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Pressure Measurement
Focusing on
Heat Exchangers
page 36
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Cover Story
36 Part 1 Heat Exchanger Standards for Shell-and-
Tube Equipment Reliable operation of shell-and-tube heat
exchangers begins with an appropriate standard. This article provides an
overview of those that are applicable
46 Part 2 Special Flange Joints Used in Floating-
Head Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers Single-
pass, floating-head heat exchangers are common in certain
process operations, but they often use flange joints that are not
covered in existing design codes. Design details, advantages and
disadvantages are discusssed here
In the News
7 Chementator
A new low-energy electrolytic path to ethylene dichloride;
Extending biomass catalyst life by removing minerals; Commercial
debut for a new PLA-production process; Anisotropic MOFs may
open new application doors; A more efficient way to dehydrate
natural gas inline; and more
13 Business News 36
Arkema plans $90-million upgrade at Clear Lake acrylic acid plant; Linde
starts up six ASUs at coal-to-liquids complex in China; Formosa-Mitsui joint
venture to expand electrolyte-solution production capacity; Linde and Praxair
announce intention to merge; and more
15 Newsfront Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP):
The Future Looks Bright New technology is helping to reduce costs
and enable CSP plants to generate power 24 hours per day
46
19 Newsfront Making a Clean Sweep
Good housekeeping results in a better safety record and higher product quality
24 Departments
5 Editors Page The rising role of alternative energy
Alternative energy sources are making their mark as strong options to
conventional resources. Ambitious targets for renewable energy and energy
efficiency offer challenging goals for chemical engineers
6 Letters
72 Economic Indicators
28
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67 Hot Products
69 Classified
70 Reader Service
71 Ad Index
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your Fingertips on Fermentation; News Articles on Refrigerants
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Cover photo: The photo shows a fuel pool cooler being fabricated for the
Exelon Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant; photo courtesy of American
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Editor s Page
PUBLISHER ART & DESIGN
The rising role of alternative energy
MICHAEL GROSSMAN ROB HUDGINS
T
Vice President and Group Publisher Graphic Designer he news making recent headlines in my local area is the an-
mgrossman@accessintel.com rhudgins@accessintel.com
nouncement of the closing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant
EDITORS PRODUCTION in New York State. Whether to keep the plant running or not has
DOROTHY LOZOWSKI SOPHIE CHAN-WOOD been a long-debated issue, with strong arguments on both sides.
Editor in Chief Production Manager
dlozowski@chemengonline.com schan-wood@accessintel.com In January, New York Governor Cuomo announced that the plant will close
INFORMATION by April 2021. Along with accolades from environmental groups and local
GERALD ONDREY (FRANKFURT)
Senior Editor SERVICES residents concerned about safety and security, are concerns about what
gondrey@chemengonline.com
CHARLES SANDS the plant closing means economically and how to replace the 2,000 MW of
Director of Digital Development
SCOTT JENKINS csands@accessintel.com electricity that the plant supplies to the area, which includes New York City.
Senior Editor
sjenkins@chemengonline.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
The plan to replace power from the plant includes alternative energy
MARY PAGE BAILEY SUZANNE A. SHELLEY
sources, such as hydroelectric power, as well as upgrades and ef-
Assistant Editor sshelley@chemengonline.com ficiency measures. In line with last years approval of New Yorks Clean
mbailey@chemengonline.com
CHARLES BUTCHER (U.K.) Energy Standard which sets a goal to have 50% of New Yorks elec-
cbutcher@chemengonline.com
AUDIENCE
DEVELOPMENT
tricity come from renewable sources by 2030 there is also a pro-
PAUL S. GRAD (AUSTRALIA) posal for an offshore wind project, 30 miles from the tip of Long Island.
SARAH GARWOOD pgrad@chemengonline.com
Audience Marketing Director
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TETSUO SATOH (JAPAN)
tsatoh@chemengonline.com
Solar power shines
JESSICA GRIER
Marketing Manager
More and more, alternative energy options are making their mark as
jgrier@accessintel.com JOY LEPREE (NEW JERSEY) emerging power sources. Solar power is becoming the cheapest form of
jlepree@chemengonline.com
GEORGE SEVERINE new electricity, according to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy
GERALD PARKINSON (CALIFORNIA)
Fulfillment Manager
gseverine@accessintel.com
gparkinson@chemengonline.com Finance1. The report indicates that solar prices are competing with those
of coal and natural gas, and that solar prices are even falling below those
JEN FELLING for wind power in some countries. A recent memo by the U.S. Dept. of
List Sales, Statlistics (203) 778-8700
j.felling@statlistics.com Energy (DOE)2 says that in the U.S., the cost of large scale (>100 MW)
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD solar photovoltaic has dropped by 64% since 2008, and that the num-
JOHN CARSON HENRY KISTER ber of such plants has grown from 0 to 50 in the U.S. during that time.
Jenike & Johanson, Inc. Fluor Corp.
Technological advances made by those working in the chemical pro-
DAVID DICKEY GERHARD KREYSA (RETIRED) cess industries (CPI) are undoubtedly contributing greatly to alternative
MixTech, Inc. DECHEMA e.V.
energys progress. In addition to technological developments to solar
MUKESH DOBLE
IIT Madras, India
RAM RAMACHANDRAN(Retired) panels, which are familiar to many of us through their common usage
The Linde Group
in consumer products, other areas are seeing increasing progress.
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ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC cess Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Manufacturing Institute was
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Cabinet%20Exit%20Memo.pdf
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 5
Letters
Pump Safety: Flirting With Disaster
I just finished reading your article (Pump Safety: Flirting
With Disaster, pp. 6770, December 2016) and want to
indicate the following:
In the third example, the text said that the HBEP/HSO
Re-Establishing Course
Your article in the November 2016 edition of Chemi-
cal Engineering was excellent (Re-Establishing Course,
pp 6770; www.chemengonline.com/re-establishing-
course). There is so much pertinent information, very to
the point and written from your [the authors] personal
experience not by some person just imagining what
the situation of having to re-establish course would be
Chemical Engineering like. There is nothing like first-hand knowledge to give
weight to a story.
magazine produces I am retired and not in a position of looking for em-
ployment, although I have had a few part- and full-time
webinars on topics of jobs that needed my area of expertise. I read the story
because it sounded interesting and the further I got, the
critical importance to the more it made an impression on me. If I were in a position
of needed to start over, I would have your story as my
chemical process industries. main guide. Thank you very much.
Brian T. Bender
Its not too late to Napa, California
N
ew process Overall reaction: C2H4 + 2H2O + 2NaCl H2 + 2NaOH + C2H4Cl2
technology Chemetry CYCLOHEXASILANE
Membranes
from Chemetry EDC H2
3DIcon Corp. (Tulsa, Okla.;
(Moss Land- (C2H4Cl2) A
n C
C
a www.3dicon.net) has signed
CuCl2 i NaOH
ing, Calif.; www.chemetry A no
t
i
oa a supply agreement with
n
t OH
corp.com) aims to revital- Aqueous n Cl m
reaction
m
o e e
mh Gelest Inc. (Morrisville, Pa.;
ize the chlor-alkali product process d mb Na+ b
r
a
o www.gelest.com) to pro-
e ar d
chain by manufacturing CuCl n
n
e
e H2O duce cyclohexasilane (CHS)
ethylene dichloride (EDC) C2H4 e
at pilot scale using 3DIcons
+
Anode: Cu Cu + e 2+ NaCl Cathode: 2H2O + 2e H2 + 2OH
and caustic using much E = 0.159 0.7 V E = 0.83 V
newly developed CHS pro-
less power than conven- Catalysis Electrochemistry cess. 3DIcons process (see
tional processes. Through C2H4 + 2CuCl2 C2H4Cl2 + 2CuCl 2H2O + 2NaCl + 2CuCl H2 + 2NaOH + 2CuCl2 CE, Sept. 2016, p. 9) offers
a safer and less expensive
an exclusive licensing and engineering agree- the same footprint, explains Chemetry CEO
route to CHS, which can be
ment, Technip (Paris, France; www.technip. Ryan Gilliam. This makes eShuttle very attrac- used to make a number of im-
com) is helping to commercialize Chemetrys tive in the retrofit market. portant silicon-based prod-
eShuttle technology. The company has oper- In the eShuttle process, copper chlo- ucts. Under the agreement,
ated a continuous pilot plant since 2014, and ride is used as a carrier for chloride ions. Gelest will manufacture CHS
is now scouting operating partner sites to The copper chloride is oxidized as it picks for use by 3DIcons potential
construct a full-size demonstration plant. up chloride ions and flows in a closed loop commercial partners, and to
Combining a specialized three-compartment between the electrochemical cells anode support federal business-de-
electrochemical cell and an aqueous catalysis and the reaction step (diagram). Using this velopment grants being pur-
step, eShuttle uses the same raw materials as copper-chloride shuttle reaction allowed us sued by 3DIcon. Also, Gelest
and 3DIcon will work to opti-
typical chlor-alkali processes while eliminat- to fundamentally lower the energy, says Gil-
mize the novel CHS process.
ing the chlorine gas intermediate. In addition liam, because the voltage required for cop- Energy storage, solar power
to saving power, removing chlorine makes the per oxidation is much lower than that of the generation, microelectron-
process inherently safer and allows for longer chlorine evolution reaction that takes place ics, printable electronics and
membrane life and simpler startup and shut- within traditional chlor-alkali systems. This solid-state lighting are poten-
down, as no chlorine purge or disposal is difference amounts to a 30% reduction in tial markets for CHS.
required. Furthermore, since no chlorine gas power per ton of caustic, says Gilliam. The
is present in the system, eShuttles electro- power consumption can be further reduced FCC CATALYST
chemical cell is much thinner than those used by as much as 53% through integration of As sulfur regulations tighten,
in traditional chlor-alkali processes, which can oxygen depolarized cathode (ODC) technol- petroleum refiners find it in-
provide for increased production rates within ogy, with which eShuttle is compatible. creasingly difficult to meet
specifications from their
fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
Extending biomass catalyst life by gasoline post-treatment
units; particularly, the octane
removing minerals number suffers because
of the necessary sulfur re-
A
nellotech Inc.s (Pearl River, N.Y.; mass raw materials that can be used for its moval. Late last year, Haldor
www.anellotech.com) biomass- aromatics process. Topse A/Ss (Lyngby, Den-
to-aromatics (Bio-TCat) process The patent-pending process, known as mark; www.topsoe.com)
pyrolyzes woody biomass and MinFree, allows us to use a broad range of introduced three new HyOc-
converts the pyrolysis gases to aromatic non-food biomass, including inexpensive agri- tane catalysts that are spe-
hydrocarbons using zeolite catalysts in one cultural residues like corn stover or sugarcane cifically developed to solve
reactor (see Chem. Eng., March 2016, p. bagasse, that have higher mineral contents, this problem.
7). Pyrolysis is the rapid decomposition of explains David Sudolsky, CEO of Anellotech. The three brand new HyOc-
tane catalysts include solu-
organic material at high temperatures in the The company and its partners have suc-
tions for all steps in the process
absence of oxygen. cessfully produced ton quantities of bio- and squeeze more value out of
Anellotech has used forest products as mass using the MinFree process, and will any FCC gasoline post-treat-
feedstocks for its pyrolysis process in part be using MinFree-processed biomass at its ment unit, says product man-
because of their low mineral content. Min- TCat-8 seven-story development and test- ager Claus Brostrm Nielsen.
erals present in biomass can deactivate ing unit, which is located at South Hampton Independent testing has
zeolite catalysts, reducing catalyst lifetimes. Resources chemical manufacturing facility shown that HyOctane delivers
Now, Anellotech has developed a low-cost in Silsbee, Texas. Commissioning of Anel- high HDS (hydrodesulfuriza-
pretreatment technology that removes min- lotechs development unit began in October tion) activity and low octane
erals from biomass, significantly extending 2016, and Sudolsky says the commissioning losses that can compete with
any other catalyst on the mar-
catalyst lifetimes when processing wood, phase is targeted to be completed in the first
and greatly expanding the range of bio- quarter of 2017. (Continues on p. 10)
T
o reduce dependency on pe- VAC thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
troleum-based plastics, thys- Water
VAC
senkrupp Industrial Solutions Two-step
prepolymerization Cyclizing
AG (Essen, Germany; www. depolymerization
Lactic acid
thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.
com) has developed a new manu-
facturing process for producing the
biopolymer polylactide (PLA). The VAC
company is now building the first Residue
commercial plant based on its pat- VAC
ented PLAneo technology in Changc-
hun, China, for COFCO Corp. (Beijing, Lactide Meso-lactide
China; www.cofcoagri.com). The new purification
plant will produce around 10,000 met-
ric tons per year (m.t./yr) of PLA, and Ring opening
is scheduled for commissioning in the polymerization
P
orous crystals called metal- the MOFs that can be explored for is, materials with directionally depen-
organic frameworks (MOFs) use in microelectronics, optics, sen- dent properties. The same material
have an extremely large sur- sors and biotechnology. can show different properties through
face area, as well as a large The team is led by professor Paolo different orientations and alignments.
number of pores situated in an ex- Falcaro of the University of Adelaide The team showed, for example, how
tremely small space that offer room for (Adelaide, Australia; www.adelaide. the controlled synthesis of an MOF
guest molecules. Such characteris- edu.au) and the Technical University film acts in the presence of fluorescent
tics make MOFs potentially useful for of Graz (Austria; www.tugraz.at) and dye. Just by rotating the film, the fluo-
gas storage or as molecular sieves for professor Masahide Takahashi of rescent signal is turned on or off, cre-
the separation of chemicals. Osaka Prefecture University (Sakai, ating an optically active switch.
Normally, MOFs will grow with ran- Japan; www.osakafu-u.ac.jp), with The team is now developing MOFs
dom orientation and position. Now participants from the University of for biotechnological applications. It is
a multinational team has succeeded Adelaide, Monash University (Mel- trying to encapsulate enzymes, pro-
in growing MOFs with an unprec- bourne, Australia; www.monash.edu), teins and even DNA in MOFs and to
edented controlled orientation and the Australian CSIRO (www.csiro.au) immunize their activity against fluctua-
alignment of the crystals, opening and Osaka Prefecture University. tions in temperature. The crystalline
up the possibility of many new ap- Various substances can be infil- structure surrounding the substance
plications for MOFs. Controlling the trated into the pores of the crystals to in the pore has a protective effect, like
growth creates new properties for generate anisotropic materials, that a tough jacket.
8 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
Circle 22 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-22
ket today, he says. A more efficient way to
The high activity allows for dehydrate natural gas inline
cycle lengths up to six months ExxonMobil
longer because the catalysts
A
patented, inline absorp-
deliver superior sulfur removal Annular liquid feed
tion system has been de-
at lower temperatures. Alter-
natively, refiners can utilize
veloped and field-tested Liquid injection
orifices
the high activity to increase by ExxonMobil (Houston;
throughput or process feed www.exxonmobil.com), and has
stocks containing more sulfur, just been licensed to Sulzer Chem-
says the company. The opti- tech (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.
mized activity and selectivity sulzer.com). Because the trade-
of the new catalysts have been named cMIST technology operates
proven in independent testing inside pipes, it replaces the need
and also in real-life production. for conventional methods used to
dehydrate natural gas, which takes Wet gas flow
CO2 CAPTURE place in towers. As a result, cMIST
Last month, the Norwegian reduces the size, weight and cost
University of Science and of dehydration, resulting in reduc-
Technology (NTNU; Trond-
tions of surface footprints by 70%
heim; www.ntnu.no), through
its commercialization arm
and the overall dehydration sys-
NTNU Technology Transfer, tems weight by half, which has sig-
entered into an exclusive li- nificant added benefits for offshore
cense agreement with Air applications, says ExxonMobil. This
Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; inline technology could be deployed at both inline separator that coalesces the water-rich
www.airproducts.com). The land-based and offshore natural-gas pro- glycol droplets and moves them to the out-
agreement allows Air Prod- duction operations. side wall of the pipe for effective separation
ucts the rights to use NTNUs ExxonMobils cMIST technology relies on a from the dehydrated natural gas. The water-
proprietary fixed-site-carrier proprietary droplet generator to break up con- rich glycol is regenerated using a conventional
(FSC) membrane technology
ventional glycol solvent into tiny droplets that system and is sent back to the droplet gener-
in conjunction with Air Prod-
ucts proprietary PRISM mem-
become well dispersed in the gas flow, thereby ator to be used again. The droplet generator
brane technology for carbon increasing the surface area for the absorption uses the energy from the flowing natural gas
dioxide capture applications. of water from the gas. This is followed by an to create droplets of the right size.
Developed over a number
of years, the FSC membrane
allows for a highly energy- This surface technology allows
efficient way of capturing CO2
from fluegas and biogas to pro-
viscous fluids to slide easily
duce a high-quality CO2 offgas
A
coating technology that creates a LiquiGlide is not a single coating, but
(for more details, see CE.; No-
permanently slippery surface that rather a technology platform that uses a
vember 2007, p. 13). Air Prod-
ucts and NTNU foresee great
allows even sticky, viscous fluids to proprietary algorithm based on thermo-
potential for the application of flow easily without leaving residue dynamics and fluid mechanics to select
this technology in areas such has been newly applied industrially. a customized combination of materials for
as coal-fired power plants and Developed at the Massachusetts In- a given substrate material and fluid. For ex-
the cement industry, as well as stitute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, ample, Smith says, if the LiquiGlide technol-
other combustion processes. Mass.; www.mit.edu) and licensed to ogy was to be used for a food application,
startup company LiquiGlide Inc. (Cam- the coating would be made from materials
RECYCLING SALT bridge, Mass.; liquiglide.com), the tech- related to the food product and approved
Many industrial processes pro- nology consists of a highly textured solid for food contact.
duce substantial amounts of surface combined with a liquid that im- Smith notes that a property that differen-
wastewater with very high salt pregnates the solid material and main- tiates LiquiGlide from other nanotextured
concentrations. This waste- tains a permanently wet character. When surfaces is its ability to self-heal when abra-
water represents a serious coated onto process equipment or tanks, sions occur. This makes it more durable and
pollutant if it finds its way into
the LiquiGlide technology can reduce yield longer-lasting than other superhydrophobic
bodies of water, particularly riv-
ers and lakes used for potable
losses and improve cleanability (less down- surfaces, Smith says.
water treatment. To recycle the time and less wastewater from cleaning). The technology is commercially available,
salt from such industrial waste The textured solid surface acts like a very and the company is working with customers
streams, Covestro AG (Leverku- thin sponge, attracting the liquid via capillary to customize coatings for industrial applica-
sen, Germany; www.covestro. forces, and keeping it place, explains Dave tions, such as storage tanks, now. The tech-
com) is now coordinating a re- Smith, LiquiGlide co-founder and CEO, so nology is also being targeted at consumer
search project with partners that viscous materials, such as bitumen, packaging, medical equipment and other
cosmetics, food products and others, will areas where viscous materials need to flow,
(Continues on p. 11) not stick to equipment surfaces. the company says.
10 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
New excipient enhances drug solubility from industry and academia to develop a process to use
the treated salt and purified wastewater in electrolysis pro-
cesses to produce chlorine.
A
newly launched pharmaceutical excipient (inactive ingredient
A key objective of this project is to increase the salt con-
providing a vehicle for delivery of oral dosage) enhances the tent of the salt solutions as much as possible in an environ-
solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that have mentally friendly manner during the treatment process, says
poor bioavailability. Tradenamed Parteck MXP, the excipient is project coordinator Yuliya Schiesser, a process researcher at
a polyvinyl alcohol-based material developed by MilliporeSigma (Bil- Covestro. This will be done in part using the waste heat from
lerica, Mass.; www.emdmillipore.com). the adjacent production plants. Covestro is planning a dem-
Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is a pharmaceutical process intended to onstration plant for testing purposes at its Krefeld-Uerdingen
increase solubility and bioavailability of APIs when combining them site in Germany. In early 2016, the company brought a pilot
with excipients. HME increases API solubility by breaking down the plant on stream there that uses a recycling process devel-
crystalline structure of APIs into a more amorphous state, explains oped in-house to purify salt-laden process wastewater so
that it can be reused for the production of chlorine.
Andrew Bulpin head of process solutions strategic marketing and
innovation at MilliporeSigma. The Parteck MXP excipient works to
fix this amorphous state into a solid solution form. Increases in
PHOTOCATALYSTS
solubility can potentially increase the overall bioavailability of the API, Efforts to develop artificial photosynthesis as a means for
making H2 have been hindered by the degredation of the
Bulpin says.
photocatalysts commonly used in anodes, which have a
Traditionally, excipients used in HME can have limitations in the lifetime of around 20 h. Now, researchers from Japan have
amount of API load, resulting in instability of the amorphous state, developed a water-splitting photocatalyst sheet with a self-
and in some cases, are unstable themselves under the high tempera- regenerating co-catalyst that enhances the durability of
tures used in HME. The Parteck MXP excipient, due to its intrinsic oxygen-evolution to longer than 1,100 h. The achievement
properties, can maintain stability (stable above 200C, the company is a milestone for a project of the New Energy and Industrial
says) and load more API by weight than with traditional excipients. Technology Development Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki
The company says Parteck MXP allows up to 30% drug load, com- City, Japan), with researchers from the University of Tokyo,
pared to 1015% with existing excipients. Tokyo University of Science and Japan Technological Re-
The polymer used in Parteck MXP is listed by the U.S. FDA as a search Association of Artificial Photosynthetic Chemical
Process. The NEDO team showed that anodes made with
GRAS (generally recognized as safe) substance, according to Millipore-
Mo-doped BiVO4 particles embedded into sheets possess
Sigma. It has been tested on eight common low-solubility drugs so far.
a stability that is comparable to that of solar cells.
Christine Banaszek
Applications Engineer
Employee Owner
Circle 06 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-06
P
henpropanone monomers can be produced foods and cosmetics.
from lignin via an enzymatic process developed The aromatic monomers are directly made from natural
by Yukari Ohta and coworkers at the R&D Cen- lignin via a cascade reaction of -O-4-cleaving bacterial
ter for Marine Biosciences, Japan Agency for enzymes in a one-pot synthesis. Guaiacylhydroxylpro-
Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Yokosuka City; panone (GHP) and the GHP/syringylhydroxylpropanone
www.jamstec.go.jp), in collaboration with National De- (SHP) mixture are exclusive monomers from lignin iso-
fense Academy, Kyoto University and Saitama Institute lated from softwood (Cryptomeria japonica) and hard-
of Technology. The monomers are produced from wood wood (Eucalyptus globulus). To demonstrate the ap-
lignin using multiple enzymes that are derived from a plicability of GHP as a platform chemical for bio-based
marine bacterial strain. Such monomers have poten- chemicals, the researchers chemically generated value-
tial applications for making pharmaceuticals, functional added GHP derivatives for biopolymers.
R
esearchers from Nanjing University (Nanjing, China; without thermal insulation of the container.
www.nju.edu.cn) have reported a solar desalination A foldable graphene oxide film, fabricated by a scalable
device that is claimed to be much more efficient process, serves as efficient solar absorber, vapor channel
than existing devices. While typical solar-powered and thermal insulator. The graphene oxide film is not in di-
desalinators are not very efficient only about 30 to 45% rect contact with bulk water, but is physically separated by
of the energy they take from sunlight results in water vapor a thermal insulator (polystyrene foam) to suppress parasitic
generation the new device has an efficiency of 80%. heat loss. A 2-D water path is enabled by a thin layer of
The conventional design of direct absorber bulk water cellulose wrapped over the surface of the thermal insulator.
contact has intrinsic thermal loss through bulk water. The entire structure can float on the water surface, with
The new devices high efficiency is made possible by a only the bottom side of the cellulose in direct contact with
confined, two-dimensional water path. Also, due to mini- bulk water, so an efficient water supply to the absorber on
mized heat loss, the high efficiency of solar desalination is the top surface is enabled by a 2-D surface water path
independent of the water quantity and can be maintained within the cellulose pumped by capillary force.
CHEMCAD Version 7 has a new graphic interface that ts your workow. Grayscale
shading allows easy viewing on screen, a wireframe-look exports nicely to P&ID, and
jewel-toned color delivers maximum impact. You can customize color, too. Its easy
and intuitive, so you can focus on solving complex engineering challenges. Weve
got the presentation.
Technip awarded service contract for Toray forms JV with Mitsui Sugar for
Socar petrochemicals facilities cellulosic-sugar manufacturing process
January 4, 2017 Technip (Paris, France; January 5, 2017 Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo;
www.technip.com) has been awarded a service www.toray.com) will establish a JV company with
contract by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Mitsui Sugar Co. for manufacturing cellulosic
Republic (SOCAR) for the engineering design sugar via a new membrane-based process
of a new gas-processing plant with a capacity from the surplus bagasse generated at sugar
of 10 billion m3/yr and a new petrochemical mills. The new JV will be called Cellulosic
plant, which include a steam cracker with a Biomass Technology Co. (CBT), and will have
capacity of 610,000 m.t./yr of ethylene and headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. Toray will Look for more
120,000 m.t./yr of propylene. Technips work hold a 67% interest in CBT, with Mitsui Sugar latest news on
is scheduled to be completed in late 2017. owning the remaining 33%. chemengonline.com
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 13
Altana acquires Formulated Huntsman sells European Evonik acquires Air Products
Resins business from Solvay surfactant assets to Innospec specialty additives business
January 4, 2017 Altana AG (Wesel, January 3, 2017 Huntsman Corp. January 3, 2017 Evonik Industries
Germany; www.altana.com) acquired (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.huntsman. AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.
the Formulated Resins business of com) completed the sale of its European com) has completed the activities to
Solvay S.A. (Brussels; www.solvay. surfactants business to Innospec Inc. acquire the specialty additives business
com), which sells products primarily (Littleton, Colo.; www.innospecinc.com) (Performance Materials Division) of Air
under the Conap brand name. This for $225 million. Huntsman retained Products and Chemicals Inc. (Lehigh
business generated sales of around certain core products and entered Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) for
$20 million in 2015. With the acquisition, into arrangements with Innospec to $3.8 billion (approximately 3.5 billion).
Altana takes over a research and allow Huntsman to continue marketing All relevant antitrust authorities have
production facility in Olean, N.Y. some products. approved the transaction and the
integration of the acquired business
is underway.
I
f you are keeping upwith the news, then p. 5), as well as driven some manufactur- FIGURE 1. The Crescent
you are aware of the quiet revolution that is ers out of business. However, there is an- Dunes CSP plant, which has
been operating in Nevada
taking place in the power-generation mar- other, less-talked about, but important solar- since late 2015, continues
ket, especially in some countries. Renew- power technology that has been around for to generate steam for power
ables, such as solar and wind are becoming decades and offers a major advantage over generation, even at night,
increasingly competitive with fossil fuels, and PV and wind: concentrating solar thermal thanks to molten-salt
technology
in some countries, accounting for a larger (al- power (CSP; see sidebar below).
beit still small) share of electricity production.
Germanys energy-transition (Energiewende) Storage, the CSP advantage
policy (published in 2010), for example, aims The main advantage of a CSP plant is that it IN BRIEF
for a 5560% share of renewable energy in produces grid-friendly, dispatchable electric- STORAGE, THE CSP
gross electricity consumption by 2035. ity, says Kevin Smith, CEO at SolarReserve ADVANTAGE
Germanys Energiewende and other na- (Santa Monica, Calif.; www.solarreserve.
EFFORTS TO CUT COSTS
tional initiatives have been a major boom for com). That means electricity is produced
research and development (R&D) and a driver quickly to meet the demand the same HIGHER TEMPERATURES
for industry to further develop wind, solar and as any conventional steam-driven turbine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
other renewable energy technologies. power plant, he says. Thats because CSP
When it comes to solar energy, photovol- plants being built today have the ability to
taic (PV) solar panels have played the domi- store large amounts of heat using molten
nant role for generating electricity thus far, salt technology. This ability to store thermal
and the fierce competition in the PV market energy instead of storing electricity (as may
has driven down costs (see Editors Page, be done by PV and wind generation with
www.endress.com/project-management
IN BRIEF
S
Alfa Laval Tank Cleaning
afety is a high priority in and you run the risk of cross con-
the chemical process in- tamination, he says. Because SPILLS AND OTHER
dustries (CPI). However, processors know this is true, they DIRTY HAZARDS
safety programs tend often send their people into tanks
to focus more on larger, regu- to spot-clean the areas missed by KEEPING PROCESS
lated concerns, such as personal outdated methods of tank clean- AREAS CLEAN
protective equipment, chemical ing, but confined-space entry is a COMBUSTIBLE AND
handling, storage and labeling huge safety risk. OTHER DUSTS
and environmental compliance, And, the fact that it is chemicals
SPILL- AND SLIP-FREE
while safety issues related to being processed (and, therefore, FLOORS
good housekeeping often get spilled) ups the ante on house-
less attention. Unfortunately, keeping because the materials CONTROLLING NOISE
many smaller-scale incidents may be corrosive, hazardous or POLLUTION
(think slips and falls and minor dangerous, and must be handled
injuries) that occur in a chemical in a manner that adheres to strict
facility are directly related to poor regulatory guidelines. Stephen
housekeeping. For this reason, FIGURE 1. The Gamajet Preece, technical director with
tank cleaning system
experts stress the importance of uses rotary impingement Madison Chemical Co., Inc. (Madi-
proper housekeeping procedures to provide a 360-deg, reli- son, Ind.; www.madchem.com),
and tools. And, if an improved able and effective clean which blends chemicals from raw
using high-impact jets to
safety record isnt enough incen- scour tanks clean materials and produces industrial
tive to get your facility into white cleaning products, explains. We
glove condition, theres also a strong cor- have 1,500 products in our line and a large
relation between proper housekeeping and number of raw materials that we purchase,
product quality. store, label and handle. There are legal re-
quirements and quality-system requirements
Spills and other dirty hazards and, of course, certain personal preferences
The buildup of spills, dust and other haz- that come into play.
ards will certainly become safety issues In addition to adhering to all the legal and
if the cleanup of process and other facil- regulatory requirements, attention to house-
ity areas is not a high priority. Personnel keeping in the process and production areas
will be injured and end product will start to is an important safety precaution for his com-
suffer, says Rick Morgando with Kafko In- pany, as well. We have large mixing tanks
ternational, Inc. (Skokie, Ill.; www.kafkointl. with propeller-type blades. Everything needs
com), which manufactures Oil Eater-brand to be kept clean and tidy. We need to avoid
products. The manager of the facility has to or immediately attend to liquid spills to avoid
view the relationship between housekeeping slip hazards. We have dry powders and they
and safety to be as important of an issue as need to be properly handled to avoid spills
the quality of the product they are produc- because those create dust hazards. Attend-
ing. Furthermore, housekeeping, safety and ing to these issues helps us avoid accidents
product quality are all connected. and keeps personnel safe, but it also im-
Andrew Delaney, R&D product manager proves our products because we dont want
with Alfa Laval Tank Equipment (Exton, Pa.; our finished products contaminated with
www.gamajet.com) agrees. It all goes hand drips and spills from other raw materials or
in hand. You cant make good product on other products in our line.
dirty equipment or in a dirty tank. You lose He continues: Safety is key but it all
consistency, you lose yield of the process feeds into the whole general quality area.
Gwtgmc#"Qt"Cu"Yg"
Ecnn"Kv<"379"E."907"dct."
cpf"5086"o0
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ogcuwtkpi"gxgt{vjkpi"vjcv"ocvvgtu0
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Cduqnwvg"tgnkcdknkv{"cpf"UKN"uchgv{"egtvkhkecvkqp"ogcp"{qw"okijv"pqv"
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"20287"'"ceewtce{0"Cpf"hcnug"ngxgn"tgcfkpiu"ctg"c"vjkpi"qh"vjg"
rcuv"ykvj"vjg"UKVTCPU"NT472"hncpigf"gpecruwncvgf"cpvgppc"
yqtmkpi"gxgp"kp"vjg"oquv"ciitguukxg"ogfkc0"Qwt"vgco"ikxgu"{qwt"
dcncpekpi"cev"tgrgcvcdknkv{"gxgt{"vkog0"Dgecwug"yg"dgnkgxg"gxgt{"
dwukpguu"uweeguu"dgikpu"ykvj"itgcv"ogcuwtkpi0
RFRC/C32397/22/9822
ukgogpu0eqo1ugpuqtu1ejgokecnu
Circle 29 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-29
Focus
Focus on Pressure
Monitoring and Control
Aura Controls Compact regulator is designed ducers are available with threaded
for analytical instruments or welded hygienic process connec-
The EX2 Series Control Station tions, to help them meet a variety of
(photo) is a flexible, small-footprint, industry standards, and they provide
gas-delivery system that includes 420-mA and 010-V (d.c.) output
a dual-stage regulator, mount- signals. The PMP11 and PMP21
ing bracket and flexible hose. It is pressure transducers measure (with
designed for applications such as accuracies of 0.5% and 0.3%, re-
calibration systems, gas panels and spectively) pressures from 15 to
analytical instrumentation. The de- 6,000 psi at temperatures from 40
vice provides primary control for to 212F. The PMP23 measures pres-
inlet pressures up to 3,000 psig. Its sures from 15 to 6,000 psi at tem-
streamlined design minimizes leak peratures from 14 to 212F, with ac-
pathways and internal volume, en- curacy of 0.3%. Endress+Hauser,
abling efficient purging and safe cali- Greenwood, Ind.
bration when used with hazardous www.us.endress.com
gas mixtures, says the company.
Aura Controls, Virgina Beach, Va. This wireless transmitter eases
www.auracontrols.com installation and operation
The Rosemount 3051S MultiVariable
Instrument family enjoys Wireless Pressure Transmitter (photo)
expanded protocol options is designed to measure two process
This company has expanded the variables in one installation, helping
communications-protocol offerings users to gain greater insight into their
on its pressure, flow and liquid instru- processes without increasing instal-
mentation products (photo), adding lation costs, says the company. The
EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet as op- transmitter measures differential and
Alicat Scientific
tions. The recently added indus- static pressure concurrently, allowing
trial automation protocols enable users to reduce pipe penetrations
integration of instruments from this and impulse piping, along with their
manufacturer with programmable associated costs. The static pres-
logic controllers (PLCs) running Eth- sure sensor is available as either true
erNet/IP or DeviceNet. Realtime data gage or absolute, which allows for
including mass flow, volumetric reduced maintenance and calibration
flow, pressure, temperature, se- costs. Users have instant visibility to
lected gas calibration, setpoint and their measurements through a non-
totalized flow of gases can be intrusive, WirelessHART monitoring
read centrally by the PLC and used system. These transmitters have a
to manage controllers and meters. 10-year stability specification, ensur-
Endress+Hauser With response times as low as 100 ing a decade of maintenance-free
ms, controllers rapidly and precisely performance, says the company.
monitor and control parameters in Emerson Process Management,
many CPI applications. Alicat Sci- Chanhassen, Minn.
entific, Tucson, Ariz. www.emersonprocess.com
www.alicat.com/ethernetip
This wireless pressure sensor
These pressure transducers enables long-range monitoring
are designed for hygienic use The Pressure Scout (photo, p. 25)
Cerebar PMP11, PMP21 and PMP23 is an intrinsically safe wireless pres-
pressure transducers (photo) mea- sure sensor that expands pressure
sure pressure up to 6,000 psi and are monitoring and alarm reporting as
factory-spanable to meet specific part of the companys SignalFire Re-
Emerson Process Management application requirements. The trans- mote Sensing System. It consists of
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number on p. 70, or use the website designation.
24 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
a pressure sensor integrated with a consists of six new sensor product SignalFire Wireless Telemetry
wireless node and internal battery. It lines and two new transmitters that
is said to be a low-cost alternative to can be configured to suit the needs
conduit-wired or other wireless pres- of the application. These mass flow-
sure-monitoring solutions, especially meter instruments provide reliable
for well-tubing and casing pres- measurements in demanding pro-
sure monitoring, tank-level monitor- cess environments involving liquids
ing and compressor-station status with high viscosity, entrained gases
monitoring applications. The Pres- and two-phase flows, under high-
sure Scout provides robust, long- pressure or high-temperature con-
range (up to a half mile) transmission ditions, and hygienic or cryogenic
to the SignalFire Gateway, where environments. Yokogawa Electric
pressure data become available via Corp., Tokyo, Japan
a Modbus RTU or TCP interface. www.rotamass.com
It operates in temperature ranges
from 40 to 80C, in challenging This pressure transmitter has
outdoor environments, maintaining multiple configuration options
signal strength through variable ter- The TPM Series digitally compen-
rain, structures and weather, says sated pressure transmitter, with
the company. SignalFire Wireless ranges from 100 mbar to 600 bars,
Telemetry, Hudson, Mass. and a choice of pressure ports and
www.signal-fire.com electrical connections, provides high
performance with multiple configu-
This mass flowmeter improves ration options for a diverse array of
operation and maintenance industrial applications. This transmit-
Rotamass Total Insight (photo) is a ter provides reliable pressure mea-
new portfolio of four-wire Coriolis surements over a temperature range
mass flowmeters and transmitters. from 20 to 125C. It is said to be
The Rotamass TI product portfolio ideal for hydraulic and pneumatic Yokogawa Electric
Circle 27 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-27
Optimal Productivity
Increase yield by eliminating process
variation caused by stall conditions
For Optimum
Built-in steam trap synchronizes
pumping and trapping functions to
maximize available tube bundle surface
area
Heat Exchanger
Assured Uptime Reliability
Increased equipment availability
through the elimination of heat
Performance.
exchanger stratification
Non-electric, intrinsically safe design
with no cavitation or seal leakage
Precision engineered, warranted
internals using INCONEL compression
spring and snap-action mechanism
Improved System
Efficiency
Complete condensate recovery
reduces energy consumption, and
lowers water treatment and sewage
costs
Energy conserving, contoured body
design uses less motive medium
Achieve outstanding productivity,
performance, and energy efficiency
with the original PowerTrap from .
Call to learn how the PowerTrap
can optimize heat exchanger value in
your process application.
PROTECT PUMPS
DRYRUNNINGCAVITATIONBEARINGFAILUREOVERLOAD
PUMPING
AMPS
Circle 19 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-19
281-987-0726
www.dyna-therm.com
SEPARATION AND STEAM DRUM SOLUTIONS SINCE 1961
Circle 11 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-11
S
team is commonly used in the constant
pressure
chemical process industries Water
Dry
(CPI) for process heating, pow-
s
aturat steam
er generation, atomization, cleaning This line shows
ed
r
and sterilization, moisturization and boiling points ate
Temperature
at increasing w
humidification, among other applica- pressures ted
ra (Wet steam)
tu
tions. This one-page reference pro- Sa Two phase region
vides a refresher for key concepts
related to steam. B C
steam is subject. Steam produced FIGURE 1. A temperature-enthalpy phase diagram illustrates the behavior of steam and the relationships
between steam properties
under higher pressures is of higher
temperature and carries more energy, all liquid into vapor at a given pres- aware of potential problems, such as
but also requires more heat to gen- sure, the steam is said to be saturat- corrosion and scale from impurities
erate. Steam with higher energy per ed (100% vapor, dry steam; point C). in the water, damage to flowmeters
unit of mass is said to have higher en- Saturated steam occurs at pressure and other equipment, and reduced
thalpy, a thermodynamic property of and temperature conditions that allow heat transfer. Lower heat transfer
a fluid that is defined as the internal water in its vapor and liquid form to rates occur because condensed wa-
energy of the fluid added to the prod- exist simultaneously. ter can form a film on heat-transfer
uct of its pressure and temperature. Saturated steam has several prop- surfaces, which reduces heat trans-
Enthalpy is a measure of the available erties that make it desirable for pro- fer because thermal conductivity
energy of the fluid, and enthalpies cess heating, including a high heat- of water is much lower than that of
have been calculated for a wide range transfer coefficient, which allows a steam. Other potential problems in-
of steam and saturated liquid condi- smaller heat-transfer surface area. clude overloading steam traps and
tions. These values may be found in The heat-transfer capacity of satu- water hammer, if the amount of con-
steam tables, and can be graphically rated steam is much higher than that densed water is too high.
represented by a temperature-enthal- of water or superheated steam. Al-
py diagram (Figure 1). though the temperature of the boiling Steam grades
water and saturated steam within the Several grades of steam are common
Wet steam region same system is the same, the heat in CPI facilities.
Water can be heated to its boiling energy per unit mass is much greater Plant steam. Also known as indus-
point (point A to point B on the curve), in the steam. Further addition of heat trial steam, plant steam is by far the
which depends on the pressure ap- to saturated vapor then increases its most common form used for general
plied. At its boiling point for a particu- temperatures (superheated region). indirect heating in CPI plants.
lar pressure, additional energy input Superheated steam is used to turn Filtered steam. Also known as
will not cause a further temperature turbines in power generation. culinary steam, filtered steam is
change (as long as pressure remains produced by passing plant steam
constant) and the steam moves to- Industrial practice through a high-efficiency filter to re-
ward point C on the diagram. Steam In CPI facilities, it is generally desir- move solid and liquid particles. It also
in this area is termed wet since it able to use steam with the maximum needs to be free of boiler water-treat-
contains both water vapor and liquid possible dryness fraction. However, ment chemicals.
water droplets. perfectly dry (saturated) steam is al- Clean steam. Clean steam requires
At the boiling point for a given pres- most impossible to produce in indus- controlled feedwater quality for ap-
sure, water changes from a mixture of trial practice. For steam generated plications where contamination is
100% water/0% steam to a 0% wa- in a boiler, turbulence and splashing not acceptable.
ter/100% steam mixture. Wet steam cause a small degree of wetness Pure steam. Pure steam is similar to
contains a certain portion by mass of from non-vaporized water molecules, clean steam for use in quality-critical
liquid water droplets. For example, which are carried into the distributed processes. In pure steam, the result-
steam that contains 8% moisture by steam. Radiant heat loss also causes ing condensate must meet the stan-
mass has a dryness fraction of 0.92 some of the steam to condense, ne- dards of the U.S. Pharmacopeia for
and is 92% dry. cessitating the use of steam traps. water-for-injection (WFI), and contain
If sufficient heat is added to convert Steam-system users must be no bacteria or pyrogens.
32 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
S I NCE 1915
FREE REGISTRATION AT
CHEMSHOW.COM
For over 100 years, the Chem Show continues to 5,000+ Industry Professionals
connect leading manufacturers of equipment, systems
Free Best-practices Seminars
and services for the CPI with tens of thousands of
professionals from every segment of the industry. 300+ Exhibiting Companies
ENDORSING MEDIA
ASSOCIATIONS PARTNERS
Circle 18 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-18
Technology Profile
Methionine Hydroxy Analog Production
By Intratec Solutions
M
ethionine is an essential Natural gas/
Hydrogen cyanide
production
amino acid that is widely ammonia unit
used as an animal feed
additive, especially in the Propylene
Acrolein
production MMP production MHA production Methionine
unit unit hydroxy analog
poultry market. Hydroxy-methyl bu- unit
tyric acid, also known as methionine
Methyl mercaptan
hydroxy analog (MHA), is used in Hydrogen sulfide/ production
methanol
animal nutrition as an equivalent to unit
methionine, since it is converted into Main raw material Process Main product
L-methionine by enzymes inside ani- FIGURE 2. Integrated process units for the production of methionine hydroxy analog
mals bodies.
HMBN reacts with water to form an Economic performance
The process amide (2-hydroxy-4-methylthiobutan- MHA production cost (including plant
In the process described here, liquid amide), with sulfuric acid behaving as a operation, product sales, administra-
MHA is produced from 3-methylmer- catalyst. The effluent from this reactor tion, R&D activities and depreciation)
captopropionaldehyde (MMP) and and additional process water are intro- is estimated at about $2,400 per ton
hydrogen cyanide. In the first step, duced into a second CSTR, operated of product. The scope of this analy-
MMP is converted to hydroxy-methyl- at higher temperatures. The amide is sis assumes a facility with capacity
thiobutyronitrile (HMBN), which is then hydrolyzed in a reaction with water and to produce 160,000 metric tons per
hydrolyzed to MHA. Finally, MHA is re- sulfuric acid, forming MHA and ammo- year of MHA (88 wt.% liquid solution)
covered through solvent extraction. nium bisulfate. The effluent from this from HCN and MMP. The production
Figure 1 is a simplified flow diagram of second reactor is fed to a plug-flow re- of these raw materials is usually in-
this process. actor to guarantee complete hydrolysis tegrated to the MHA process (Figure
HMBN synthesis. Liquid MMP is of the amide formed in the first step. 2). The production cost was estimat-
continuously fed into the HMBN reac- The resulting aqueous solution is sent ed based on data from the second
tor, while gaseous hydrogen cyanide for purification. quarter of 2013 for a plant operating
is fed through the reactor bottom. Purification. MHA is extracted with in the U.S.
The reaction of MMP and HCN is methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). The This column is based on Methio-
catalyzed by a mixture of pyridine and extract, rich in MHA and solvent, is nine Hydroxy Analog Production Pro-
acetic acid. MMP is completely con- steam-stripped. The water and sol- cess - Cost Analysis, a report pub-
verted, with high selectivity to HMBN, vent are recovered from the top prod- lished by Intratec. It can be found at:
and a few heavier byproducts. The ef- uct and a concentrated MHA stream www.intratec.us/analysis/methionine-
fluent from this reactor is conducted is recovered from the bottom. The production-cost.
to a nitrogen-stripping column to re- final product composition is correct- Edited by Scott Jenkins
move unconverted hydrogen cyanide, ed with process water. The raffinate
the HCN-free stream is then directed from the extraction, mostly water and Editors note: The content for this column is supplied by
Intratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us) and ed-
to the MHA synthesis. ammonium bisulfate, is also steam- ited by Chemical Engineering. The analyses and models
MHA synthesis. HMBN undergoes hy- stripped. The water is recovered from presented are prepared on the basis of publicly available
drolysis in three steps. At first, HMBN the top and an aqueous solution con- and non-confidential information. The content represents
the opinions of Intratec only. More information about the
is introduced into a continuously stirred taining ammonium bisulfate is recov- methodology for preparing analysis can be found, along with
tank reactor (CSTR) along with pro- ered from the bottoms and disposed terms of use, at www.intratec.us/che.
cess water and a sulfuric acid stream. of as waste.
Catalyst Off gas (to treatment) 1. HMBN reactor
1 2. Nitrogen stripper
MMP 3. First hydrolysis reactor
4. Second hydrolysis reactor
2 ST 5. Finishing reactor
HCN 9
CW 6. Extraction column
Nitrogen 8 7. Extract steam stripper
7 ST 8. Decanter
Process water ST
Extract
NH4HSO4 9. Raffinate steam stripper
Sulfuric acid solution 10. Cooling tower
3 4
MHA @ 88 wt% 11. Steam boiler
Process water
CW Cooling water
6 CW 10 ST Steam
CW CW 5 CW Solvent
ST 11
Raffinate
FIGURE 1. Methionine hydroxy analog production from MMP and hydrogen cyanide
348 Circuit Street Hanover, MA 02339 Phone: 800.992.0209 Fax: 781.829.6515 sales@sturtevantinc.com
www.sturtevantinc.com
Circle 31 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-31
Heat Exchanger
Standards for Shell-
and-Tube Equipment
Reliable operation of shell-and-tube heat exchangers begins with an appropriate standard.
This article provides an overview of those that are applicable
American Exchanger Services
Tom Muldoon, P.E.
S
hell-and-tube heat
American Exchanger
exchangers are
Services Inc.
the backbone of
the power gen-
eration, chemical process,
IN BRIEF petrochemical and pulp-
and-paper industries. They
SHELL-AND-TUBE are designed for a wide va-
EXCHANGER OPERATION
riety of services, from small-
STANDARDS AND CODE engine oil coolers to large
nuclear steam generators.
TEMA STANDARDS
Heat exchangers come in
API 660 STANDARD many types and styles, but
HEI STANDARDS almost all are designed as
unfired pressure vessels.
ASME BOILER AND
Over the years, several in-
PRESSURE VESSEL
dustrial standards have FIGURE 1. Extensive industrial experience with shell-and-tube heat exchangers has
helped make them critical in many types of operations
CODE
been developed to help
FINAL end users and manufacturers ensure that starts with choosing a minimum starting
RECOMMENDATIONS their heat exchange equipment will be de- point. In most cases, this means choos-
signed with safety and consistency in mind. ing an appropriate standard. Because the
The principal reason why shell-and-tube heat design possibilities for shell-and-tube heat
exchangers have been so successful for so exchagers are so broad, it is difficult to de-
long is their ability to meet critical design per- velop a single, unified industrial standard.
formance objectives with such a wide variety This article provides an overview of four
of equipment configurations. standards (or more accurately, three stan-
While advancements in micro-channel dards and one code) that apply to industrial
plate-type heat exchangers have made that shell-and-tube heat exchangers.
class of equipment acceptable, the extensive
industrial experience base with shell-and- Shell-and-tube exchanger operation
tube-style heat exchangers, along with the Heat exchanger tubes come in a variety of
their ability to meet stringent temperature, sizes, types and materials. Tubes are the con-
pressure and mechanical design standards, duit for one fluid that keeps the fluid inside the
has made this type of equipment critical to tube (tube-side fluid) separate from fluid out-
the availability and reliability of many different side the tube (shell-side fluid). Almost always,
unit operations (Figure 1). tubes are circular in cross-section and almost
Achieving mechanical reliability and avail- always connect to a tubesheet (or two), which
ability in shell-and-tube heat exchangers, as secures the ends of the tubes. The tube inner
well as providing units that can be repaired, diameter is usually free-flowing and clear.
maintained and cleaned as service factors Tubes are almost always bundled together
dictate whether new or a replacement and surrounded by a shell. The shell keeps
36 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
American Exchanger Services
the shell-side fluid in contact with the tubes, FIGURE 2. The term "shell-
and-tube heat exchanger"
which convey the tube-side fluid. incorporates a wide range of
This introduction is intended to convey the equipment variations, such as
vast range of equipment encompassed by this model in the shop
the term shell-and-tube heat exchanger
(Figure 2). There are exceptions and vari-
ables for most of the general discussion sur-
rounding this type of equipment. Variables to
consider include designs, operations and flu-
ids. Tubes can have internal or external fins,
which can have varying heights, depending
on the heat-transfer characteristics of the
fluids involved. It is also possible to have
two separate tube-side or shell-side fluid
streams. The shell may be much larger than
the tube bundle to allow for boiling. The wide
range of equipment design variables compli-
cates standards development.
A feature common to all heat exchangers
is the flow of heat from one fluid stream to
another. There is always a balance between
the streams, called the duty. Whenever a dif-
ference in temperature exists, heat will flow is radiated to the tubing, conducted through
from the warmer to the cooler object via one the tube wall and convected into the tube-
or more heat-transfer modes (radiative, con- side fluid. In unfired heat exchangers, heat is
ductive and convective). In some situations, conducted and convected.
such as fired boilers, the energy of the flames Since heat exchangers act through convec-
Container
Drum Discharger
Discharger
Bulk Bag
Filler
Bulk Bag
Material
Conditioner
Direct Lift
Drum
Discharger Bulk Bag
Discharger
Circle 20 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-20
Circle 23 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-23
Pompetravaini Spa via per Turbigo, 44 20022 Castano Primo (Mi) Tel. +39.0331.889000 Fax +39.0331.889057
vendite@pompetravaini.it www.pompetravaini.com
for future maintenance and rebuilding. These requirements include welding details
Spare parts are also specifically addressed and procedures. The extent to which the re-
by API 660. Since many plants maintain their porting goes back to the end user is greater
own equipment, spare tube plugs and gas- in API 660 than in most other relevant stan-
kets can be important parts of the shipment. dards. Many of the fabrication procedures
Quality assurance documentation require- used by the manufacturers are referenced
ments are also provided. Documentation, for review and approval. Such review and ap-
such as material certifications, heat treat- proval requires a certain level of expertise by
ment and the types of NDE (non-destructive the end user in order to assume responsibility
examination), can be important if failures over performance and reliability.
occur. Such documentation can provide as- The full review of the mechanical calcula-
sistance in diagnosing problems. tions by the end user is similar to that in the
Since API 660 is a refinery standard, it ASME requirements. The primary difference
deals with a wide variety of fluids. It recog- is that the manufacturers third-party autho-
nizes the need to reference NACE standards rized inspection agency (AIA) only reviews
for addressing corrosion issues, such as wet the calculations to ensure conformance with
hydrogen sulfide. the ASME requirements and does not look
With the emphasis on the corrosiveness of at design limitations that may be imposed by
the fluids, it is often desirable to have carbon other standards or specifications. The AIA
steel clad with corrosion-resistant alloys. API does not check that the design meets API,
660 provides some guidelines in the use of HEI or TEMA standards or the specifications
the cladding material. This cladding can be used when the units were purchased. This
used for tubesheets and other pressure- would also include nozzle loads and support
boundary components. loads that may be required by the standards
For end-users focused on specification, or by the user specification.
there is also a substantial amount of informa- API 660 has several pages dedicated to in-
tion in API 660 on reporting requirements. spection and testing. This includes extensive
The HEI Standards for Shell-and- heat exchangers that may be out- EXPLOSION SAFETY
Tube Heat Exchangers (HEI) is a stan- side the limits of TEMA, API or even
dard developed to address the needs ASME BPVC.
of other exchangers used in power There are similarities and cross-
generation and similar industrial oper- overs between the HEI and TEMA.
ations. Like TEMA, it is a manufactur- The HEI Standard incorporates a Consulting. Engineering. Products. Service.
ers standard. While the HEI Standard unique nomenclature set that is a bit
covers much of the same ground as more descriptive, but also more com-
the TEMA Standards, it has additional plex. While HEI is more complete in
Gallbergweg 21 | 59929 Brilon, Germany
information on heat-exchanger sur- the design equations, it is also more F +49 2961 50714 | www.rembe.de
face protection. It also provides for limited in its discussion of heat-ex-
the ability to evaluate different pro- change requirements. Much of the Inc.
3809 Beam Road Suite K Charlotte, NC 28217, USA
posals within the context of a pub- services covered in HEI are related T +1 704 716 7022 | F +1 704 716 7025
lished pressure-drop calculation. to water and steam, which do not info@rembe.us | www.rembe.us
Shell-and-tube heat exchangers carry the same corrosion issues as
Circle 28 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-28
QuestIntegrity.com
CHALLENGE CONVENTION
Circle 26 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-26
S
Pankaj K. Singla hell-and-tube heat exchangers are changers. Floating-head heat exchangers
Fluor Daniel India Pvt. an essential element of petroleum are the best solution for applications with
Ltd. refineries, as well as petrochemical dirty service on both sides. The allowable
and chemical plants. Shell-and- pressure drop for the shell side and tube side
tube heat exchangers can be broadly classi- also plays a major role in finalizing the con-
IN BRIEF fied into three types, according to TEMA (Tu- figuration of heat exchanger. When the tube-
bular Exchanger Manufacturers Association; side allowable pressure drop is considerably
SINGLE-PASS, FLOATING
Tarrytown, N.Y.; www.tema.org) construc- low, and fluid cannot be put in the shell side,
HEADS
tion classifications (see Part 1, p. 36). The a floating-head heat exchanger with a single-
CONFIGURATION 1 three types are fixed tubesheet, U-tube and tube pass is recommended.
CONFIGURATION 2 floating-head type. The floating-head type (S The tube-side allowable pressure drop be-
or T type) is widely used in petroleum refiner- comes the limiting factor in determining the
CONFIGURATION 3
ies to accommodate fouling service and to length and number of tubes, and the shell-
allow differential thermal expansion between side pressure drop is maximized within that
the shell side and the tube side of the ex- size by a baffle arrangement that will achieve
changer that results from differences in fluid the necessary performance.
temperatures. Further, due to limitations in Single-pass, floating-head heat exchang-
tube-side pressure drop, single-tube-pass ers are essentially fitted with an internal thin
floating-head heat exchangers are used. expansion bellow at the nozzle-tailpipe con-
This subclass of shell-and-tube heat ex- nection coming out of the floating head to
changers has an internal expansion bellow accomodate the thermal expansion of the
at the connection between the floating-head bundle. The configuration is not common
nozzle and the tailpipe. in industry and the construction details vary
No currently established design code or in- based on the fabricators experience, the cli-
dustrial standard covers the special flanged ents preferences and also based on guide-
joints used for the single-pass floating head lines from the engineering, procurement and
nozzle/tailpipe connection with expansion construction (EPC) expert. Floating head tail-
bellow. This article discusses construction pipes assembling expansion joint shall be
details and configurations for this type of provided with the necessary lugs or support
heat exchanger. plates and retaining/limiting rods, which may
also act as guide bars.
Single-pass, floating head The mechanical detailing of single-pass,
Petroleum refineries and chemical process- floating-head heat exchangers is not covered
ing plants often encounter dirty fluid for both by any established design code or standard
the shell side and the tube side of heat ex- practice, so mechanical design and fabrica-
46 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
Figure 1A Figure 1B
FIGURE 1. The figures shown
here represent configuration
1 for special flange joints
Cover
in a single-pass, floating-
head shell-and-tube heat
exchanger
Floating
head B.C.D.
Tail pipe
Gasket 1 DIA.
Internal expansion
bellow assembly O.D.
Ref tan
line
Flange 1 refer FLANGE 1
Gasket 1 to figure 1B
Flange 2
Flange 3 external Figure 1C GASKET 1
pipe spool flange (refer
to figure 1D)
Gasket 2
Pipe spool BELLOW ASSEMBLY
CONNECTION FLANGE
Figure 1C Figure 1D
O.D.
Gasket 1 DIA. O.D.
B.C.D. B.C.D.
I.D.
I.D.
I.D. Gasket 2
O.D. Gasket 2
B.C.D.
FLANGE 2
GASKET 2 FLANGE 3
tion of heat exchangers using these designs combinations related to these that are also
are very challenging for detailed-engineering used industrially.
contractors and vendors alike. The cost of In the cases mentioned here, all other de-
the exchanger is higher due to the non-con- tails, such as the front end, shell, tube bun-
ventional details and design approaches. dle and floating head, are the same. Shell
Process and thermal design engineers may cover dimensions may vary according to the
not realize the potential complications as- number of components or the parts forming
sociated with this type of heat exchangers the bellow assembly. Also, their dimensions
when specifying such exchangers at the are required to meet mechanical strength as
onset of a project. But during detailed engi- per the applicable design code or standard
neering, fabrication, operation and mainte- (or the best mechanical judgment).
nance, heat exchangers of this type continu-
ously pose challenges and can increase time Configuration 1
and cost at every stage. Special flange joint configuration 1 has the
Discussed here are various types of con- tailpipe coming out of the floating head
figurations and construction details for spe- bolted to the expansion bellow assembly
cial flange joints adopted in previous proj- using standard welding-neck, raised face
ects for this single-pass floating-head shell (WNRF) flanges (Figure 1A). The other end of
and tube heat exchangers. The three cases expansion bellow is welded with a non-stan-
discussed here have been encountered in dard flange (Flange 1; Figure 1B). A ring-type
various projects, but there may be other gasket has been used outside the bolt circle
Up to 50% of skilled workers could retire in the next 10 years, forcing you to bring
new employees up to speed fast. While you may know us for our reliable uid
system components, were made for this kind of pressure too. Swagelok can help
you build up your teams expertise with training offered worldwide on advanced
subjects like sampling systems. Its just one more way were engineered to perform
under pressure.
Circle 32 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-32
low flanges
No manway or inspection opening is
Floating head
required in the shell cover to access bel-
Tail pipe
lows assembly for installation
Configuration 1 disadvantages:
The design of Flange 2 is complex it
Internal bellow has two sets of bolts and gaskets on
assembly
either side that must be designed ac-
cording to best mechanical judgment,
because this type of construction is not
covered in any code or standard
The bolts on Flange 1 are exposed to the
tubeside fluid, which may cause corrosion
of the bolts and crevice corrosion at the
bolt-hole area on both Flanges 1 and 2,
thus weakening the joint. This limitation
Ref tan line Clamp connection can be avoided by employing an addi-
tional gasket placed inside of the bolts, so
that there are two gaskets on either side
of the bolts
Shell cover head
The bellows cannot be inspected without
removing complete shell cover
The gasketed joint between Flanges 1
and 2 is not accessible from outside of
the shell cover. As a result, removing
the shell cover is necessary for gasket
FIGURE 2. No non-standard diameter (BCD) and the bolting arrangement replacement or other inspection
designs are required for is not through-bolt type. This flange is bolted
configuration 2 of the special
flange joints, so it is less to another non-standard flange (Flange 2; Configuration 2
complex than the others Figure 1C) which is welded to the shell cover. This flange joint configuration is not com-
An external piping spool or tube-side noz- plex, because there is no non-standard de-
zle outside of the shell cover is bolted to a sign involved (Figure 2). In this case also,
shell cover flange (Flange 2) with the help of the floating head tailpipe is directly bolted to
another non-standard flange (Flange 3; Fig- the bellow assembly using standard WNRF
ure 1D), which is welded to the piping-spool flanges. The other side of bellow assembly
nozzle neck. Flange 2 is bolted to Flange 3 has a Grayloc clamp connection for quick
using a set of bolts outside of the gasket with and easy opening of the joint. The remain-
a not through-bolt-type arrangement. ing parts are welded to the shell cover. Two
Gasket 1 is used to seal the joint between 20-in.-dia. manways are included to facilitate
Flange 1 and 2 to avoid intermixing between the removal of bolts from the Grayloc con-
the shell-side and tube-side fluids. nection to detach the bellow assembly from
The special flange (Flange 2) has gasketed the shell cover.
joints on both sides, or faces. One side has a Some of the advantages and disadvan-
gasket outside the flange bolts BCD and the tages for this type of flange configuration are
other side has an inner gasket. Both sides listed here:
bolts are not through-bolt type. Configuration 2 advantages:
This type of configuration has both advan- All components and parts are standard,
tages and disadvantages. Some of them are which results in a simple design for the
listed here. bellow assembly and non-complex
Configuration 1 advantages: fabrication
The bellow assembly is removable for in- The simple design in this configuration
spection and replacement without cutting helps allow the minimum number of gas-
or repairing the shell cover flange or the keted joints in the bellow assembly and
floating-head tailpipe therefore helps limit intermixing of fluids or
The inner set of bolts between Flanges 1 fluid leakage from either side
and 2 can be released from outside of the The bellow assembly is removable for
exchanger to detach the bellow assembly inspection and replacement without the
from the shell cover, helping to facilitate need to cut or repairing the shell cover
the assembly and disassembly of the bel- flange or the floating-head nozzle neck
50 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
Figure 3A Figure 3B
O.D.
Shell cover head
GASKET 1
GASKET 2
tailpipe is welded with the expansion set of bolts is used to SPECIAL EXTERNAL FLANGE 3
bellow assembly at one end (Figure 3A). connect Flange 1 with
The other end of the bellow assem- two gaskets (the inner and outer gas- FIGURE 3. In configuration 3 of the spe-
bly is welded to a non-standard flange kets). The outer set of bolts is used to cial flange joint, the floating-head tailpipe
(Flange 1). This special flange has two bolt together the pad Flange 2 and the is welded to the expansion bellow as-
semby at one end
gaskets both inside and outside of special Flange 3 with the gasket, inside
BCD and the bolting arrangement is not of BCD. Flange 3 is exposed to both
through-bolt type (Figure 3B). tube-side and shell-side fluids.
A pad flange (Flange 2) is welded to The shell cover and bellow tailpipe
BULK SOLIDS
HANDLING WORKSHOP
Best Practices for Challenges, Safety & Solutions
Thursday, September 14, 2017 | Top of the Tower | Philadelphia, PA
Solids handling problems can be difficult to solve without some understanding of
why they occur. This one-day workshop tackles the basics of several key areas,
including the flow of solids, characterization of solid particles, safety concerns
for combustible dust, and fundamentals of pneumatic conveying.
A Primer on
Compressor Design
From initial conceptualization to final calculation, designing compressors requires not
only engineering intuition and robust simulation tools, but also a bit of creativity
Valentine Moroz
SoftInWay, Inc.
IN BRIEF
CYCLE DESIGN AND
OPTIMIZATION
PRELIMINARY DESIGN
MEANLINE AND
STREAMLINE DESIGN
VOLUTE DESIGN
COMPUTATIONAL FLUID
DYNAMICS FIGURE 1. While there are numerous compressor types fre-
quently used in the process industries, centrifugal compres-
FINITE ELEMENT sors are among the most ubiquitous
ANALYSIS
A
s technology has evolved, so has cess, and each step has to relate back to
ROTOR DYNAMICS the refrigeration industry. What the original design concept. Experience has
CLOSING THOUGHTS were once holes in the ground shown that having a starting concept and
filled with ice and snow have an end goal in mind is imperative. Namely,
transformed into the modern high-effi- before you can begin the process, you need
ciency compression machinery we have to know where you are starting and where
become so familiar with today. However, as you want to end up. With this in mind, be-
common as these devices have become, fore we can even get started with prelimi-
the design process remains a challenge. nary design, blade profiling and analysis of
This is where a combination of scientific computational fluid dynamics (CFD), it is
knowledge, experience and creative ini- important to take out a piece of paper and
tiative comes into play. While there are, start brainstorming. Consideration of the
of course, several variations in terms of different refrigeration technologies (cycles),
the application of each design step, the is always a great place to start, so we can
guidelines presented here could be applied ensure we will design the best compressor
not only to refrigeration compressors, but for the application. The cycle will directly
also to compressors used in many other impact the rest of the compressor design
processes and industries. decisions, so this is not a step that can be
There are a number of steps to consider bypassed. This articles discussion begins
throughout the compressor design pro- with cyclic compression.
54 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
Cycle design and optimization
Cyclic refrigeration units are used
for reducing and maintaining the
temperature of a body below the
general temperature of its sur-
roundings. In a refrigerator, heat is
pumped from a low-temperature
heat source to high-temperature
surroundings. According to the sec-
ond law of thermodynamics, this
process can only be performed with
some aid of external work. The va-
por-compression refrigeration cycle
(which is a type of cyclic refrigera-
tion) is used in most household re-
frigerators, as well as in many large FIGURE 2. Centrifugal compressors include several critical internal components that cannot be ignored
industrial systems. The advantages during the preliminary design phase
of choosing this route are that the
technology is mature, the costs are size and requirements, as well as be realistic.
relatively low and the process has the economic analysis of the whole Next, we must determine the type
the capacity to be driven directly cycle. By completing these steps of compressor we want to use for
with electrical or mechanical energy. prior to beginning the preliminary the refrigeration cycle. For the pur-
For initial consideration of the design, we are establishing bound- poses of this article, we will focus on
compressor, we must perform cal- ary conditions, performance require- the centrifugal configuration (Figure
culations to determine the operating ments and geometric constraints 1). However, many other options
conditions and system function, the for the compressor before commit- exist, including reciprocating, scroll,
type of working fluids and the system ting to a design that may or may not helical and rotary compressors.
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Circle 05 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-05
Volute design
A volute, in this case, is a casing that
receives the working fluid coming out
of the impeller. The volute typically
looks like a curved funnel, as seen in
Figure 5. The main objective of volute
design is to define the circumferen-
tial variation of the mean radius and
cross-sectional area. The different
types of volutes are as follows:
1. External, with an outer diameter
higher than the diffuser discharge
diameter
2. Internal, with the volute outer di-
ameter equal to the diffuser outlet
diameter and the inner diameter
lower than the diffuser exit
3. Intermediate (somewhere in the
middle of option 1 and 2)
Volutes may also be classified by
the shape change across the cir-
cumference (constant external diam-
eter, constant internal diameter and
constant mean diameter).
Once we have considered the type
of volute, the next main objective
becomes to define the circumferen-
tial variation of the mean ratios and
the cross-sectional area. There are
two main methods of doing this, de-
scribed below.
Simple area schedule (SAS). A
desired flow velocity at the scroll dis-
charge is used to set the area at the
full-collection plane. Then the volute
area is allowed to vary linearly with
the polar angle, 0 deg.
Area distribution. Establish an area
distribution from the principles of
conservation of mass and angular
momentum.
When considering volute designs,
we must also consider losses, which
Circle 09 on p. 70 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/66425-09 include incidence losses and losses
58 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
related to flow turn in the volute, for refrigeration compressor applica- Coupled to this process is the esti-
such as friction, mixing losses and tions, as those may involve working mation of bearing workability. Often,
so on. with challenging fluids. The objective using a software module (Figure 6)
of this type of analysis is to explore packed with mechanical and hydro-
Computational fluid dynamics how the compressor (or anything for dynamic characteristics for various
CFD calculations are an integral part that matter) would perform under types of journal bearings (including
of centrifugal compressor design stress operation. Engineers typi- oil, gas-foil and ball-bearings), stiff-
and are an important final step for cally want to perform static, modal ness and damping characteristics is
broad modeling and simulation of and harmonic analysis. When unde- best, because you can also simulate
flow, heat transfer and turbulence. sired stresses are discovered in the the thrust.
The main objectives of 3-D CFD cal- compressor (usually on the impel-
culations are to evaluate the quality ler), the engineer goes back to the Closing thoughts
of the flow path, compare the re- profiling step and iterates the de- Using refrigeration compression as
sults of 3-D CFD calculations and sign to minimize these performance an example, it is clear that quite a
the meanline and streamline calcula- characteristics. Although seemingly lot of thought goes into compres-
tions experimental data, and check straightforward, this step can result sor design before any engineer-
for the presence of flow separation, in serious time and monetary losses ing work can take place. After
supersonic shocks and the effects of if not carried out correctly. you have brainstormed and de-
3-D blade design. cided on the type of compressor
In most CFD codes, the main as- Rotor dynamics you wish to design and what you
pects include a preprocessor, which Rotors and bearings are the most need it to do (where you are and
is used for mesh construction, defini- critical components of any rotating where youre going), the work re-
tion of fluid properties of the appro- machinery, including centrifugal com- ally kicks into full gear. Preliminary
priate boundary conditions, a solver pressors. Rotor lifetime and reliability design must be conducted, fol-
and a postprocessor for analysis and depend, first of all, on the level of rotor lowed by meanline and streamline
display of results. Typically, the pro- vibrations. In order to meet the high- analysis, volute design, CFD, FEA
and finally rotor dynamics. While
this can all appear overwhelming
at first, compressor design is a skill
When undesired stresses are discovered in the that can be perfected through the
compressor (usually on the impeller), the engineer goes means of science, art and prac-
back to the profiling step and iterates the design to tice. Rome certainly wasnt built
in a day, and neither is your com-
minimize these performance characteristics pressor. So once you have the lo-
gistics figured out, patience is key.
Combining your own knowledge
cess starts with loading the data into est requirements of reliability, each with the steps presented in this ar-
the CFD software, with given bound- step of rotor design for a centrifugal ticle, along with an integrated soft-
ary conditions, geometry shape and compressor should be based on ac- ware platform and a team of en-
so on. Next, the engineer needs to curate rotor-dynamics predictions. thusiastic colleagues, will put you
create and define the mesh. Mesh Recognizing all these points, we well on your way to a successful
generation involves the computa- cannot forget to perform rotor dy- compressor design.
tional domain where the engineer namics analysis during the process Edited by Mary Page Bailey
solves a set of equations (specifically of compressor development. Using
Navier-Stokes equations) to obtain a given design software, we can Author
an appropriate mesh (grid). Finally, it perform the full-scope rotor dynam- Valentine Moroz is the chief op-
is time to set up the solver and moni- ics analyses required by widely used erating officer (COO) of SoftInWay
Inc. (1500 District Avenue, Burl-
tor for completion. Once the solu- standards. To guarantee safe cen- ington, MA 01803; Phone: 1-781-
tions are presented, the engineer trifugal compressor dynamic opera- 685-4942; Email: valentine@
must review the results, and adjust tion, we want to perform static de- softinway.com; Website: www.
softinway.com). Moroz has been
the models to make sure that every- flection analysis, critical speed and involved in turbomachinery for
thing is reasonable, and of course, map analysis, stability analysis, un- over 15 years, and has supported
SoftInWay in the capacity of COO
if issues arise, revisit the geome- balancing response, model torsional since 2009. In this role, he has been instrumental in
try in the profiling tool to make the analysis and time-transient torsional growing the turbomachinery development and services
appropriate changes. analysis. Another useful tool here is a business from his involvement in moderately sized de-
sign projects to engaging in complete turnkey product
Campbell diagram, which shows the development, ranging from green-energy turbines to
Finite element analysis frequency versus the rotation speed refrigeration compressors. His specialties include tur-
Finite element analysis (FEA) is an- of a shaft, allowing for analysis of bomachinery technologies, such as turbines, pumps
and compressors. Additionally, his responsibilities in-
other important step of centrifugal these two factors to determine the clude sales, marketing and finance for the SoftInWay
compressor design especially so functionality of a given design. Group of companies, as well as opening and staffing
global offices in Switzerland, India and the U.S.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 59
Solids Processing
F
or decades, the ultimate per-
formance in fine mechanical
milling performance has been
provided by the air-swept
classifying mill (ASCM). Perfectly
suited to a broad range of non-
abrasive milling applications, the
air-swept classifying mill is a single
machine used to carry out a two-
step process. The process both
reduces particle size and limits the
output of particles using mechanical
classification only delivering those
particles of a predetermined, easily
controlled, fine size as the finished
product exiting the mill. Historically,
this technology has offered perfor-
mance advantages over other op-
tions, in terms of its ability to deliver
highly controlled particle sizes for a
broad range of applications, from
powder coatings to paper fillers.
Until recently, the air-swept classify-
ing mill has been widely held as the more sizable ongoing investment. a red blood cell). Despite being rela-
gold standard in milling technology. Historically, while pin mills have al- tively costly to operate and requir-
Today, those processors seeking ways used less energy, been simpler ing an experienced operator, users
to upgrade or purchase new mill- to operate, and been more economi- throughout the chemical process in-
ing equipment have several different cal overall, they were not as effec- dustries (CPI) have tended to gravi-
types of impact milling technolo- tive in terms of their ability to reach tate toward them, thanks to several
gies to select from. The pin mill is the same levels of fine-particle size. unique features beyond fineness.
one option that has seen major ad- A primary goal of mill manufactur- Such desirable attributes include the
vancements over the last decade, ers over the last decade has been following:
enabling performance that rivals that to close this gap in particle-size ca- The air-sweeping feature can cool
of the air-swept classifying mill. Until pabilities, to take advantage of the materials
recently, significant differences be- improvement in cost-per-ton figures These systems have the ability to
tween air-swept classifying mills and that a pin mill can yield. To help read- hold and control particles through
pin mills were obvious. In general, ers better understand a comparison mechanical classification
air-swept classifying mills provided of the economics, a brief introduc- The design allows operators to
the ultimate milling performance, but tion to each of these two technolo- remove oxygen from the process
also carried a large capital invest- gies is presented below. using inert gases, such as nitrogen
ment, as they required the purchase or argon, thereby reducing the risk
of a baghouse filter (to separate the Air-swept classifying mills of spark or ignition
milled material from the air stream), Air-swept classifying mills (Figure 1) Air-swept classifying mills can pro-
a high-static-pressure blower and are impact mills that can grind ma- duce particles in small sizes that
auxiliaries. These auxiliaries and the terials into very fine powders. The other mechanical mills cannot
operation of the mill increased the products range in size from about How air-swept classifying mills
cost per ton of material processed 100 m (the diameter of a human work. Air-swept classifying mills per-
by the mill, and contributed to a hair), down to 5 m (the diameter of form both milling and air-classifying
60 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
of spinning blades called the air- of air-swept classifying mills offer a
classifying wheel. The wheel acts as standard industrial version and cus-
a screen and only lets the particles tomized versions. Customization
that are small enough through. The options typically include specific,
larger particles remain in the mill for duty-purpose innovations to suit in-
additional grinding. In its simplest dividual markets.
form, fine particles exit the mill and One manufacturer offers a variant
are collected in a baghouse product of the traditional air-swept classifying
collector. Particle size is adjusted by mill that is specifically designed for
increasing or decreasing the clas- food ingredients. It presents mate-
sifier speed. Airflow rate and feed rial directly to the classifying wheel
rate affect the residence time in first, to reduce the energy used for
the chamber, and the action of the grinding on specification mate-
sweeping air prevents heat buildup. rial, and then uses hammer blocks
Types of air-swept classifying to grind the material. The standard
mills. Air-swept classifying mills materials of construction change to
vary by size, speed and air flow. Dif- stainless steel and the fasteners are
ferent systems use various impact changed to no-tool access (this fea-
FIGURE 2. Pin mills can be configured in many
ways to suit the needs of the application (for elements, materials of construc- ture has helped the design to gain
instance, using vertical or horizontal shaft, pneu- tion, impact walls, impact area ge- U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
matic or gravity-feed options, varying materials of ometries and directions of mate- acceptance). Another manufacturer
construction and pin configurations) and more rial flow. These options are used offers a variant that is specifically de-
in combination to produce smaller signed for grit reduction of low-den-
functions in a single step. As the inlet particles, or a product with greater sity materials, such as carbon black.
product comes into contact with uniformity, less contamination, or The feed stream is introduced below
a series of spinning impact blocks, any such characteristics that may (rather than above) the rotor, and the
the material is smashed into fine be deemed desirable for a particu- mill incorporates an external coarse
particles that pass through a cage lar application. Most manufacturers recycling system.
Food Ingredients
Size Reduction
Herbicides Minerals
Wet & Dry Size Reduction
Steel & Ceramic Lined Mills Nutraceuticals Pesticides
Jars & Jar Rolling Mills Pharmaceuticals Pigments
Quality &
Innovation Since 1911
5
speeds (Figure 2). Gentle handling,
4 ASCM performance such as mixing and blending, hap-
Pin mill performance pens at lower speeds so more of
3
the energy can be efficiently directed
2 into the product without degrading
1 it. Individual pin mill designs feature
different types of rotors and rotor
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
diameters, varying types, numbers,
Particle size, m and orientations of pins, different ca-
pacities, feed options and liners to
FIGURE 3. Shown here is a comparison of the particle-size distribution for a pin mill versus an air- produce different results.
classifying mill handling sodium bicarbonate. As shown, the pin mill was not able to achieve the same
maximum fineness as the final product produced by the air-swept classifying mill
Types of pin mills
Pin mills to provide controlled atmospheres. The type of pin mill to consider for
Modern impact pin mill technol- Constructed from stainless steel, an application depends on the size,
ogy. Pin mills use varying degrees carbon steel, and many other ma- density and type of product that is
of impact and agitation to process terials, they are available for applica- supplied and desired, and the envi-
many types of materials. They per- tions in the chemical process, food, ronment the mill will be working in.
form a variety of functions, helping pharmaceutical, grain milling and Pin mills can be customized to fit
users to reduce the size of bulk sol- mineral industries. with pressure-pneumatic or gravity-
ids, deagglomerate materials, break How pin mills work. There are sev- feed systems, and they can be con-
apart fibers in natural materials, eral types of pin mills, but all of them structed from different materials ac-
densify, fluff, mix, blend, disperse achieve the same end: producing cording to the application.
and homogenize the product. They homogeneous products. They work Horizontal and vertical pin mills.
provide a range of speeds. Rela- by introducing the feed product onto The name indicates the orienta-
tively slow mixing and blending typi- various spinning rotors with different tion of the rotor. Some applications
cally has rotor speeds on the order configurations of pins or blocks that have special requirements so they
of 6,800 ft/min; high-impact grind- act as impactors. The number and can only use one or the other. For
ing may have speeds up to 36,000 orientation of the pins determines instance, those that need a screen
ft/min. Todays designs are sealed how material is processed, and the at the bottom require a vertical mill.
Centrifugal impact pin mills.
These mills are used to reduce me-
dium- to low-density materials to
fine, uniform sizes of 50325 mesh
(30044 microns, m), for applica-
tions where low wear is critical. They
are widely used in many low-wear
markets, including food-product
processing, such as corn fraction-
ation, flours, starch densification,
corn slurry, sugar and sweeteners,
and semi-abrasive material applica-
tions, such as aluminum sulfate, fer-
tilizer, gypsum, soda ash, tungsten
and other powder de-agglomera-
tion (including tungsten), talc, clay
and kaolin.
Research Projects:
The Importance of Cold Eyes Project Reviews
Follow this guidance to carry out independent project reviews of research projects
that are both valuable and effective and pain free
Richard Palluzi
Richard P Palluzi LLC
I
ndependent project reviews
(IPRs) are a common tool used to
control, review and validate a proj-
ect before making an irrevocable
commitment to start the next phase.
Common issues often reviewed dur-
ing an IPR include necessary scope,
cost and schedule validity, design
readiness, unresolved issues, over-
looked problems, validity of assump-
tions, and confirmation of economic
analysis, among others. Often called
cold eyes reviews (as they are in-
tended to bring a fresh set of cold FIGURE 1. Defining which aspects of the research project should be reviewed, while recognizing those
that are either a given or are beyond the scope of the effort, can help make the most of the effort
eyes to review the project) or, less
commonly, murder boards (due to for a research project is unrealistic should not necessarily be evaluated
their tendency to be used to identify and may doom the effort to a poor during the review.
areas to cut costs or even kill proj- outcome. Tips and proven strate- The IPR sponsors should check in
ects) IPRs are an excellent tool if gies are provided here to help tailor with the team periodically to make
used properly. the IPR effort to a research project, sure they are on track, but give the
While already commonly used in with the goal of improving both the IPR team room and time to work.
large-scale projects throughout the process and the outcome. It is easy for a team to begin down a
chemical process industries (CPI), The IPR sponsors must take the path that the sponsors did not origi-
IPRs are becoming increasingly time to define the desired scope nally envision (and may not feel is
common for research projects, as of the review in adequate detail worthwhile). It may also be necessary
well. This is still a relatively new area, in advance. While it may appear for the sponsors to occasionally cor-
however. As discussed here, the use a safe path to simply open up any ral a reluctant member (or team) who
of an IPR for research projects raises portion of the project to the review, is having difficulty remaining within the
some additional issues. These areas the sponsors need to understand IPR scope. That said, the IPR spon-
of concern while often common that this requires significantly more sors also need to give the team room
with larger projects are somewhat time, effort, experience and prob- and time to do their work.
specialized and often slightly (but ably more personnel on the team. It is not uncommon for the spon-
critically different) when it comes to In many cases, some aspects of sors to want frequent updates, in
research projects. the research project are not realistic order to get a sense of the prelimi-
for the team to review, as the ratio- nary findings. While this can allow
Guidelines for a research IPR nale or justifications are outside the the sponsors to make sure the IPR
Research projects are very different scope of their expertise. is not drifting off track or encounter-
from process projects for a variety The sponsors should clearly iden- ing problems that may need sponsor
of reasons. The scale of the work is tify decisions that are outside the help to overcome, it can also lead
much smaller. The technical chal- scope of the review fo instance, to knee-jerk reactions to issues
lenges are often much greater. In- that the new facility is to be taken that often turn out to have been ad-
formation is usually more limited. as a given so that the IPR can equately addressed or at least not
Project teams are typically much focus on more germane issues. For as serious as first envisioned once
smaller. Goals and objectives are example, the decision to open a new further study and analysis have been
often less well defined. As a re- facility in a different region to meet completed. Strong, experienced
sult, simply assuming that an IPR some strategic goals is probably be- and independent team leadership
can be conducted the same way yond the scope of a normal IPR, and is essential on the IPR team. Such
64 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017
leaders should hold off on reporting
issues prematurely or too frequently,
arguing, correctly, that it is too early
in the study for anything of real value
to be reported.
Pick the best lead possible for the
IPR, and make sure they focus on
the quality of the result, not just
the presentation. The IPR team lead
is a visible and desirable position. If
done well, it usually can provide a
good career boost; however, if done
poorly it can be career-deadening.
There is a natural tendency for team
leaders to work on the final presen-
tation (formal and informal) perhaps
more than the content, with adverse
effects on the IPR quality.
In my experience, I have found the
best team leaders tend to be those
who are nearer the end of their ca-
FIGURE 2. All projects have different critical steps and a good cold eyes review will help the team to
reers individuals who have both focus on the most critical ones
the broader experience and a lower
fear of consequences compared to that is, someone from completely ect teams work and try to determine if
those earlier in their careers. Simi- outside the field. This is particularly the project team is missing anything of
larly, recent retirees and outside true if the project appears to have significance. It is often the case that
contractors are good candidates, as potential problems, such as a higher- the project team may be planning to
they are better able to focus on the than-anticipated budget, a longer do something differently than what the
content of the project review over than desirable schedule, or technical IPR member would have done, or that
their perceived performance. or implementation issues that were may have been less than efficient in
Structure the IPR based on the not originally envisioned. some areas (especially on issues that
amount of work that needs to be However, my experience is that this become obvious in hindsight). A good
reviewed, but keep it as small as level of cold eyes (selecting mem- IPR member must have the ability to
possible. The IPR team composition bers based on them having little or put aside his or her personal prefer-
is not amenable to a ready formula. no research experience) is usually ences, opinions and prejudices, and
My experience suggests that at least self-defeating. The outsider, however only raise issues that they feel the proj-
three members are needed; rarely is competent and dedicated, does not ect teams planned approach does
a team with more than five members have the frame of reference needed not adequately address. Too often,
effective. With fewer members, you to quickly evaluate the issues. Too IPR reports read like a summary of the
typically get a one-person view; any much time is spent with them trying members preferred approaches
more and excessive time and effort to understand the differences be- rather than an objective evaluation of
is often expended trying to reach tween their scope of reference and a the project teams proposed plan.
real agreement. research program. Recognize the difference between
Make sure the IPR has research This results in less effective and an IPR for a major process proj-
experience that is both broad and even occasionally wrong recom- ect and a research project. Large-
relevant. The IPR teams experience mendations. Often the outside mem- scale CPI projects have significant
is critical to its success, so members ber is viewed as having adequate controls and procedures due to their
need to be chosen for their experi- research experience based on casual sheer size and complexity. By com-
ence with research-type projects. factors, such as participation in one parison, research projects often have
There is an unfortunate tendency for or two other IPRs on research proj- much more flexibility and are able to
sponsors to feel that an experienced ects, or time spent in research either use greatly reduced levels of con-
project manager is suitable to review far in the past or of very limited dura- trols and planning. This lack of very
any project. Unfortunately, an IPR tion. When assembling the IPR team, defined procedures for every part of
has limited time and ability to look at nothing can match the effectiveness the research project can be a prob-
the entire continuum of a proposed of individuals with long-term, focused lem for those IPR members without
project. Hence, the members need experience with research programs. research experience. They often be-
to have a clear appreciation of what IPR members have to be able come fixated on what they see as a
areas they need to look at in detail, to look past their preferred way plan lacking the process structure
versus what areas can quickly be of doing a project and evaluate and controls they would see on a
determined to appear satisfactory. whether the projects proposed ap- larger project. This leads them to
There is a natural tendency for the proach is adequate. IPR members focus on these missing structures
sponsors to want a very cold eye need to be able to look at another proj- as major issues rather than asking
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Closing thoughts
IPRs for research projects are valu-
FIGURE 4. 'Cold eyes' reviews can assist in making larger pilot plant and research projects proceed able and useful tools. But like any
more smoothly, allowing issues to be addressed and rectified earlier tool, they can be used less effectively
if their limitations are not recognized,
It was completely or significantly job well enough. and if some basic guidelines are not
overlooked by the project team Problems must be clearly and followed. IPRs are intended to provide
The project teams analysis of the unequivocally stated in the final a review of the project teams plan.
effect is deemed by the IPR to be report. Trying to work the issue so That review is only focused on one
incorrect or at least badly flawed as not to assign blame or needlessly specific moment in time. Regardless
The IPRs combined actual experi- provoke project personnel is cer- of how good the IPR is, how carefully
ence with the proposed approach tainly desirable but not at the cost its recommendations are followed, or
has shown significant problems on of losing the criticality of the issue. how diligent the review, even the best
similar past projects that have not Deciding what is politically appropri- IPR cannot guarantee a successful
been adequately ameliorated by ate wording versus clear communi- project. If the approaches decided
the project teams existing plan cation is never easy. My suggestion upon (by the project team, or recom-
These are fairly high hurdles, but is to make sure to state the issue as mended by the IPR) are not effective,
they provide useful benchmarks to clearly as possible without any ratio- if the project team does not have the
consider, to clearly separate signifi- nale or softening. skill and expertise to execute the proj-
cant issues from potential problems IPRs that do not identify any major ect, if outside events arise that were
or simple concerns about alternate issues should say so and not fill not considered, projects will still suf-
approaches. Most IPRs should not the final report with minor issues. fer. However, a good IPR can improve
be finding many significant issues There is a strong tendency to dig even the projects odds of success. n
unless the project team is really not deeper, to raise any concern that can Edited by Suzanne Shelley
qualified or competent. be seen and to produce something to
List less-critical observations justify the time and effort. Shouldnt Author
in backup information or an the IPR always seek to suggest bet- Richard P. Palluzi, P.E., CSP, of
appendix, providing clear docu- ter approaches, or identify areas of Richard P Palluzi LLC (72 Summit
Dr., Basking Ridge, NJ 07920;
mentation that these issues have weakness or concern (no matter how Email: rpalluzi@verizon.net;
been reviewed with the project minor), to help make the project bet- Phone: 908-285-3782) is a con-
team, are being addressed and ter? I dont think mentioning a host of sultant to the pilot plant and labo-
pose no significant problems. minor issues (if that is all the IPR team ratory research community on
safety, design and research proj-
Many, observations in my experi- could find) to the project team has ect management. He retired as a
ence, require no real action and just any downside. However, I do think Distinguished Engineering Associ-
perhaps a heightened sense of cau- that raising them to the sponsor level ate after almost 40 years at ExxonMobil Research and
Engineering, where he was involved in the design, con-
tion or wariness to make sure they provides little upside. struction, and support of pilot plants and laboratories for
do not escalate. Bringing them to The project team must have the ExxonMobils research site in Clinton, N.J., as well as
the sponsors attention rarely is nec- ability to give its view of the IPRs affiliates worldwide. Palluzi is the author of two books,
and numerous articles and presentations. He is a past
essary. However, when all are raised concerns, to allow them to correct chair of the AIChE Pilot Plant Committee, ExxonMobils
in the body of the final report they a misconception, clarify an issue Pilot Plant and Laboratory Safety Standards Committee,
often hide the main issues, create a or highlight an error. If the process and ExxonMobils Safe Operation Team for their Clinton
backlash with the project team (who has worked well, the project team Facility. He is on the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) NFPA-45 Fire Protection for Laboratories Using
may feel nitpicked) and create a will normally tend to agree with the Chemicals and NFPA-55 Industrial and Medical Gases
sense of unease in some sponsors, concern and then present proposed committees. Palluzi also teaches several courses for
particularly those with less experi- corrective measures. The team may the University of Wisconsins Dept. of Engineering Pro-
fessional Development. He has B.E. and M.E. degrees
ence or more exacting standards, sometimes disagree with the IPRs in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute
that the project team is not doing its assessment for valid reasons. Usu- of Technology.
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New Product Information
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Name Title
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Address
Email | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Abbe, Paul O ......................... 61 Flexicon, Inc. ......................... C4 Ross, Charles & Son Co.......... 11
1-855-789-9827 1-888-FLEXICON 1-800-243-ROSS
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(1957-59 = 100) Nov. '16 Oct. '16 Nov. '15 Annual Index:
Prelim. Final Final
2008 = 575.4 600
CE Index ______________________________________________ 546.6 543.1 542.8
Equipment ____________________________________________ 654.0 647.6 648.9 2009 = 521.9
Heat exchangers & tanks _________________________________ 567.6 557.1 566.5
2010 = 550.8 575
Process machinery _____________________________________ 662.7 653.3 653.0
Pipe, valves & fittings ____________________________________ 818.9 811.0 803.4 2011 = 585.7
Process instruments ____________________________________ 394.2 390.0 386.4 2012 = 584.6 550
Pumps & compressors ___________________________________ 966.0 966.0 956.5
Electrical equipment ____________________________________ 510.7 511.5 508.4 2013 = 567.3
Structural supports & misc ________________________________ 707.9 710.4 713.4 2014 = 576.1 525
Construction labor _______________________________________ 326.0 329.3 323.7
Buildings _____________________________________________ 545.9 546.7 538.9 2015 = 556.8
Engineering & supervision _________________________________ 314.0 313.7 317.1 500
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Starting with the April 2007 Final numbers, several of the data series for labor and compressors have been converted to
accommodate series IDs that were discontinued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2000 = 100) CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
110 2300 80
105
2200 78
100
2100
95 76
2000
90
74
1900
85
72
80 1800
75 1700 70
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
*Due to discontinuance, the Index of Industrial Activity has been replaced by the Industrial Production in Manufacturing index from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.
For the current months CPI output index values, the base year was changed from 2000 to 2012
Current business indicators provided by Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
CURRENT TRENDS
Optimal Pump
largely to fresh data on carbon-steel plates
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that
Chemical Management
pushed the Equipment subindex higher.
The Construction Labor and Buildings
Processing CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL
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