-sifier and wet mill is designed for precise emulsifying in a single pass, and is capable of wet milling some active pharmaceutical ingredients to the 10–20 µm range. Operating at an extremely high rotational velocity, tooling tip speeds of up to 70 m/s are achieved, providing more than 55 times the shear-energy input compared with conventional rotor-stator systems, says the company. This performance envelope fills the gap between existing rotor-stator technologies and high-pressure ho-mogenizers. The HV emulsifier and wet mill is available in three models with scalability ranges for labora-tory, pilot and production volumes. Booth 1653 — Quadro Engineering, Waterloo, Ontario, Canadawww.quadro.com ■

Mary Page BaileyCircle 41 on p. 82 or go to adlinks.che.com/56195-41

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Facts At Your Fingertips

46

Corrosion of steel is a key concern in many industrial settings, both from an asset-

management perspective and from a safety perspective. The following briefly describes corrosion mecha-nisms for various classes of steel, and provides information on the cor-rosion resistance of these ubiquitous iron-based alloys.

Carbon steels contain only iron and carbon, with carbon making up between 0.002 and 2.1 wt.%. Low-alloy steels contain a variety of other elements added to achieve desired properties of corrosion resistance, strength, formability and other char-acteristics. Steel is classified as stain-less steel if its chromium content is at least 10.5 wt.%, and its carbon con-tent is less than 1.20 wt.%, as de-fined in ASTM Standard A240 (ASTM International; West Conshohocken, Pa.; www.astm.org).

Iron oxidation

Steel corrosion is an electrochemical process requiring the simultaneous presence of water and oxygen. The anode reaction involves the forma-tion of Fe2+ ions and the release of electrons, while the cathode reaction involves a reduction of dissolved ox-ygen, with water as an electrolyte.

Fe0 —> Fe2+ + 2e–

O2 + 2H2O + 4e– —> 4OH–

Iron ions react with the hydrox-ide to form iron hyroxides [such as Fe(OH)2], which react further with oxygen to give Fe2O3·H2O (rust). The presence of acids and chlorides ac-celerates the corrosion process.

Stainless steel

The chromium in stainless steels al-lows the generation of a complex chromium-oxide surface layer that resists further oxidation (passive lay-er). The chromium-oxide layer is thin (microns) but tough. It will reform if removed by scratching or machining. The addition of nickel to the structure (8 wt.% Ni minimum in the commonly used 304 type stainless steel and 10

wt.% Ni minimum in the more cor-rosion-resistant 316) broadens the range of passivity established by the chromium. Further, addition of mo-lybdenum (2 wt.% minimum in 316) further expands the passivity range and improves corrosion resistance (see table).

Corrosion mechanisms

Stainless steel resists general corro-sion well, but several mechanisms can result in localized corrosion of stainless steel. For example, pitting occurs in areas where the stainless steel’s protective passive layer breaks down on an exposed surface. Once initiated, the growth rate of the pit can be relatively rapid and can result in lo-calized, deep cavities.

Crevice corrosion occurs in loca-tions where oxygen cannot freely cir-culate, such as tight joints, under fas-tener heads and in other areas where pieces of metal are in close contact.

Pitting and crevice corrosion of stainless steels generally occurs in the presence of halide ions (chloride is most common). Moisture from the environment, along with chloride salts and pollutants, accumulates in the crevices, creating an acidic environ-ment inside the crevice where oxygen is depleted and chloride concentra-tion is elevated. This environment promotes the breakdown of the pas-sive film and anodic dissolution.

The main environmental factors that favor localized attack include higher chloride concentration, el-evated temperature, lower pH and more cathodic corrosion potentials.

Specific corrosive environments, such as the presence of chlorides, combined with tensile stress, can crack stainless steels in a mode of attack known as stress corrosion cracking (SCC).

Another corrosion mechanism in-volves the metal’s microscopic grain structure. Rapid corrosive attack of immediately adjacent grain boundar-ies with little or no attack of the grains is called intergranular corrosion.

Corrosion resistance

Corrosion of carbon steel can be minimized with protective paints and coatings, or by cathodic protection, such as galvanizing (applying a zinc coating to interfere with the natural electrochemical reactions in corro-sion). Modifying the operating envi-ronment with corrosion inhibitors can also be effective in some cases. The resistance of a stainless steel to lo-calized attack is strongly related to its alloy content.

Chemical passivation refers to the chemical treatment of stainless steel with a mild oxidant, such as nitric acid or citric acid solution, for the purpose of enhancing the spontane-ous formation of the protective pas-sive chromium oxide film. n

For more on corrosion, see Chem. Eng., March 2014, pp. 40–43 and July 2012, pp. 26–29.

Relevant links

1. Specialty Steel Industry of North America. www.ssina.com/overview/alloyelements_intro.html

2. ASTM International. Standard A380. www.astm.org/Standards/A380/

3. Steelconstruction.info

4. Corrosionist. www.corrosionist.com/Pitting_Crev-ice_Corrosion.htm

Steel CorrosionDepartment Editor: Scott Jenkins

TABLE 1. ALLOYING ELEMENTS AFFECT STAINLESS-STEEL CORROSION PROPERTIES

ELEMENT EFFECT ON STAINLESS STEEL

Chromium Forms a passive film with oxygen that prevents further diffusion of oxygen into the surface of the steel

Nickel Increases ductility and toughness; increases corrosion resistance to acids; Ni addition creates non-magnetic structure

Molybdenum Increases pitting and crevice corrosin resistance; increases resistance to chlorides

Copper Increases corrosion resistance to sulfuric acid

Manganese Acts as a substitute for nickel in 200-series stainless steel

Titianium/Niobium Ties up carbon and prevents inter-granular corrosion in welded zone of ferritic grades

Nitrogen Increases strength and corrosion resistance in austenitic and duplex grades

Silicon Improves resistance to high-temperature scaling

Sulfur Usually kept low except for “free-machining” grades

Carbon Usually kept low; used in martensitic grades to increase strength and hardness

Source: “Alloying Elements in Stainless Steel” by Pierre-Jean Cunat,

Published by the Internation Chromium Development Association

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Technology Profile

48

Propane Dehydrogenation: Oxydehydrogenation

By Intratec Solutions

Propylene is a major compo-nent of the global olefi ns mar-ket and is widely used as an intermediate for an array of

chemical and plastic products.Propylene is produced as a byprod-

uct in steam crackers and through fl uid catalytic cracking (FCC) process-es. However, due to the increased availability of inexpensive ethane from shale gas, ethane has been prefer-entially used as a feedstock in steam crackers over naphtha, a practice that results in minor propylene production.

In this context, on-purpose propyl-ene production routes are of great interest to the petrochemical market-place. Among them, propane dehy-drogenation (PDH) technology is an at-tractive option, and has been applied in several plants around the world.

The processThe PDH process depicted in Figure 1 is similar to the STAR (steam active reforming) process (Uhde GmbH; Dort-mand, Germany; now ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions; www.thyssenk-rupp.com), which applies the oxydehy-drogenation principle. Two other PDH processes were previously discussed in this column (Chem. Eng., Feb. 2013, p. 33 and Jan. 2014, p. 27).

The STAR process was the fi rst to apply the oxydehydrogenation principle for propylene production, signifi cantly enhancing performance. In this tech-nology, O2 is added to the system to react with H2, forming water. This reac-tion lowers H2 partial pressure, shifting the equilibrium to higher conversion of propane into propylene while providing

the required heat of reaction. Figure 2 shows the effect of O2 addition on pro-pane conversion, according to different O2-to-propane molar ratios. Reaction. Propane is fed into a depro-panizer column for heavy impurities removal. The depropanizer distillate is vaporized, mixed with steam, and pre-heated before entering the reformer re-actor, which is an externally fi red tubu-lar reactor where most of the propane conversion occurs. Next, the reformer effl uent is fed to the oxyreactor, where H2 is selectively combusted by O2. The process gas is cooled in a series of heat exchangers to recover process heat. Then, it is compressed and sent to the next area.CO2 separation. The compressed gas is fed to an absorption column, where CO2 is removed in the bottoms by washing with an aqueous pipera-zine-activated methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solution. The bottoms stream is depressurized, liberating gases that are recycled to the absorption column. The CO2-rich liquid solution from the fl ash vessel is fed to the solvent re-generation column, which separates CO2 in the overheads from the MDEA solution in the bottoms, which is re-cycled to the absorption column.Gas separation. The overhead stream of the absorption column is dried in a molecular sieve and fed to a low-temperature separation system (cold box) for the removal of lights. In this system, a H2-rich stream is also obtained, and is purifi ed in a pressure swing adsorber (PSA) unit to obtain high-purity H2 byproduct.Fractionation. The liquid fraction

from the cold box is sent to the frac-tionation area, which consists of a de-ethanizer column for removal of lights and a propane-propylene (P-P) splitter, where polymer-grade (PG) propylene is obtained. Unreacted propane from the splitter bottoms is recycled.

Economic performanceAn economic evaluation of a PDH plant was conducted, assuming a facility with a nominal capacity of 450,000 ton/yr of PG propylene erected at a petrochemical complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast (no storage for feedstock and product was considered).

Estimated capital expenses (total fi xed investment, working capital and initial expenses) for such a plant are $400 million and estimated operating expenses are $770/ton of product. ■

Editor’s Note: The content for this column is supplied by Intratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us) and edited by Chemical Engineering. The analyses and models pre-sented are prepared on the basis of publicly available and non-confidential information. The content represents the opin-ions of Intratec only. More information about the methodology for preparing analysis can be found, along with terms of use, at www.intratec.us/che.

1) Depropanizer column

2) Reformer reactor

3) Feed pre-heater

4) Oxyreactor

5) Compression system

6) Absorption column

7) Flash vessel

8) Regeneration column

9) Molecular sieve unit

10) Cold box

11) PSA unit

12) Deethanizer column

13) P-P splitter

14) Refrigeration unit

MDEA Methyl

diethanolamine

BFW Boiler feed water

CW Cooling water

FU Fuel

RF Refrigeration fluid

ST Steam

Propane

ST

FU

O2/air

CW

CW

BFW

H2 byproduct RF

RF

ST

Air

ST

ST

BFW

ST

ST

ST

Water

make-up

MDEA

make-up

Piperazine

make-up

CO2

RF

Lights

to fuel

Lights

to fuel

CW

PG

propylene

1

2

45

6

7

8

9

10

12

11

3

13

14

Heavies

to fuel

FIGURE 1. Propane dehydrogenation process similar to the Uhde (now ThyssenKrupp) STAR process

FIGURE 2. O2 impact on propane conversion

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

Without oxygen

02/HC ratio = 0.05

02/HC ratio = 0.1

550 560 570 580 590 600

Temperature (oC)

Con

vers

ion p

ropan

e (%

)

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DIANE BURLESON | Direct: 512-337-7890 | [email protected]

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24742


Historically, steam systems have provided the most effective source of read-ily conveyable heat to

industrial process applications, in-cluding those in the chemical pro-cess industries (CPI), and there is no similar low-cost substitute that can replace steam. Without steam, industrial production would be dra-matically curtailed, and the low-cost manufactured products that are made from steam’s heat or power-generation assistance would not exist. Without steam, our quality of life, economies and society in gen-eral would suffer.

While many CPI workers may ap-preciate that steam systems are a necessity, the same individuals may have also experienced negative steam-related incidents throughout their careers, making them harbor unfavorable thoughts. Specifically, these events may have resulted in safety issues, equipment failures and unscheduled shutdowns of a unit or a full production line. Safety events are extremely challenging and sorrowful issues if someone is injured, and shutdowns can be disruptive to the entire workforce. It is not surprising, then, that peo-ple lack an enthusiastic attitude when it comes to steam.

What can go wrong in a steam system?What types of issues can arise in a steam system, and can listing and classifying these items help to determine an executable pre-vention path or risk-mitigation procedure? Of course, it is relatively easy to identify the most common maladies seen in a steam system. There can be waterhammer, erosion damage and steam leaks in utility systems or equip-

ment. Such destruction may render critical process equipment, such as turbines, flares or heat exchangers, unusable. Additionally, high return-system backpressure caused by steam leakage or blowthrough from bypass steam might restrict production quantity or quality through heat-exchange equipment. Backpressure can also cause the heat-ex-change application to be put on bypass or to waste condensate by routing to ground level. While some steam-system failures are common, the challenge then is to identify the

James R. Risko

TLV Corp.

Why Bad Things Happen to Good Steam Equipment

FIGURE 1. Effective steam traps keep heat in the system to optimize production rates and heat quality, and they also discharge condensate to provide for system safety and reliability. Major problems can occur if con-densate is not readily drained from the system

IN BRIEF

WHAT CAN GO WRONG

IN A STEAM SYSTEM?

ANALYZING A STEAM-

TRAP POPULATION

MANAGEMENT

PRIORITIZATION

EVALUATING THE

NUMBERS

SYSTEM GOALS

CREATING A NEW

PARADIGM

Accounting for an entire steam-trap population is crucial to avoiding safety incidents and sub-

optimal production — high-priority consideration must be given to steam-system management

Part 1


sources of these incidents. This leads to the larger question, “Why do bad things happen to good steam equipment?”

The technical answer lies in understanding that the cause for a large percentage of failures might be due to the steam system not being maintained to the “as-built” or “design” speci-fication. The original designers analyzed the plant requirements and determined the most suitable design, according to their expertise and standards. That original design included the correct number of steam traps and the as-semblage of piping and components that help to drain condensate from the system. Com-monly referred to as a condensate discharge location (CDL), the total assembly is required to remove condensate and effectively maintain the design performance of the steam system. Once built, the plant is handed over to the end user for operation and maintenance — with the expectation of sustaining the initial design. Unfortunately, that is when operational bud-gets, personnel turnover and, in some cases, inexperience with steam systems may play a causal role in negative events.

Analyzing a steam-trap populationSteam traps (Figure 1) are ubiquitous in steam systems, and when operating effec-tively, they can efficiently retain heat in the system. Consider the analysis of a hypothet-ical plant’s steam-trap population shown in Figure 2. Based on this plant’s “state of the population” summary, it is seen that the orig-inal design (and as-built) condition included 11,000 CDLs. Over time, the plant’s manage-ment decided to decommission and remove 1,000 steam traps from service, leaving only 10,000 in-service CDLs. In this example, no plant personnel could find documentation to support why 1,000 steam traps were de-

commissioned, because no part of the plant had been shut down.

When the in-service quantity of CDLs is lower than the design calls for, then it may be that the reduction was due to a misun-derstanding of the importance in maintain-ing the design total, or possibly from general neglect of the trap population. If the discrep-ancy is not explainable, then the system’s drainage is restricted from the originally re-quired capability. Here, the target for total in-service CDLs should be increased to equal the original design total of 11,000 CDLs.

When routinely administered, steam-trap surveys conducted by plant personnel (Figure 3) provide invaluable information for evaluating the health of the steam system. As it turns out, in this hypothetical example, several years had passed since the last trap survey was completed. So, when the current survey was finished, it was found that there were 3,000 trap failures (both hot leaking failures and cold-blocked low-temperature failures occurred); and 7,000 traps were considered to be in good condition. This sit-

FIGURE 2. A typical steam plant has less in-service condensate discharge loca-tions (CDLs) than the original design. As total failures are reduced through monthly replacements, the number of “good” CDLs increases. If actual replacements are less than known total failures, car-ryover failures result, thereby reducing available good CDLs to effectively drain the system in the subsequent year. For more details, see the calcula-tion box on p. 26

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Month

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

Num

ber

of

CD

Ls

Design CDLs

In-service CDLs

Good

Total failures – target

Total failures – actual

Carryover failures

Actual monthly

replacements

Target monthly replacements

FIGURE 3. Accurate and regularly sustained diagnosis of steam traps’ operating conditions is essential to determining the population’s current health (state of the population). Once failures are identified, the informa-tion is valuable for allocating resources to restore all con-densate discharge locations to an “as designed” operating condition for safety and reli-able performance


uation creates a significant operational and maintenance dilemma for the site.

If the goal is to have a “zero reset” sce-nario, in which all failed traps must be re-paired, and the cost to repair the average failure is $600, then $1.8 million is needed from the year’s budget to accomplish the target. To achieve this goal, 250 steam traps must be replaced each month, which repre-sents two or three maintenance crews work-ing full time for a year, assuming that every trap is accessible and can be isolated for repair or replacement. It is certainly a monu-mental task that may have been caused by an improper course of action a number of years before, when trap replacements were not completed in sufficient quantity to keep pace with the annual failure rate (amount of failures per year) of the population.

Consider that the average annual failure rate of a steam trap population in a mature plant can be estimated from historical re-cords, provided that there are at least two survey events within a period of 4–5 years. Simply subtract the carryover failures (failed traps recorded from a prior survey for which no action was taken to repair) from the re-ported failures that were recorded in the survey. The remainder is the quantity of new failures. The number of new failures can be divided by the number of years since the prior survey to provide an estimate of the average annual new failures of a steam trap popula-tion. Several related useful calculations are shown in the box above.

In this hypothetical plant history, if the management of the trap population had been continuous and sustainable at an an-nual failure rate of 1,000 (10%), then the plant should only have to support the repair of 84 traps per month, not 250 traps. How-ever, in this case, the trap population was al-lowed to deteriorate to 3,000 failures (30% failure state), and this situation places a tre-mendous burden on resources. Worse still, if not corrected, the failures can be expected

to grow until catastrophic events occur.One takeaway from this example is that for

every 1,000 traps that must be repaired in a year, there is a requirement for the plan-ning and repair resources to correct 84 traps monthly without fail. That replacement re-quirement equates to repairing 4–5 CDLs per day, with any lesser amount creating a gap at year-end; the difference here equaling the next year’s carryover failures.

Steam traps must be replenished or re-paired in order to maintain a sustainable operation. Not taking the highest-priority corrective action with regard to steam trap failures is somewhat comparable to reusing a teabag even though it no longer dispenses flavor — although there is a teabag in ser-vice, it no longer provides a useful purpose. Similarly, if a steam trap has failed — par-ticularly via a cold failure — then the CDL is no longer serving its intended purpose, and must be repaired.

Is there any question about what outcome should be expected if all of the steam traps and related CDLs in a system were simply iso-lated by valving, thereby completely remov-ing their drainage capability? There would be no way to automatically remove condensate from the system, creating a highly dangerous situation. What about if just 30% were shut off, or 50%? It is akin to gambling with the safety of the plant, as the potential forma-tion of condensate slugs in the pipeline can lead to unstable, hazardous conditions. It is extremely distressing to consider a site that is not replacing trap failures due to a bud-get constraint, because the timely repair of traps allows the system to operate at the intended conditions. This must be seen as an inflexible demand. Timely action should be mandatory, not optional, to optimize the operation of a steam system.

Management prioritizationIn a properly drained and maintained steam system, it is critical that the steam flowing

Estimating annual new failures (Reported failures – Carryover failures) / Years be-tween surveys

Example: (3,000 reported failures – 1,000 carryover failures) / 2 years = 1,000 annual new failures

Average trap life(Total in-service population) / (Annual new failures)

Example: 10,000 traps / 1,000 traps failed in a year = 10 year trap life expectancy

Annual Failure Rate (Annual new failures) / (Total in-service population)

Example: 1,000 traps / 10,000 traps = 10% annual failure rate

State of the Population(Failures) / (Total in-service population)(Good traps) / (Total in-service population)

Example: 3,000 failures / 10,000 traps = 30% state of failure7,000 good traps / 10,000 traps = 70% good state

CALCULATION EXAMPLES


within the system remains at near-saturated quality and that avoidable backpressure in the return header is reduced, in order to diminish the likeli-hood of waterhammer, erosion, corro-sion and plating. Superheated steam or steam with near-saturation quality normally cannot cause hammer or high erosion at normal velocities because there is not enough condensate to be propelled downstream. Hammer and erosion occur when liquid pools in the system are thrust at high speeds, but when a system is properly drained, the damaging component is missing. Once again, it is evident that steam-trap fail-ure rates are reduced in successfully maintained steam systems, enabling efficient condensate removal from the system.

Maintaining CDLs to manufacturer specifications helps to eliminate steam leakage (hot failures) and blocked dis-charge conditions (cold failures). When CDL failures — both hot and cold — are minimized, insulation is maintained and boilers are not pushed beyond their specified limits, the steam system can be optimized with regards to conden-sate drainage, as well as the ability to sustain steam quality when transported throughout the system.

It sounds simple enough — maintain the insulation, keep the boiler within its limits and ensure that the steam trap population provides for quality con-densate drainage. It certainly sounds straightforward in concept. If it were so readily attainable, then why isn’t this goal accomplished more often?

Evaluating the numbersIn many plants, the typical program to manage the steam trap population may be controlled by budget constraints, by changing responsibilities or by a lack of priority. Although plant operations can be critically affected, the budget may be controlled by maintenance that requires close collaboration and coordination between departments. However, re-gardless of the circumstance or cause, it sometimes seems that once a sys-tem has reached a manageable level after years of cooperation and dedica-tion, then the operational problems are minimized and some portion of the trap maintenance budget is reassigned to a different project not related to trap repair. Then, the portion of the trap population considered to be “good” suffers by see-ing an increase in carryover failures, and often no survey action takes place for an extended time. All the while, new fail-ures are accumulating, thereby reducing the safety, reliability and performance of the system. This situation is unfor-tunate, because the system had finally reached a relatively sustainable condi-tion. Subsequently, after several years of inaction, the plant’s trap population may deteriorate so much that a significant negative incident occurs. At this point, the follow-up (some might say knee-jerk) reaction may be to fix the steam system very hastily. This is an all-too-frequent scenario that can lead to the previously presented example where 3,000 traps failed at a single site.

Once failures have been identified, then the focus is often placed on fixing

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Month

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

Num

ber

of

stea

m le

aks

Ste

am lo

ss (

lb/h

)

Number of steam leaks

Cumulative steam loss

* 20 lb/h average leak



FIGURE 4. Often, high priority is given to fixing the leakage failures or hot failures to reduce steam loss and increase profit. Commonly, the repair of hot failures with high-value loss is given first priority in instances other than very critical applica-tions. A representative example of the correlation of yearly repairs to reduction in steam loss is shown here


the hot failures, because these repairs can be readily justified by simple energy-cost analysis. Figure 4 illustrates a typical close relationship between hot-failure traps and re-duced steam loss. Especially in times of very high energy prices, incredible emphasis is placed on reducing the cost of operations by fixing leaking steam traps. A progress chart, similar to the one shown in Figure 4, can be generated and tracked. Thus, if the project plan is to eliminate 3,000 failures from the hypothetical plant, then the corresponding requirement is to repair 250 CDLs per month, otherwise there will be a carryover failures gap (see Figure 5 for additional analysis).

The carryover failures represent the real world; rarely do plants correct all or even nearly all of the failures. The result is that a significant number of CDLs are not re-stored to proper drainage operation, and it is not uncommon to carry a sizable number of failures over to the following year. Once carryover failures are accepted in a plant’s operations, the steam system becomes destined for sub-optimal and potentially unreliable operation.

What follows when 1,000 carryover failures are extended into the following year? Instead of correcting all 3,000 failed steam traps (a zero reset mentality), suppose that the plant management allocated a budget for repair of only 2,000 failures instead. Perhaps this thought process stems from the expecta-tion that with 2,000 failures corrected, the next annual period will only require budget for 1,000 failures. However, that is not an accurate scenario, because those 1,000 CDLs represent carryover failures only, and the plant also must consider new failures. In

a plant with an average steam-trap lifecycle of ten years, the actual failures could be es-timated as 2,000, consisting of the 1,000 carryover failures just identified and 1,000 new failures. While the diagnosis of each trap in the population is performed at regular intervals (usually annually or semi-annually), new failures are constantly occurring, as il-lustrated in Figure 6.

If carryover failures are included as part of the repair strategy, a significant number of CDLs will be operating improperly, thereby increasing the chances of a debilitating in-cident occurring within the plant. For this reason, it is not recommended to adopt a work process that allows carryover failures and focuses only on those traps that have already been fixed. Instead, a paradigm shift is required.

System goalsApplying maintenance action to individual steam traps is a path action, but not an overarching system goal. Risk lies in the false sense of security that is given when the goal is simply to repair a given number of steam traps, and the real goal of achiev-ing an optimized steam system is neglected. So, if the annual target is established to fix 2,000 steam traps and only 1,000 traps are repaired, there might be some explanation of mitigating events that explains the lapse. In such a situation, the carryover failures might be considered acceptable under the circum-stances, and a new goal is assigned for the next year. However, this is a dangerous situ-ation, because while the potential for dam-age is not visible, it is prevalent in the unad-dressed sections of the steam system, and

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Num

ber

of

failu

res

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Month

Total failures – actual

Total failures – target

Target monthly replacements

Actual replacements

Carryover

failures

FIGURE 5. For zero reset of all 3,000 failures, monthly replacement of 250 CDLs is required. If actual replacem-nents monthly are reduced, the gap results in year-end carryover failures that reduce the effective good in-service CDLs in the next year


the downstream recipients of that steam. The potential for peril can increase in sever-ity over time.

Without a full understanding of the long-term impact on a steam system, there can exist a false impression that a system can be well managed, even if there is allowance for carryover failures. Figure 7 provides ad-ditional insight into a longer-term view. As it turns out, the best possible theoretical state of the population occurs only after a zero reset condition is experienced from the prior survey report, and when accumulated re-pairs equal new accumulated failures. After the midway point, zero reset has been theo-retically reached, and new replacements cease, as there are no known failures that remain to be repaired. However, unidentified new failures are still occurring and will not be

recognized until the next survey. The result is that the best state deterio-

rates between the prior and new surveys, with the theoretical “best sustainable” con-dition being realized at the beginning date of the next survey. This theoretical point occurs midway between the prior survey and the next survey date — if annual sur-veys are conducted, and repair is immediate and linear, then the best good state occurs at midyear.

If the original goal of the designers is recalled, it was to have 11,000 fully func-tional CDLs at the site. For whatever rea-sons, the plant’s management decided to decommission and remove 1,000 installa-tions, leaving a population of only 10,000 in-service CDLs (a 9% reduction from the design). Even if there is perfect harmony

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

Design CDLs

In-service CDLs

Zero reset

Actual

New failures

Target

state

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14Month

FIGURE 6. There is always an identification-repair response-time lag between diagnosis and maintenance action. Although a site may elect to perform sufficient repairs to reach a target state of the CDL population at year-end, new failures occuring during the repair period always lower the actual year-end state. It is just one of many justifications for adopting a zero reset mentality for maintenance-response planning

Num

ber

of

CD

Ls

FIGURE 7. Sites sometimes decide upon a fixed number of annual repairs instead of striving for zero reset, thinking they can achieve a nearly 100% good in-service CDL population state over several years. However, due to new failures during the repair cycle, the theoretical “best sustainable” condition is reached midway through a perfectly correlated, linear in-spection and repair term, after which the number of CDLs in good condition will decline

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

Target

Actual

Adjustment for

new failures

Accumulated repairs

New accumulated failures

BestBest

sustainable

In-service CDLs

Design CDLs

0 6 12 18 24 30 36

Month

*

*

* *

Num

ber

of

CD

Ls


with replacement equipment to achieve a “best sustainable” state, that already rep-resents an 18% drop in drainage capability from the design. At this point, it is also im-portant to consider how much redundancy the professional engineering firm included in the original design. Understanding the effect of reducing the number of in-service good CDLs from the design, it can be seen that a key step is to increase the quantity of in-service CDLs until it reaches the design total, less any trap stations clearly suitable for decommissioning.

Furthermore, once carryover failures and

new failures are considered, it is possible to have only 7,000 or 8,000 correctly function-ing CDLs; which in the case of the former, represents just 63% of the original design. Starting the next year with only 63% of the original design total considered to be in good condition is dangerous, especially if there is an additional lapse in repair action. It can be expected that another 1,000 traps would fail without any repair of previously failed traps. In such an instance, the portion of the popu-lation functioning correctly for system drain-age could be reduced to 6,000 traps — only 54% of the original design.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Month

3,000

2,000

1,0000

Cold failuresHot failuresTotal failuresDangerWarningCautionMinimumBest sustainableBestDesignIn-service

Design

In-service

Best

Best Sustainable

Minimum

Caution

Warning

Danger

Total failures

Hot failures

FIGURE 8. The number of in-service CDLs is already a reduction from the number of CDLs in the original design, which is not desirable unless clearly justified; and even with a zero reset focus and per-fectly harmonized inspection and repair, the “best sustain-able” condition is controlled by the number of annual failures. Establishing critical threshold values provides clear direction for sustainable steam-system performance

1 12

Hot

fai

lure

s

Hot

fa

ilure

s

Hot

fa

ilure

s

Col

d

failu

res

Col

d f

ailu

res

Col

d f

ailu

res

Goo

d Goo

d Goo

d

2

YearPerformance-based method

YearFailure-based method

3 3

Best sustainable good

Minimum good

Caution

Warning

Danger

FIGURE 9. A paradigm shift directs full attention to the performance-based method, rather than focusing mainly on hot failures. Knowing the number of “good” CDLs rela-tive to key threshold levels provides a clear indication of the steam system’s health and performance expectations

Num

ber

of

CD

Ls


Creating a new paradigmThis is where the necessity of a paradigm shift comes to the forefront. The goal is not to repair failed traps, but rather to maintain a minimum threshold of CDLs in functional condition. That quantity of good CDLs should always refer to the original design total, not to the quantity that are currently in service. Instead of the focus on hot failures, steam loss or accumulated repairs, a site should shift attention to sustaining an acceptable “good” threshold value for the state of the population — with specific, strict dates to start the survey every period. The established survey start date becomes sacrosanct and is held steadfast, regardless of daily interferences. The survey takes such a high priority simply because a steam system is indispensable to the production success of a safely operating plant. It should not be a second- or third-priority focus, but the key focus, thus helping to en-sure an optimized steam system.

Another important factor that must be addressed is outsourcing, which is the allocation of responsibilities to third-party entities as contractors to perform certain work. In order to achieve a sustainable program under an outsourcing scenario, there are several crucial requirements: certified test personnel; validated equipment for making accurate condition judgments; and standard-ized application drawings for cor-rect installation of repaired equip-ment. In some plants, testing and maintenance may be conducted by the same third-party entity. Regard-less, whether a singular third-party or multiple entities are involved with activities that can affect the state of the population, it is important that the capability for each process is confirmed. For example, an incred-ibly capable contractor for piping repair may be insufficiently trained for testing activities, and must be suitably educated and certified for these tasks. Most critically, there should exist a regular audit process to check and confirm the accuracy of the surveyors’ qualification cer-tificates, the actual judgments per-formed by those surveyors, and in the case of maintenance contrac-tors, the correct installation of each

repaired CDL. In some instances at least, the engagement and dedication to a steam system by owner personnel can be higher than with contractors, so a regular and on-going audit process is recommended to help obtain sustained high-quality work on such critical responsibilities.

With consideration for the site employees who manage the steam system — because responsibilities and personnel change — guidelines must be established. In order to

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implement clear ongoing parameters for safe and reliable operation, a plant should deter-mine required threshold target and notifica-tion values that can be used as the primary focus for the team responsible for maintain-ing system performance. Figure 8 shows the different key threshold levels of “good” CDLs as: “minimum,” “caution,” “warning” and “danger.” Note that “best sustainable” is a theoretical condition for which it is possible to approach this level, and “minimum” is the

determined threshold below which safe and reliable operation of the steam system can be adversely affected. Other tiers provide information to operations and maintenance personnel on the reasonable expectations of increased risk, should appropriate action not be executed.

If a plant wants to have a secondary focus on cold failures to reduce problems caused by condensate in the system, or to repair hot failures to reduce backpressure and

recover profits lost to unnecessary energy production, that is certainly a fine approach to fixing failed CDLs. However, when the big picture is to achieve safe and reliable plant oper-ations, the primary focus, as shown in Figure 9, must be to measure the number of good CDLs that are drain-ing the system. Plants should estab-lish the target of keeping the good CDLs between the “minimum good” and “best sustainable good” state threshold values.

When the goal is to maintain a state of the population at or above “minimum good” levels for safety and reliability considerations, the target is straightforward. Now, the repair of failures becomes just a path, not a goal. With a clear message to personnel, the steam-system drainage can be optimized and sustained for best plant performance. ■

Edited by Mary Page Bailey

For suggested additional reading on steam sys-tems, see the online version of this article

at www.chemengonline.com.

Author

James R. Risko is the president of TLV Corp. (13901 South Lakes Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 29873; Phone: (704) 597-9070; Email: [email protected]). The author of more than 30 articles related to steam and condensate systems, Risko is active in both the standards and technical-writing activities of the Fluid

Controls Institute (FCI), and has previously served as the organization’s chairman, standards chair, and chair of the Secondary Pressure and Steam Trap sec-tions. He has earned three energy-management cer-tifications, from the Association of Energy Engineers, North Carolina State Univ., and the Institute of Energy Professionals. He holds an M.B.A from Wilkes Univer-sity, and two B.S. degrees, in mathematics/education and business administration/accounting, from Kutz-town University. He is also licensed as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and a Professional Energy Manager (PEM).


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IN BRIEF

CORROSION

MECHANISMS

COMBATTING

CORROSION

CONTROLLING

CORROSION

MONITORING

CORROSION

The importance of steam-condensate return systems to boilers in the chem-ical process industries (CPI) cannot be overemphasized, especially with

regard to enhancing operating efficiency. This also enables water conservation by re-ducing waste. However, condensate-return systems are prone to severe corrosion due to the presence of non-condensable gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2), which are associated with steam generation. This often renders a condensate-return sys-tem ineffective, and can result in additional energy costs, as well as the extra cost of re-placing lost boiler feedwater. Table 1 provides an example of the costly effects of corrosion (in this case, two 2-mm holes that developed in a condensate line due to corrosion that caused water loss). The cost impact of lost condensate and makeup water can be sub-stantial if several leaks develop in the entire condensate-return system. This article pro-vides an overview of some current technolo-gies used to combat the underlying corrosion issues in condensate-return systems, and the ways to deploy these corrosion-mitigation techniques effectively.

Corrosion mechanisms

As a first step to combat condensate-sys-tem corrosion, the ingress of gases into the condensate system should be mini-mized. Ingress of gases can occur in the following ways:

Non-condensable gases (CO• 2 or O2) absorbed from the air can dissolve in boiler makeup water; in this case, the non-condensable gas flashes over the steam and eventually finds its way into the condensate

Absorption of non-condensable gases in •equipment that is initially full of air (steam-ing operation during startup) or air leak-age in equipment that is handling steam at sub-atmospheric pressuresCO• 2 produced in the boiler by the decomposition of boiler-feedwa-ter alkalinity that has dissolved into the condensate

The following section outlines some spe-cific chemical-reaction mechanisms that can cause corrosion in steam-condensate return systems.Condensate system corrosion in the pres-ence of oxygen. The following reaction rep-resents the corrosion of iron (Fe) in water [1]:

Fe + 2H2O D Fe(OH)2 + H2

This reaction continues to equilibrium if no O2 is present [2]. Also, the formation of fer-rous hydroxide (Fe(OH)2) increases the con-densate pH and retards the reaction rate. When O2 is present in the condensate, the following reaction occurs, forming hydrated ferric oxide (Fe2O3

.H2O):

4Fe(OH)2 + O2 D 2Fe2O3.H2O + 2H2O

Mitigate Corrosion in Condensate-Return SystemsUnderstanding the chemistry behind corrosion in condensate-return systems can aid in

selecting and properly employing the best mitigation technique

S.K. MukherjeeConsultant

Part 2

TABLE 1. EFFECTS OF CORROSION ON FUEL-OIL

COSTS AND MAKEUP WATER USAGE

Condensate header pressure, barg 5

Condensate temperature, °C 159

Makeup water temperature, °C 30

Boiler efficiency, % 80

Fuel-oil cost, $/million kJ 24.2

Additional fuel-oil cost, $/yr 97,300

Additional makeup water, metric tons (m.t.)/yr 5,900


Ferric oxide, also called hema-tite or red rust, is a loosely adhering oxide layer, and can travel with the condensate flow through the con-densate piping. An example of iron-oxide corrosion is shown in Figure 1. The ingress of dissolved O2 in the condensate prevents equilibrium from being reached, and ferrous hy-droxide is removed continuously from the inner walls of the piping and fittings [2].

The following are the two types of corrosion that occur when O2 is present [3]:

Generalized corrosion on the metal •surface, which causes a loss of metal from the entire surfaceOxygen pitting, which causes a •highly localized loss of metal that can result in a catastrophic failure in a short time. Pitting begins at weak points in the oxide film and at lo-cations where the film is damaged. The corrosion penetrates into the surface, effectively drilling a hole into the metal

Condensate system corrosion in the presence of CO2. Carbonates and bicarbonates, such as sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), are commonly present in boiler makeup water, and these anions are generally called “water alkalinity.” With the application of heat, these carbonates undergo the following reactions in the boiler [1, 3]:

2NaHCO3 + heat D Na2CO3 + CO2 + H2O

Na2CO3 + H2O + heat D 2NaOH + CO2

As the steam from the boiler transfers its latent heat and con-denses, the CO2 dissolves in the condensate, depressing the pH. The following reversible reactions take place:

H2O + CO2 D H2CO3

H2CO3 D H+ + HCO3–

HCO3– D H+ + CO3

2–

The corrosion of iron by carbonic acid (H2CO3) is promoted by hy-drogen ions (H+) from the above dissociation reactions. The overall reaction forming ferrous bicarbonate (Fe(HCO3)2) is:

2H+ + 2HCO3– + Fe D Fe(HCO3)2 + H2

A low pH causes generalized loss of metal, rather than the localized pitting caused by O2. Corrosion is characterized by the general thinning of the pipe wall or grooving along the bottom of the pipe [2]. This thinning often leads to failures, particularly at threaded joints. In addition, corro-sion that causes decay of pipe walls

leads to debris that can deposit in small parts, causing blockage, as seen in Figure 2.

Combatting corrosion As stated previously, the ingress of O2 or CO2 into the condensate is the main cause of corrosion in conden-sate systems. Hence, any effort to re-duce corrosion to acceptable levels must deal with expelling these gases from boiler water and neutralizing their corrosive effect with the addi-tion of chemicals [1,3]. The main pro-cesses for fighting condensate-sys-tem corrosion are summarized in the following sections.Deaeration. The boiler feedwater is mainly comprised of makeup water and return condensate. Dissolved O2 is primarily present in boiler makeup water, while dissolved CO2 can be present in the return condensate. Both gases introduce corrosion po-tential for the boiler and the conden-sate system. Deaeration effectively reduces dissolved non-condensable gases from feedwater. In the de-aeration process, the makeup water and return condensate are heated in a deaerator vessel with low-pressure steam to a temperature that is sufficient to reduce the par-tial pressure of the dissolved gases over the water surface. This results in almost all of the dissolved gases coming out of the liquid phase. The dissolved gases are vented from the deaerator vessel along with a small amount of low-pressure steam to aid venting. This process is known as mechanical deaeration.Chemical oxygen scavenging. Some residual O2 remains after me-chanical deaeration, as the partial pressure of O2 cannot be reduced to zero. This is a potential source for O2 corrosion. Chemicals are added to react with the leftover O2. The chemical is usually added below the water level in the water-storage sec-tion of the deaerator. The most com-mon O2 scavenger is catalyzed so-dium sulfite (2NaSO3), which has the following reaction:

2NaSO3 + O2 D 2NaSO4

Another O2 scavenger is diethylhy-droxylamine (DEHA; 4(C2H5)2NOH). The overall reaction of O2 with DEHA is as follows:

FIGURE 1. In the presence of oxygen, ferric-oxide corrosion occurs, and can wreak havoc on condensate-system equipment

TLV


4(C2H5)2NOH + 9O2 D 8CH3COOH + 2N2 + 6H2O

The addition of DEHA also has a passivating action on metal surfaces. When hydroxide alkalinity is present in the boiler water, the acetic acid is neutralized and removed in blow-down as sodium acetate.

Controlling corrosionThe objective of chemical control in the condensate is to elevate the condensate’s pH so that the ingress of carbonic acid is neutralized. Neu-tralizing amines (R–NH2) are used to neutralize the acidic H+ that is gener-ated by the dissociation of carbonic acid. Neutralizing amines also serve to increase the pH of the conden-sate. The amines hydrolyze when added to water, and generate the hydroxide ions that are necessary for neutralization. The chemical reaction for a neutralizing amine in water is as follows:

R–NH2 + H2O D R–NH3+ + OH–

The overall neutralization reaction is shown below:

R–NH3– + OH– + H2CO3 D R–NH3

+ + HCO3

– + H2O

By regulating the dosing rate of the neutralizing amine, the pH of the condensate can be elevated to the desired level. Many amines are used for condensate-acid neutralization and pH elevation. Morpholine and cyclohexylamine are common neu-tralizing amines. Often, a blend of morpholine and cyclohexylamine is a better choice than using either alone. The choice of neutralizing amine depends upon the distribu-tion ratio and the number of con-densation sites [3].

Another option for controlling con-densate-system corrosion is the use of filming amines. Octadecylamine is a common filming amine. Film-ing amines are introduced into the steam header, and form a very thin amine-film barrier on the metal sur-face by replacing the loose oxide scale. This barrier layer prevents O2 and carbonic acid from reaching the base metal in the condensate-return lines. During the initial dosing pe-riod, loosely adhered oxide depos-its are lifted off of the metal surface and replaced by an amine film. This is due to the surfactant properties of the amine.

In the case of old or untreated condensate lines, excessive dosage of filming amines can dislodge pre-

existing deposits and the sludge can foul the condensate-return system. This sludge can potentially reach the boiler, causing tube failures. How-ever, for uniform and effective cov-erage of a large condensate-return system, a blend of a straight filming amine with a neutralizing amine and emulsifiers provides a superior film bond, reduces deposit problems and provides better and more economical system coverage [3].

Yet another option for abating cor-rosion in condensate systems is the use of DEHA as a metal passivator and O2 scavenger. DEHA converts loose, unprotective iron oxide (red hematite) deposits on the conden-sate pipe’s inner surfaces to a black magnetite protective film, ferrous oxide magnetite (Fe3O4). The follow-ing is the chemical reaction for this conversion [1]:

4(C2H5)2NOH + 6Fe2O3 D 4Fe3O4 + 4CH3COOH + 3H2O

The magnetite layer on the metal surfaces reduces corrosion rates from O2 and carbonic acid. DEHA is usually dosed along with a neu-tralizing amine, as it is most effective at a pH higher than 8. DEHA has a high distribution ratio due to its high volatility, and hence provides effec-tive protection by directly dosing it into the boiler feedwater instead of into the steam header. Due to the high distribution ratio, DEHA also spreads more effectively to the en-tire steam and condensate system [1].

Boiler makeup water that is low in alkalinity helps in reducing car-bonic acid corrosion in condensate systems. Also, less amine addition is required. Dealkalizers and reverse osmosis can be considered for the treatment of boiler makeup water to reduce alkalinity.

When condensate in the piping is near its saturation temperature, car-bonic acid formation is minimized, as the solubility of CO2 in the conden-sate is low. However, if the tempera-ture of the condensate is below the saturation temperature, likely due to improper insulation of the conden-sate lines, more CO2 goes into solu-tion, causing potential carbonic-acid corrosion. Therefore, it is important that condensate return lines are properly insulated and that the in-

FIGURE 2. Corrosion in pipe walls can lead to widespread issues, including the formation of deposits and blockages in small piping components

TLV


tegrity of the insulation is maintained during the lifespan of the steam- condensate system.

Monitoring corrosionMonitoring corrosion in condensate-return systems allows for early detec-tion of problems — when the prob-lems are still minor. If these problems go unnoticed, they can very soon become major problems, leading to leaks, plugging of condensate lines or catastrophic boiler-tube failure. Without proper corrosion-monitoring procedures in place, steam systems can have underlying issues that persist for long periods of time. De-pending on the treatment method, condensate monitoring can vary, but generally, the following tests are re-quired:

pH testing at various locations in 1. the condensate system

Measurement of iron levels in 2. the condensate

Measurement of residual amine 3. in the condensate

Corrosion coupons4. Evaluating pH. It is necessary to test the condensate’s pH to determine if it is high enough to prevent carbonic-acid corrosion from occurring. Con-densate pH measurement should be carried out at more than one loca-tion, to ensure that carbonic acid does not attack differently in sepa-rate sections of the system. This can happen when neutralizing amines with low distribution ratios (like morpholine) are used with multiple condensation sites.

While collecting condensate sam-ples, it should be ensured that expo-sure to air is minimized, and that the pH test is run as quickly as possi-ble. Also, the sample should be well cooled — otherwise, CO2 and amine can both flash off of a hot sample, altering the pH. A pH of 8.3 or higher should be targeted. Iron measurement. Iron, as a corro-sion byproduct, is an indirect indica-tor of either low pH or the presence of O2 somewhere upstream of the con-densate sampling point. If this area is not being checked for pH measure-ments, iron measurement should be done. The sample should be from a continuously flowing stream to avoid a slug of iron oxide from the opening of a valve. A valve which is opened from a closed position (while taking a sample) can release a slug

of iron which was sitting upstream of the closed valve. There are three different tests that can be run, for which proprietary methods of testing are available.

The suspended-iron test measures •insoluble suspended iron by pass-ing the sample through a mem-brane filter. Suspended iron, mostly ferric iron (Fe2O3 or Fe3O4, which is Fe2O3 + FeO) is the result of an oxi-dizing condition in the condensate. The point of this test is to indicate

the presence of O2 in the system, either through improved deaera-tion or the use of better O2 scav-enging in the boiler. Suspended iron levels in excess of 50 parts per billion (ppb) are indicative of serious corrosionThe total ferrous and ferric iron •test measures both dissolved iron (mostly ferrous) and suspended iron (mostly ferric). If a membrane filter is used to remove the sus-pended iron, the test will measure dissolved iron. For most industries, a test result of 0.5 parts per mil-lion (ppm) is considered a good test resultThe total iron test allows for• tracking total iron over time with-out regard for oxidation state. This test provides valuable feed-back about the effectiveness of the amine treatment program of the condensate

Residual filming amine and O2 scavengers. If a filming amine is utilized, the residual should be mea-sured. As stated earlier, the most common filming amine for boilers is octadecylamine. It should be mea-sured on a steam sample — not a condensate sample. Dosage can be controlled to give 0.2–0.6 ppm octa-decylamine in steam. Octadecylam-ine is most effective in condensate with a pH range of 6 to 8. Thus, the product may require supplemental neutralizing amine to be added. A cooling coil is required during sam-pling to prevent steam from flashing off, which will concentrate the amine in the sample.

Similarly, O2 scavenger concen-tration must be precise within the system. If DEHA is used, a residual of 100–150 ppb should be targeted [5]. This residual quantity will take some time to appear, as the DEHA will initially be consumed in passivat-ing the system. A cooling coil should be used for collecting the sample to avoid loss of volatile chemicals if there is steam flashing.Corrosion coupons. Pre-weighed strips of metal (coupons) with very

similar composition to the metal-lurgy of the condensate system can be used to monitor the corrosion rate. Corrosion coupon racks that hold three coupons are generally used. One coupon is exposed for 30 days, one for 60 days and one for 90 days. The coupons are removed for each time interval, and the weight loss of the coupon is determined. From the observed weight deterio-ration in the coupon, the corrosion rate is calculated in mils (0.0001 in.) per year (mpy). ■

Edited by Mary Page Bailey

References1. Brenner, M.A., How Steam System Chemistry and

Control Affect Steam Side Coil Corrosion, Western Dry Kiln Association Meeting Proceedings, Portland, Oreg., May 2004.

2. Deaerating Boiler Feedwater, HPAC Engineering, http://hpac.com/heating/boiler-feedwater, April 2008.

3. Betz Laboratories Inc., “Betz Industrial Water Condi-tioning,” 9th ed., Sept. 1991.

4. Hydroserve, Typical Boiler Questions, www. hydroserve.com/boiler_questions.htm.

5. Jamaica Association of Sugar Technologists, Sugar Boiler Water Treatment Technology, www.jamaicasugar.org/siriSection/jast/jastpapers/papers/y2010/boiler%20water.pdf, 2010.

AuthorS.K.Mukherjee (Email: [email protected]) is currently a process-safety engineering con-sultant with Cholamandalam MS Risk Services Ltd. He is a chemical engineer and a Functional Safety Professional with more than 40 years of experience in petroleum refining and process-safety con-sulting. His interests lie in process

design, operations, troubleshooting, hazard evaluation and functional safety. He was previously employed at Hindustan Petroleum Corp.’s Mumbai refinery.

Without proper corrosion-monitoring procedures in place,

steam systems can have underlying issues that persist for

long periods of time.


Feature Report

64

IN BRIEF

REGULATIONS EXPAND

DUST HAZARD SCOPE

COMBUSTIBLE DUST

FUNDAMENTALS

INERT GAS FOR DUST

EXAMPLES

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Targeted use of blanketing with inert gas offers an effective strategy for preventing combustible dust explosions in CPI facilities

Combustible dust is a critical safety concern for the chemical process industries (CPI). The use of nitrogen gas as an inert blanket offers an ef-

fective approach to preventing combustible dust explosions by displacing the oxidant re-quired for an explosion. Nitrogen inerting is a practical solution to help prevent the devas-tation to personnel and property that can re-sult from combustible dust explosions. More-over, while nitrogen is not the right solution for every system, when properly designed and installed, it is often safer, less expensive and easier to maintain than alternative mechani-cal solutions. Using a set of examples, this article explores how nitrogen can be used to prevent — not just mitigate — combustible dust explosions in CPI facilities.

Regulations expand dust hazard scopeIn December 2015, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA; Washing-ton, D.C.; www.osha.gov) will begin fully enforcing its new Hazard Communication (HazCom) standard, which adopts the Glob-ally Harmonized System for the Labeling and Classification of Chemicals (GHS). Originally announced in 2012, the standard impacts a wide cross-section of industry sectors. One of the most significant changes in the new standard involves combustible dust. With the new HazCom standard, manufacturers will need to include combustible dust haz-ards in HazCom labeling, as well as in hazard evaluation and planning [1].

As a result, many chemicals not previ-ously classified as hazardous will be officially designated as combustible dust hazards and will require adherence to NFPA 654, the combustible-dust explosion protection standard of the National Fire Protection As-sociation (Quincy, Mass.; www.nfpa.org). While housekeeping and dust mitigation are recommended as a primary step to prevent combustible dust explosions, NFPA 654 also

recommends explosion-mitigation devices to control explosions and limit damage. For example, the standard recommends includ-ing blowout panels in baghouses to release pressure from an explosion, or inline sup-pression systems to quickly extinguish an explosion or fire. However, these recommen-dations still leave the process fundamentally unsafe by only dealing with the explosion rather than preventing it. A safer way to com-ply with NFPA 654 is to use targeted nitro-gen inerting rather than mechanical relief and suppression devices in selected areas.

Combustible dust fundamentals While a triangle of required ingredients deter-mines whether or not a fire can be sustained, combustible dust explosions are governed by a pentagon of interacting factors: oxygen, fuel, containment, ignition and dust disper-sion (Figure 1). If one side of the pentagon is eliminated, an explosion is not possible.

Most materials can explode under the right conditions. In fact, it is easier to identify the materials that will not combust. OSHA’s Na-

Prevent Combustible Dust Explosions with N2 Inerting

Bridget Nyland Air ProductsTom Lee, Mitch Lund and Michael Thiel

Nol-Tec Systems, Inc.

FIGURE 1. Five elements are required for a dust explosion to occur. Nitrogen inerting targets the oxidant by displacing it

Dispers

ion of

dustConfinement of dust

Oxy

gen/

air

Ignition source

Combustible dust/fume

Dust

explosion


tional Emphasis Program (NEP) on combustible dust defines the term as, “A combustible particulate solid that presents a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or some other oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations, regardless of particle size or shape.”

Defining which particulate matter presents a deflagration hazard re-quires specific laboratory analyses of several properties that are essential to determine the severity of a com-bustible dust hazard for a given ma-terial. These properties include, at a minimum, the limiting oxygen for combustion (LOC), minimum ignition energy (MIE), minimum ignition tem-perature (MIT), and the layer ignition temperature (LIT). Specialized labo-ratories can conduct these material characterizations and offer analysis of the resulting hazard.

Several parameters define a ma-terial’s properties with regard to its combustibility. In terms of particle size, 425 µm (40 mesh) is generally defined as the limiting size to classify a material as a “dust,” although cer-tain materials with high surface area (such as fibers) may be combustible above that size threshold. A materi-al’s Kst (dust deflagration index) pro-vides an indication of the severity of a dust explosion hazard. NFPA clas-sifies dusts by Kst value. A dust is only considered inert with a Kst value of 0. Class 1 dusts are rated below 200 Kst, Class 2 dusts range from 200 to 300 Kst, and Class 3 dusts are rated above 300 Kst.

The minimum explosive concentra-tion (MEC) is the limiting dust concen-tration to create an explosive atmo-sphere. The MIE and MIT are values used to define explosive conditions for particular materials. Table 1 con-tains the applicable dust properties of some common materials.

Following laboratory analysis, man-ufacturers will be able to determine the severity of the combustible dust hazard and document whether, in fact, the dust is not combustible. However, the majority of dusts are combustible, so most manufacturers will use these properties not to define whether the dust is combustible, but rather to de-fine the severity of the hazard.

Several high-profile accidents have recently raised the awareness of this hazard in the manufacturing indus-

try. For example, in 2008, 14 people were killed and 44 people were in-jured at one of the largest industrial incidents at the Imperial Sugar fac-tory in Port Wentworth, Ga. Sugar dust that had built up to explosive concentrations in the factory ignited, sending a fireball cascading through the building. Many dust explosions have occurred with seemingly in-nocuous materials, such as organic compounds like sugar.

Following the Imperial accident, OSHA began focusing on the dan-gers of combustible dust explosions. In 2008, OSHA launched its NEP on combustible dust. Using the General Industry Standard 29 CFR 1910, Sec-tion 5(a)(i) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (commonly known as the “general duty clause” [2]), along with generally accepted good prac-tices, such as NFPA 654, OSHA began conducting extensive inspec-tions in facilities containing dust.

In 2009 alone, 1,000 inspections were completed, and over 4,900 vio-lations were issued for non-compli-ance, including poor housekeeping, inadequate hazard communication, and inadequate hazard control [3].

To date, most of the regulatory and industry focus in designing systems to handle combustible dust has ad-dressed either the dust itself (through housekeeping initiatives), or the con-finement of explosions. For explosion confinement, systems are designed so that energy can be released in a controlled manner. Examples of this type of control include blowout pan-els on silos or overdesigning ducting to withstand the force of an explo-sion. However, such measures focus on mitigation — the explosion still occurs. One of the safety infractions commonly cited by OSHA combus-tible dust inspectors are knock-out panel reliefs that vent to areas where employees are working. In such cases, the severity of the explosion may be mitigated, yet the risks of personnel injury still remain.

The case for inert gas for dustGas inerting represents an alternative approach, and works by disrupting the oxidant side of the dust-explosion pentagon. Insufficient oxygen means no combustion. Note, however, that there are some chemicals, such as peroxides, that contain bound oxygen

and could still present a fire of explo-sion hazard in the absence of oxygen gas. For those chemicals, additional safety steps, including close control of temperature, are required.

The CPI has been using inerting to eliminate fires from flammable mate-rials for years. Fires require the pres-ence of oxidant, fuel and heat (the fire triangle). For every chemical, there is a minimum level of oxygen required for combustion, called the mini-mum oxygen concentration (MOC), measured in percent oxygen. For decades, chemical manufacturers have been mitigating their fire risks from flammable materials by blan-keting tanks and reaction vessels with nitrogen to reduce the oxygen content below the MOC. A similar methodology can be transferred to combustible dust explosions, where the inert-gas approach has not been typically applied.

The reasons for industry resis-tance to inerting boil down to three main perceived issues: nitrogen cost, safety and practicality. In real-ity, the perceived disadvantages can be easily overcome. Cost. The cost of inert gas can be reduced in several ways. Depend-ing on the application, inert gas use may be targeted to selected units or processes. Alternatively, the MOCs of many combustible dusts do not require 99.99% pure indus-trial grade nitrogen from a liquid ni-trogen source. By using lower-purity nitrogen — such as 95 or 98% pure

TABLE 1: KST VALUES OF COMMON

MATERIALS

Common Dusts Kst Value

Activated carbon 44

Aluminum powder 400

Barley grain dust 240

Brown coal 123

Cotton 24

Magnesium 508

Methyl cellulose 209

Milk powder 90

Polyurethane 156

Rice starch 190

Silicon 126

Soap 111

Soybean flour 110

Sulfur 151

Toner 145

Wood dust 102


nitrogen, such as that generated by a membrane or pressure swing ad-sorption (PSA) system — total nitro-gen operating costs can be reduced. NPFA 69 and 654 provide guidance on determining the MOC for a com-bustible dust and the required nitro-gen purity for safe inerting. Safety. Asphyxiation risks are man-aged with basic safety training and simple engineering controls, such as O2 monitoring and O2-concentration control, as well as restricting inerting to appropriate areas.Practicality. Maintenance on the ni-trogen system is typically handled by the nitrogen provider and not by the end user. Nitrogen systems are in fact not all that maintenance-intensive, and unlike explosion detectors they do not require quarterly inspections.

Potential dust-related applications of nitrogen inerting include closed-loop pneumatic conveying, hopper storage, shredders, reactors, tanks, vessels and enclosures. Through smart design, inerting systems can eliminate the possibility of an explo-sion, increase worker safety, and provide a more cost-effective solu-tion relative to other mechanical-pro-tection systems.

Example 1. Plastic powderPlastic powder coatings require a very fine powder to ensure a smooth coating when applied. The powders are created by pneumatically con-veying plastic pellets into a mill for fine grinding. Particle sizes less than 100 µm (140 mesh) are frequently re-quired for coating production.

Polyethylene (PE) is the most com-mon plastic used in powder coating manufacturing, but polyvinylchloride,

polyester and polyurethane com-pounds are also common. At particle sizes less than 100 µm (140 mesh), these plastics are highly combus-tible. In fact, PE powder is among the most common fuels for combustible-dust explosions because of its broad usage and its combustibility.

For example, fugitive PE dust caused an explosion at the West Pharmaceutical plant in Kinston, N.C., in 2003. According to the Proceedings of the 5th International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Haz-ards, the PE was used in a slurry to coat rubber parts, and fugitive PE dust from dried slurries accumu-lated in the suspended ceilings and cooling air ducts. A spark from a mill motor caused the dust to ignite, sending a flame propagating through the ducting. The ducting then over-pressurized, sending the explo-sion front and burned dust into the suspended ceiling, which caused a larger explosion from the dust that had settled in the ceiling.

This case is particularly noteworthy because there was no previous ac-cumulation of dust in the facility, due to top-class housekeeping practices. The facility had recently upgraded its dust-collection system and believed that the dust in the ceilings was inert based on previous laboratory testing. Indeed, investigative testing of the dust in the dust collectors indicated a largely inert dust. However, based on investigations following the explo-sion, only 280 lb of PE was required to produce the magnitude of the ex-plosion felt during the incident. For a 10,000-ft2 ceiling, that amounts to a layer of PE dust with a thickness of only 0.013 in. — about the thickness of four sheets of copy paper [4].

The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in six fatalities and multiple injuries. In the case of West Pharma-ceutical, while it would be difficult to inert the ceiling ducting, it is quite possible that the mill itself could have been inerted, preventing the initial reaction. Either way, the inci-dent highlights the significant danger of PE powder.

Economic analysisOne of the main misconceptions about nitrogen inerting is that it is much more expensive than tradi-tional mechanical explosion-protec-tion systems. In reality, on a total net-present-value (NPV) basis, nitro-gen inerting systems are very com-parable to reactionary mechanical systems and, in the case of even a small incident requiring cleanup with a mechanical system, the nitrogen inerting system is often more eco-nomical. The following example il-lustrates how the economics could

FIGURE 2. The pneumatic conveying system depicted here is equipped with traditional mechanical pro-tection systems for combustible dust, including explosion-detection systems and blowout panels

FIGURE 3. The pneumatic conveying system depicted here is protected by nitrogen inerting

4-in N2

recovery line

Air compressor

Surge tank

O2 sensor

To milling process

Air operated discharge valve

20 ft3 hopper

Dust filter

3-in Conveyline

10 ft3 surge hopper

10 ft3 transporter


Air operated vent valve

Nitrogen supply system

(various options)

N2 recovery line

Nitrogen supply system (various options)

10-hp blower

From process

To milling process


10 ft3

hopper

Dust filter

Convey line

10 ft3 hopper

6-in Rotary airlock


work. Consider a pneumatic convey-ing and milling system for PE-pow-der-coating manufacturing. Figures 2 and 3 show the two cases that were developed. In Figure 2, the system is protected using traditional mechani-cal combustible-dust protection sys-tems, including explosion detection devices, suppression systems and blowout panels. Figure 3 depicts the system as protected by nitrogen in-erting. Table 2 shows the technical specifications for the PE that was used in the case study models.

Both dilute and dense phase con-veying conditions were modeled in the case study. Table 3 shows the process specifications for the cases that were modeled.

The nitrogen-protected system re-lies on the pressure of the nitrogen bulk tank to drive the pneumatic con-veying process. A typical liquid-nitro-gen bulk system can deliver gaseous nitrogen to house lines at pressures up to 200 psi without auxiliary com-pression. The vaporized gas is fed directly into the pneumatic convey-ing system. Figure 4 shows a typical liquid-nitrogen-supply system layout. The supply tank ranges in size from 60 gal to upwards of 11,000 gal to fit a wide variety of system needs.

To make efficient use of the nitro-gen, a gas recovery unit was included in the system design. The gas recov-ery unit can recycle about 80% of the nitrogen used in conveying, drastically reducing the nitrogen consumption.

The mechanically protected sys-tem includes blowout panels for ex-plosion protection. Please note that this is a basic explosion-protection system design, assuming an ideal plant layout for blowout panels. De-

pending on the working environment, system layout, and other safety con-siderations, additional explosion de-tection or suppression devices may be needed. The estimate includes one explosion incident in a five-year period requiring one week of down-time and cleanup. The incident-re-lated costs include the time for lost production and related cleanup and replacement costs.

Tables 4 and 5 summarize the scope differences between the cases. The costs for each case are based on actual quotations for capital and maintenance, and current national U.S. averages for nitrogen and elec-tric costs. An interest rate of 6% was assumed for the NPV calculation.

When comparing the estimated cost differences between these four scenarios, several observations can be made. First, for both the nitro-gen-protected and mechanically protected dilute-phase systems, the capital costs are higher than the re-spective capital costs for the dense-phase systems. When looking at the mechanical protection case,

the dilute conveying case requires a higher volume of air for the convey-ing medium. More air leads to higher severity in the event of an explo-sion, therefore requiring more robust explosion-prevention capital. When looking at the nitrogen protection case, the combination of the posi-tive-displacement blower and airlock required for dilute-phase conveying is a higher cost than that of the gas-recovery compressor needed on the nitrogen dense-phase system.

Second, operating costs for the di-lute-phase nitrogen system are higher due to the higher volume of nitrogen needed for the dilute-phase system. In this case, the dense-phase system concept requires less than 10% of the average air or nitrogen usage than the dilute-phase system concept.

Third, maintenance costs for the mechanical-protection systems are higher than those for the nitrogen-protection systems, mainly due to the costs of annual inspections required by the explosion-protection devices.

Finally, looking at the dense-phase conveying scenario and considering the costs from a small incident oc-curring once in five years, the nitro-gen system is cheaper on a five-year, NPV basis. Because of the high gas flowrates required, the nitrogen sys-tem for the dilute-phase pneumatic conveying system is more expensive on a five-year, NPV basis.

However, beyond a simple NPV cal-culation, this exercise does not take into account all factors that should be considered when designing a dilute-phase pneumatic conveying system. For example, plant layout is an impor-tant consideration. Due to location in the plant, a system retrofit design would require much more explosion protection than a system that could

FIGURE 4. A typical bulk liquid-nitrogen supply system can be laid out as showm here

TABLE 2: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR POLYETHYLENE IN EXAMPLE 1

Material High-density PE

Flowability Free-flowing

Density (aerated/loose/packed; lb/ft3) 22.7/25.3/28.4

Kst 134

Material Description Fine, subangular, flake/sliver/granular particles

TABLE 3: PROCESS SPECIFICATIONS FOR CONVEYING SYSTEM IN EXAMPLE 1

Case 1 Case 2

Conveying phase Dense Dilute

Production rate 400 lb/h 400 lb/h

Conveying length 400 ft 400 ft

Conveying pipe diameter 3 in. 3 in.

Liquid tank

Telemetry unit

Top fill valve

Gauges

Ambient-air vaporizer

Bottom fill valve

Control manifold

Gaseous product

to customer


be placed in an ideal location. Vents for explosion panels may require long ducting lines or secondary protection systems to prevent employee injury — a practice discouraged by NFPA 68 because shorter ducts decrease explosion severity. In certain retrofit cases, mechanical explosion protec-tion can leave manufacturers with a difficult challenge in trying to meet code requirements safely.

Each incident will be specific to a manufacturer’s particular product and protection system, so the cost and frequency of an incident occur-ring may vary. However, even small incidents may require plant down-time, replacement of protection systems, and cleanup of hazardous material. A nitrogen system greatly decreases the risk of any explosion happening at all, as well as any re-lated expenses. In this case, an NPV difference of $100,000 is minimal in comparison to the total capital of a pneumatic system and the signifi-cantly reduced explosion risk that comes with an inherently safe inert system over the course of the sys-tem’s life.

Example 2. Tire manufacturingOne industry that will be heavily im-pacted by the adoption of the GHS

is the tire manufacturing industry. Under the new regulations, carbon black, a material used extensively in tire production, will be classified as a combustible dust. This will require tire manufacturers to review their ex-isting processing plants and retrofit them to comply with NFPA regula-tions, potentially requiring expensive capital investments if traditional sup-pression controls are utilized.

However, tire manufacturing is an application that lends itself to ni-trogen inerting because nitrogen is often already used in the tire curing process at many plants, where it is injected into the tire molds to cure the tires. Because the nitrogen is already onsite, it can easily be incorporated into a dust-control scheme using in-erting without incurring additional in-stallation costs. In addition, since the nitrogen used for curing can be re-cycled through the pneumatic lines, the nitrogen needed for curing easily supplies the need for inerting. This simple system removes the need to install mechanical retrofits to com-ply with NFPA 654. This system has been installed at large tire producers specifically to combat the dust haz-ards identified with the new classifi-cation of carbon black dust.

Example 3. Grain manufacturingThe food industry may be the most impacted with the new changes. Some of the most highly combus-tible dusts are found in the food manufacturing industry, with sugar and grain being two of the more no-torious culprits. It is estimated that 150 people have died in food-related combustible-dust explosions in the last 20 years in the U.S.

Some components of a food pro-cessing plant are impractical to inert, such as grain elevators, but there are many contained areas that can be inerted safely and economically. Se-lective inerting as part of a combus-tible dust plan can reduce the cost of overall protection. Hoppers are a great example of how smart design can make nitrogen inerting possible.

The authors were involved with a recently designed and installed nitro-gen-inerting system in a large bio-mass hopper with the aid of compu-tation fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling. The CFD models provided precise estimates of the methane offgas con-centration levels throughout the silo and guided the placement and ori-entation of nitrogen-injection nozzles throughout the silo (Figure 5). Rather than flood the silo with nitrogen, the hopper owner was able to apply ni-trogen in locations and amounts that exactly matched what was required to prevent a dust explosion within a large space.

The same process could be used for smaller silos and hoppers in the food processing industry, as well as other storage containers. Closed-loop pneumatic conveying lines are another prime target for incorporat-ing nitrogen inerting.

Beyond economicsBeyond the economics, there are several other qualitative differences between mechanical explosion miti-gation and nitrogen inerting systems

TABLE 5: ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FOUR DUST-EXPLOSION-PROTECTION SCENARIOS

Mechanical Protection Nitrogen Protection

Case1 (dense) Case 2 (dilute) Case 1 (dense) Case 2 (dilute)

Capital costs $20,000 $35,000 $30,000 $42,500

Continuous operating costs $15,000 $6,000 $25,705 $84,615

Annual maintenance costs $8,500 $10,000 $2,500 $4,000

Lost production andcleanup costs

$147,800 $147,800 $0 $0

Five-year NPV ($216,000) ($201,000) ($137,607) ($354,500)

TABLE 4: COSTS REQUIRED FOR NITROGEN- AND MECHANICAL-PROTECTED SYSTEMS

Mechanical Nitrogen

Capital costs Blowout panelsExplosion detection (optional)Isolation valves (optional)Suppression devices (optional)Air compressor (dense phase)Positive displacement blower (dilute phase)Rotary airlock (dilute phase)

Nitrogen system foundationGas recovery unit

Operating costs Compressor/blower electricity costs NitrogenGas-recovery electricity costs

Maintenance costs Quarterly inspectionsAnnual inspectionsSystem preventive maintenance

System preventive maintenance

Explosion consequences

Assume system mitigates one explosion in five years. Assume explosion requires one week lost production and cleanup

Explosion is prevented with inerted system


that should be considered. First, from a safety perspective, the nitrogen system creates an inherently safe environment with regard to explo-sion protection, while the mechanical system reacts to the explosion. In the mechanical system, there are sev-eral modes of failure for the system, and components like blowout panels are difficult to test in order to confirm functionality. Further, testing suppres-sion devices and explosion detection systems require a system shutdown. In contrast, there is only one failure mechanism for the nitrogen system: loss of nitrogen. A pneumatic con-veying system can be driven by the pressure from the nitrogen system, so the system automatically shuts down with a loss of nitrogen supply.

For manufacturers who do not currently use nitrogen in significant amounts, one of the major concerns is the potential risk of nitrogen as-phyxiation. Already used widely in the CPI, nitrogen can be implemented safely as long as proper procedures for storage, handling and use are fol-lowed [5]. Nitrogen should never be vented into a location where workers are present or into a confined space that could be unintentionally created. In addition, oxygen monitors must be installed to alert workers in the event of an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.

Implementing N2 inertingFor manufacturers interested in im-plementing nitrogen inerting for dust safety, there are guidelines that can be followed. Process design. Nitrogen inert-ing works best in certain enclosed or semi-enclosed areas, such as closed-loop pneumatic conveying systems, storage hoppers, vessels,

dryers, spray dryers, grinding mills, granulators, shredders and mixers. Nitrogen supply. Nitrogen require-ments will vary greatly depending on the material being processed, pro-duction rate, process conditions, size of the vessels, number of use points, and MOC. All of the required flow-rates can be supplied by a nitrogen system, but the mode of supply will depend on the average consumption, as well as on peak requirements and usage pattern. For example, at low flowrates, a microbulk system may provide the most cost-effective sup-ply. For the highest flowrates, onsite nitrogen generation systems could be considered. In many cases, a nitrogen-recovery and recycling unit greatly improves the overall system economics to reduce nitrogen usage.

With any nitrogen system instal-lation, an oxygen-sampling system needs to be installed to verify the atmospheric oxygen content. These systems must also be designed with adequate controls to ensure that the correct oxygen levels are maintained. Oxygen monitoring can also include built-in controls to provide protection for emergency inerting should the process conditions change. Pneumatic conveying system. In general, a pneumatic conveying sys-tem should be considered in situa-tions where there is limited footprint or flexibility. Pneumatic systems are much easier to install in an exist-ing plant space because it is easy to route a small-diameter convey-ing pipe around existing equipment. Pneumatic systems are totally en-closed, resulting in excellent dust control, and they have few moving parts, which saves on plant mainte-nance costs.

In all cases, when considering whether to install a nitrogen-inerting system, it is important to understand your current process well, includ-ing the properties of the materials in your process and their associated combustible-dust hazards. With that knowledge in hand, nitrogen experts and pneumatic conveying experts can be a good resource in the de-sign of a safe and economic nitrogen inerting system.

While there are many places where nitrogen systems can be de-signed practically, cost effectively, and safely, there are situations where nitrogen inerting does not work as

well. For example, large dust collec-tors or ductwork are usually not con-ducive to nitrogen inerting because of high flowrates and large spaces. Similarly, bucket elevators are usu-ally not practical for nitrogen inerting because of the large spaces, lack of containment, and worker presence. In such situations, diligent house-keeping is the key to reducing the risk posed by dust explosions.

OSHA’s adoption of the GHS will require manufacturers in the U.S. to comply with many aspects of NFPA 654 for materials not previously con-sidered combustible dusts. Manu-facturers can choose to implement systems that mitigate the damage caused by combustible dust explo-sions, or they can choose to prevent combustible dust explosions from occurring in the first place. n

Edited by Scott JenkinsReferences1. OSHA memorandum, 12/23/2013, www.osha.gov/

pls/oshaweb/

2. OSHA Combustible Dust Standard, www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/standards.html.

3. OSHA Combustible Dust NEP Report, www.osha.gov/dep/combustible_dust_nep_rpt_102009.html.

4. Baker, Q., Kinston Dust Explosion, Proceedings of the 5th International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards, Edinburgh, U.K., April 2007. www.see.ed.ac.uk/feh5.

5. Air Products, Use Nitrogen Safely, www.airproducts.com/~/media/downloads/article/U/en-use-nitro-gen-safely-312-12-023.pdf.

AuthorsBridget Nyland is an applica-tions engineer at Air Products (7201 Hamilton Boulevard, Allen-town, PA 18195-1501; Phone 415-766-1594; E-mail: [email protected]). She manages the evaluation and in-stallation of all industrial gases applications for the chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plas-

tics industries in the West Coast. She received a B.S.Ch.E. from Villanova University in 2011, and is a member of AICHE, SWE, EWB and WIB.

Tom Lee is a research and development engineer at Nol-Tec Systems (425 Apollo Drive, Lino Lakes, MN 55014; Phone 651-203-2547; E-mail: [email protected]). With 27 years of material handling experience, he man-ages all aspects of Nol-Tec’s test facility, from evaluating current designs to devising new equipment.

Mitch Lund is a technical services engineer at Nol-Tec Systems (same address as above; Phone 612-418-7108; E-mail: [email protected]). He received a B.S.Ch.E. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2012 and is involved in the innovation and design of new products and technologies.

Michael Thiel is the technical services group manager at Nol-Tec Systems (same address; Phone 612-799-4573; E-mail: [email protected]). He received a B.S.Ch.E. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cit-ies in 2005 and has managed the Technical Services Group since 2012, leading product development and new technology efforts.

FIGURE 5. Computational fluid dynamics modeling can help pinpoint areas of oxygen concentration

O20.21

0.20

0.19

0.18

0.17

0.16

0l15

0.14

0.13

0.12

0.10

0.09

0.08

0.07

0.06

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.00


Environmental Manager

70

A number of post-combustion car-bon capture technologies have the capability to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmo-

sphere from fossil-fuel-fired industrial and utility-power plants. Further interest has been placed in this technology in light of growing concerns about climate change. This article investigates a few of the more promising post-combustion carbon capture processes, including amine-based absorption, ammo-nia-based absorption, solid sorbent adsorp-tion, membrane filtration and algae. This ar-ticle also considers some of the challenges associated with compression, transportation and storage of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a greenhouse gas that most scientists con-sider to be largely responsible for climate change. Among the most significant sources of atmospheric CO2 is fossil-fuel-fired power generation. For many years, technologies for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) have been under investigation and develop-ment as a means of mitigating CO2 emissions while still allowing industries to burn fossil fuels. Currently, three of the most promising techniques for CCS are being developed: post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and oxy-combustion capture. Of these three, post-combustion CCS with amines and with chilled ammonia have had the most relative success and are discussed further in this article.

Current CCS regulationsGovernmental support and regulations are needed to provide the incentive for CCS to become widely used in the chemical pro-cess industries (CPI) as well as the utility in-dustries. Except for the case in which CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to increase the capacity of oil wells, CCS cur-rently is not considered financially viable. For the power industry, the main reason is that CCS systems impose an energy penalty of up to 40% of the overall output of plants. When EOR is not feasible, it is not likely

that the power industry will provide the in-vestment to install capture systems without regulations or legislation that require carbon emissions reductions.

On June 25, 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a new national climate ac-tion plan that includes focusing on the use of cleaner energy and reducing carbon pollu-tion. The President specifically called for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) to com-plete new limitations on carbon emissions from both new and existing power plants. Following that, in September 2013, the EPA proposed a cap for CO2 emissions for all new coal-fired power plants. This proposal would limit carbon emissions to 500 kilo-grams per megawatt hour (kg/MWh), which is about half of what average coal plants currently emit. The fundamental effect of this proposed rule would be that no new coal-fired power plants would be built, unless they had the capability for CCS. Furthermore, the November 2013 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) laid the foundation for a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement to be made in 2015. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol set international carbon-emission-reduction goals and includes two commitment periods. The first period sets a goal that the involved countries will reduce their carbon emissions to 5% below those of 1990. The second commitment period increases that margin to 18% below 1990 emission levels. After the second commit-ment period ends in 2020, the 2015 agree-ment will come into place. Reports on the UNFCCC meeting state that the new rule will focus on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology readiness and transparency of action as it relates to CO2 emissions.

On September 20, 2013, the EPA issued draft carbon-pollution standards for new power plants under Clean Air Act Section 111(b) New Source Provisions. The draft was published in the Federal Register on Janu-ary 8, 2014. On May 9, 2014 the comment period closed with over 2 million comments.

Post-Combustion Carbon Capture

TechnologiesSeveral CCS processes hold much promise, and there are challenges yet to be met

Julie Horn and Raymond ZbacnikKiewit Power Engineers

IN BRIEF

CURRENT CCS

REGULATIONS

ADSORPTION-BASED

TECHNOLOGIES

ABSORPTION-BASED

TECHNOLOGIES

MEMBRANE-BASED

TECHNOLOGIES

ALGAE-BASED

TECHNOLOGIES

COMPRESSION,

TRANSPORTATION AND

SEQUESTRATION


EPA is still reviewing comments on the draft and intends to issue a final regulation in the summer of 2015.

On October 28, 2014, the EPA issued draft carbon-pollution stan-dards for existing power plants. The draft was published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2014. After receiving over 2 million comments on the draft regulation, on January 15, 2015, the EPA announced that it would review and restructure the carbon pollution plan for existing power plants including revising the state targets for carbon pollution re-duction. A new revised draft is ex-pected in the summer of 2015.

Absorption-based technologiesAmine-based. The CPI have had the most success with developing CCS technologies using amine-based sol-vents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA), diethylamine (DEA), methyl diethanoloamine (MDEA), piperazine (PIPA) and 2-amino-2-methylpropa-nol (AMP). Such chemical solvents have desirable properties in that they often react strongly and quickly with CO2, yet they also release the CO2 while regenerating the solvent. Amine-based solvents are able to remove large amounts of CO2 from fluegas at low pressures.

The basis behind amine-based carbon capture processes is fairly simple (Figure 1). Fluegas from util-ity and industrial boilers typically contains mostly nitrogen (about 70 vol.%), smaller amounts of water and CO2 (about 20%), and impurities of SO2, NOx, mercury and ash particu-late matter. An air-pollution control system must be in place to greatly reduce the presence of these impuri-ties in the fluegas before entering the carbon capture system. The cleaned fluegas then enters a small scrubber vessel to cool the gas and remove more trace sulfur impurities. From the quencher, the fluegas enters the ab-sorber. The absorber uses the amine as a solvent to reduce the CO2 level in the fluegas. This exothermic reac-tion typically removes about 85–90% of the CO2 from the entering fluegas. The CO2-rich solvent mixture is then sent to a heat exchanger before en-tering the regenerator. In the regen-erator, the solvent is steam-stripped, causing the essentially pure CO2 to come out of solution in an endother-

mic reaction. The overhead CO2 is then compressed and fed to a pipe-line, while the CO2-lean amine sol-vent is recycled back to the absorber for reuse. Ammonia-based. Ammonia-based CCS systems show promise for a number of reasons. As compared to amine solvents, ammonia solvents are less-expensive, have lower heats of reaction, and require less energy for regeneration. The use of ammo-nia could drive overall plant costs down as a result of ammonia’s abil-ity to simultaneously absorb multiple pollutants, such as CO2, SO2, NOx and Hg.

A major challenge associated with ammonia-based systems is that of ammonia slip. Because ammonia is more volatile than amines, it can sometimes be released into the fluegas stream during absorption. If ammonia-based processes are to be economically viable, ammonia slip must be controlled to avoid the need for additional fluegas cleanup.

Alstom (Levallois-Perret Cedex, France; www.alstom.com) devel-oped a process using chilled am-monia that has had success on the pilot-plant level. The process uses ammonium carbonate that has been chilled to about 20°C as the solvent to absorb the CO2 from fluegas, which has also been cooled. The relatively low temperature in the absorber pre-vents significant ammonia slip from occurring. The overall system flow is similar to the amine-based systems: the CO2-solvent stream is sent to the regenerator where heat is added to cause the CO2 to come out of so-lution. Then the CO2 stream may be compressed and stored, while the regenerated solvent is recycled to the absorber and used again. While the Alstom process has controlled the amount of ammonia slip by chill-ing the solvent and fluegas, there are very significant energy costs as-sociated with this chilling. Therefore, ammonia-based processes must be optimized to minimize ammonia slip

FIGURE 1. An overview of post-combustion, amine-based carbon capture is depicted here

FIGURE 2. The chilled ammonia process has had success on the pilot-plant scale

Gas

Water

CO2 rich

CO2 lean

CO2

Note 1: ammonia-ammonium carbonate-water solutionNote 2: ammonium bicarbonate-ammonium carbamate-water solutionNote 3: water, with some ammonia

Feed gas

Water wash

Exhaust gas

Booster fan

Feed gas cooler

Abso

rber

Lean amine cooler

Filter

Amine solvent makeup

Rich amine Lean amine

Str

ipper

/reg

ener

ator

STM

Reboiler

Reflux

Condenser

CW

Knockout drum

CO2 product gas

Reclaimer

Solvent waste

Purge

Fluegas

Cooling with water

Clean combustion gas

Booster fan

Ammonia refrigerant

fluegas

Water wash

Abso

rber

Note 2

Refrig.

Note 1

Ammonia refrigerant

Note 3

Str

ipper

Steam

HP pump

Reg

ener

ator

Steam

Cooling

Compressor

CO2 product gas

Source: Folger, CRS Report [1]

Source: Folger, CRS Report [1]


in the most efficient way possible. Figure 2 shows an outline of the Als-tom chilled-ammonia process.

Adsorption-based technologiesSolid sorbents work by adsorbing the CO2 onto their surfaces (Figure 3). The sorbent is regenerated by changing the temperature or pres-sure, which causes the CO2 to be released. Solid sorbents hold eco-nomic promise over amine-based CCS systems, because less energy is required in the regeneration step. There is no need for steam, and solid sorbents typically have lower energy requirements for sensible heating of regeneration gas than liquid water-based solvents. This means that less sensible heat is required to regener-ate the sorbent.

Adsorption can be a physical or chemical process. Physical adsorp-tion involves materials such as ac-tivated carbon, zeolites and metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Acti-vated carbon is known to have a large inter-particulate surface area, thus increasing its CO2 loading ca-pacity. MOFs and zeolites are crys-talline sorbents that capture CO2 in their void spaces. Concerns about solids that adsorb physically in-clude: selectivity in carbon capture, CO2 carrying capacity, and physical degradation. Chemical adsorption is similar to the liquid absorption car-bon-capture processes. The sorbent can be certain carbonates or amines supported on the surface of other materials, such as activated carbon. Amine sorbents supported on acti-vated carbon have been shown in bench-scale tests to have high CO2 carrying capacities and lower regen-eration-energy requirements, since these systems lack water. However, care must be taken to prevent foul-

ing and degradation over time. Solid sorbents have their own asso-

ciated challenges, which are different than those found with liquid solvents. As noted, care must be taken that the solid does not deteriorate over time. Solids are also more difficult to han-dle than liquids, which typically only require pumps. One key engineering challenge is designing a long-lasting sorbent that has a high surface area available for CO2 capture, called car-rying capacity. Engineers must also optimize the process to find the best method of handling solids, how to reduce regeneration-energy require-ments further, the minimum possible pressure drop, and how to increase reaction rates.

Membrane-based technologiesMembranes are porous materials that filter CO2 from fluegas streams. Gas streams are either pushed or pulled through membranes by a pressure differential. Pressure can be applied to one side of the membrane to push the gas through, or a vacuum can be created on the other side of the membrane to pull the gas through.

Membrane quality is determined by selectivity and permeability. Se-lectivity refers to a membrane’s abil-ity to filter one component (such as CO2) rather than a different one (for example, N2). Permeability denotes how much of a substance may pass through the membrane for a certain pressure difference. Permeability di-rectly relates to the required mem-brane surface area needed for ad-equate CO2 separation.

Research has been done on the laboratory and bench scale to im-prove membrane selectivity. In one line of research, an amine solvent contacts one side of the membrane to selectively absorb any CO2 from

the inlet gas stream that may have accidentally passed through the membrane. Another concept uses enzymes to mimic nature. A liquid membrane system uses carbonic anhydrase, the enzyme that trans-ports CO2 in mammal respiratory systems, to catalyze the transport of CO2 through the membrane. However, membrane CCS systems encounter issues with fouling and scaleup for industrial settings.

Algae-based technologies Because algae metabolize CO2 to grow, algae ponds have been con-sidered as a CCS method. In ad-dition, waste heat from industrial plants could be used to warm the ponds in winter. Algae grow quickly and can be used for biofuels. The need for pond water is not of signifi-cant concern because many algae strains prefer salt water, meaning algae ponds will have no effect on potable fresh water demand.

There are, however, many chal-lenges to overcome when consider-ing algae for CCS. Algae do not take in CO2 very quickly, thus mandating the need for huge, city-sized ponds to process a typical industrial plant’s CO2 output. In addition, the algal biofuel will eventually be burned, re-leasing its CO2 into the atmosphere. Such an action reduces, but does not eliminate the carbon footprint as-sociated with power production.

Compression, transportation and sequestrationOnce the CO2 has been captured, it must be compressed, transported, and either used or stored. The com-pression and transportation steps are mature technologies. Captured CO2 is often compressed to about 140 bars so that it becomes a su-percritical fluid and behaves like a liquid, making it possible to transport CO2 via a centrifugal pump through a pipeline. The critical point of CO2 is reached at 31°C and 74 bars. There-fore, if the temperature and pressure are maintained at about 38°C and 100 bars respectively, the CO2 will still behave somewhat like a liquid and can be pumped to 140 bars for final disposition.

For the transportation of supercriti-cal CO2 in a pipeline, booster pump-ing stations can be placed along the pipeline to maintain sufficient termi-

FIGURE 3. Solid sorbents for carbon capture work by adsorbing carbon dioxide onto their surfaces

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

N2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2Source: Folger, CRS Report [1]


nal point pressure if needed. The transport of CO2 through pipelines is a well-understood and safe practice. Carbon dioxide pipelines typically have very few leaks and have not caused any recorded injuries or fa-talities. Carbon dioxide may also be transported by ship, but this is only done in small quantities.Storage and use. It is the final step of CCS, the sequestration or stor-age of CO2, that has resulted in the greatest controversy. Much of the captured CO2 will be injected un-derground and stored with minimal leakage. Public opinion as of late has pushed for the practical use, rather than simple storage of the CO2. For industrial boilers in CPI facilities, car-bon capture can sometimes be used for the production of chemicals such as urea, methanol, formic acid, cy-clic carbonates and polycarbonates. Carbon dioxide can also be used in the production of food and soft drinks. However, this consumption provides only temporary storage for CO2 because much of it is immedi-ately released into the atmosphere upon use. More permanent uses for CO2 include the production of plas-tics, fertilizers, ceramics and new types of cement. Integration of CO2use in these areas is likely to take time, so other storage options must be considered.

It is expected that most captured CO2 will be injected and stored un-derground. The ability to do this de-pends on the presence of appropriate geological formations that can hold the CO2. Characteristics of an ap-propriate formation include sufficient volumetric capacity to hold the CO2, the ability to prevent this CO2 from reaching the atmosphere or potable groundwater sources, and the ability to accept CO2 injection at rates com-parable to those of oil-and-gas ex-traction in industry. Some formations that can have the ability to accept CO2 injection include sedimentary rock, oil and gas fields, saline aquifers and coal seams. Underground injec-tion is a safe practice, provided that the injection site is carefully selected, the injection operations are properly performed, and the CO2 is monitored during and after injection.

Looking ahead Carbon capture and sequestration are both likely to increase in im-

portance in the near future. Inter-national focus on reducing carbon emissions has brought forth new regulations that enforce and pro-mote CCS technologies. The most advanced CCS methods include post-combustion amine-based and ammonia-based absorption of CO2, but other methods are being researched and developed as well. While the compression and trans-port of CO2 is a mature technology, the storage and use of CO2 have been a source of controversy. More research needs to be done in order to find additional ways to perma-nently use CO2, and to ensure the safety of underground injection. ■ Edited by Dorothy Lozowski

AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank Mitchell Krasno-poler of Kiewit Power Engineers for providing valuable comments for this article.

References1. Folger, P., Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment, Congres-

sional Research Service Reports, Retrieved from Digital Com-mons@University of Nebraska-Lincoln: digitalcommons.unl.edu/crsdocs/19/, November 5, 2013.

2. Mills, R. M., “Capturing Carbon: The New Weapon in the War Against Climate Change”, New York, Columbia University Press, 2010.

3. Rameshni, M., Carbon Capture Overview, Worley Parsons, Re-trieved January 7, 2014, from www.worleyparsons.com/CSG/hydrocarbons/specialtycapabilities/documents/carbon%20cap-ture%20overview%20(3).pdf, 2010.

For more on CCS, see CO2 Gets Grounded, Chem. Eng., April 2014 at www.chemengonline.com.

AuthorsJulie Horn is a process engi-neer for Kiewit Power Engineers Co. (9401 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 666219; Email:[email protected]). She recently gradu-ated with honors from the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she obtained a B.S.Ch.E. Horn performed research as part of an REU (research experience for un-

dergraduates) at Iowa State University and has also in-terned at Aventine Renewable Energy.

Raymond Eric Zbacnik is a senior process engineer for Kiewit Power Engineers (Email: [email protected]). Zbacnik has about 40 years of chemical process engineering experience, which includes 20 years of air-quality control systems (AQCS) experience in the power industry. He worked at Babcock & Wilcox,

at HDR: Cummins & Barnard and at Foster Wheeler. Zbacnik has a B.S.Ch.E. from Purdue University, and an M.E.Ch.E. from Manhattan College. He is a member of the AIChE, IChemE, ACS and AWMA.

For more information, call Wright’s Media at 877.652.5295 or visit our website at www.wrightsmedia.com

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Engineering Practice

74

Amin Almasi

Consultant

Troubleshooting problems in rotating machinery (such as compressors, pumps, steam turbines, gas turbines, turbo-

expanders and more) can present difficult challenges during day-to-day operations in facilities throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). Reliable operation is an important factor in keeping plants running, par-ticularly as plants push to operate at higher capacities. Lost profits due to persistent machinery problems can never be recovered.

Rotating machinery often pres-ents the most difficult operational problems in a CPI plant. This article provides a practical, in-depth review of the art and science of machinery troubleshooting and problem solv-ing. Five case studies are presented to cover a variety of relevant rotat-ing-machinery systems, such as compressors, pumps, gas turbines and steam turbines. All of the case studies presented here were devel-oped from actual field experience. This article offers a broad working knowledge of troubleshooting princi-ples and practice, to help operators gain insight into different techniques and various methods for machinery problem solving.

A systematic approachProper CPI plant operation requires sustained attention to the following:

Identifying opportunities to im-•prove machinery reliability and safetyDeveloping solutions for chroni-•cally problematic rotating ma-chines

A systematic approach is the key for solving any machinery operational problem. Comprehensive machinery assessments should be carried out using advanced data-collection tools and methods (Figure 1). For instance, the use of automated machine-data-collection software — which automatically collects a wealth of in-formation specific to the machinery component — coupled with sophis-ticated modeling techniques, can provide great insight to support trou-bleshooting efforts related to com-plex rotating machinery. Such insight can help operators to diagnose the actual root causes of underperform-ing machinery and premature ma-chinery failures.

When CPI operators rely too heavily on alarms and trips, there is limited time to take remedial action in response to a machinery issue. Instead, a proactive monitoring ap-

proach provides greater value, by enabling earlier machinery trouble-shooting through improved early detection of unusual deviations. This can provide an earlier indication of problems that may be developing.

In modern operations, expert op-erators often opt to manage critical machine components using time-based data trends. Useful trends can be developed when the behavior of individual performance variables, such as pressure, temperature, flow, lubrication oil characteristics and more, are plotted over time on a graph. These trends can then be an-alyzed in conjunction with additional information, such as that derived from alarm screens and plant con-trol-system graphics. By monitoring trends, operators can anticipate po-tential problems and propose smart solutions before any major upset occurs. Trends in relevant data can

Rotating Machinery: What You Should Know

About Operational Problems

Follow this guidance to improve the operation, safety and reliability of rotating machinery in chemical process plants

FIGURE 1. Shown here is a steam turbine dismantled for repair. This is the driver of the centrifugal com-pressor


support operators and machinery engineers, allowing them to stay aware of situations as they begin to arise, diagnose the root cause of problems and resolve abnormal situations. The ability to gather and analyze trend data can also help op-erators to compare past and present behavior, thereby supporting efforts to anticipate future changes.

Keep an eye on key variablesVibration monitoring is an important indicator that can help operators to identify machinery problems at an early stage. The location of vibration sensors is vital, to avoid introducing errors during the measurement. In general, the best location for vibra-tion sensors in rotating machinery is at the bearing or bearing housing (Figure 2). Vibration measurements at the machinery casing, in addition to bearing vibration, can provide useful data for identifying and solv-ing machinery problems.However, monitoring vibration

alone is not sufficient to gauge the health of rotating machinery espe-cially when large, critical machines are concerned. For instance, in a re-cent case, it was observed that one electric motor’s temperature and current increased when the machine was overloaded — well before any vibration was detected. This under-scores the importance of monitoring other parameters (such as tempera-ture and current), in addition to vibra-tion, to allow for early fault diagnosis of electric machines.

When vibration analysis is used alone, it may be difficult to estab-lish the real cause of the vibration. In general, it is better to monitor both vibration and overall machin-ery performance (such as delivered pressure and flow in pumps or com-pressors) to obtain a more reliable fault diagnosis. And, it is important to realize that the vibration produced by the machinery is not a fault on its own — but rather a symptom (and early warning sign) of a developing failure condition.

Temperature is another critical variable, and the ability to moni-tor it accurately is of paramount importance in CPI plants. Today, a wide range of temperature sensors and measurement systems exists, including thermocouples, resis-

tance thermal detectors (RTDs; also known as resistance thermometers), thermistors, filled thermal systems, pyrometers, infrared thermography techniques and glass thermometers. All are widely used to provide process and machinery temperature measurements.

The measurement of flowrate pro-vides another useful indicator for the health of many processes and ma-chinery systems. Traditionally, tech-niques based on differential pres-sure, turbine and vortex shedding have been used to measure fluid flowrate. However, these methods might not be suitable if an accurate measurement is required for gases, since errors can be introduced in the measurement due the compressible nature of gases. To use these meth-ods with gas flows, it would be nec-essary to compensate for the gas density fluctuation in order to reduce the errors.

Modern Coriolis mass flowme-ters are a more appropriate choice for measuring gas flowrate, which is usually independent of temperature, pressure, density and composition. This meter uses the Coriolis effect to measure the amount of mass mov-ing through the element. In a simple form, the fluid to be measured runs through a U-shaped tube that is caused to vibrate in a perpendicu-lar direction to the flow. Fluid forces running through the tube interact with the vibration, causing it to twist. The greater the angle of the twist, the higher the flow. These flowme-ters have no rotating parts. Modern Coriolis flowmeters are highly accu-rate (providing accuracy to around ±0.5% of the mass flowrate).

For relatively low-speed rotating machines, vibration analysis may not be suitable to detect degradation or operational problems. However, acoustic-emission sensors, strate-gically located on the machine, can

give operators early indication of de-terioration in the machine’s operating condition.

Control valves are vital compo-nents in every process and in many types of equipment packages where fluid is handled and regulated. How-ever, the most common malfunction with control valves is internal leak-age, which cannot be detected eas-ily. Internal leakage can result from one of several factors, including an eroded valve plugs or seats, or insuf-ficient seat load.

Five case studiesCase study 1: Insects in an air-compressor inlet filter. In a CPI plant in a remote area, insects caused problems for the inlet-air fil-tration unit of a large process-type air compressor. The accumulation of insects on the filters led to high dif-ferential pressure in the unit, leading to periodic compressor shutdowns. Multiple cases of surge and surge-related trips occurred because of this issue. Regarding a problem of persistent insects impacting the air-compressor, two solutions should be considered:

A multi-sided insect screen1. . For example, three-, four- or five-sided insect screens can be con-structed (for instance, in a cube or similar configuration) in the front of the air filter, with a surface area roughly three to four times that of the front face of the air filter inlet. The rationale is that insects will gather on the larger-surface area of the screen (far from actual in-take) and thus experience less intake air velocity, allowing them to fly away, reducing their oppor-tunity to trap and plug the air filter. When a screen is built with three times the area of the air intake, the air velocity across the insect screen would be around 33% of the original velocity. When the

THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORINGIn one situation, a CPI company avoided an estimated $10 million in property damage and

business-interruption loss in a year as a result of the early detection of high vibration levels in its rotating machinery. The high-vibration monitors indicated the deteriorating conditions (a developing problem) within a large, critical compressor train. The developing problem resulted in the loss of half of the bolts, a circumferential crack in the coupling spacer (about 80 mm long) and a radial crack emanating from the initial break at the time of shutdown.

If the fault had progressed and all of the bolts had sheared before operator interven-tion, the compressor would have been unrestrained — with potentially disastrous con-sequences. This clearly illustrates why, particularly in large CPI plants, it is vital to monitor critical components on a continuous basis.


screen is built at four times the in-take area, the air velocity across the screen would be just 0.25% of the original velocity.Specially designed pulse-clean 2. filters. Another possibility is to install pulse-clean filters that apply a periodic reverse pulse of air to dislodge the accumulated dirt and insects from the filter inlet at a pre-disposed differen-tial pressure. This will require a specialized filter assembly with a compressed-air supply and associated equipment and con-trols. However, this solution is not usually recommended since this is a complex, expensive and risky option.

In this case study, the first pro-posed solution was used and a four-sided insect screen was built. For such an installation, the mesh size should be selected properly to stop the smallest anticipated insects from penetrating, and it should be reasonably rigid to allow for cleaning with a soft brush. If the mesh has a dense or tight weave (say, with holes around 1-mm dia.) to ensure that small insects cannot pass through, then it may be necessary to com-pensate with increased surface area (so that air intake is not impeded and pressure drop is not increased). For this case, a window screen mesh (with holes roughly 1-3-mm dia.) was selected. Routine inspections by technicians have been required to clean the screen. The structure of the insect screen was made rugged enough to resist wind and ensure longevity of the asset. This insect screen provides an added bene-

fit, by helping to keep rain and dirt from being driven into the filter inlet by wind.Case study 2: Discrepancies in performance maps. During the commissioning stage of a CPI plant, it was noted that there were two dif-ferent sets of performance maps in the manual for a particular, critical centrifugal compressor — one from the compressor manufacturer and another from the anti-surge-system sub-vendor. The compressor had been delivered three years earlier but it was not installed and commis-sioned upon delivery because of a three-year delay in the project and a stop in the plant construction. Some of the engineers who had worked on this machine and associated unit had left their jobs and there was no proper documentation to clarify how this discrepancy originated.

At this facility, there were concerns about surge. During the initial period of operation, the compressor was tripped several times because of surge or other operational issues re-lated to the existence of two different performance maps and the allow-able operating range. Any attempt to identify which performance map and surge line were the most appropri-ate for use failed because of person-nel changes at both the compressor vendor and the anti-surge- system sub-vendor during the 3-yr period.

In general, turbocompressors should be surge tested once they are installed, to develop accurate, as-built surge lines. For this machine, it was decided to perform the surge test at the site to identify the surge line and the correct performance

map. This test was completed by hooking proper surge-detection hardware into the compressor’s vi-bration-monitoring system. At each operating speed, the compressor discharge valve was slowly closed.

Prior to the surge, the surge-de-tection system (using vibration sen-sors as part of the compressor vibra-tion-monitoring system) detected an increase in low-frequency vibration, which indicated the onset of surge. This was used to define the surge line. The compressor was not actu-ally surged, just taken to the point of onset of stall. Once the as-built surge line was identified using this technique, it was seen to be different from what both the vendor and the sub-vendor indicated in their respec-tive performance maps.

Often, it is common to obtain a site-tested, as-built surge line that differs from the vendor-calculated surge line, or even the shop-tested surge line, because of different com-pressor piping and arrangement in the vendor shop test compared to the final site installation. The site-tested, as-built surge line should be considered the most reliable data for any operator.Case study 3: Re-rating a steam turbine. The steam turbine driver of a large pump train in a CPI unit created a bottleneck that prevented the unit from achieving a desired 5% increase in capacity. The operation team asked to run the steam tur-bine using 49-barg steam instead of 46-barg steam to achieve higher power generation from the turbine and higher pump capacity. Simula-tions showed that using 49-barg steam, it was possible to generate higher power, and this modeling also showed that the pump train could handle higher power and generate more flow within the pump curve. In fact, this investigation showed that the new pump operating point was a bit closer to the best efficiency point (BEP) than the old operating point. In general, significant engineering as-sessments are required in order to re-rate a steam turbine.

The steam turbine casing in this case was originally designed and rated to 46 barg. In order to increase the pressure rating, the design of the casing was checked by both the vendor’s engineering team and

FIGURE 2. Tilting pad thrust bearings are widely used in relatively high-speed rotating machinery. These bearings are vulerable and can be damaged easily; shown here is one that was removed for repair


an independent consultant. It was determined that it could safely and reliably contain steam at 49 barg. The casing was re-rated, after a proper hydro-testing, as per code requirements.

Using the same rotor, the pressure drop per stage was increased. The existing impellers were checked to ensure that they were strong enough and the rotor did not require chang-ing. Simulations and investigations showed that diametric changes and changes to internal static compo-nents within the casing were not required. The steam turbine was re-rated for 49 barg. The steam-tur-bine-driven pump train has enjoyed smooth and trouble-free operation since re-rating after the changes were made. Case study 4: Inlet filter for gas turbines. In general, gas turbines “ingest” different materials depend-ing on the location and the plant — primarily dirt and dust, but also ice, rain, snow and salt. The cleanliness of a gas turbine is the key factor in its efficiency, reliability and safety. Accu-

mulated dirt in the air-compressor section of a gas turbine can increase fuel consumption, and lead to more frequent maintenance outages and a decreased hot-section life.

At a given CPI plant, gas turbines were used to both generate power and drive the gas compressor. The original air filters were used in these gas turbine air-inlet systems, which mandated turbine shutdown and of-fline water washing every six months. The dirty air reduced the efficiency of the gas turbine fleet between cleanings. For instance, the gas tur-bine trains exhibited efficiency drop of as much as 2.5% on average in the three-month period before each offline water washing. The sched-uled offline water washing every six months on each gas turbine of the CPI plant (just for cleaning), in addi-tion to other outages for inspection and maintenance, was wasteful and non-productive. The operation team asked for a solution.

Getting maximum performance and reliability out of a gas turbine requires keeping the blades clean

in order to reduce drag and improve the heat rate and power output. Inlet air filters play a significant role in the degree of fouling that gas turbines experience. With the original, older-style air filters, the operators of this plant were faced with a tradeoff: In-stalling higher-efficiency filters that remove more of the airborne par-ticles creates a higher initial pressure drop and typically have a shorter life span compared to lower-efficiency filters. The filter pressure drop de-creases the density of the air going to the gas turbine, which reduces the gas turbine’s output power. Added pressure drop across the air filters increases the amount of en-ergy needed to draw air into the gas turbine, which increases the gas tur-bine’s heat rate.

In general, there are tradeoffs be-tween efficiency, cost, filter life and pressure drop that all need to be considered when evaluating which air filters may be best for a particu-lar operation. The small particles that cause most of gas turbine fouling are less than 3 micrometers (µm;

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sometimes less than 0.5 µm) in size, below the standard capabilities of old-fashioned filters. Thus, empha-sis should be placed on comparing the differences in filter efficiency for the removal of particles smaller than 3 µm (as well as considering filter efficiency on particles smaller than 0.5 µm) since those particle sizes generally contribute more to air-compressor fouling rather than larger particles.

Switching to better, higher-effi-ciency air-inlet filters is a good way to keep air-compressors cleaner, but they can offer some drawbacks. The most appropriate air filter should be selected with respect to the ef-ficiency, the filter life and pressure

drop. Today, new filter designs can keep the gas turbine clean with the same pressure drop and a better fil-ter life compared to older-style filters. Today’s modern filters have a struc-ture and layers that allow for the ef-fective capture of even the smallest particles (below 3 µm and some-times below 0.5 µm) to keep the gas-turbine intake air clean without significant filter plugging.

Advanced hydrophobic high-ef-ficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters have the same pressure drop as the older filters. However, the key to their improved filter performance is a novel multi-layer media construction that includes a hydrophobic membrane layer. Usually the first filter layer cap-tures most of the airborne dirt. The middle layer — or layers — are most often made from expanded polytet-rafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes or similar, and they stop both sub-micron particles and water that may penetrate the first layer. Other layers are support layers added to provide strength and burst pressure resis-tance. These support layers give the filter more than twice the required burst strength of the old-fashioned filters. This extra burst strength pre-vents filters from breaking before

they reach their expected lifespan.Modern hydrophobic HEPA filters

were installed for all gas turbines in this CPI plant. They completely eliminated the need to shutdown the gas-turbine trains for offline water washing. The operation has been satisfactory since the filter change.Case study 5: Problems in tur-bine’s steam-admission valves. In this case, problems in the steam-admission valves used to supply the steam turbine reduced the required steam flow into the steam turbine, which impacted the performance of a critical centrifugal compressor driven by the turbine, and this negatively impacted the plant’s production rate. There were four poppet valves in the

steam chest of this steam turbine. These should be staged to open at different load requirements.

Problems and issues for steam-admission valves have been re-ported extensively for steam turbines in different CPI plants. For any steam turbine governor or admission-valve issues, the following initial investiga-tions are recommended:

Study the changes in perfor-1. mance of the steam-admission valve system and governor sys-temEvaluate the actual performance 2. of steam turbine versus the de-sign specificationInvestigate the possible causes 3. for discrepancies

Usually one or more of the follow-ing issues are reported for steam-admission valves:

Insufficient nozzle-opening size •Blockage inside the admission •valve systemIncorrect calibration of the admis-•sion valve system Problem with internal setup of the •steam-admission valve systemGradual buildup of deposition or •degradation products

Based on the steam-turbine man-ual for this unit, the governor should

only be opened to around 78% for the first normal operating condition case. The investigation showed the position indicator on the governor was at 90% for this operating case (around 12% discrepancy). The initial suggestion was that the governor or steam-admission valves might not be correctly calibrated. The physical movement of the admission valves has not changed since commission-ing, which indicated that the prob-lem was not related to the gradual build-up of deposition or to degrada-tion. A highly nonlinear relationship was reported at low valve-opening positions (around 0–20% of the rated flow). Below 20% of the governor position, there was very little steam flow through the steam turbine. This indicated that there was a problem with the first poppet valve.

There was almost zero increase in the steam flow once the governor position got higher than 91% of the rated flow. This was evident from the sharp drop-off at the end of the stroke-versus-steam-flow curve of the admission valve. There was also a problem with the last poppet valve. In other words, the lack of response during the first 20% of governor opening indicated a problem with the first poppet valve. The lack of re-sponse to the final 9% of governor opening indicated a problem with the last poppet valve. The steam-admission valve was overhauled for quick replacements of the first and last valves. The steam turbine opera-tion has been satisfactory after this valve change. n

Edited by Suzanne Shelley

Author

Amin Almasi is a rotating-equip-ment consultant in Australia (Email: [email protected]). He previously worked at Worley Parsons Services Pty Ltd. (Bris-bane, Australia), Technicas Reuni-das (Madrid, Spain) and Fluor Corp. (various offices). He holds a chartered professional engineer license from Engineers Australia

(MIEAust CPEng – Mechanical), a chartered engineer certificate from IMechE (CEng MIMechE), RPEQ (regis-tered professional engineer in Queensland) and he also holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering. He specializes in rotating machines, including centrifu-gal, screw and reciprocating compressors, gas and steam turbines, pumps, condition monitoring and reli-ability. Almasi is an active member of Engineers Austra-lia, IMechE, ASME, Vibration Institute, SPE, IEEE, and IDGTE. He has authored more than 60 papers and arti-cles dealing with rotating machines.

There are tradeoffs between efficiency, cost, filter life

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If number(s) do not appear above,

please write them here and circle:

Name Title

Company

Address

City State/Province Zip/Postal Code

Country\ Telephone Fax

Email | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

✁

International

Petra Trautes

Chemical Engineering

Zeilweg 44

D-60439 Frankfurt am Main

Germany

Phone: +49-69-58604760

Fax: +49-69-5700-2484

Email: [email protected]

Austria, Czech Republic, Benelux,

Eastern Europe, Germany, Scandinavia,

Switzerland, United Kingdom

Dipali Dhar


88 Pine Street, 5th floor, New York, NY 10005

Tel: 718-263-1162

E-mail: [email protected]

India

Katshuhiro Ishii


Ace Media Service Inc., 12-6, 4-chome Nishiiko,

Adachi-ku, Tokyo 121, Japan

Tel: 81-3-5691-3335; Fax: 81-3-5691-3336


Japan

Ferruccio Silvera


Silvera Pubblicita

Viale Monza, 24 Milano 20127, Italy

Tel: 39-02-284-6716;

Fax: 39-02-289-3849

E-mail: [email protected]/www.silvera.it

Andorra, France, Gibraltar, Greece,

Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain

Rudy Teng

Sales Representative

Chemical Engineering;

8F-1 #181 Wulin Road

Hsinchu 30055 Taiwan

Tel: +86 13818181202, (China),

+886 921322428 (Taiwan)

Fax: +86 21 54183567


Asia-Paciic, Hong Kong, People’s

Republic of China, Taiwan

North America

Terry Davis

Sales Director


2276 Eastway Rd., Decatur, GA 30033

Tel: 404-634-5123; Fax: 832-201-8823 E-mail: [email protected]

Alabama, Canada, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho,

Kentucky, Latin America, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,

Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

New York, North and South Carolina, North and South Dakota,

Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah,

Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wyoming

Diane Burleson

Inside Sales Manager

Chemical Engineering;

11000 Richmond Ave, Suite 690,

Houston, TX 77042

Tel: 512-337-7890


Product Showcase,

Literature Reviews,

Classiied Display Advertising

Dan Gentile

District Sales Manager

Tel: 512-918-8075

E-mail:

[email protected]

Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,

Minnesota, Wisconsin,

Jason Bullock

District Sales Manager


8325 Broadway, Ste. 202/PMB 261 Pearland,

TX 77581

Tel: 281-485-4077; Fax: 281-485-1285


Arizona, Arkansas, California,

Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana,

Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico,

Oklahoma, Texas, Washington

or go to

Advertising Sales Representatives

Advertisers Index


✁ Abbe, Paul O. ..................................24D

1-800-524-2188adlinks.che.com/56195-01

AFPM - American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers ................................... 43

1-202-457-0480adlinks.che.com/56195-02

AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG .........31adlinks.che.com/56195-03

BASF ...........................SECOND COVERadlinks.che.com/56195-04

* Berndorf Band GmbH ................ 36I-11

1-847-841-3300adlinks.che.com/56195-05

Beumer Group GmbH & Co. KG .......13adlinks.che.com/56195-06

Bürkert Werke GmbH ....................... 39adlinks.che.com/56195-07

Buss-SMS-Canzler GmbH ................ 34

49 60 33-85-0adlinks.che.com/56195-08

Check-All Valve Mfg. Co. .................. 38

1-515-224-2301adlinks.che.com/56195-09

Chemshow 2015 ............................... 26

1-203-221-9232adlinks.che.com/56195-10

Corzan HP Piping Systems ............... 57

1-216-447-7397adlinks.che.com/56195-24

Dechema E.V. .....................................12 adlinks.che.com/56195-11

Dietrich Engineering Consultants SA . 40adlinks.che.com/56195-12

Emerson Process Management ......... 9Endress + Hauser ...............................15

1-888-ENDRESSadlinks.che.com/56195-14

* Finder Pompe ........................... 36I-13

39-039-9982.1adlinks.che.com/56195-15

Fluid Line Products ........................... 11D

1-440-946-9470adlinks.che.com/56195-16

* GEA Process Engineering A/S ....36I-3

45 39 54 54 54adlinks.che.com/56195-17

* GEA Wiegand GmbH ................ 36I-15

49 7243 705-0adlinks.che.com/56195-18

Hawk Management ........................24D

1-978-304-3000adlinks.che.com/56195-19

Interphex 2015 ....................................10 adlinks.che.com/56195-20

* Italvacuum....................................36I-1adlinks.che.com/56195-21

List AG ................................................18adlinks.che.com/56195-22

Load Controls .....................................41

1-888-600-3247adlinks.che.com/56195-23

Magnetrol ................... FOURTH COVERadlinks.che.com/56195-25

Miller-Stevenson ................................ 401-800-992-2424

adlinks.che.com/56195-26

Müller GmbH ..................................... 38

49 (0) 76 23/969-0adlinks.che.com/56195-27

NACE International ............................ 47adlinks.che.com/56195-28

Orion Instruments.............................. 25adlinks.che.com/56195-29

Paharpur Cooling Towers ...................21

91-33-4013 3000adlinks.che.com/56195-30

Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH ..................... 35

49 6441 802-0adlinks.che.com/56195-31

* Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG .....36I-9

49 5235 3-00adlinks.che.com/56195-32

* Plast-O-Matic Valves, Inc. ........ 36I-16

1-973-256-3000adlinks.che.com/56195-33

PNC Financial Services Group 32a-32b

1-855-762-2361adlinks.che.com/56195-34

* PompeTravaini ............................36I-7

39.0331.889000adlinks.che.com/56195-35

Quest Integrity ................................... 36 adlinks.che.com/56195-36

RedGuard ............................................ 4

1-855-REDGUARDadlinks.che.com/56195-37

Ross, Charles & Son Company ........... 6

1-800-243-ROSSadlinks.che.com/56195-38

Saint-Gobain Ceramics ......................14

1-716-278-6233adlinks.che.com/56195-39

Sandvik Materials Technology ............ 17adlinks.che.com/56195-40

Sandvik Process Systems ................. 45

49 711 5105-0adlinks.che.com/56195-41

Seepex Inc. ....................................... 58adlinks.che.com/56195-42

Sturtevant Inc. ................................... 32

1-800-992-0209adlinks.che.com/56195-43

Team Industrial Services ....................19

1-800-622-8326adlinks.che.com/56195-44

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG 29adlinks.che.com/56195-45

Tiger Tower, an EMCOR Industrial Ser-vices company .................................... 3

1-866-890-7794adlinks.che.com/56195-13

Titan Metal Fabricators, Inc. .............. 23

1-805-487-5050adlinks.che.com/56195-46

* VEGA Grieshaber KG ..................36I-5adlinks.che.com/56195-47

Advertiser ........................ Page number

Phone number Reader Service #





* International Edition

Classiied Index March 2015Advertiser Page number


KnightHawk Engineering ................... 80

1-281-282-9200adlinks.che.com/56195-251

Neuhaus Neotec ............................... 79adlinks.che.com/56195-202

Ross, Charles & Son Company ..........81

1-800-243-ROSSadlinks.che.com/56195-252

Vesconite Bearings ............................81

27 11 616 11 11adlinks.che.com/56195-253

VisiMix ............................................... 80

972 52 383 4174adlinks.che.com/56195-254

Wabash Power Equipment Co. ..........81

1-800-704-2002adlinks.che.com/56195-255

Xchanger, Inc. ....................................81

1-952-933-2559adlinks.che.com/56195-256

Advertiser Page number


Aaron Equipment Company .............. 80

1-855-714-8359adlinks.che.com/56195-241

Applied e-Simulators Software .......... 80adlinks.che.com/56195-242

Busch LLC ......................................... 80adlinks.che.com/56195-243

CU Services LLC ............................... 79

1-847-439-2303adlinks.che.com/56195-201

Elcan Industries ................................. 80

1-914-381-7500adlinks.che.com/56195-244

Engineering Software ........................ 80

1-301-540-3605adlinks.che.com/56195-245

Genck International ........................... 80

1-708-748-7200adlinks.che.com/56195-246

H2ecO Bulk Water LLC ......................81

1-888-227-7177adlinks.che.com/56195-247

Heat Transfer Research, Inc./HTRI ... 80adlinks.che.com/56195-248

Indeck Power Equipment Co. ............81

1-800-446-3325adlinks.che.com/56195-249

John R. Robinson, Inc. ...................... 80

1-800-726-1026adlinks.che.com/56195-250

March 2015; VOL. 122; NO. 3

Chemical Engineering copyright @ 2015 (ISSN 0009-2460) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD, 20850. Chemical Engineering Executive, Editorial, Advertising and Publication Offices: 88 Pine Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10005; Phone: 212-621-4674, Fax: 212-621-4694. Subscription rates: $149.97 U.S. and U.S. possessions, $166.97 Canada, and $292 International. $20.00 Back issue & Single copy sales. Periodicals postage paid at Rockville, MD and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Chemical Engineering, Fulfillment Manager, P.O. Box 3588, Northbrook, IL 60065-3588. Phone: 847-564-9290, Fax: 847-564-9453, email: [email protected]. Change of address, two to eight week notice requested. For information regarding article reprints, please contact Wright’s Media, 1-877-652-5295, [email protected]. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. Canada Post 40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: IMEX Global Solutions, P.O. BOX 25542, LONDON, ON N6C 6B2

FOR ADDITIONAL NEWS AS IT DEVELOPS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM

Advertiser’s Product Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Computer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Equipment, New & Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80–81

Recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Send Advertisements and Box replies to: Diane Burleson

Chemical Engineering, 11000 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77042 * E-mail: [email protected] * Tel: 512-337-7890

Economic Indicators


CURRENT TRENDS

The preliminary value for the December

2014 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI;

top; most recent available) inched down-

ward compared to the final value for No-

vember, continuing a three-month trend.

The index value sits at 1.45% above its

level from December 2013. Meanwhile,

updated values for the Current Business

Indicators from IHS Global Insight (mid-

dle) show a very small increase for CPI

output, but a decrease for CPI value of

output. This is the second consecutive

month for similar behavior in these cat-

egories. Producer prices fell in January.

��

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

The Economic Indicators department includes current industry trends and the Plant Cost Index. As one of the most valued sections in the magazine, your ad is guaranteed to reach decision makers each month. Contact your sales representative to secure this spot.

EXCLUSIVE AD SPACE AVAILABLE!Feature your marketing message

chemengonline.com/mediakit

JASON BULLOCK

[email protected] DAVIS

[email protected]

DAN GENTILE

[email protected] TRAUTES

[email protected]

CURRENT BUSINESS INDICATORS LATEST PREVIOUS YEAR AGO

CPI output index (2000 = 100) ____________________________________________________ Jan.'15 = 93.9 Dec.'14 = 93.5 Nov.'14 = 93.1 Jan.'14 = 88.8

CPI value of output, $ billions _____________________________________________________ Dec.'14 = 1,917.2 Nov.'14 = 2,024.2 Oct.'14 = 2,057.2 Dec.'13 = 2,177.3

CPI operating rate, % __________________________________________________________ Jan.'15 = 78.6 Dec.'14 = 78.3 Nov.'14 = 78.2 Jan.'14 = 75.1

Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) ____________________________________ Jan.'15 = 246.4 Dec.'14 = 271.0 Nov.'14 = 283.4 Jan.'14 = 295.8

Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2002=100)* ____________________________________ Jan.'15 = 102.1 Dec.'14 = 102.0 Nov.'14 = 102.0 Jan.'14 = 96.8

Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) ____________________________ Jan.'15 = 157.5 Dec.'14 = 157.3 Nov.'14 = 157.5 Jan.'14 = 157.9

Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100) ______________________________ Jan.'15 = 109.2 Dec.'14 = 108.2 Nov.'14 = 107.6 Jan.'14 = 107.3

70

72

74

76

78

80

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

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

75

80

85

90

95

100

CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2000 = 100) CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)

500

525

550

575

600

625

J F M A M J J A S O N D

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PLANT COST INDEX (CEPCI)

(1957-59 = 100) Dec. '14Prelim.

Nov. '14Final

Dec. '13Final

CE Index ______________________________________________ 575.8 578.4 567.5

Equipment ____________________________________________ 698.8 702.5 687.9

Heat exchangers & tanks _________________________________ 642.5 649.3 621.6

Process machinery _____________________________________ 662.8 662.9 656.0

Pipe, valves & fittings ____________________________________ 872.2 875.4 875.7

Process instruments ____________________________________ 410.8 411.7 412.5

Pumps & compressors ___________________________________ 943.4 942.9 925.8

Electrical equipment ____________________________________ 515.2 516.2 513.8

Structural supports & misc ________________________________ 765.8 769.9 746.9

Construction labor _______________________________________ 322.1 322.4 318.7

Buildings _____________________________________________ 546.4 546.9 532.8

Engineering & supervision _________________________________ 319.6 320.1 322.0

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

Annual Index:

2006 = 499.6

2007 = 525.4

2008 = 575.4

2009 = 521.9

2010 = 550.8

2011 = 585.7

2012 = 584.6

2013 = 567.3

*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.

Current business indicators provided by Global insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.

Download the CEPCI two weeks sooner at www.chemengonline.com/pci

2012 2013 2014 2015

Order your copy today by visiting store.chemengonline.com

This guidebook contains how-to engineering articles formerly published in Chemical Engineering. The

articles in Volume 2 provide practical engineering recommendations for process operators faced with the

challenge of treating inlet water for process use, and treating industrial wastewater to make it suitable for

discharge or reuse.

There is a focus on the importance of closed-loop or zero-discharge plant design, as well as the selection,

operation and maintenance of membrane-based treatment systems; treating water for use in recirculated-

water cooling systems; managing water treatment to ensure trouble-free steam service; designing stripping

columns for water treatment; and more.

Table of Contents

� Process Water Treatment – Challenges and Solutions

� Water Reuse and Conservation in the CPI

� Strategies to Minimize Wastewater Discharge

� Strategies for Water Reuse

� Wastewater: A Reliable Water Resource

� Membranes for Process Water Reuse

� Strategies for Controlling Membrane Fouling

� Fact at Your Fingertips: Membranes

� Facts at Your Fingertips: Membrane Configurations

� Facts at Your Fingertips: Controlling Membrane Fouling

� Biodegradation and Testing of Scale Inhibitors

� Keeping Cooling Water Clean

� Caring for Cooling Water Systems

� Purifying Coke-Cooling Wastewater

� Non-Chemical Water Treatment

� CPI Water and Steam Chemistry

� Designing Steam Stripping Columns for Wastewater

Process Water and Wastewater Treatment

and Reuse Guidebook- Volume 2

Now Available in the Chemical Engineering Store:

20611

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Chemical Engineering Magazine, March 2015

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Transcript of Chemical Engineering Magazine, March 2015