Che December 2013 PDF

December Plant
Revamps
2013
&
Turnarounds
Page 45
www.che.com
Innovations in
Gasification
Workforce
PAGE 42
Issues
Focus on
Flowmeters
ChemShow
Preview
Optimizing a
Steam Network
Gear Units
For the CPI
Calculations in
Process Engineering
Facts at Your Fingertips:

Filtration Testing
and Slurry Conditioning
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GC 121100
Circle 28 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45779-28
www.che.com
DECEMBER 2013 VOLUME 120, NO. 12
COVER STORY
42 Cover Story The Globally Harmonized System This
introduction to the Globally Harmonized System of the
Classification and Labeling of Chemicals can help in un-
derstanding the new classification requirements
42
NEWS
11 Chementator The first commercial process for K2SO4 from
polyhalite completes pilot; New process for monoethylene glycol
completes pilot stage; This gasification process turns waste into
syngas; Metabolic engineering makes plants produce more oil;
Making biogas from waste with low organic content; and more
17 Newsfront CPI Feeling the 'Brunt of Prosperity' on Work-

force issues Natural-gas-related capacity expansions are making
workforce issues acute, but successful strategies are emerging
24 Newsfront Innovations in Gasification

Each region and each application needs a distinct gasification tech-
nology. Fortunately, the equipment is growing and changing to
meet the demands
ENGINEERING
40 Facts at Your Fingertips Filtration Testing and Slurry Condi-
tioning This one-page reference provides guidance on filtration
24
testing, and offers ideas on combination filtration for slurry
conditioning
41 Technology Profile Butene via Ethylene Dimerization

This one-page profile describes the technology and economic
considerations for the production of butene from ethylene via
a dimerization process
45 Feature Report Plant Revamps and Turnarounds Al-

though time is always precious, taking shortcuts and skipping
standard procedures can be costly
ENGINEERING 45
51 Engineering Practice Calculations in Process Engineering
Knowing how specific calculations differ can focus your efforts
54 Engineering Practice Optimization of a Steam Network Proper

configuration of steam-turbine drivers affects power generation in
petroleum refineries
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2013 1

ENGINEERING
61 Engineering Practice Gear Units in CPI Plants

Follow this guidance to improve the selection and operation
of gear units in CPI plants
EQUIPMENT & SERVICES 21
32 Focus on Flowmeters
Communicate with iOS devices with this new app; This two-wire de-
vice is easier to install; Compact DP flowmeter family cuts installation
and maintenance; A space-saving redesign also improves accuracy; A
flowmeter for demanding applications; and more 61
36 New Products Evaluate scale inhibitors with this automated system; Me-
chanical seals that are diamond-coated for resilience; A robust vibration
analyzer with ergonomics in mind; A universal lifting system for material
of any geometry; Administer solid water-treatment chemicals with these
feeders; and more
38 Show Preview ChemShow 2013 A sample of the products and ser-

vices to be featured at the 2013 ChemShow (December 1012 in New
York) includes the following: These pumps are self-cooled via a recircula-
tion process; A no-valve solution for precise metering and dispensing;
Improve evaporator performance with this rotor system; and more
COMMENTARY
4 Editors Page A tribute to a safety trailblazer Trevor Kletz devoted

much of his professional career to the advancement of chemical process
safety. In doing so, he unquestionably saved lives
65 The Fractionation Column Corrosion: The silent killer Corrosion

under insulation (CUI) represents a significant danger for equipment in
the chemical process industries, and there are not enough experts in this
areas, says the columnist 32
DEPARTMENTS
6 Letters 70 Whos Who
8 Calendar 71 Economic Indicators
68 Reader Service
ADVERTISERS
66 Product Showcase/Classified 36
69 Advertiser Index
COMING IN JANUARY ONLY ON CHE.COM

Look for: Feature Reports on Project Management; and Pressure Vessels; Look for Web-exclusive articles;
Engineering Practice articles on Thermal Imaging; and Steam and Water Test your Knowledge
Sampling; A Focus on Performance Materials; A Facts at Your Fingertips on quizzes; New Products;
Dust; News articles on Dehydrogenation Technology; and Weighing; Latest News; and more
and more
2 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2013

Winner of Eight Jesse H. Neal
Awards for Editorial Excellence
Editors Page
A tribute to a safety trailblazer Published since 1902

An Access Intelligence Publication
IChemE
O
ne of the chemical process industries (CPI) PUBLISHER ART & DESIGN
foremost authorities on process safety, MICHAEL GROSSMAN DAVID WHITCHER
Vice President and Group Publisher Art Director/
Trevor Kletz, passed away in late October mgrossman@accessintel.com Editorial Production Manager
at the age of 91. dwhitcher@che.com
EDITORS
Amongst Kletzs many achievements, one PRODUCTION
that stands out is his extensive contributions DOROTHY LOZOWSKI JOHN BLAYLOCK-COOKE
Editor in Chief Ad Production Manager
to the concept of inherent safety a technique dlozowski@che.com jcooke@accessintel.com
to reduce plant hazards through design, for ex- GERALD ONDREY (Frankfurt) INFORMATION
ample by keeping a lower inventory of hazard- Senior Editor SERVICES
gondrey@che.com
ous chemicals on hand and using chemicals in SCOTT JENKINS CHARLES SANDS
a safer-to-handle form. In a statement about Director of Digital Development
Senior Editor
csands@accessintel.com
sjenkins@che.com
Kletz, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB;
MARY PAGE BAILEY AUDIENCE
Washington, D.C.; www.csb.org) said Dr. Kletzs career in industry es- Assistant Editor DEVELOPMENT
tablished him as an expert in chemical process safety, safety culture, and mbailey@che.com SARAH GARWOOD
as an advocate indeed the father of the concept of inherently safer CONTRIBUTING
Audience Marketing Director
sgarwood@accessintel.com
technology and processes. One of his seminal papers was entitled What EDITORS
GEORGE SEVERINE
You Dont Have Cant Leak. His teachings on accident investigations SUZANNE A. SHELLEY Fulfillment Manager
gseverine@accessintel.com
refocused the emphasis from individual lapses to systems failures and sshelley@che.com
JEN FELLING
safer design. The full statement from the CSB, as well as a video that CHARLES BUTCHER (U.K.)
List Sales, Statlistics (203) 778-8700
cbutcher@che.com
features an interview with Kletz, can be found on the CSBs website. j.felling@statlistics.com
PAUL S. GRAD (Australia)
Another outstanding endeavor attributed to Kletz is his role in further pgrad@che.com
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY BOARD
developing and championing hazard and operability studies (Hazops) TETSUO SATOH (Japan)
tsatoh@che.com JOHN CARSON
a technique for identifying potential hazards in plants. In 1985, he Jenike & Johanson, Inc.
JOY LEPREE (New Jersey)
authored an article for this magazine that detailed Hazops and Hazans, jlepree@che.com
DAVID DICKEY
MixTech, Inc.
which are hazard analyses that work out the probability of an accident GERALD PARKINSON MUKESH DOBLE
and the extent of the consequences, and compare them to a target (Elim- (California) gparkinson@che.com IIT Madras, India
inating Potential Process Hazards, Chem. Eng., pp. 4868, April 1985). MARKETING
HENRY KISTER
Fluor Corp.
Kletz started his professional journey with a chemistry degree from GERHARD KREYSA (retired)
MICHAEL CONTI
Liverpool University in 1944. He then moved on to a long-time dis- Marketing Director DECHEMA e.V.
tinguished career with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), where he TradeFair Group, Inc. RAM RAMACHANDRAN
michaelc@tradefairgroup.com (Retired) The Linde Group
became the safety advisor to the then Heavy Organic Chemicals Div.
one of the first such appointments in the U.K. Kletz established HEADQUARTERS
88 Pine Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10005, U.S.
a close relationship with the Dept. of Chemical Engineering at the Tel: 212-621-4900 Fax: 212-621-4694
University of Technology in Loughborough, Leicestershire, where he
EUROPEAN EDITORIAL OFFICES
eventually served as a professor and was granted a doctoral degree in
Zeilweg 44, D-60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
chemical engineering in 1986. Tel: 49-69-9573-8296 Fax: 49-69-5700-2484
In 1990, Trevor Kletz received this magazines Award for Personal CIRCULATION REQUESTS:
Achievement in Chemical Engineering. At that time, the pages of this Tel: 847-564-9290 Fax: 847-564-9453
magazine said about Kletz that His main job satisfaction comes from Fullfillment Manager; P.O. Box 3588,
Northbrook, IL 60065-3588 email: chemeng@omeda.com
spreading knowledge including the particulars of specific accidents
ADVERTISING REQUESTS: see p. 68
in a way that has a useful impact (Fresh Honor for Three Engi-
For photocopy or reuse requests: 800-772-3350 or info@copyright.com
neers, Chem. Eng., p. 93, December 1990). For reprints: Wrights Media, 1-877-652-5295, sales@wrightsmedia.com
Indeed, Kletz is noted for sharing his knowledge in a very practical
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC
way. In a review of one of Kletzs books Process Plants: A Handbook
DON PAZOUR ROBERT PACIOREK
for Inherently Safer Design, published in 1998, Ian Sutton wrote, As Chief Executive Officer Senior Vice President,
Chief Information Officer
we have come to expect from all of this authors works, the ideas that ED PINEDO
Executive Vice President SYLVIA SIERRA
he presents are illustrated with a wide variety of practical, industrial & Chief Financial Officer Senior Vice President,
Corporate Audience Development
examples. What is noteworthy about many of the examples is that they MACY L. FECTO
Exec. Vice President, MICHAEL KRAUS
do not necessarily spend a lot of money they simply involve thinking Human Resources & Administration VP, Production, Digital Media
creatively (Bookshelf, Chem. Eng., June 1999). & Design
HEATHER FARLEY
In a recent statement, IChemE chief executive David Brown said, Divisional President, STEVE BARBER
Access Intelligence Vice President,
Trevor unquestionably saved lives. There are people working in the DANIEL MCKINNON
Financial Planning and Internal Audit
process industries today who will go home safely to their families and Vice President, GERALD STASKO
Energy and Engineering Events Vice President/Corporate Controller
loved ones, thanks to Trevor. He had a profound impact on industrial
safety. We thank you, Trevor Kletz.
Dorothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief
4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor
4 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2013 Rockville, MD 20850 www.accessintel.com
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Chemical Engineering e 1.2 86x123 2013
Letters
perfect
Capital cost calculations
For
I recently read the article Capital Costs Quickly
Calculated [Chem. Eng., pp.4652, April 2009] and
find it extremely informative and useful.
production
I have reservations about the example given about
methods
the cost comparison of two spherical storage tanks.
The authors state that the costs of spherical stor-
age tanks are proportional to surface area, there-
fore, to the quantity of metal plate used in fabrica-
tion. They came out with a size exponent of 2/3 and
concluded doubling the size of a spherical storage
tank increases its price by about 60%.
Handling equipment
Here, the authors made a wrong assumption. They
Lifting, weighing, blending,
assumed the plate thickness remains the same irre-
pallet transfer
spective of the size of tank.
Mobile or stationary
As per relevant design codes, such as ASME-VIII,
Manual or fully automatic
the thickness of a sphere or a cylindrical vessel
Loads up to 2500 kg handled
is proportional to radius. Doubling the diameter
Hygienic stainless steel means the thickness would be doubled.
GMP-compliant design Therefore the exponent of 2/3 is not valid. Ac-
ATEX conformity counting for the fact the thickness is proportional to
Mller GmbH - 79 618 Rheinfelden (Germany)
the diameter, and tank steel weight is proportional
Industrieweg 5 - Phone: +49(0) 76 23 /9 69 -0 - Fax: +49 (0)76 23 / 9 69 -69 to (i) tank area and (ii) tank wall thickness, the ex-
A company of the Mller group ponent would be 1 and not 2/3.
info@mueller-gmbh.com - www.mueller-gmbh.com
In other words, doubling the size of a spherical
Circle 29 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45779-29 storage tank increases its price by about 100% and
not 60%, as concluded by the erudite authors.
D. Gopalkrishna Murti
Operations Technical Services, Kuwait Oil Co.,
Kuwait
Editors Note: A response from the authors is avail-

able online together with this letter at www.che.com
Postscripts, corrections
October 2013, Advancing Battery Materials, pp.
1723. In the portion of the article discussing the
battery separator technology developed by Madico
Inc. (Woburn, Mass.; www.madico.com), the mate-
rial baumite (AlO3) was incorrectly mentioned as
a component of Madicos separator. The material
should have been stated as boehmite, an aluminum
oxide hydroxide, AlO(OH). The Madico separator is
made by forming a nano-composite membrane with
a specific crystalline form of boehmite bound within
an organic polymer matrix.
October 2013, Focus on Packaging, p. 30. Print

compliant labels faster and with better quality,
the name of the company and the email address
were incorrectly spelled with an m in place of an n.
The correct name is Epson America Inc. (http://pos.
epson.com/colorworks).
The corrected versions of the full articles can be

found at www.che.com.
Calendar
NORTH AMERICA
2014 Proactive Compliance Conference. Interna-
tional Soc. for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE; Tampa,
Fla.). Phone: 813-960-2105; Web: ispe.org
New Brunswick, N.J. January 1314, 2014
Informex. UBM Live (Hamilton, N.J.). Phone: 609-759-

4700; Web: informex.com
Miami, Fla. January 2124, 2014
4th Annual Chem/Petrochem & Refinery Asset

Reliability Conference. Marcus Evans North America
Conferences (Chicago, Ill.). Phone: 312-540-3000, Ext.
6483; Web: marcusevansch.com
Houston January 1416, 2014
4th Process Safety Management for Chem/

Petrochem & Refining Industries Conference.
Marcus Evans North America Conferences
(Chicago, Ill.). Phone: 312-540-3000, Ext. 6483;
Web: marcusevansch.com
Houston January 1416, 2014
4th Annual Electric Energy Storage Conference.

Marcus Evans North America Conferences (Chicago, Ill.).
Circle 1 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45779-01 Phone: 312-894-6377; Web: marcusevansch.com
San Diego, Calif. January 1416, 2014
ARC Industry Forum. ARC Advisory Group (Chicago,

The Chemical Engineering bookstore Ill.). Phone: 781-471-1000; Web: arcweb.com/events/arc-
offers a variety of industry topics industry-forum-orlando
Orlando, Fla. February 1013, 2014
you will come to rely on.
ISPE 2014 Aseptic Conference. International Soc. for
Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE; Tampa, Fla.). Phone:
813-960-2105; Web: ispe.org
Washington, D.C. February 2425, 2014
Corrosion 2014. National Assn. of Corrosion Engineers

(NACE) International (Houston). Phone: 281-228-6200;
Web: nace.org
San Antonio, Tex. March 913, 2014
247th Annual ACS National Meeting. American

Environmental Management:
Chemical Soc. (ACS; Washington, D.C.). Phone: 202-872-
Air-Pollution Control
4600; Web: acs.org
Environmental Management: Wastewater Dallas, Tex. March 1620, 2014
and Groundwater Treatment
Fluid Handling Interphex 2014. Reed Exhibitions (Norwalk, Conn.).
Gas-Solid and Liquid-Solid Separation Phone: 203-840-5603; Web: interphex.com
Liquid-Liquid and Gas-Liquid Separation New York, N.Y. March 1820, 2014
Managing Bulk Solids
17792 2014 AFPM Annual Meeting. American Fuel & Pet-
rochemical Manufacturers (AFPM; Washington, D.C.).
For a complete list of products, visit the Phone: 202-457-0480; Web: afpm.org
Chemical Engineering bookstore now. Orlando, Fla. March 2325, 2014
http://store.che.com/product/book
2014 AIChE Spring Meeting and 10th Global Con-
gress on Process Safety. AIChE (New York, N.Y.).
Safe
Phone: 203-702-7660; Web: aiche.org

New Orleans, La.. March 30April 3, 2014
Electric Power. Tradefair Group, An Access Intelligence

LLC Co. (Houston). Phone: 713-343-1893; Web:
electricpowerexpo.com
New Orleans, La. April 13, 2014
Battcon 2014 Stationary Battery Conference and

Trade Show. Albercorp/Battcon (Pompano Beach, Fla.).
Phone: 954-623-6660; Web: battcon.com
Boca Raton, Fla. May 57, 2014 Reliable
Identify, Characterize, Select and Isolate the
Optimal Solid State Form for Pharmaceutical De-
velopment. Scientific Update (East Sussex, U.K.), in
conjunction with Crystal Pharmatech (Princeton, N.J.)
and Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.). Phone:
+44-1435-873062; Web: scientificupdate.co.uk
New Brunswick, N.J. May 1516, 2014
EUROPE
10th Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Con-
gress and Exhibition for Southeast Europe.Via Expo
Ltd. (Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Phone: +359-32-512-900; Web:
via-expo.com/en/pages/ee-re-exhibition
Sofia, Bulgaria March 57, 2014 Affordable
5th Conference and Exhibition on Waste Manage-
ment, Recycling, Environment for South-East Eu-
rope. Via Expo (Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Phone: Phone: +359-
32-512-900; Web: via-expo.com
Sofia, Bulgaria March 57, 2014
SEE Solar South-East European Solar PV &

Thermal Exhibition. Via Expo (Plovdiv, Bulgaria).
Phone: Phone: +359-32-512-900; Web: via-expo.com
Sofia, Bulgaria March 57, 2014
New Horizons in Gasification. Institution of

Chemical Engineers (IChemE; Rugby, U.K.). Phone:
Projects and Plants for
+44-1788-534489; Web: icheme.org/gasification2014 the Chemical Industry
Rotterdam, The Netherlands March 1013, 2014
In-Cosmetics 2014. Reed Exhibitions Ltd. (Richmond,

U.K.). Phone: +44-20-8271-2122; Web: in-cosmetics.com
Hamburg, Germany April 13, 2014
Hannover Messe 2014. Hannover Messe AG (Han-

nover, Germany). Phone: +49-511-89-0; Web:
hannovermesse.de
Hannover, Germany. April 711, 2014 BIAZZI SA
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Perth, Australia Sept. 28Oct. 1, 2014
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Edited by Gerald Ondrey December 2013
Leonite crystals
Magnesium-rich
First commercial process for K2SO4 Leach
Concentrated
brine
K2SO4
mother liquor
brine to
evaporation
pond
from polyhalite completes pilot brine
Pre-
concentration
K2SO4
crystallization
Leonite
crystallization
Crushed
Calcined
ilot plant operation has been Polyhalite and washed
P completed for a process that pro-

duces the fertilizer potassium sul-
ore
Crushing
and washing
ore
Fluid bed
calcination
ore
Leach
tank
K2SO4 crystals
Granulation
fate from the mineral polyhalite,
Crush ore to Calcine ore to Produce potassium Modify SOP to
a hydrated sulfate of potassium, appropriate size increase sulfate brine using marketable form
magnesium and calcium. The pro- solubility counter-current
Remove sodium of potassium leach process Granular
cess, developed by Intercontinental chloride to protect sulfate during K2SO4
downstream leach stage Remove calcium
Potash Corp. (ICP; Golden, Colo.; equipment sulfate Standard
www.icpotash.com), resurrects a K2SO4
route to K2SO4 that was first explored in a polyhalite undergoes changes to its crystal
Soluble
push to develop a domestic source of potash structure that dramatically increase solu- K2SO4
after a German embargo in World War I. bility. The calcined solids then enter a coun-
Although it was evaluated decades ago, tercurrent leaching process that removes
but not pursued, our process represents the potassium and magnesium sulfate from the
first commercially viable potassium sulfate mineral, forming a brine. Acetic acid from syngas
process using mined polyhalite as a feed- The next stage of the process involves a A new process for the produc-
stock, says Randy Foote, chief operating hybrid crystallization system that combines tion of acetic acid claims to be
officer at ICP. After validating the decades- mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) more efficient and cost-effec-
tive than current technologies.
old data, ICP developed a patented hybrid and multiple effect evaporation (MEE). The
Carbonylation of methanol
crystallization system designed to maximize patented circuit features a leonite dissolver, has been the leading acetic
production of K2SO4, explains ICP process which takes a potassium- and magnesium- acid technology for several
engineer Mike Morrison. containing mineral (leonite) from later in the decades, but BP plc (London,
The ICP process avoids the cost fluctua- process and uses it to increase production of U.K.; www.bp.com) has in-
tions of conventional potassium sulfate pro- potassium sulfate. An MVR evaporator re- troduced the new three-step
duction, where feedstocks potassium chlo- moves water until the K2SO4 crystallizes, SaaBre process to produce
ride and sulfuric acid must be purchased. recovering 90% of the material. The mother li- acetic acid directly from syn-
ICPs polyhalite route is less expensive than quor then enters a series of MEEs, which pro- thesis gas (syngas; a mixture
using mined sylvite, a naturally occurring duce the leonite that is then recirculated (U.S. of H2 and CO).
Unlike current acetic acid
mineral composed of KCl, Foote says. Patent 8,551,429; other patents pending).
technologies, the SaaBre
The process (flowsheet) begins with a The final stage of the process is a drying process requires no CO pu-
crushing and washing stage to remove so- and granulation step, where three potas- riication, and no methanol
dium chloride, then enters a calcination sium sulfate products are produced stan- needs to be purchased. Also,
step in a fluidized-bed reactor, where the dard, granular and soluble-grade. there are no iodides present,
reducing the need for any
metallurgical considerations.
Improving extraction yields of Ni and Co from laterite In fact, experts believe that
SaaBre will cut variable oper-
ating costs over BPs current
L ow-grade nickel (less than 1.5 wt.%) lat-
erite ores represent about 70% of global
reserves but account for only 40% of nickel
and temperature on atmospheric acid-leach-
ing behavior of saprolitic nickel laterite ores.
It carried out isothermal (at 70C and 95C),
methanol-carbonylation tech-
nology to produce acetic acid,
Cativa XL, by up to $50 per
production. Increasing demand for nickel in batch, sulfuric acid leaching studies on 40 metric ton.
recent years has created the need to process wt.% solid dispersions of 2-mm saprolitic Another feature of the pro-
such ores. Atmospheric acid leaching of these nickel laterite ore for 4 h at pH=1. cess is its ability to use sim-
ores presents difficulties due to the presence There was a sharp decrease in particle ple, ample feedstocks. Creat-
of high-acid-consuming serpentinized and size within the first 5 min. of shearing in ing products directly from
clay minerals, leading to pulp gelation and both water and sulfuric acid. This was ac- syngas allows for numerous
poor mixing, and low metal recovery. Now a companied by an increase in the amount of suitable feedstock sources in
team from the Ian Wark Research Institute, finer particles in the pulps. Further increase any region around the world.
The inaugural deployment
University of South Australia (Adelaide: in time led to a gradual decrease in size for
of the SaaBre technology is
www.unisa.edu.au), led by professor Jonas the particles sheared in water with a mar- expected for the irst half of
Addai-Mensah, has shown how to increase ginal change in the acidic solution. 2014, with future plans includ-
Ni and Co recoveries from these ores. The specific surface areas at 120 and
The team studied the influence of time (Continues on p. 13)
(Continues on p. 12)
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number
on p. 68, or use the website designation. CHemICAL engIneerIng www.CHe.COm DeCemBer 2013 11
C HEMENTATO R
An efficient way to make fermentable sugars from fibrous waste

T he National Food Research Insti-
tute (NFRI) of the National Agricul-
ture and Food Research Organization
water and Ca(OH)2, (relative weight
ratios of 3:7:0.3) is continuously milled
under relatively mild temperatures of
sugar concentrations in the recovered
solutions were 16.9% (w/v) for RS and
15.5% (w/v) for ER. The results are
(NARO; Tsukuba City, Japan; www. 95100C. Enzymatic-saccharification comparable to that achieved by conven-
naro.affrc.go.jp) has developed an enzy- tests were performed for the pretreat- tional pretreatment methods that use
matic pretreatment process for produc- ment slurries from 10 kg feedstocks for concentrated sulfuric acid at high tem-
ing highly concentrated sugar solution 72 h at 40C under a pressurized CO2 perature (100C).
from fibrous materials containing rice atmosphere of 0.9 MPa. Using high- NFRI says the method offers a sim-
straw and starch. The process can be solid loadings of 28.4% (w/w) for RS pler and greener alternative to exist-
used for producing specific sugar solu- and 27.8% (w/w) for ER, the research- ing technologies, and could be used to
tions, depending on the local raw mate- ers successfully solubilized 80.6% (RS) revitalize rural areas by utilizing waste
rials, such as discharged residue from and 68.1% (ER) of the total glucose crops for local fermentation industries,
the food factories. and xylose residues from the solids. such as for making sake alcohol and
The researchers have modified the After centrifugation, the solubilized- miso bean pastes.
so-called CaCCO process [(calcium cap-
turing by carbonation (CO2)] process
developed by Park and colleagues in NI AND CO FROM LATERITE yield stresses and viscosities, which
2010 to handle herbaceous lignocellu- (Continued from p. 11) increased with time and decreased
losics in order to recover fermentable with temperature.
sugars from rice straw (RS) and stems 240 min. were 24 and 26.7 m2/g, re- Ni and Co recoveries, which were less
and leaves of Erianthus arundinaceus spectively, at 70C; and 45.1 and 144.4 than 25% at 70C, increased to 89% and
(ER), one of the strategic energy crops m2/g, respectively, at 95C. The disper- 78%, respectively, at 95C. Average sul-
in Japan. sions presented a clear time-depen- furic acid consumption was 200 kg/ton
In the process, a mixture of feedstock, dent rheological behavior with high at 70C and 700 kg/ton at 95C.
Simultaneous heat transfer

and mass transfer model
in column.
Good thinking.
Feedback from our users is what inspires us to keep making
CHEMCAD better. Many features, like this one, were added to
the software as a direct response to user need. Thats why we
consider every CHEMCAD user part of our development team.
Get the whole story behind this user-inspired feature and
learn more about how CHEMCAD advances engineering
at chemstations.com/models.
COMING SOON
CHEMCAD 7
ENHANCED INTERFACE.
INSPIRED PERFORMANCE.
Engineering advanced 2013 Chemstations, Inc. All rights reserved. | CMS-3027 11/13
(Continued from p. 11)
ing the capability to produce
methanol and ethanol from the
process as well.
Metabolic engineering makes plants produce more oils Biobutanol

The Industrial Technology
A research team from the University of

Western Australia (Perth; www.uwa.edu.
au), led by professor Dongke Zhang, has pio-
restrial plants do not accumulate triterpene
hydrocarbons, because squalene, a key me-
tabolite of the plants triterpene pathway, is
Research Institute (ITRI; Hsin-
chu, Taiwan; www.itri.org.tw)
has developed a process to
neered the application of higher plants for rapidly converted to downstream products. make fuel-grade butanol with a
new-generation biofuel production. Meta- Squalene (C30H50) is the starting molecule negative carbon footprint. The
bolic engineering of Arabidopsis thaliana for all triterpenoids and has been identified so-called ButyFix technology
is a three-step process. First,
a small flowering plant native to Europe in almost all plant species, but usually in
cellulose and hemicellulose
and Asia, which was the first plant to have very small amounts. are converted into fermentable
its genome sequenced caused the plant to The team therefore employed a metabolic sugars by a solvent-based
produce triterpene hydrocarbons. The team engineering approach to divert the plant hydrolysis. The sugars are then
cloned a gene a triterpene methyltrans- triterpene pathway for hydrocarbon produc- fermented into butyrate, which
ferase 3 (BbTMT-3) from the microalga tion. The BbTMT-3 was found to add methyl is then esterified and hydro-
Botryococcus braunii and transferred it to groups to squalene, preventing it from being genated into butanol. Unlike
Arabidopsis thaliana. further metabolized. The transgenic plants conventional fermentation pro-
The microalga can produce extracellular oil contained 30 g/g fresh weight of monometh- cesses that generate CO2, the
in the form of triterpenoid hydrocarbons up to ylsqualene and 50 g/g of dimethylsqualene. microorganisms used in Bu-
tyFix process can reuse CO2
40 wt.% (dry). These hydrocarbons with chain These new hydrocarbons were not present
generated in the fermentation,
lengths of C30 to C40, which include botryo- in untransformed plants. resulting in a high carbon-
coccene, squalene and methylated squalenes, The team says it has demonstrated the fixation performance.
are suitable for producing liquid transport feasibility of new biofuel production via The process has achieved
fuels and petrochemical alternatives. metabolic engineering. It said the knowl- a butyrate yield of 0.7 g per
However, commercial-scale production edge gained from its experiments can be gram of sugar, which is said to
of the alga is hampered by its slow growth easily applied to other organisms, such as (Continues on p. 14)
rate. Other fast-growing microalgae and ter- fast-growing microalgae.
www.burkert.com
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C HEMENTATO R
This gasification process turns waste into syngas (Continued from p. 13)
be 94% carbon conversion and
C onstruction of a large-scale waste-to-en-
ergy plant will start in the middle of next
year in Port Hedland, Western Australia,
converts solid waste to syngas a mixture
of H2, CO, CH4 and CnHn hydrocarbons
that can be fired to generate energy in a
2.7 times higher than the tradi-
tional acetone-butanol-ethanol
(ABE) process. Theoretically,
and operation is scheduled to commence in process with cleaner emissions than those
a 100% conversion is possible
the second quarter of 2015. The plant will be resulting from firing any fossil fuel. In the via ButyFix, compared to a
built by the New Energy Corp. (Perth; www. process (flowsheet), the waste is slow-cooked maximum of 67% for other bio-
newenergycorp.com.au), and will employ at temperatures between 600 and 850C for fuel fermentation processes,
low-temperature gasification technology 1624 h to provide a cleaner gas than that says ITRI. The technology is
invented and developed by Western Aus- produced by incineration. The feedstock of protected by ten patents (four
tralian company Entech Renewable Energy the gasification process is subjected to regu- issued, six pending), and is
Solutions Pty. Ltd. (Canning Vale, Western lar churning and stoking by the companys available for licensing.
Australia; www.entech-res.com). patent-pending Churning, Stoking and Dis-
The 72-MWth facility will initially pro- tribution System. Biomass-to-rubber
cess about 100,000 ton/yr, but will eventu- The company said the process is about Last month, Axens (www.
ally be able to process up to 200,000 ton/yr 1/20th the air input and about 1/50th the ve- axens.net), IFP Energies
of various mixed waste streams, including locity and turbulence of conventional com- nouvellas (IFPEN; both Rueil-
municipal solid waste (MSW), and materials bustion, which maximizes the volatility of Malmaison, France; www.
such as plastic bags and wrapping, textiles, the syngas, and minimizes pollution. ifpenergiesnouvelles.com) and
contaminated cardboard, timber packaging The system adopts conventional high-ef- Michelin (Clermont-Ferrand,
France; www.michelin.com)
from construction and demolition projects, ficiency/low-NOx burner design with staged
started an eight-year, 52-mil-
and used tires, and export 15.5 MW of power processes of pre-mixing to LEL (lower ex- lion research partnership to
to the grid. Much of the waste would other- plosive limit), ignition and oxidation. The develop and commercialize
wise go to landfill. burner also destroys most persistent or- a process to make bio-based
Entech says its technology, called WtGas, ganic pollutants. (Continues on p. 16)
Pyrolytic Syngas Syngas First Energy Second Flow

gasification accum. firing air quality utilization air quality control
stage stage stage control stage control stage
stage stage
Steam To
Ventilation air atmosphere Exhaust gas
Treated water
Plant air
WFD High-temperature Operational
damper Reagent stack
Reagent Absorbent
blowdown Pyrolytic
Hydraulic gasification
chamber Emergency by-pass
pump High-temperature
damper
Energy Bypass
Syngas accumulation vessel
Gasification utilization
High-temperature heat
blower damper Syngas ID fan ID fan
burner exchanger
VSD M M VSD
Hydraulic Thermal Energy
Pyrolytic reactor Spray dryer Fabric
High- pump utilization absorber
temperature gasification filter
chamber economizer
damper Rotary valve
High- Rotary valve
temperature
dampers M
Gasification Gate valve
blower High-temperature Pneumatic
damper conveyor
blower
Hydraulic Reagent
High- Pyrolytic Syngas recycle To spray dryer
temperature pump gasification burner Optional absorber
Syngas Pilot
damper chamber blower burner standby
High- N.G. burner Exhaust gas
temperature Blowdown To pyrolytic
recycle To spray dryer recirculation
damper absorber gasification
Gasification chamber/ EGR
blower thermal reactor M fan
Natural gas
Exhaust gas
recirculation
Exhaust gas
recirculation
Plant water
Solid residue To utilization or landfill

New process for monoethylene glycol
completes pilot stage
A new process for producing monoethylene glycol (MEG)
from synthesis-gas-based feedstocks is nearing completion
of extensive pilot plant operation, according to developers
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com)
and Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies Ltd. (London, U.K.;
www.davyprotech.com). The technology enables MEG produc-
tion from a variety of raw materials, including coal, natural
gas and biomass, and is based on new proprietary catalysts
and process design developed by the two companies.
While details were not divulged, the two-stage, single-line
process differs from other synthesis-gas-based technologies
recently developed for ethylene glycol because it does not go
through an oxalate intermediate, explains Bruce Gustafson,
director of international ventures at Eastman Chemical.
Our advanced technology can enable customers to be
in the 1st or 2nd quartile of the cash cost curve for MEG
production, Gustafson says, adding, however, in regions
offering low-cost syngas and methanol from shale gas or
stranded coal or natural gas, we see our process as offering
the lowest cash cost route.
MEG is a key industrial chemical and building block in
the production of polyesters for fiber and packaging appli-
cations. Eastman says the technology is available for licens-
ing, and dialogue is underway for the first demonstration.
Making biogas from waste

with a low organic content
T he effluent discharged by domestic industries in Japan
amounts to approximately 11.1 billion ton/yr. Most of
this waste is comprised of relatively low concentrations of
Everything under
organic matter. Today, most of this effluent is treated by
aerobic biotreatment (activated sludge). However, acti-
Control
vated sludge treatment not only consumes large amounts
of electric power needed to run blowers or fans, but it also Compact, efficient and
produces large volumes of sludge. Now, an anaerobic fer- absolutely safe: these are
mentation process developed by Sumitomo Heavy Indus-
tries, Ltd. (SHI; Tokyo; www.shi.co.jp), in collaboration with the properties of our new
the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES: ecoforce generation
Tsukuba City, both Japan; www.nies.go.jp), promises to not of gas-tight decanters.
only reduce the volume of sludge produced, but to save up
to 75% of the energy needed for the treatment.
Conventional biogas fermentation treatment can only be
applied to effluent containing organic matter at concentra-
tions of 2 to 20 grams CODCr/L (chemical oxygen demand,
dichromate) and only at temperatures between 35 and 37C.
The new technology uses a specific bacteria that is capable
of processing effluent containing organic matter at concen-
trations of about 0.3 to 1 g CODCr/L typical of most ef- GEA Westfalia Separator Group GmbH
fluent generated today and also at ambient temperatures
Werner-Habig-Strae 1, 59302 Oelde, Germany
(1025C). The anaerobic digestion does not require aera-
Phone: +49 2522 77-0, Fax: +49 2522 77-2828
tion, eliminating the associated energy needed to run blow-
ws.info@gea.com, www.gea.com
ers used in the activated sludge method, so energy consump-
tion is expected to be reduced by about 75%, says SHI.
The companies say the practical implementation of the
new process is expected to be achieved within one to two engineering for a better world
CP-214-1-009
years, at the earliest.

C HEMENTATO R (Continued from p. 14)
butadiene. The so-called
BioButterfly process involves
the fermentation of biomass-
A new gas-engine Warm water
Second stage
intercooler
based feedstocks into alco-
hols, followed by catalytic
cogeneration system Exhaust
Turbocharger
conversion to butadiene,
which is then polymerized into
L ast month, Mitsubishi Heavy In- Gas engine
dustries, Ltd. (MHI; www.mhi. Intake synthetic rubber. The project
aims to develop an alternative
co.jp) and Tokyo Gas Co. (both Tokyo,
route for elastomers.
Japan; www.tokyo-gas.co.jop) began Addition of first
marketing a jointly developed 1,000- stage intercooler
kW gas-engine cogeneration system. Hot water

Gasification demo
Based on the conventional 930-kW (heat recovery) Last month, Wison Engineer-
system, the new systems engine ing Services Co. (Shanghai,
China; www.wison.com) an-
operates at a reduced speed (1,000 rpm in- engine-control unit that leads to a generat-
nounced the startup of the
stead of 1,500 rpm), so the wear-rate of coming efficiency of 42.3%, which is said to be Shell-Wison Hybrid Gasifica-
ponents is reduced. This leads to a reduction the highest level in the 1,000-kW class. The tion Demonstration Plant,
of the overall maintenance costs by 30%, thermal efficiency has also been improved located in Nanjing, China.
says MHI. by upgrading the one-stage intercooler used The new hybrid gasifier
The engine is able to generate a higher out- on the conventional system to a two-stage technology was developed
put at lower speeds because its piston stroke intercooler system (diagram) to achieve an using Shell's coal and residue
has been extended by approximately 20% overall efficiency of 78.5%. gasification technologies,
compared to the conventional system. Also, The combination of reduced maintenance and is said to offer a more
the use of a highly efficient turbocharger has costs and improved generating and overall compact design based on
water-quench technology.
increased the amount of compressed fuel-air efficiency leads to a considerable reduction
(For more on this topic, see
mixture supplied into the cylinders, which in operating costs, says MHI. As a result, Innovations in Gasification
raises the mean effective pressure by 30% the investment costs can be recovered three on pp. 2430).
from the conventional system. years sooner than for the conventional sys-
The new system also features an upgraded tem, the company adds.
80 Years and Still Green

Long before the focus on clean air and environmental
protection, ENARDO was an early-day pioneer of
conservation equipment used in the upstream oil and
gas industry.
Today, ENARDO engineers advanced safety and
emissions-control solutions for the worlds leading
names in the oil and gas, chemicals, petrochemicals,
pharmaceuticals, biofuels and process industries.
Every day around the world, ENARDO pressure/vacuum
relief valves, flame arrestors, and emergency vents
are put to the testhelping man and machine work
cleaner, safer and more cost efficiently, while
protecting life, equipment and the environment.
ENARDO.
Engineering. Innovation. For a safer, cleaner world.
See ENARDOs proven pressure/vacuum relief valve solution for

corrosive and sticky vapors at Booth 119 at the 2013 ChemShow.
4470 S. 70th East Avenue | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145-4607 USA | +1.918.622.6161 | In the U.S. and Canada 800.336.2736 | enardo.com
Circle
Circle 17
XXon
onp.
p.68
XXor
orgo
goto
toadlinks.che.com/45779-17
adlinks.che.com/230XX-XX
Newsfront
FEELING THE BRUNT OF

PROSPERITY ON CPI
WORKFORCE ISSUES
Natural-gas-related capacity expansions
make workforce issues acute,
but successful strategies are emerging
W
hile staffing issues continue cal engineers and CPI workers (see
to be a tremendous challenge sidebar, p. 21). In the areas most af-
for companies in the chemi- fected by the shale-gas boom, such as
cal process industries (CPI), the U.S. Gulf Coast, Were really feel-
a number of strategies and training ing the brunt of prosperity, remarks
approaches are emerging to help ad- Kathleen Knolle, human resource
dress the need for trained engineers manager at TDS (Houston; www.td-
and skilled tradespersons. shou.com), a workforce development
The shale-gas boom continues to firm whose wide-ranging client base
be a dominant force in the U.S. and includes chemical plants and global
global chemical industry, and is hav- Fortune 500 companies.
ing a profound effect on workforce is-
sues in the CPI. As companies seek Intense competition
to capitalize on the improved com- The environment of growth and ex-
petitiveness allowed by the increased pansion creates a challenge for com-
supply of low-cost natural gas, as panies trying to staff projects and new
much as $82.4 billion in new chemi- process plants, but can be an oppor-
cal manufacturing capacity could be tunity for individuals with chemical
invested in the U.S. by 2020, accord- manufacturing experience. FIGURES 16. A partial profile of the re-
ing to studies by the American Chem- The competition for talent is in- spondents in the 2013 CE salary survey
istry Council (ACC; Washington, tense, and that is driving up salaries
D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). and compensation packages, says A sizeable portion of shale-related
Almost $72 billion in capacity-expan- Pat Ropella, CEO and chairman of jobs are located near prominent shale
sion investments have already been the Ropella Group (Milton, Fla.; www. deposits and oilfields, Ropella adds.
announced, mostly to expand capac- ropella.com), an executive search For example, the Philadelphia area for
ity for ethylene and ethylene deriva- firm with considerable experience in the Marcellus shale formation, North
tives, as well as ammonia, methanol the chemical industry. John Kalusa, Dakota for the Bakken formation,
and propylene (see Chem. Eng., Octo- senior talent acquisition partner for Ropella says, and an emerging area
ber 2012, pp. 1719). ACC estimates Axiall Corp. (Atlanta, Ga.; www.axiall. will be California, where the Monterey
chemical companies will fill 46,000 com) agrees: Its a highly competitive Shale deposit is the next likely fron-
permanent positions because of those hiring climate for engineers in chemi- tier in the shale sweepstakes.
investments. The reinvigoration of cal manufacturing; its similar to the Natural gas is driving companies to
the CPI provided by shale gas is in- high-tech boom in the 1990s. seek workers with oilfield production
creasing demand for engineers, pro- In some areas, its a candidates experience, and is placing a premium
cess operators, construction workers, market right now, Ropella says, es- on hydraulic fracturing experience,
skilled trades workers and others. pecially in hot segments, such as the including engineers with expertise in
The higher demand is driving sala- natural gas market. And that is true polymer chemistry, Ropella explains,
ries up in the CPI and keeping unem- for both the hydraulic fracturing side because the field of polymer-coated
ployment rates minuscule for chemi- and the refining side, he adds. proppants for fracturing is expanding
CHEM SHow
10.-12. December
Booth 731
Newsfront
Fatty Acid
Industry
s
Liquid
to m
for example:
Tall oil distillation

Lecithin drying
Monoglyceride
Glycerin recovery
quickly. The areas of refining catalysts Generation (see Chem. Eng., Novem-
and water treatment are other hot ber 2012, pp. 1719).
areas for hiring, he says. The full force of the retirement
More broadly, demand is growing wave hasnt hit yet, but company
for process engineers, reliability engi- managers are aware that it is com-
neers and those with facility startup ing, says Adam Krueger, technical re-
experience, Axialls Kalusa says. cruiter with Sun Recruiting Inc. (Glen
Ellyn, Ill.; www.sunrecruiting.com), a
Demographic complications search firm focusing on chemical engi-
Paralleling the push on the part of neering. Executive-search consultant
chemical companies to recruit and Pat Ropella says the improving econ-
hire new employees to operate new omy is accelerating the retirement www.gigkarasek.com
plant capacity is a demographic shift wave of baby boomers, and thats
the continuing retirement of expe- creating succession-planning issues
rienced engineers of the Baby Boom for companies. As younger employ- Circle 23 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45779-23

- o
.fede uip. o Newsfront
E a ples of T pi al I e to
Fede al E uip e t Bu s a d ees get promoted, generational differ-

ences in work habits and work ethic
Sells Used E uip e t are becoming more significant issues,
Ropella says.
Strategies for solutions

Its probably too soon to create a de-
finitive best-practices map for how to
deal with these complex workforce is-
sues, says Axialls Kalusa, but a num-
ber of strategies and approaches that
companies are utilizing are having
some success.
One area that is receiving renewed
attention is university recruiting.
Adam Krueger, of Sun Recruiting,
says that since most companies are
well aware of the tight labor market
for chemical engineers, they are ex-
, Gal. Be del Sto age Ta k, S/S tending college recruitment deeper
into the college ranks to underclass-
man, rather than just graduating se-
niors. For companies like Axiall, col-
lege recruiting represents a longterm
perspective. We focus a great deal on
college recruiting and also on running
a program of structured internships
for students, Kalusa says.
Aside from students, companies are
also looking for other talent pools to
fill their ranks. For example, Axiall
puts substantial effort into leveraging
military talent by matching returning
, Gal DCI Sto age Ta k, L S/S veterans with technical experience
with job openings where those skills
are required.
The tight labor market has also
made companies abilities to develop,
manage and train their own workforce
more important. A big trend right now
in talent acquisition is for more focus
on what we call candidate relation-
ship management, Kalusa says. The
idea is to think carefully about the
longterm development of employees
as a method to reduce turnover.
Training surge
The need to hire new employees, and
promote others to replace retiring en-
gineers has placed an even greater
emphasis on training programs and
knowledge transfer. The anticipated
X Rousselet Ro atel Gal. Ross Dou le Pla eta Mi e , surge of new chemical employees
Peele Ce t ifuge, Hastello C Model DPM , L S/S, U used
will dramatically increase the need
for training programs, says Robin
Besse e A e. Cle ela d, Ohio T - Knowles, CEO and president of the
.fede uip. o ted@fede uip. o workforce development firm TDS.
As hiring takes off, Knowles points
M 961-E4_CE.QXD_68x273mm 05.09.13 09:21 Seite 1
What the Surveys Say About Salaries
V
arious pieces of recent salary data seem to support the notion that competition for
workers and low unemployment in the CPI is driving salaries up. Recruiters like
Adam Kreuger say they are seeing modest increases in salaries, especially for
experienced positions. Company talent managers like Axialls John Kalusa estimate that
salary expectations have risen by 10% or more over the past two years in the current
CPI employment environment. THE CHEMICAL DIVISION
Results of an online survey conducted by Chemical Engineering magazine seem to sup-
port that assertion. The average salary reported by over 1,500 Chemical Engineering
readers was $104,000, up by 14% from a similar salary survey conducted in late 2011.
The median salary was $100,000. In the present CE survey, 49.7% of all respondents
from all geographic regions reported a salary of $100,000/yr or higher, and 6.5%
reported salaries greater than $200,000/yr. Respondents in the U.S. and Canada re-
FILLING VISIONS
ported the highest salaries by geographic region. The average salary for respondents
from those countries was $123,000, and the median salary was $113,000. The aver-
age salary for U.S. and Canadian respondents was approximately 30% higher than the
average for European respondents, and about 50% higher than the average for Asia,
although the sample sizes in the latter two regions were smaller.
A partial profile of CE survey respondents can be found in Figures 16. The majority
(nearly 60%) of survey respondents are from the U.S. or Canada and the most commonly
reported industry sector is chemicals and petrochemicals (just over one-third of respon-
dents identified themselves as affiliated with this sector). If respondents in the chemicals
and petrochemicals sector are combined with those from the petroleum-refining sector, the
total would account for over half of the survey takers. The population of respondents to
this survey tended to be highly experienced, with over 65% reporting 16 or more years
of work experience, and highly educated. Just over 52% reported having earned a bach-
elors degree, while 35% hold a masters degree and 10.5% hold a doctoral degree.
Process operations was the most commmonly reported area of work for this survey,
followed closely by process and product design, and consulting. Over half of the respon-
dents reported being employed by a chemical manufacturing company, and more than
one quarter work for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company.
On the other end, the number of respondents reporting no salary was approximately
1%, which would seem to be consistent with the low rates of unemployment observed in
other data sources and through anecdotal evidence. Since not all respondents specified PERFORMANCE VISIONS
whether they were unemployed (seeking a job) or retired (no longer in the workforce), it
was not possible to establish a true rate of unemployment.
Aside from the CE salary survey, a number of other surveys have been conducted ADAMS 10: High-speed
recently on related, but different populations, and they can also provide insight. For
example, according to survey results published in the June issue of Chemical Engineer-
filling for powdery products
ing Progress, the median salary for respondents, who are members of AIChE (Ameri- into FFS bags.
can Institute of Chemical Engineers; New York; www.aiche.org), was $120,000, up
9% over a similar survey from 2011. Salary data reported in Chemical & Engineering
News suggest that the median base salary for industry chemists is $106,600. Data
n filling with the HAP technology
from 2012 reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) say the average sal-
ary was $102,270 during that timeframe. New data from BLS are expected to be (HAVER ADAMS PROCESS)
published next year.
n can handle 2000 bags/hr
to two major challenges that compa- can be designed for that purpose from n environmentally gentle filling
nies will grapple with: the effective- the beginning.
ness and efficiency of training. Are Slade Syrdahl, senior consultant at n optimum product protection
you seeing better performance; are you KBC Advanced Technologies (Hous-
seeing behaviors change as a result of ton; www.kbcat.com), agrees with the
n extended shelf-life capability
the training? Knowles asks, and also, need for focused, structured training, n cleanliness and efficiency from
how long does it take to develop peo- and adds that training programs best
ple, since companies need to get newer increase retention if they incorporate
production to consumption
employees up to speed faster than in an element of self-direction. The
the past? trainee needs to take more respon-
To address those dual challenges, a sibility for his or her own training,
number of principles are emerging as Syrdahl says. His company, KBC,
critical components to training todays provides consulting and software ser- HAVER & BOECKER, Germany
workforce. Having a defined structure vices to the CPI and energy industry Phone: +49 2522 30-271
in the training is important, Knowles and has developed a training system Fax: +49 2522 30-403
notes. A lot of existing training ap- for accelerated competency develop- E-mail: chemie@haverboecker.com
proaches are haphazard and lack flow. ment that utilizes these principles.
Knowles says a plan for the training Training programs are most effective www.haverboecker.com
should be established upfront, so that when the learner is an active partici-
The designation indicates a registered trademark
the goal of the training is clear, and it pant, Syrdahl says. of HAVER & BOECKER OHG in Germany. Several
indicated designations are registered trademarks
also in other countries worldwide. M 961-E4
07_CHE_120113_NF1.indd 21 11/19/13 6:54:45 AM

Newsfront
With self-discovery exercises that example, they will receive a framework derstanding of the relationships that
can be thought of as guided research for making the most use of plant war each job function has to others. That
papers, trainees learn to ask more stories, those experiences related is, How does what you are doing af-
intelligent questions, which then en- by older workers to teach lessons. fect other systems? she adds.
riches the time they spend with more The ultimate goal of active, self- Ryan Jensen, senior performance
experienced workers in their plant, directed training is to help build a consultant at TDS, says, We try to
Syrdahl explains. Also, when trainees richer, more robust learning culture develop critical thinking and decision-
go through structured tabletop drills at a facility, TDS Knowles says. That making skills that are based on a set
tied to equipment troubleshooting, for type of culture fosters a deeper un- of more basic fundamental knowl-
edge: we want them to understand the
whys more quickly, rather than just
the whats and hows.
Another critical element of training
systems cited by Jensen is implement-
ing performance-support tools. Our
mantra is improve performance, so
we want to provide tools to help people
do their job better, Jensen says, we
try to use the modern electronics and
IT infrastructure to embed systems
and tools into the job function, so that
information is easily accessible at a
time and place where workers need it,
in the context of their day-to-day job.
Further, Jensen says, the training
material is developed into modules
that can be used as needed for a par-
ticular situation.
Return on investment for dollars
spent on training programs is not al-
ways appreciated in straight, bottom-
line kind of business metrics, Knowles
points out, but training represents
a sound investment if its impact on
safety is considered, says Knowles.
Training can help avoid accidents that
risk lives and cost millions or billions
of dollars.
Company investment
To cope with the competitive labor
market, companies are investing in
workforce training programs, partner-
ships and hiring initiatives.
For example, ExxonMobil (Dallas,
Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) will fund a
$500,000 workforce-training program
to enable Houstons leading commu-
nity colleges to prepare thousands of
local residents for jobs in the growing
local chemical manufacturing indus-
try. The initiative will benefit 50,000
students and educators over the next
five years. ExxonMobil has contrib-
uted more than $2.6 million over the
last 10 years to manufacturing work-
force training initiatives across the
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Siemens Fuel Gasification
Technology, Energy Sector
Newsfront
INNOVATIONS IN
FIGURE 1.
The Siemens
coal gasii-
ers, which are
18-m long, 3-m
I.D. and weigh
GASIFICATION
220 metric
tons (m.t.), are
among the
worlds larg-
est and most
powerful. They
Each region and each application needs a distinct are capable of
gasifying up
to 2,000 m.t./d
gasification technology. Fortunately the equipment is of coal. The
photo shows a
growing and changing to meet the demands cross section
through the re-
actor of a coal
gasiier
T
here is increasing interest in marily interested in gasification for
meeting the growing demand the energy sector, with some explor-
for generating power, fuels ing biomass and waste as feedstocks.
and chemicals by tapping into Waste management companies have
local resources. It not only reduces begun to take equity positions in
reliance on imported oil and gas, waste-gasification companies, notes region. Gasification has a lot of pos-
but also guarantees stable price Alison Kerester, executive director sibilities and people all across the
development over the long term. with the Gasification Technologies world are exploring its potential.
One available solution, according to Council (GTC; Arlington, Va.; www.
the experts, is the environmentally gasification.org). It is an attrac- How gasification works
friendly gasification of carbon-con- tive option because of the reduction Gasification is actually a chemical
taining fuels, such as coal, refinery in landfill space and the concept of process that converts carbon-con-
residues, biomass or waste, into recoverable energy, represented by taining materials, such as coal, pet
these high-grade products. municipal solid waste that cant be coke, biomass or other wastes, into
Gasification is becoming an at- recycled, but does contain hydrocar- a syngas, which can be used in the
tractive option around the globe, but bons, which represent energy. production of chemicals, fertilizers,
each region has its unique reasons However, in other regions, such as substitute natural gas, hydrogen,
for adopting the technology. Areas China, India, Mongolia and Indone- and transportation fuels.
such as China and the U.S. are em- sia. theres great interest in large- At the heart of the gasification
ploying gasification to produce fuels scale industrial petroleum coke (pet system is the gasifier itself, a ves-
and power. For example, the inte- coke) and coal gasification, says Ker- sel where the feedstock reacts with
gration of entrained-flow gasification ester, with a lot of emphasis on mega oxygen (or air) at high tempera-
into modern, integrated gasification projects for converting coal to chem- tures. According to the GTC, there
combined cycle (IGCC) gas-fueled icals. This is a direct result of the are several basic gasifier designs,
power plants provides a highly effi- price of LNG [liquefied natural gas], differentiated by the use of wet or
cient, low-emission, and eco-friendly notes Kerester. These countries want dry feed, the use of air or oxygen,
means of generating electricity from to use their natural resources of coal the reactors flow direction and the
many kinds of carbon-containing and convert it into chemicals, fertil- syngas cooling process.
feedstocks, explains Anton Haber- izers, and transportation fuels. It is After solid waste is ground into
zettl, head of business development not only using and taking advantage very small particles (liquid or gas
with Siemens Fuel Gasification of the feedstocks that are affordably feedstocks are fed directly), the feed-
Technology, Energy Sector (Freiberg, available to them, but providing eco- stock is injected into the gasifier,
Germany; www.siemens.com). Car- nomic security, as well. along with a controlled amount of
bon dioxide separation can also be That is one of the greatest ben- oxygen or air. Temperatures in the
easily integrated into systems of efits of gasification, notes Juhani gasifier range from 1,000 to 3,000F
this type so that the extracted CO2 Isaksson, manager, gasifier and py- to break apart the chemical bonds
can be stored and used, for example, rolysis systems with Metso (Vassa, of the feedstock and form syngas.
to improve the yield from oil fields. Finland; www.metso.com). It pro- The syngas consists primarily of
This technology is called enhanced vides different options and possibili- H2 and CO and smaller quantities of
oil recovery (Figure 1). ties based upon the feedstocks that methane, CO2, hydrogen sulfide and
Similarly, due to the inherent are available and which end prod- water vapor. The ratio of CO to H2
environmental benefits, the North uct, be it transportation fuels, power depends in part upon the type of gas-
American gasification market is pri- or chemicals, are needed in the local ifier used, but can be adjusted down-
experience:
noun; knowledge, know-how,
understanding or insight
acquired over a period of time.
With more than a century of applications experience
and over 15,000 installations worldwide, Triple/S Dynamics
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Whether you need to convey it, screen it, separate it or chop
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1 8 8 8 CELEBRATING 125 YEARS 2 0 1 3
Circle 35 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45779-XX
Buss-SMS-Canzler Gasification by the Numbers
T
he State of the Gasification Industry the Updated Worldwide Gasification Data-
Your partner in developing new base, a report, was prepared and presented by Chris Higman of Higman Consulting
products and processes GmbH (Schwalback, Germany) at the Gasification Technologies Conference, which
was sponsored by the Gasification Technologies Council, in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
this October.
According to the most recent figures, the database now includes a total of 747 gasifi-
cation projects, consisting of 1,741 gasifiers (excluding spares), of which 234 projects
with 618 gasifiers are active, commercially operating projects. The database includes
61 projects with 202 gasifiers under construction and a further 98 projects with 550
gasifiers in the planning phase. The last report was published in 2010 and covered 463
total gasification projects with 990 gasifiers.
The report attributes growth to the following three factors:
Chinese projects
Biomass and waste plants in Europe and the U.S.
Updating the status of existing entries
Worldwide capacity and growth

In 2010 the gasification operating capacity was 70,000 MWth syngas. According to the
report, this has now grown to about 100,000 MWth. Though this is close to the figure
projected in the 2010 report, data behind the current figures are different. In 2010
considerable growth was predicted in the power sector, primarily in the U.S. But, in
actuality, the growth has been in chemicals, mainly in China.
Gasification by location. The report states that in 2010 there had been a balanced situa-
tion between Asia/Australia, Africa/Middle East and North America. The Asia/Australia
capacity, either operational or under construction, is now more than the rest of the world put
together. This is mostly in China, though there is significant operating or planned capacity
in India, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. The next highest-capacity countries worldwide
by syngas production are South Africa and Qatar with their Fischer-Tropsch units.
Gasification by application. Chemicals production remains the most important appli-
cation of gasification. According to the report, a recent study determined that about
25% of the worlds ammonia and over 30% of worlds methanol are now produced by
gasification. This compares with figures of about 10% in each case about ten years ago.
These two chemicals remain the largest applications for gasification, though much of the
methanol does not enter the market as such. Many of the larger methanol plants are cap-
tive units feeding derivatives manufacturing, such as acetyls or olefins on the same site.
The report suggests an interesting new chemical application is syngas-to-glycol, with a
number of plants under construction or just entering production. Syngas-to-ethanol is
another chemical application that appears to have a promising future.
Synthetic fuels, both liquid and gaseous, are becoming increasingly important. The
operating liquid fuels capacity is dominated by two plants: Sasol in South Africa and
Pearl in Qatar. The power industry has disappointed, notes the report, compared with
Thin Film the 2010 projections. Many of the power projects were in the U.S., where the advent of
shale gas changed the market. Also, the fact that the anticipated CO2 legislation failed
to materialize in many countries has been a factor for the power sector.
Dryer Gasification by primary feedstock. There had been a time when the use of coal and oil
as a gasification feedstock was of the same order of magnitude. However, with the rising
price of crude oil, coal has started to dominate the feedstock market, notes the report. There
Continuous contact drying of
are a number of oil gasifiers among those that have been shutdown since the first issue of
liquids, slurries, sludges and the database in 1999. In many cases, it is no longer economical to use oil products as a
pastes. feedstock for ammonia. Coal is now the dominant feedstock and will continue to be so.
There is only a small capacity for plants that were designed for petroleum coke feed.
And, biomass and waste gasification projects tend to be small because of the high cost
of bringing a large amount of biomass to a single point of use.
Report conclusions
Gasification capacity continues to grow on a worldwide basis. While the majority of this
www.sms-vt.com growth is in Chinese coal-to-chemicals plants, other markets are also developing. The de-
velopment of mega-plants, particularly for such products as Fischer-Tropsch liquids, substi-
tute natural gas, and methanol-to-olefins, will have an impact. Large petroleum refineries
are also an important influence on the growth of gasification capacity worldwide.
Excerpts of the report appear courtesy of the Gasification Technologies Council. The
report in its entirety can be found at: www.gasification.org/database1/search.aspx.
stream of the gasifier via the use of which is important in the production
We live process engineering
and special manufacturing
catalysts. The CO-to-H2 ratio is im- of transportation fuels. However,
portant in determining the type of a chemical plant uses syngas with
product to be manufactured. Accord- roughly equal proportions of H2 and
Buss-SMS-Canzler GmbH ing to the GTC, a refinery would use CO, the basic building blocks for a
Kaiserstrae 13-15 35510 Butzbach Germany a syngas consisting primarily of H2, range of products.
Tel: +49 60 33 - 85 - 0 Fax: +49 60 33 - 85 - 249
E-Mail: info@sms-vt.com
08_CHE_120113_NF2.indd 26 11/19/13 7:26:11 AM

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This flexibility of the gasification
process means that it can produce one
or more products from the same pro-
cess. Typically, according to the GTC,
70 to 85% of the carbon in the feed-
stock is converted into the syngas.
Gasification innovations
Gasification is a viable, commercially
proven technology that has been
around since the beginning of the
last century, and hundreds of gasifi-
ers have been operated successfully
over the decades, says Claudio Mar-
sico, head of the sales department,
Gas Technologies Division of Thys- Visit our new website at
senKrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, www.amacs.com
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benefits during operation, he says.
Modern gasification technologies
should use the entire range of solid DISTRIBUTORS & SUPPORTS
Manufactured to customer specications or engineered to meet
feedstocks, including high-ash and
performance requirements.
low-rank coal, allow a mixture of dif-
ferent feedstocks, avoid coal wash-
ing, use coal fines, reduce higher
hydrocarbons in raw syngas, and
allow maximum capacity per single COALESCERS
gasifier to reduce investment costs Oil water separations Haze removal from fuels Removal of tower wet reux
Caustic treater applications
and operational costs as well.
Moreover, continues Marsico, the
design of a modern gasification plant
should take into special consideration
the feedstock characteristics, the final STRUCTURED PACKING
product specification, and the integra- Woven, sheet metal, and knitted structured packing.
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ThyssenKrupp Uhde
Newsfront
eral modern gasifiers to fulfill these gases or with a heat recovery sys-
demands. Of note is the HTW flu- tem to produce CO-rich gases and
idized-bed gasifier that is used for steam (Figures 2 and 3).
high-reactive feedstocks, such as ThyssenKrupp isnt the only com-
biomass, and low-rank coals with pany making technological improve-
high ash-melting points. Another is ments to the gasification system. As
the Prenflo entrained-flow process, a matter of fact, GTCs Kerester says
which is available with a full water- there are constant innovations in the
quench design to produce H2-rich form of everything from microwave
FIGURE 3. The HTW fluidized-bed gas-

ifier is used for high-reactive feedstocks,
such as biomass, and low-rank coals
with high ash-melting points
gasification to solar-assisted gasifi-

cation to compact gasification to im-
provements in system components,
such as feed injectors and refractory
linings, to improvements in carbon-
capture and efforts to improve gas-
ifier performance. Now that the tech-
nology is commercially proven, every
aspect of the gasification system is
subject to additional R&D.
As a result, there are some notable
innovations. GE (Schenectady, N.Y.;
www.ge-energy.com), for example,
offers improved Radiant Syngas
Cooler (RSC), extended slurry, and
advanced refractory technologies.
The RSC heat-recovery system cap-
tures heat in the form of steam dur-
ing the gasification process, which
converts coal to syngas. The steam
production greatly reduces the need
for additional steam or power pro-
duced from stand-alone boilers,
boosting the efficiency and reducing
the emissions of coal-to-chemical
facilities, says Delome Fair, general
manager of the gasification busi-
ness at GE Power & Water.
GE is also introducing technol-
ogy to increase slurry concentration
above those obtained by traditional
methods, enabling economical gas-
ification of a wider envelope of coals.
And a new refractory lining sys-
tem for the gasifier vessel extends
the operating lifecycle and overall
availability of the gasifier, while re-
Newsfront
ducing maintenance costs compared overall plant availability, she says. rocket propulsion systems, we have
to standard commercially available Another company is getting sig- the background to handle high tem-
refractory technology, says Fair. nificant attention for its compact peratures and high pressures in a
For example, GEs advanced refrac- gasifier technology. Aerojet Rocket- small environment, says Alan Darby,
tory lining system on a U.S. IGCC dynes compact gasifier is touted as program manager for gasification
plant is expected to perform 50% being 90% smaller and 35% more ef- with Aerojet Rocketdyne (Sacra-
longer than GEs standard refrac- ficient than conventional gasification mento, Calif.; www.rocket.com). We
tory technology, delivering one per- systems, leading to reduced costs. began working on gasification in the
RS CE BuickGS
centage 042213_Layout
point improvement1 4/21/13
to the10:19 PM Page 1upon our experience in
Based 1970s and 1980s when the [U.S.] Dept.
of Energy was funding coal gasifica-
tion projects, but stopped the work be-
cause the price of oil dropped and the
market wasnt viable for gasification
again until the 2000s when the price
of oil went back up, he says.
It is our rocket engine experi-
ence that differentiates us, ex-
plains Darby. Our gasifier is about
one-tenth the size of the commer-
cial equivalent. And because of that
smaller size, when put into the gas-
ification island, we provide an over-
all capital cost reduction of about
20% for the owner of the plant in the
form of reduced infrastructure, con-
crete and other items that would go
1972 Buick GS Stage 1 into the plant. In addition, because
of the small size, the gasifier is very
efficient and provides three or four
Do you have flows up to points of better efficiency than com-
1,400 US GPM (320 m3/hr), mercial gasifiers, which reduces the
heads up to 3,400 feet
(1,000 m), pressures up to
cost of the product by 20% because
RS Series
1,500 psig (100 bar), it uses less oxygen for a compara-
temperatures from 20F to tive amount of feedstock. In addi-
300F (-30C to 149C), and tion, the higher efficiency generates
speeds up to 3,500 RPM? Then you need Carver Pump less CO2, so downstream equipment
RS Series muscle! can also be smaller in size. All this
Designed for moderate to high pressure pumping applications, comes together to offer a cost ad-
the RS is available in five basic sizes with overall performance to
1,000HP. As a standard, with a product lubricated radial sleeve
vantage to the plant owner.
bearing and two matched angular contact ball bearings for thrust, When considering gasification,
it only takes a mechanical seal on the low pressure, suction side theres a lot of decisions to make,
to seal the pump. Optional features include ball bearings on both says Bruce Bryan, director, gasifi-
ends with an outboard mechanical seal, various seal flushing cation with the Gas Technology In-
arrangements and bearing frame cooling. These features make stitute. (GTI; Des Plaines, Ill.; www.
the RS ideally suited for Industrial and Process applications
including Pressure Boost Systems, Boiler Feed, gastechnology.org). There will
Reverse Osmosis, Desalination and Mine Dewatering. always be much discussion as to
Whatever your application, let us build which type, which technology, and
the muscle you need! which innovation is the best, but
the point is that there is a place for
all of them where its economically
feasible, and the innovations that
Creating Value. result from mature technologies
Carver Pump Company will continue to make gasification
2415 Park Avenue even more economic, as will local
Muscatine, IA 52761
563.263.3410
circumstances, says Bryan. n
Fax: 563.262.0510 Joy LePree
www.carverpump.com
More on global gasification projects is
available online at www.che.com.
Now Accepting
Challenging
Projects
Sure we can do the standard tower open/clean/inspect/close
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ABB Measurement Products
FOCUS ON
Flowmeters
Communicate with iOS
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Introduced in September, the Si-
trans Connection Apple iOS com-
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The Sitrans Connection enables
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Siemens
ming. Siemens AG, Industry
Sector, Industry Automation
Div., Nuremberg, Germany
www.siemens.com
This two-wire device is

simpler to install
The Proline Promag 200 electro-
magnetic flowmeter (photo) is
a two-wire magmeter with the
same measuring performance
as four-wire magmeters. Instal-
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than a four-wire device because
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required. Promag H200 is avail- McCrometer Endress+Hauser
able in line sizes of 1/12 to 1 in.

and Promag P200 is available in line and integral orifice (photo). Each fam- A new connector quickens
sizes of to 8 in. for measuring flow- ily member is a one-piece flowmeter installation and setup
rates of conductive fluids with an accu- incorporating the primary element, With the new Quick Connect Cable,
racy of 0.5% of range and repeatabil- 3- or 5-valve instrument manifold the FPI Mag electronic flowmeter
ity of 0.2% of range. The flowmeter and transmitter in a single, pressure- (photo) is easier to install and setup
operates in process temperatures from tested assembly. The compact con- for use. The Quick Connect cabling is
40 to 304F. Connections include struction enhances both performance easy to detach, making it possible to
welded, threaded, hygienic and flanged and safety as it involves a minimal install it before the sensor, thereby al-
versions that meet EN/DIN PN 1640, number of leakage points compared lowing completion of wiring assembly
ASME B16.5 CI 150, CI 300 and JIS with the many potential sources of prior to sensor installation. The Quick
10K and 20K process-connection pres- leaks found in a conventional, DP flow Connect Cable for the FPI Mag flow-
sure ratings. Endress+Hauser, Inc. installation, says the manufacturer. meter is compliant with the IEC IP68
Greenwood, Ind. The compact family close-couples the standard, and is resistant to dust and
www.us.endress.com transmitter and the primary mea- is watertight to a depth of 1 m. The
surement device, thus eliminating the Mag flowmeters advanced microelec-
Compact DP flowmeter family requirement for long lengths of small- trode sensor compensates for variable
cuts installation & maintenance bore impulse piping, reducing the risk flow profiles, including swirl and tur-
This companys family of flowmeters of installation errors and of blockages bulent conditions. The device has an
has been extended to include four within the tappings. ABB Measure- accuracy of 0.5% of reading from 1
DP (differential pressure) technolo- ment Products, Warminster, Pa. to 32 ft/s, and 1% from 0.3 to 1 ft/s.
gies orifice, wedge, averaging pilot www.abb.com/measurement The signal converter includes built-in
32 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2013 Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number
on p. 68, or use the website designation.
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A space-saving redesign also

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The new IZMAG2 (photo) features
a redesigned measuring tube that
eliminates the need for inlet or out-
let pipe sections. This saves space,
making the IZMAG2 easier to posi-
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GEA Diessel
improves its measurement accu-
racy by 0.2%. Vacuum resistance
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choring the synthetic material to a
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temperatures of up to 80C. As with
previous versions, the IZMAG2
also features a visual display, 360-
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Space- and cost-saving standard and more demanding appli- (0.5% of full scale) to give the most
flow-control solution cations, in terms of process tempera- accurate totalization of multiple gases.
By means of the innovative mount- ture, pressure and high viscosity. This Up to four gases can be totalized from a
ing concept Flow-SMS (photo), a vari- new multipurpose flowmeter offers single device and software package.
ety of components for mass flow and bi-directional flow measurement in- Sierra Instruments, Monterey, Calif.
pressure measurement and control dependent of the mediums conductiv- www.sierrainstruments.com
can be assembled to constitute a very ity, temperature density and pressure.
compact gas delivery system. On a Based on the transit-time method, the This inline flowmeter accurately
lightweight, but still-rugged mount- device has three parallel ultrasonic measures gases
ing rail system, one or more mass beams that generate a measurement The MTI10 Insertion and MTL10 In-
flow (or pressure) sensor and control independent of flow profile, with a line Mass Thermal Flowmeters pro-
modules can be combined with mixing flow range of 0.3 to 20 m/s and accu- vide accurate measurement of clean,
chambers, (pneumatic, electrical or racy of 0.3%. The temperature range dry gases and air using constant tem-
manual) shut-off valves, filters or any extends from 200 to 250C, and vis- perature sensing for fast response
other functional module as needed. cosities can reach as high as 1,000 cSt. and low-flow accuracy. Additional
Flow ranges can be selected between Krohne Messtechnik GmbH, Duis- transmitters or flow computers are
approximately 5 mL/min up to 50 L/ burg, Germany not needed, and the devices are im-
min or even higher. In case a pressure www.krohne.com mune to changes in temperature and
sensor or controller is included, the pressure over a wide flow range. The
pressure range can be chosen between Totalizing software monetizes MTI10/MTL10 View software allows
0100 mbar and 010 bars absolute or up to four gases for quick setup, monitoring and data
gage. Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V., This company recently released a new logging of the flowmeter using a PC.
Ruurlo, the Netherlands free-flow totalizer software module The Cal-V and Recalibration Verifica-
www.bronkhorst.com for its QuadraTherm 640i/7800i mass tion allows users to perform in-situ
flowmeter (photo). Via the QuadraTh- testing of the meters accuracy by
A flowmeter for erm software interface program (SIP), testing the functionality of the sensor
demanding applications users now have an efficient manage- and the processing circuitry. Spirax
The New Optisonic 3400 ultrasonic ment tool to totalize and monetize Sarco, Inc., Blythewood, S.C.
flowmeter (photo) is a three-beam, in- gases with one device. The module le- www.spiraxsarco.com/us n
line device that can be used for both verages the flowmeters high accuracy Gerald Ondrey
Now Available in the Chemical Engineering Store:
Process Water and Wastewater Treatment
and Reuse Guidebook- Volume 2
This guidebook contains how-to engineering articles formerly published in Chemical Engineering. The
articles in Volume 2 provide practical engineering recommendations for process operators faced with the
challenge of treating inlet water for process use, and treating industrial wastewater to make it suitable for
discharge or reuse.
There is a focus on the importance of closed-loop or zero-discharge plant design, as well as the selection,
operation and maintenance of membrane-based treatment systems; treating water for use in recirculated-
water cooling systems; managing water treatment to ensure trouble-free steam service; designing stripping
columns for water treatment; and more.
Table of Contents
Process Water Treatment Challenges and Solutions Facts at Your Fingertips: Controlling Membrane Fouling
Water Reuse and Conservation in the CPI

Biodegradation and Testing of Scale Inhibitors
Strategies to Minimize Wastewater Discharge

Keeping Cooling Water Clean

Strategies for Water Reuse

Caring for Cooling Water Systems

Wastewater: A Reliable Water Resource

Purifying Coke-Cooling Wastewater

Membranes for Process Water Reuse
Non-Chemical Water Treatment

Strategies for Controlling Membrane Fouling
Fact at Your Fingertips: Membranes CPI Water and Steam Chemistry
Facts at Your Fingertips: Membrane Configurations Designing Steam Stripping Columns for Wastewater
Order your copy today by visiting store.che.com

20611
Flowserve
Chandler Engineering Cynergy Ergonomics
Evaluate scale inhibitors with sis. Four-channel data collection

this automated system leads to faster route comple-
The Model 5400 Dynamic Scale tion and additional diagnostic
Deposition Loop (photo) is a fully tools, like dual-orbit plots on
automated system that mea- couplings. Users may wirelessly
sures and evaluates the perfor- upload data to the software. A
mance of scale inhibitors under lithium-ion battery ensures bat-
high-pressure and high-temper- tery life that will cover an en-
ature conditions. This system tire shift from a single charge.
pumps heated samples at con- The analyzer is ergonomically
trolled rates through a tubing designed to be thin and light,
test section, while continuously intended for one-handed op-
measuring the differential an eration, with a shoulder strap
increase in differential pressure for additional comfort. A glove-
indicates scale formation. Sys- friendly touchscreen features
tem features include a forced-air an auto light sensor that opti-
Emerson Electric
convection oven, a removable mizes the screens backlight.
sample-tube assembly, two setpoint These seals are also suited for very Emerson Process Management,
back-pressure regulators, and an aggressive liquid service, such as St. Louis, Mo.
external pH electrode. Two high- with acids, caustics and alkaline www.emersonprocess.com
performance liquid chromatogra- materials. The diamond-coated
phy pumps are used to transport faces allow operation against all A universal lifting system for
the fluids through the tubing. The common mating-face materials in- material of any geometry
system also includes proprietary cluding, carbon, silicon carbide and This companys new universal lift-
software that collects, calculates tungsten carbide, as well as pro- ing system (photo) can lift and ma-
and stores acquired data. Chan- viding resistance to abrasive par- nipulate materials that have vastly
dler Engineering, Broken Arrow, ticle damage. Flowserve Corp., different geometries with a single
Okla. Irving, Tex. vacuum lifter. With a capacity of
www.chandlereng.com www.flowserve.com over 1,000 lb, the lifters vacuum-
maintenance design can handle
Mechanical seals that are dia- A robust vibration analyzer with cylindrical products such as pipe,
mond-coated for reslience ergonomics in mind flat items like boards or panels,
These mechanical seals feature di- The CSI 2140 Machinery Health as well as varied geometries such
amond-coated faces (photo), which Analyzer (photo) is a portable tool as turbine blades or pallets. With
produces an extremely resilient for analyzing machinery vibra- the ability to handle virtually any
surface with desirable friction and tion to detect potential problems shape or geometry, this vacuum
wear characteristics. Beneficial in before they lead to unplanned lifter is appropriate for custom
services requiring protection from downtime. This analyzers compat- manufacturers and applications
slurry, dry-running conditions or ibility with the asset-management that ship or receive a wide range of
chemical corrosion, the coated seals software, AMS Suites Machinery products. Cynergy Ergonomics
offer improved reliability in poor- Manager Version 5.6 allows users Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
lubricity liquids, such as hot water. to perform more advanced analy- www.cynergyergonomics.com
let, the CLR-25 has a total capacity
of 25 lb and the CLR-50 has a ca-
pacity of 50 lb. Both models feature
a clear polyvinyl chloride body so
the bromine supply can be viewed
without opening the cap. The feed-
ers have a maximum pressure of 8.6
bars and a maximum temperature
Benko Products of 38C, and come equipped with
a standard pressure-relief valve.
Neptune Chemical Pump Co.,
North Wales, Pa.
www.neptune1.com
This heat-transfer-oil system

stops leaks for less downtime
The HTF NPS Series (photo) is a
new heat-transfer-oil system ca-
pable of operating at temperatures
up to 204C. The HTF NPS series
provides accurate temperature
control for situations that require
Griswold Pump Company
negative pressure to stop a leak, as
well as positive pressure when no
Mokon leak is present. The systems three-
way flow-control valve can rapidly
switch from positive pressure to
An industrial refrigerator with negative pressure. The systems
built-in spill protection leak-stoppage capabilities delay
The Husky Cold Box (photo) is an repair requirements, allowing con-
industrial refrigerator designed for tinuous production through the end
use with 55-gal drums. With a ca- of a run. System components in-
pacity of up to 32 drums, the Husky clude a fluid-supply reservoir, a mi-
Cold Box is forklift-portable, features croprocessor-based controller and
built-in spill containment and 3-in. a vertical stainless-steel pump.
thick insulation, which minimizes Mokon, Buffalo, N.Y.
ABB Group power consumption when compared www.mokon.com
to a large walk-in cooler. The refrig-
A touchscreen video recorder erators exterior is finished with Use these self-priming pumps in
with options for data monitoring acrylic enamel, while the interior is water service
The RVG200 (photo) is a video- finished with silver. Stainless-steel This companys H Series of high-
graphic data recorder with touch- finish is also available. The small head self-priming centrifugal pumps
screen technology. Providing easy footprint makes this refrigerator (photo) are designed for a variety of
access to process data for onsite well-suited for plants with limited water-related applications. Unlike
operators, the RVG200 also enables floor space. The Husky Cold Box standard end-suction centrifugal
secure remote data access from tab- comes fully assembled for quick pumps, the H Series maintains its
lets, smartphones or personal com- deployment. Benko Products, prime even if check valves or foot
puters, for a true realtime overview Sheffield Village, Ohio valves fail. The suction lines loca-
of monitored processes. Integrated www.benkoproducts.com tion on the pump keeps the impel-
into the plant network through an ler and mechanical seal covered
Ethernet connection, the recorder Administer solid water-treatment with water at all times, protecting
can notify operators of process chemicals with these feeders the seal from dry-run, and elimi-
alarms or critical events, via email The Model CLR-25 and CLR-50 nating the need for re-priming. The
to their mobile device or computer. bromine feeders are designed to ef- H Series pumps are available in
Data can be viewed in a variety ficiently feed solid water-treatment models ranging from 3 to 20 hp.
of formats, including charts, bar chemicals into closed-loop systems Griswold Pump Company, Grand
graphs or digital indicator displays. in cooling towers. With the versatil- Terrace, Calif.
ABB Group, Zurich, Switzerland ity to handle bromine in many for- www.griswoldpump.com n
www.abb.com mats including ball, stick and tab- Mary Page Bailey
SHOW PREVIEW
Chem Show
T
he 2013 Chem Show
(www.chemshow.com)
will take place in New
York on December 1012
at the Jacob Javits Convention
Center. This biennial event will
showcase process equipment and
technology from across the chemi-
cals processing industries (CPI),
with over 300 exhibitors expected
to participate with hands-on dem- Fluid Metering
onstrations, seminars and new

product releases. The following
is a preview of some of the prod-
ucts and services that will be ex-
hibited at this years event.
These pumps are self-cooled

via a recirculation process
Pfeiffer Vacuum
OktaLine G Series gas-cooled
Porvair Filtration Group
pumps (photo) are suitable for
harsh environments or where pro-
cess gas has a narrow tempera- piston is the only moving part that This continuous-flow reactor is
ture limit. The pumps self-cooling contacts the process fluid. Pump fully scalable
mechanism involves recirculation heads are integrally mounted to the The Coflore Agitated Cell Reactor
of a small amount of pumped pro- control unit, with motors, drivers (ACR) is a continuous-flow alterna-
cess gas that is sent through a heat and electronics housed in a rugged tive to batch processing. This fully
exchanger and injected back into aluminum enclosure. The systems scalable unit develops chemistry at
the high-compression area inside menu-driven programming uses low throughput, and provides plug
the pump. This self-cooling pro- front-panel membrane switches on flow, while eliminating back-mixing
cess helps to extend bearing and an LCD display. Booth 723 Fluid and side reactions. Mechanically
seal lifetimes and decrease system Metering, Inc., Syosset, N.Y. stirred with a patented stirring
complexity, since there are fewer www.fluidmetering.com technology, the ACR can handle
pump stages. These pumps can also slurries, immiscible fluids and gas-
achieve large pressure differen- These flexible filter cartridges can liquid mixtures for a wide range
tials and can route exhaust directly be treated for many applications of reaction times. The ACR is ap-
to atmospheric pressure. Booth This companys robust new car- propriate for scaleup applications
551 Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH, tridges (photo) for its stainless-steel in industries such as food, biofuels,
Asslar, Germany purification filters are available in specialty chemicals, polymers and
www.pfeiffer-vacuum.de all standard cartridge lengths, mi- pharmaceuticals, due to its ability
cron ratings and 316L stainless-steel to produce high yield and purity
A no valve solution for precise end fittings. For further customiza- with less waste. Booth 236 AM
metering and dispensing tion, other alloys and dimensional Technology, Cheshire, U.K.
The PDS-100 (photo) is a valve- modifications are available upon www.amtechuk.com
less, programmable dispensing sys- request. With optional patented
tem, available in single- and dual- surface-modification treatments, Improve evaporator performance
channel configurations. Ideal for the cartridges can be specially pre- with this rotor system
accurate metering, dispensing and pared for applications where addi- The new Powerfilm Rotor system
sampling, the system can handle tional pH or temperature protection (photo, p. 39) can improve perfor-
liquids, slurries and gases for both is required. Booth 655 Porvair mance and product quality for many
laboratory and industrial applica- Filtration Group, Hampshire, U.K. industrial evaporators, including
tions. A chemically inert, ceramic www.porvairfiltration.com wiped-film, short-path and thin-
GIG Karasek
proper wall thickness for

their application. Design
considerations include cor-
rosion properties, specific
gravity and temperature
requirements of the stored
material. Built-in insula-
tion and secondary-con-
tainment options are also
available. Tank sizes can
vary from 50 to 50,000 gal,
with bottom configurations
eliminates nearly all impurities, including flat, internal-slope or
thus cutting operating costs. Booth cone. NSF 61 certified, these tanks
731 GIG Karasek, Gloggnitz- versatility makes them appropriate
Stuppach, Austria for use in many industries, includ-
www.gigkarasek.at ing chemical processing, agricul-
Houston Polytank ture, food products, electricity gen-
Highly customizable tanks eration, medical, mining and water
film, as well as vacuum-molecular give versatility and wastewater applications. Booth
distillation processes. Using a pro- This companys polypropylene and 744 Houston Polytank, LLC, Hop-
prietary technology that optimally polyethylene molded tanks (photo) kins, Mo.
adjusts performance depending on can be produced to customer specifi- www.houstonpolytank.com n
a products characteristics, this sys- cations, giving customers the ability Mary Page Bailey
tem increases process capacity and to design and build a tank with the Edited by Mary Page Bailey
From Analysis & Combustible

Dust Testing to Total Explosion
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Filtration Testing
and Slurry
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins Conditioning
esting in filtration processes is critical
T for determining the properties of solids

being filtered and the ease or difficulty
of the filtration. In addition, laboratory Date :
TABLE 1. DATA COLLECTION SHEET
Customer: Test number:
Run #
Continuous vacuum filtration
followed by candle filtration
Vacuum belt filter Cake discharge
testing is important in specifying filter Filter media
media, filter aids, filter area, cake space Suspension
needed and cake discharge techniques. Filling Volume of slurry Mother liquor Cloth wash
Experimental data gathered in the
Density of slurry
laboratory help in the design of the full
filtration system needed for production. In % Solids in feed
Concentrating Concentrating
many cases, the optimal filtration system Temperature candle filters candle filters
involves combining various filtration Filtration Vacuum or pressure
techniques with different configurations. Volume of filtrate Concentrating candle filters followed
The mechanical conditioning of slurries by continuous vacuum filtration
Time for filtration
allowed by combining filtration techniques
gives rise to a more efficient overall filtra- % Solids in filtrate Concentrating Vacuum belt filter
tion process. This article discusses what Wash 1 Wash material candle filters
data are required for slurry testing and Pressure Cake discharge
provides examples of mechanical condi- Volume of filtrate
tioning of slurries using combinations of Concentrating candle filters followed
Time for filtration
filtration methods. by pressure plate batch filtration
Wash 2 Wash material
Test objectives Pressure Concentrating Pressure plate filter
Laboratory testing often uses a test Volume of filtrate candle filters
sample of process fluid in a container Time for filtration
that allows measurement of the volume Cake discharge
Drying Pressure
of the test batch for filtration. Tests are FIGURE 1. Examples of combination
designed to analyze cake depths, operat- Temperature
iltration approaches that can be used for
ing pressures, filter media, washing and Flowrate slurry conditioning
drying efficiencies and cake discharge. Time for drying
An example of a data collection sheet for Pressing pressure
filtration laboratory testing is shown in plants as well as in coal gasification plants.
Table 1. The specific objectives may be Cake Weight Concentrating candle filters can also be fol-
to determine the required filter area for a Thickness lowed by pressure-plate batch filtration.
primary filtration, evaluate filtrate quality % Residual moisture When primary filtration is accomplished
for primary and secondary filtration, or by candle filters on a continuous basis, the
Dry cake weight
evaluate washing efficiency. filter medium is capable of retaining parti-
Cake discharge OK? cles down to 0.5 m in size. These particles
Data collected during testing include
the following: are discharged as a concentrated sludge or
If laboratory testing is not feasible at plant
Slurry volume slurry onto a pressure plate filter for recovery of
facilities, then filter equipment companies, filter
Slurry density the remaining solvent and discharge of the dry
aid suppliers and consultants are available to
Percent solids in feed cake. The secondary filtration is a batch pro-
assist with testing work.
Temperature cess that incorporates filtration, counter-current
Time for iltration Slurry conditioning washing, drying and dry cake discharge. The
Pressure or vacuum Tests often indicate that the most effective overall result is a very dependable process with
Pressure of wash material filtration process involves two stages, where high quality filtrate and minimal utility air and
Visual inspection of filtered solids can of- a primary filtration step occurs first, often as water usage.
fer clues about ilterability. Solids that are a continuous process, and is followed by a Continuous pressure filtration or centrifugation
crystalline can be relatively easy to filter, secondary filtration step that may be carried followed by candle filtration. In cases where
whereas amorphous, slimy or gelatinous out as a batch process. The following are the initial mother liquor contains fines in the
solids are more difficult to separate, requiring some examples of how these processes could 15-m size range, the best process decision
more complex techniques. In addition to the work (Figure 1). could be to accept fines in the mother liquor,
visual inspection, particle-size analysis of the Continuous vacuum followed by candle filtra- rather than having a reduced flowrate because
suspended solids is always recommended to tion. In cases where high-solids slurries have of a tighter filter cloth. The fines would then be
determine the percentage of solids and the a small particle size distribution, continuous recovered in the candle filters, which can either
particle-size distribution in the process. The test vacuum filtration can be used to create a very produce a dry cake or concentrated slurry.
data will help determine the size and recom- thin cake with a thickness of 56 mm. High- In summary, the installation and combined
mendation for the filter type. solids slurries can be defined as up to 5055% use of filtration technologies, while higher
solids in the slurry feed. The mother filtrate in capital cost, will result in a more reliable
Filter sizing often contains small, very fine solids. Using operating process at the plant. However, only
The test data are then used in the following candle filters, these solids can be filtered, through accurate laboratory and pilot testing
formulas to calculate filter-sizing requirements washed, concentrated and then sent back to will the optimum filter selection be realized.
to meet the process flowrate, batch throughput the process. Editors note: Special thanks go to Barry Perlmut-
and the solids removed in the filter cake: Candle filtration followed by continuous ter, President of BHS-Filtration Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.;
Throughput = V/A (1) vacuum filtration. If the order of the filters is www.bhs-filtration.com) for contributing content for
reversed, the candle filters operate to mechani- this column. He can be reached at barry.perlmut-
Flowrate = (V/Dt)/A (2) ter@bhs-filtration.com.
cally condition the slurry through thickening
Cake thickness = Ws/rsA (3) and concentrating up to 10% solids. The
resulting more-concentrated slurry can then
References
Where: be economically and technically processed 1. Sentmanat, S., Clarifying Liquid Filtration,
V = total volume filtered, gal on a vacuum belt filter by vacuum filtration, Chem. Eng., October 2011. pp. 3847.
A = total filtration area, ft2 cake washing and drying. The drying can be 2. Perlmutter, B.A., Combination iltration of pres-
Dt = total time to filter, min by vacuum, compression, blowing with hot or sure, vacuum and clarification technologies for
Ws = total weight of solids filtered, lb ambient-temperature gas or by steaming. Ap- optimum process solutions, BHS-Filtration Inc.,
rs = density of wet cake, lb/ft3 plications for this approach occur in chemical Charlotte, N.C., 2012.
Butene via
Ethylene Dimerization
By Intratec Solutions
C4+
lefin dimerization is a reaction where two purge
O molecules of a monomer combine to form

a dimer. It can be utilized to produce
normal butenes from ethylene, which can be
provided by a steam cracker.
Dimerization of ethylene is generally ap- Treated
plied when butene is required in another part Ethylene Treatment ethylene
Dimerization Metathesis Propylene
of a petrochemical complex. For instance, from cracker unit
the dimerization unit may be integrated with
a metathesis unit, to produce polymer-grade Gasoline
propylene, a commodity chemical with a high Catalyst and Catalyst and
added value. In this integration, n-butene from Fuel oil
chemicals chemicals
dimerization is reacted over a metathesis
catalyst with ethylene to form two molecules FIGURE 1. Integration between dimerization and metathesis
of propylene, as shown in the block flow
diagram, in Figure 1. section while the remainder is recirculated. counts for the ethylene treatment unit and the
Catalyst quench section. In the quench sec- dimerization unit, was conducted based on
The process tion, the catalysts are deactivated with caustic data from the fourth quarter of 2012, for a
A dimerization process for butenes production, solution. Fresh caustic is added to the reaction plant with a nominal capacity of 200,000
similar to CB&I Lummus (The Woodlands, Tex.; product, after which it goes to the liquid-liquid ton/yr of butenes erected on the U.S. Gulf
www.cbi.com) Ethylene Dimerization Technol- separator drum, where the caustic is withdrawn Coast (the process equipment is represented in
ogy, is analyzed and depicted in the flowsheet from the bottom and purged to the flash drum the simplified flowsheet below).
(Figure 2). The following is a brief description prior to being recycled. The same occurs with The ISBL total installed cost is about $30
of the dimerization processing scheme: the steam condensate, which is used to remove million. The cost includes: the process equip-
Catalyst preparation and treatment section. traces of caustic. In the flash drum, hydrocar- ment and equipment spares; housing for pro-
Catalyst and co-catalyst are properly unloaded, bons in the purge stream are sent to flare, cess units; others direct material; and indirect
stored and pumped into the catalyst preparation while the liquid is sent to water treatment. costs (field supervision, payroll burdens and
section. Ethylene is treated in the purification Purification section. In the debutenizer tower, so on).
unit, prior to mixing with the catalyst, to remove the overhead butenes and any unconverted Recently, the shift to lighter feedstocks from
potential dimerization-catalyst poisons. ethylene are separated from heavier reaction low-cost natural shale gas is reducing the
Reaction section. The reaction system produces byproducts. The bottom is sent to the heavy- propylene production in steam cracker units.
normal butenes, mainly 2-butene, as the major ends tower, which produces gasoline as distil- Thus, the construction of a dimerization unit in-
product, with higher olefins (such as hexenes late and fuel oil as bottoms, while the over- tegrated to a metathesis unit can be a solution
and octenes), as byproducts. The reaction head is sent to the butenes purification tower. when there is an excess of ethylene production
occurs in a liquid-phase loop system, with a In the butenes tower, unreacted ethylene is and a demand for propylene.
high circulation flowrate. The reaction medium separated from the product and recycled to the
containing the catalysts, n-butenes and recir- reaction section. In case of metathesis integra- Editors note: The content for this column is supplied
culated unreacted ethylene is fed to the surge tion, the purification tower is not utilized, since by Intratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us)
and edited by Chemical Engineering. The analyses
drum, which provides liquid surge to the loop. A both olefins will be used as raw materials. and models presented herein are prepared on the
heat exchanger, which removes the exothermic basis of publicly available and non-confidential infor-
mation. The information and analysis are the opinions
heat from the circulating liquid, acts as the di- Total installed cost of Intratec and do not represent the point of view of
merization reactor. After the reactor stage, part An economic evaluation of the ISBL (inside any third parties. More information about the method-
ology for preparing this type of analysis can be found,
of the reaction medium is sent to the quench battery limits) total installed cost, which ac- along with terms of use, at www.intratec.us/che.
Purge to RF 1) Catalysts vessels

cracker CW 2) Fixed bed dryer
3) Surge drum
3 9 4) Dimerization reactor
SC 5
2 7 5) Liquid-liquid
To flare separator drum
Ethylene drum n-butenes 6) Flash drum
4 CW ST
ST 7) Debutenizer tower
6 CW 8)
1 Heavy ends tower
Co-catalyst
Gasoline 9) Butene purification
5 tower
8
Catalyst 1
CW Cooling water
SC Steam
To water
condensate
treatment ST
ST Steam
Fuel oil
Fresh caustic RF Refrigeration fluid
FIGURE 2. n-butenes production process similar to Lummus Ethylene Dimerization Technology

Feature
Cover Story
Report
The Globally Harmonized

System
Paul Burgess
This introduction to the Globally Harmonized System
of the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
can help in understanding
Labelmaster
the new classification requirements
W
hen the U.S. Occupa-
tional Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
revised the U.S. Hazard
Communication Law, U.S. 29 CFR Implementation Dates
1910.1200, in May of 2012, it set
Dec. 1, 2013 June 1, 2015 Dec. 1, 2015 June 1, 2016
off an avalanche of change in the
environmental, health and safety Employers must Chemical Distributors Employees
(EH&S) circles of American indus- train employees manufacturers, begin shipping must update
try. Virtually every manufacturing on the new importers, containers alternative
label elements distributors and labeled by the workplace
and service industry will be involved
and safety data employers must chemical labeling
in one aspect or another of adapt-
sheet (SDS) comply with all manufacturer and hazard
ing its existing hazard communi- format modified or importer communication
cation system to the new Globally provisions with an programs as
Harmonized System (GHS) for the HCS label necessary and
classification and communication of provide
chemical hazards. As you are likely additional
aware, the law requires all affected employee
training for
workplaces to train their employees
newly
in the exigencies of the new hazard indentified
communication system by Decem- physical or
ber 1, 2013, and ensure that their health hazards
employees understand the new la-
beling and safety data sheets that
need to be completely in place by FIGURE 1. The first deadline of effective dates for implementation of the GHS in the
U.S. has been reached
June 1, 2016. However, the industry
segments that will likely experience Under the 2012 Hazard Commu- of the manufacturer. By the nature
the greatest change are the chemi- nication Standard, most general in- of their operations, manufacturers
cal process industries (CPI). dustry chemical users merely need possess an adequate staff of tech-
The detailed work of compiling to ensure their employees right nical experts to safely create the
data for publication in the new safety to understand. Classifying chemi- chemicals that they market. Such
data sheets, and updating labeling cals is taken care of at a level typi- staff usually also includes the re-
to comply with the new standard, cally above their involvement, by sources that will now be required to
is just the beginning for U.S. chemi- distributors, importers, and most ensure proper classification accord-
cal producers. The single greatest especially by manufacturers. Down- ing to the GHS-based hazard com-
change facing the CPI in the new stream users are only required to munication system.
system is the requirement to classify reclassify their chemicals from the
chemicals into one of the newly des- original classification if, and only if, The path to the GHS
ignated hazard categories, as well they modify the chemicals to such Prior to 1970, worker protection
as assigning an appropriate level of a degree that they can reasonably laws in the U.S. were a hodgepodge.
risk severity for each product. This expect that the products hazards A variety of state and federal rules
is a significant change. Previously, have changed. While certainly not created a widely disparate set of cir-
chemical manufacturings primary an unheard of circumstance, it is a cumstances under which employees
responsibility was to evaluate haz- relatively rare one. might find themselves working and
ards associated with a product, and Thus, while distributors and im- experiencing risk. In 1970, the Fed-
classification was left to the trans- porters of chemicals may have some eral Government created OSHA.
portation industry to fret over in the role to play, the burden of classifica- OSHAs mandate was to make the
formal chemical identity process. tion will fall mostly into the hands labor safety laws in the U. S. com-
GHS hazard classifications
FIGURE 2. The new rule sets very spe-
Physical hazards Health/environmental cific guidance, which must be followed, to
classify chemical hazards
Explosives Acute toxicity
Flammable gases, aerosols, Aspiration
liquids, solids Skin corrosion and irritation
corporating the GHS into the HCS
Oxidizers in late 2009. In March of 2012 the
Respiratory and/or skin
Self-reactors sensitization
final rule was promulgated, with
an effective date in May of 2012. At
Self-heaters Mutagenicity
present, U.S. companies are enjoy-
Pyrophorics Carcinogenicity
ing a transition period that allows
Organic peroxides Reproductive damage
for dual use of both the new and
Corrosives Organ toxicity, single and the pre-existing systems. Figure 1
multiple doses
Pressurized gases shows the effective dates.
Dangerous when wet Danger to aquatic environment
Embracing classification
The previous version of the HCS law
did not specify hazard classification
mon, and to impose at least a mini- deployed on a national, and in some as one of the required outcomes of
mum standard of acceptable safety cases, global basis. Many places in the manufacturing process. How-
and risk management through- the world followed the U.S. lead in ever, the obvious requirement to
out American industry. Though developing their own hazard com- transport a chemical beyond its
not without some controversy, the munication requirements. However, point of manufacture did subject
agency has generally been highly in 2009, a change to the law was the product to the classification re-
successful at the task of improv- proposed based on the rapidly bur- quirements specified for safe trans-
ing workplace safety conditions and geoning, United Nations-sponsored port under the U.S. Dept. of Trans-
worker health. Globally Harmonized System of portation (DOT) rules contained in
Today, American labor benefits the Classification and Labeling of U.S. 49 CFR Parts 100185. The
from one of the highest rates of Chemicals, or GHS. classification derived in the HCS
employee hours worked per report- In 1992, hazard communication rule should obviously be extremely
able injury of any developed na- experts from around the world gath- similar to that derived from use of
tion. OSHA is also generally seen ered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil under the rules in the U.S. DOT law. How-
as being reasonably responsive the auspices of the United Nations ever, classifiers of chemicals under
to the needs of industry a care- to define a new globally accept- the U.S. DOTs regulations cannot
ful balancing act that has seen able format for hazard classifica- rely solely on this classification. The
it weather administrations that tion and warning for the workplace. HCS requires a substantially closer
cross the political spectrum. Among The goal was to eventually replace evaluation of the specific physical
OSHAs many other achievements, the many disparate systems in use properties of a chemical in order
it promulgated the first version of with one, globally recognized and to determine which of the physical
the Hazard Communication Stan- understandable system that would hazards or health hazards, or both,
dard (HCS) in 1983. This required supersede all existing systems and that are prescribed under the HCS
employers to train employees to allow the easy, routine transfer of are applicable to that specific chem-
recognize the chemicals that they chemicals from one place to another ical. While this does introduce a
used or were routinely exposed to with worker recognition and safety somewhat more onerous evaluation
in their workplace, as well as the in mind. Pictograms would identify process for the manufacturer, there
associated risks the chemicals pre- major risk categories, and stan- is good news.
sented. It also required the mainte- dardized language and commonly Prior to the issuance of the new
nance of accurate inventory data for accepted criteria would be used to rule, hazard evaluation was left in a
chemicals present on the site, and classify chemicals for their atten- somewhat murky status. The down-
specified the availability of mate- dant hazards, as well as to explicate side risk was the attendant liability
rial safety data sheets, or MSDSs, the risks involved with their use and involved. In the event of an accident
for each chemical. handling. Thus was born the GHS. or incident, it relied on, and thus
While a variety of minor changes In 1992, it was intended that left open to question, the specific ex-
ensued over the next three decades, worldwide implementation of this pertise of the risk evaluator thus
in general, the rule remained more- system would be completed by the exposing the manufacturer to the
or-less as it was written. HCS warn- year 2000. However, delays and risk that such expertise (and the
ing systems based on the familiar reworks kept the GHS from be- attendant responsibility to exercise
National Fire Protection Association coming a worldwide reality quite due diligence) might be determined
(NFPA) System Type 704 four-color that quickly. as inadequate.
diamond, and the broadly similar Today, GHS has been widely ad- The new rule solves this issue
(though differently shaped) HMIS opted in the developed world with by setting forth very specific guid-
(Hazardous Material Identification the U.S. being one of the last major ance, which must be followed to
System) warning system, as well as economies to embrace the protocol. classify chemical hazards as well
other products, were developed and OSHA released a proposed rule in- as to assign specific warnings and
HCS/GHS labeling components
Cover Story Pictograms
Conveys specic information
about the hazard(s) of a chemical
PAINT (METHYL FLAMMALINE, Product identifier
LEAD CHROMOMIUM) Chemical name or number to
identify the chemical
precautions to the hazard commu- DANGER Signal word
nication data assigned to them. Causes damage to the liver and kidneys through prolonged
or repeated exposure to the skin.
Alerts level of severity of hazard(s)
Hazard statement
Tabular data are used to deter- Keep away from food and drink.
Describes the nature of hazard(s)
Wash hands thoroughly after use and before eating. associated with a chemical
mine actual ranges of performance Highly flammable liquid and vapor. Precautionary statement
(for example, flash points for flam- Keep away from heat and ignition sources. Recommended measures to
take to prevent adverse effects
mable liquids, specific levels of in- FIRST AID
Call emergency medical care. First aid statement
flicted damage for corrosives and Wash affected area of body thoroughly with soap and fresh water. Emergency care information
so on) for the substances in ques- Supplier information

Great Lake Paints Inc., Columbus, Ohio, USA. Name, address and telephone
tion, which are then assigned that Telephone 999 999 9999 number of the chemical
manufacturer, importer or other
category and level of risk. Assum- responsible party
ing correct evaluation of the physi-

cal data, this redirects potential
FIGURE 3. This sample label displays the legally required elements for a fictitious
liability away from the classifier sample chemical
and standardizes the risk set to
be applicable to all manufacturers. replaces the familiar MSDS format shipped will be required to be com-
The situation where one manufac- under the new rule. pliant with the new standard.
turers HCS warnings differ from Deriving a classification then While the new HCS rule using
anothers for the same substance triggers a set of required responses GHS-based classification elements
at the same amount, physical form, and information presentations that is more technically challenging than
and level of concentration should must be included on the SDS, and the previous iteration of the HCS, it
be ameliorated. on the applied hazard warning offers standardized procedures for
Classification tables and other re- label for the container. Again, note classification and the assignment of
quired data are found in the appen- that this label is not the same as risk that will make the job of com-
dices to the rule (the full final rule that to be applied in the case where pliance for manufacturers less a
can be read in Ref. 1). Appendix A the container also serves as the pri- matter of individual company-based
references health hazards, such as mary shipping vessel for the prod- expertise and more a matter of sim-
substances that are very generally uct, rather than only as an end- ply following the same broad and
harmful in some fashion to human use container. The requirements legally defined path as the entire
beings through their effect on the set forth in U.S. DOT rules are not industry. It will limit risk to classi-
body. An example would be acute satisfied through the application of fiers by removing the uncertainty
toxicity the substance produces HCS warning labels. that was attendant to the previous
immediate illness or injury. Conversely, transport labels do rule. Once fully implemented, it will
Appendix B references physical not fill the legal requirements for lead to easy, logical classification of
hazards, such as substances that hazard warning under the HCS new products and an attendant eas-
have physical properties that may rules. The two, though seemingly ing of the path to market.
cause harm to a human being if related, are mutually exclusive of Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
activated in their proximity. An ex- each other. In the case where the
ample would be flammability the container serves both purposes, References
substance can ignite and the re- then both warning systems must be 1. U.S. 29 CFR 1910.1200; www.ecfr.gov/
cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div8&view=
sultant fire is potentially harmful. applied. The law, as written, was un- text&node=29:6.1.1.1.1.1.1.36&idno=29
Hazard classifications are listed in clear on this point. However, since
Figure 2. its inception, OSHA has clarified Author
These appendices relate specifi- this point, allowing for simultane- Paul Burgess is a dangerous
cally to the corresponding text in ous usage when required. A sample goods safety advisor (DGSA)
and a staff regulatory spe-
the rule itself. They are designed label displaying the legally required cialist at Labelmaster (5724
N. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL
to lead the user through a logical elements for a fictitious sample 60646; Phone: 773-478-0900;
sequence by comparing the physi- chemical is displayed in Figure 3. Email: pburgess@labelmaster.
com; Website: www.label
cal properties of the substance to be master.com), a provider of
classified with the data presented, Looking forward regulatory compliance prod-
ucts, software and consulta-
and simply plugging in the values At the time of writing this article, tion services. Burgess train-
displayed into the tabular data pre- the new rule remains in its tran- ing and experience include degrees from both the
University of Washington and Governors State
sented. Unless the substance is of an sition period. Classification may University, as well as professional certification
as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
extraordinary nature, this will lead presently be performed or not. How- (EPA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emer-
to a correct classification. This clas- ever, the expectation from industry gency Response Standard (HazPower) specialist.
He is also certified in the Federal Transportation
sification will then be used to iden- is that manufacturers will provide Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) pro-
tify the required hazard warning the required data sooner rather gram. Burgess has more than 30 years of experi-
ence in environmental health and safety, hazard
information that is to be presented than later. As mentioned above, communications and dangerous goods. His expe-
on both labeling and in safety data this transitory window will close in rience includes work in the military, interstate
trucking, heavy manufacturing and common car-
sheets (SDSs) the SDS format June 2015, when all new containers rier railroad settings.

Feature Report
Plant Revamps and

Turnarounds: Some
Lessons Learned FIGURE 1. After an internal fire, the
column had to be supported to pre-
vent it from falling onto a pipe-rack
Petr Lenfeld
GTC Technology Europe
Although time is always precious, taking shortcuts
Ian Buttridge
GTC Technology US
and skipping standard procedures can be costly
A
plant turnaround is always dom packing. Column performance closed immediately and nitrogen
challenging in the chemical was steeply decreasing, because of was fed into the column, the fire in-
process industries (CPI). But packing fouling. The column had to side continued. Temperatures inside
with proper planning and reli- be cleaned immediately, before the the column reached 2,000F; the col-
able procedures in place, last-min- contaminants concentration in the umn shell became warped and bent,
ute time crunches and failures can treated water reached an unaccept- and the tower internals were found
be prevented. When haste combines able limit. A five-day turnaround melted into stainless-steel icicles.
with faulty methods, costly prob- was planned, which was long The fire was extinguished at the last
lems result. enough to shut-down the SWS, un- moment before total shell failure.
This article presents three ex- load the metal rings, clean the rings Fortunately, the column did not fall
amples of actual plant turnarounds and repack the column, and finally onto the nearby pipe-rack, but it had
and the lessons that can be learned to restart the SWS unit. All refin- to be secured with a mobile crane to
from them. ery units were running at minimum prevent its fall (Figure 1).
capacity, directing all sour water to
CASE STUDY NO. 1: the five-day storage tank. Under Problem
SOUR-WATER STRIPPER normal circumstances, this should Having no spare SWS unit, the
A sour water stripper (SWS) is a be a routine cleaning operation. five-day sour-water-storage tank
relatively small unit that treats slowly filled with water. Only five
wastewater from other process Fire days were left to fix the problem or
units of the plant, in this case a pe- It is well known that pyrophoric find another solution, after which
troleum refinery. After treatment, iron is formed or accumulated in the refinery would have to be shut
the wastewater is directed to the SWS units [1]. When the unit is put down. Plant shutdown in winter
sewage system, wastewater plant out of operation, the standard safety time was a nightmare for plant
and ultimately to a nearby river. precaution is continuous washing management due to the extreme
with water to keep all internals time and cost involved.
The plant wet and prevent pyrophoric iron The fire occurred at 8:00 a.m.
This particular plant has no spare from self-ignition and subsequent By 10:00 a.m., it became clear that
SWS unit, so in case of failure, the column fire. In this particular unit, the column could not be used any-
entire refinery must be shut down operators had never run across py- more and had to be replaced or
because untreated water is pro- rophoric iron before. Therefore (and at least shop-repaired. But there
hibited from being discharged into due to the winter conditions), this was no chance to make repairs
the river. wet procedure was not applied. within the five days repairing
A sour-water storage tank may be The SWS column was not con- the shell in the shop and acquiring
used in an emergency with a capac- tinuously washed with water, but replacements for the damaged in-
ity for five days of normal wastewa- opened after steam-out under dry ternals were estimated to require
ter accumulation. In the event that conditions. This short-cut caused a a minimum of two weeks. General
the SWS is down, it must be repaired dangerous situation with serious frustration ensued and an emer-
and started within the five days, oth- plant operational consequences. gency team was set up for express
erwise the entire refinery must be As one might expect, when air en- column-shell repair. By noon, it be-
shut down as mentioned before. tered the hot column, pyrophoric iron came clear to the troubleshooters
In this instance, the SWS col- self-ignited, resulting in a column that another column was needed to
umn was packed with metal ran- fire. Although the manholes were process sour water.
Feature Report FC
60% open
Debutanizer
TABLE 1. LPG DEBUTANIZER PERFORMANCE
BEFORE AND AFTER TURNAROUND C4
Before turnaround After turnaround Feed 20 wt.% C5
C4 purity 0.5 wt.% C5 20 wt.% C5

TC
C5 purity 1 wt.% C4 20 wt.% C4
Reflux valve 60% open valve 60% open Steam
Steam to reboiler valve 50% open valve 5% open 5% open
How to make a spare SWS trol system (DCS) were

A sour-water stripper looks like a reprogrammed for new C5
simple, easy to find a replacement operating conditions. 20 wt.% C4
distillation column. However, this FIGURE 2. This lowsheet shows the LPG debu-
is not true. Although the SWS is A happy ending tanizer in Case Study 2 after turnaround, and its
not a big complex column, it is very The spare SWS was suc- performance (see also Table 1)
specific in metallurgy and auxiliary cessfully started ten hours
equipment. A suitable spare column before the sour water tanks filled not meet the same product qual-
must have a sufficient capacity, ap- up. A plant shut-down was avoided. ity that was regularly met before
propriate design pressure and the There was enough time to make the turnaround. Both top and bot-
correct material of construction (as a thorough shop-repair of the dam- tom products were off specification
well as its reboiler, condenser, reflux aged SWS column. The warped and the column did not provide
drum and reflux pump). Perhaps SWS column was cut into three any fractionation despite operators
more important is the offgas route pieces. The damaged part was re- maintaining the same reflux rate as
from the SWS. placed with a new cylindrical sec- before the turnaround.
In this case, the offgas from the tion. New internals were designed,
SWS is routed to a sulfur recov- manufactured and delivered on an Problem analysis
ery unit (SRU), so the spare SWS emergency schedule within eight Insufficient product separation
must be connected to the SRU as days. The SWS unit was success- had been first diagnosed as being
well. Considering all the factors, fully put back into operation after a caused by extremely low tray ef-
the SWS is quite a unique unit. two-week repair period. ficiency. It was suspected that the
There was only one potential can- maintenance crew left open man-
didate for a spare SWS meeting Lessons learned ways in the column trays. Later, a
all requirements the amine 1. SWS units are prone to fouling close look at operating conditions
unit regenerator. and pyrophoric formation. Spe- showed that the column was well
Coincidentally, there was one idle cial precautions shall be applied refluxed, but the reboiler duty did
amine regenerator at a nearby hy- for SWS cleaning. not match. The reflux rate had been
drotreater unit that was recently 2. Trays should be preferred to the same as before the turnaround,
set on hot circulation to reduce sour packing for SWS service, because but the steam rate to the reboiler
water production. trays are easier to clean and less was close to nothing (Table 1).
Two teams had been working prone to metal fire. The debutanizer column virtu-
in parallel one team for the 3. The standard five-days capac- ally violated an enthalpy balance.
SWS column repair and internals ity of a sour-water storage tank Instrument readings and control
supply, and another team for the might not be sufficient in the valve positions had been verified in
spare SWS design. The author was case of serious trouble a spare the field, and it was concluded that
a member of both teams. The fol- plan should be prepared to avoid both flowrate readings were correct.
lowing steps were subsequently costly plant shutdown. Distillation columns cant run with-
taken: out any reboiling, but this mysteri-
1. At 2:00 p.m. the amine unit re- CASE STUDY NO.2: ous debutanizer did.
generator was checked for suffi- LPG DEBUTANIZER The explanation of the mysteri-
cient capacity. A petroleum refinery was com- ous behavior was elementary
2. By the end of the day, the tempo- pletely shut down for planned main- reflux liquid was not coming down
rary cross-connection piping was tenance and cleaning. However, the through the column, but instead, it
specified. turnaround was not well managed, had been entrained back to the re-
3. Within the next two days, the causing the employees to rush their flux receiver and re-circulated.
temporary lines were designed, work and not follow some proce-
assembled, and pressure tested. dures properly. As a result, after Finding the root cause
4. The amine-regenerator control startup, a liquefied petroleum gas Heavy liquid entrainment is usually
screens in the distributed con- (LPG) debutanizer (Figure 2) did addressed as jet-flood, caused by ex-
Manways ing the rest of the
never
opened
Manhole
refinery running at
a low capacity and
temporarily flaring
LPG as there was
Trays
never ! !
no spare LPG plant.
cleaned Trays The debutanizer col-
accessed
and cleaned
umn was open, after
water washing and
air purging. The in-
spectors first reac-
tion was surprise.
Everything seemed
FIGURE 3. Improper cleaning of the LPG debutanizer
fine and the column
caused a buildup of rust and dirt seemed clean.
Mystery solved
The debutanizer column was
equipped with two-pass Defining the limit as standard
trays, with side and cen-
tral downcomers. On
every other tray, the cen- Actuators for the
tral downcomer forms a oil and gas industry
wall in the column center,
effectively blocking access AUMA offer a comprehensive range of
from one side of the tray explosion-proof actuator and gearbox types
deck to the other. It is for this
reason that two-pass trays should combined with suitable actuator controls for
have two manways one for each the oil and gas industry.
segment to ensure access to both
column sections. AUMAs modular concept ensures perfect
FIGURE 4. A modern design In the case of this particular integration
of a two-pass valve tray includes
fast opening manways on both sides LPG debutanizer, the trays were Reliable corrosion protection
of an old design, with separate I-
treme vapor load. In this case, the beam support and bolted decks. Suitable for all conventional eldbus
vapor rate could not cause any en- The maintenance crew did not
systems
trainment because the reboiler duty waste time with opening both
was almost none. One suspicion was manways because trays had been Approved worldwide
that one of the tray downcomers always clean in the past. Only one
was blocked with a piece of mineral manway had been opened in every www.auma.com
wool insulation or other debris. tray for inspection and cleaning.
Plant management was not very On trays with central downcom-
pleased with this explanation, ers, only one half of each tray had
commenting that The column has been cleaned as a consequence.
been just cleaned and inspected as This incorrect cleaning procedure
being in perfect operating condi- has been applied for 20 years, since
tion, but you claim the major mal- the column first started up. The
function is caused by some debris? sections behind downcomer had
Should the LPG plant be shut never been inspected or cleaned.
down again for an inspection and When both manways were opened,
cleaning that was just performed? every other tray was found to be
Management needed a justifica- covered with a 1-in. layer of rust
tion due to the expense involved and dirt. Valves were stuck and
with another shutdown. The trou- some downcomers were blocked. In
bleshooter proved that the problem the past, cleaning was performed
was real and it could not be fixed by flushing with water, so washed AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG
without a unit shutdown. out dirt settled in the non-accessed P.O. Box 1362 79373 Muellheim, Germany
The short-term shutdown of the tray sections until they became Tel. +49 7631 809-0 riester@auma.com
LPG unit was carried out, keep- completely blocked (Figure 3). AUMA Actuators Inc.
100 Southpointe Blvd. Canonsburg, PA 15317, USA
Tel. +1 724-743-AUMA (2862) mailbox@auma-usa.com
Offgas
Feature Report !
Cooling
water
Water
Lessons learned flux-drum level was observed
1. Cleaning and inspection pro- making control of the column
cedures shall not be compro- difficult. Feed
Extract
mised, despite turnaround time The diagnosis by plant per-
constraints. sonnel was that the unstable Solvent
recovery
2. Sweeping dirt under the rug reflux-drum level was due column
is not the proper cleaning to flooding of the tower and (SRC)
procedure. entrainment carryover. The
3. If the trays were of modern de- immediate solution proposed Steam
sign, with fast opening manways by plant personnel was to
and locks (Figure 4), the mainte- revamp the tower to change Hydrocarbon
nance crew would not have com- from trays to packing. solvent
promised the inspection and the
cleaning procedure. Trays versus packing FIGURE 5. The tower coniguration for Case
The immediate reasoning for Study 3 is presented here
CASE STUDY NO. 3: selecting packing was that a
WRONG LEVEL INDICATION packing could be chosen that would flood fraction of high-performance
A solvent-recovery column at a appear to have more capacity than trays is 79%, whereas the calcu-
petrochemical plant (Figure 5) the high-capacity trays currently lated flood fraction of 125 m2/m3 X-
was revamped, converting the ex- in the tower, and that the nomi- type structured packing is 70%.
isting one-pass trays to two-pass, nal HETP (height equivalent per The nominal packing HETP for
high-performance trays to account theoretical plate) reported by ven- this type of packing was reported
for a large capacity increase and dors would be more than enough as 1.2 m. This appeared to meet the
much higher liquid flowrates. After to achieve the number of theoreti- separation requirements, as model-
startup of the unit, an unstable re- cal stages required. The calculated ing had shown the revamped trays
were generating five theoretical
plates at 610-mm tray spacing. The
height available in the tower ap-
peared more than enough to achieve
the separation with the benefit of a
lowered flood value.
It was at this point that fraction-
ation specialists were called in and
Ensure your the dangers of applying a nominal
HETP to different applications were
noted. In this case of solvent sepa-
piping integrity ration, where polar components are
involved, extrapolating HETPs used
for low relative volatility non-polar
hydrocarbons should not be consid-
ered. By cross-consulting an operat-
ing data bank, it can be seen that
In todays operating environment, its more
100% inspection of for moderate pressure applications,
important than ever that the piping within
internal and external a structured packing surface area of
your Mechanical Integrity Program complies pipe surfaces 200250 m2/m3 would be required
with standards such as API-570 and API-574. to achieve the same or better effi-
Inspection results
tailored to comply with ciency than the trays, regardless of
Quest Integrity offers a comprehensive solution
API-570 and API-574 reported nominal values.
for piping circuits using our proprietary,
LifeQuest Fitness- At the specific liquid flux evalu-
ultrasonic-based intelligent pigging technology for-Service results ated at these conditions, the ca-
combined with LifeQuest Fitness-for-Service tailored to comply with pacity of even a high-capacity
software. API-579 structured packing at this specific
surface area would be much less
Ensure your piping integrity by identifying
than the high-performance trays
degradation before loss of containment occurs.
currently installed in the tower. Fi-
www.QuestIntegrity.com/CE nally, the revamp scope and down-
+1 253 893 7070 time required to complete a revamp
A TEAM Industrial Services Company
from the tray-to-packing solution
would be costly.
Seal pan
Baffle Baffle
Seal pan
by troubleshooters. The best way to
confirm that these issues are real
is to actually walk to the unit and
Level nozzle Level nozzle look (visual check). In this case, the
problem became immediately obvi-
ous when liquid was observed to be
Feed Feed
draining into the top level nozzle at
the bottom of the column.
Pre-revamp design Revamp design
FIGURE 6. Pre-revamp (left) and post revamp (right) configurations are shown Tower internals/control nozzles
here In general, designers of tower inter-
nals should evaluate the new inter-
Root cause evaluation bottom level would rise resulting nals of a tower for the arrangement
Examining the design of the trays in increased steam or decreased relative to the process control noz-
themselves resulted in no immedi- reflux, which would cause instabil- zles. In the case of simple revamps
ate cause for concern, and indeed ity in the overhead level. The bot- where the number of passes remain
rating methods resulted in a pre- tom level would dramatically fall the same, this is relatively trivial.
dicted flood value of 79%. Entrain- as it reacted to the step changes. At In the case where the tower is being
ment and flooding were not ex- these conditions, the overhead pres- converted from trays to packing,
pected at these conditions. sure was relatively stable. or in the case where the number
An examination of the raw data of passes changes, some extra care
and the actual symptoms would Field observation should be considered. In this partic-
need to be conducted. The main Incorrect field measurements ular case, the internal-equipment
operating issues came about as ex- level measurements in particular designer was provided with infor-
tremely unstable overhead level and are not uncommon issues faced mation to evaluate all process and
the inability to control the overhead
pressure. As the overhead pressure
increased, the operators reacted by
reducing steam to the tower bot-
toms or decreasing reflux to the
tower. The overhead reflux-drum
level would dramatically rise to
high levels and the control system
began hunting for the proper level.
If overhead pressure decreased
below the set point, the reflux was
increased or steam was increased.
Overall it was difficult to reach a
steady-state operating point.
The unstable operation was as-
sumed to be caused by flooding in
the tower. When evaluating the
tower for other flooding signs (such
as higher pressure drop), it was
found that no flooding symptoms
where observed. The bigger prob-
lem was to diagnose what the root
cause was, and to find the symptom
of the root cause. This would only
be found after examining the tower
under more stable conditions.
Reduced feed charge operation

At a feed charge-rate of 50% of the
revamp conditions, a clearer picture
was observed. At these conditions,
it was noticed that the bottom level
instability preceded the overhead
reflux instability. In this case, the
Feature Report
control nozzles that were located in-

side the new trays; however, no in-
formation was shown for the bottom
level nozzles relative to the reboiler
return. Figure 6 compares the prior
revamp bottoms arrangement to
the new arrangement.
The revised arrangement directed
the two-phase reboiler return di-
rectly into the top level nozzle FIGURE 7. Only after visual inspec- FIGURE 8. The liquid entrainment
(Figure 7), which resulted in liquid tion was it found that liquid entrained problem was solved with a simple field
draining into the level. However, into the top level nozzle modification of the level nozzle
this arrangement resulted in con-
trol issues. A seemingly high level require PWHT (post weld heat Lessons learned
in the product draw saw operation treatment) or at least additional ap- 1. An evaluation of tower-internals
increase the reboiler steam, which proval and time. In order to further selection with regard to process
in turn would follow with a rise in minimize the downtime, a simple nozzles should be considered not
reflux flow. solution was used: installing a half only for mechanical interference,
pipe to seal off the top level nozzle but also in regards to a detailed
Modifications from the reboiler return. This half analysis of fluid flow and process
Adding new level taps at an eleva- pipe was simply extended through control. An extra review step
tion below the top of the reboiler the baffle, as shown in Figure 8. with all parties involved can fur-
baffle arrangement was probably The result was much more stable ther eliminate future issues.
the most straightforward option. tower operation at the full range of 2. Careful troubleshooting and di-
However, adding new nozzles may feed rates. agnosis by specialists in the par-
ticular engineering discipline is
a key to correct diagnosis and
preventing further costly re-
vamps that do not address the
root cause. n
Edited by Gerald Ondrey
References
1.. Mary Kay OConnor Process Safety Center,
Best Practices in Prevention and Suppres-
sion of Metal Packing Fires, Texas 2003.
Endnote
The contents of this article was first presented
at the 2013 Spring Meeting and 9th Global Con-
gress on Process Safety of the American Insti-
tute of Chemical Engineers (San Antonio, Tex.;
April 28 May 2, 2013).
Authors
Petr Lenfeld is senior pro-
cess engineer at GTC Tech-
nology Europe s.r.o. (Prikop
6, 60200 Brno, Czech Repub-
lic; Phone: +420-511-118-
005; Fax: +420-545-174-601;
Email: plenfeld@gtctech.com),
and specializes in process de-
sign and troubleshooting. He
holds a Ph.D. degree in chem-
ical engineering from the In-
stitute of Chemical Technol-
ogy, Prague, Czech Republic.
Ian Buttridge is the tech-
nical director for GTC Tech-
nology Inc. (1400 WestPark
Way, Building 100, Euless, TX
76040; Phone: +1-817-685-
9125; Fax: +1-817-685-0236;
Email: ibuttridge@gtctech.
com) and specializes in frac-
tionation applications and
equipment design. He holds
a B.S.Ch.E. from Texas A&M
University.
Feature Report
Engineering Practice
Calculations in Process
Engineering
Mohammad Toghraei
Knowing how specific calculations
differ can focus your efforts
FIGURE 1. The
Single flow 2-phase 3-phase Non-
Engrowth Training most popular
flow flow Newtonian
Design types of calcula-
fluid tions are related
Liquid Gas Different Liquid/gas
T
he topic of carrying out process pairs /solid to the sizing
engineering calculations in the Line-sizing
of lines, tanks,
most effective manner can be vessels, pumps,
Tank/vessel compressors heat
considered in these four ways: exchangers and
1. The purpose of the calculation Hydraulic calc.:
PSVs. This igure
pump/comp CV
2. The content of the calculation shows these
3. The method used to carry out the HX sizing Increasing difficulty general items and
calculation their variations
PSV sizing
4. The performer of the calculation
she specifies the required setpoint Step 1 requires identifying suit-
The purpose of the calculation of the PSV, the release rate and a able input values (assumptions)
Engineers typically carry out cal- few other items. This effort does Step 2 involves choosing and using
culations for a variety of purposes not require the engineer to design a an appropriate methodology
including the following: PSV by sizing the orifice diameter, one that uses the parameters es-
a) To conduct a technical or eco- spring constant and so on. tablished in Step 1 to arrive at
nomical evaluation of a plant or It is clear that no process engineer an answer that has the required
specific unit (such as a heat and designs a centrifugal pump just by accuracy in the available time slot
material balance), to carry out calculating the impleller diameter Step 3 involves the evaluation
evaluations in the early stages of and vane angles. Today, process en- and verification of assumptions
the project, or for use while writ- gineers can expect that the manu- and results
ing studies or technical memos facturer will provide much detailed Step 1. Identifying suitable
for stakeholders information to support the process input values (assumptions). Ju-
b) To size, rate or specify a piece of of designing and specifying process nior engineers tend to struggle with
equipment equipment. As a result, there is very this step. Too often in the university
c) To generate a specific operational little pure designing in todays setting, the instructor provides the
procedure specialized market; rather, there given values, whereas in real-world
Sizing, rating, and specifying are is always an element of specifying situations, it is up to the engineer to
three distinctly different goals of involved when carrying out sizing determine which input values and
calculation efforts. Process sizing calculations. assumptions are relevant. This ef-
means defining all the (process) as- While specifying and sizing are fort requires three sub-steps:
pects of the equipment, so that the concepts related to equipment or 1. Find effective parameters. Engi-
manufacturer can produce it with instruments that are planned to be neers need to find the parameters
little process knowledge. Sizing ef- procured later, rating is an activity that will impact the results they are
forts typically involve calculations that involves calculations associ- seeking. For example, within a spe-
that aim to identify all the un- ated with existing equipment com- cific issue, there could be three pa-
knowns associated with one equip- ponents. During rating, the ques- rameters M, N and P. In this step,
ment component, to enable the fab- tion that the engineer is trying to these three parameters need to be
ricator to produce that component. answer is whether an existing com- evaluated in order to recognize the
By contrast, when specifying an ponent can be used in a specific new ones that are most relevant to the
equipment component or instru- application or not. Rating efforts problem at hand. At this stage, the
ment system, the engineer must de- require evaluating current equip- engineer should be able to evaluate
fine a specific amount of information ment for a specific type of service the three parameters of M, N, and
for the manufacturer, and can then and conditions. P to determine that, for example, M
expect the manufacturer to satisfy and P are the only required param-
those requirements. For example, The content of the calculation eters (or the most relevant param-
when an engineer plans to buy a Calculations involve the following eters) and these will be considered
pressure safety valve (PSV), he or three steps: further in Step 2. Or with the level
CHOOSING THE BEST MEDIA
Engineering Practice ome companies accept calculations that are done by hand, while others will utilize or even
of required accuracy, perhaps only

S require the use of specific software. With hand-done calculations (as opposed to those car-
ried out using a spreadsheet program), a clear disadvantage is that any adjustments will
require all of the subsequent steps to be re-done (That is, there is no way to link equations so
that they will be automatically updated if a given parameter is changed).
M will be considered in Step 2. By comparison, spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel or an equivalent data pro-
2. Select a numerical design value. cessor, are designed so that any changes will result in the computer adjusting all subsequent
In this step, a numerical value needs steps automatically. The disadvantage to this is that the calculation process is not always vis-
to be assigned or determined for the ible, as some formulas may be buried within a cell. To maximize the advantages and minimize
selected parameter(s) identified in the disadvantages of a spreadsheet program, the following steps should be taken:
the previous step. The magnitude
of the design or rated parameter is
that number (or range) that covers conservative approach may be too for a second run-through or recon-
all the different scenarios that could conservative in a way that makes sideration of Steps 1 and 2.
be encountered during the operation it unacceptable. In such cases, the As mentioned, the design process
of the plant, plus a reasonable mar- original albeit more complicated might need some iteration to reach
gin. For example, Mdesign= 6 could route must be taken. This may the most appropriate results. For
be a wise decision when parameter occur in situations in which the example, if the calculation is sizing
M can accept magnitudes of 2.0, 3.5 worst-case scenario has led to ex- or specifying, it will result in one of
and 5 during plant operation. traordinarily oversized equipment the following three conditions:
Trial-and-error efforts, which or equipment that is overly difficult 1. A case involving an extremely
typically require an educated guess or costly to construct. inexpensive or small piece of equip-
at the beginning and some adjust- Discussed below are some of the ment. In this case, the equipment
ments made along the way based popular simplifying conversions often cannot be custom-made but
on final results, are often required. that are widely used today: must be selected off-the-shelf. As a
Certain rules-of-thumb can help 1. The thermodynamic approach result, the final piece of equipment
engineers to make a better pre- versus the kinetic approach. Most may not be exactly what is required
liminary guess, and this can help often, the thermodynamic approach via the calculations, and adjust-
to decrease the calculation time. is selected due to its well-estab- ments may be required to mate the
The reason for this iterative route lished methods and its popularity in piece into the overall configuration.
is that each methodology has some terms of published works and data. For this reason, it may be efficient to
limitations, and at the end of the For example, finding the evapora- have the specifications of standard-
first run of calculations, any limi- tion rate from a surface of a liquid is ized (off-the-shelf) equipment on
tations should be checked to make challenging. It depends on different hand throughout the course of the
sure they have been met. parameters and requires the con- calculations, so that adjustments
Step 2. Choosing the right meth- sideration of various phenomena can be made as the calculations are
odology. This step is very impor- including heat transfer and mass being constructed.
tant. The selected methodology must transfer. However, by changing the 2. A case involving moderately sized
be accurate and at the same time, approach from kinetic (in which or moderately complex equipment.
the required engineering time for the evaporation rate is calculated) In this case, the equipment will typ-
that method should be justifiable. A to thermodynamic (in which only ically be custom made in the shop.
skilled process engineer should be the saturated pressure of the vapor It is important to keep in mind
able to identify calculation method- above the liquid surface is calcu- the dimension limits of the shop
ologies for each situation that meet lated), the effort will be simplified. in question. If the item is too large,
the specific accuracy and time re- 2. Assuming steady-state vs. unit will have to be fabricated in the
quirements or constraints. steady-state conditions. Most often, field, and the price will be consider-
For example, during pipe sizing, the steady state is selected, thanks ably higher. In an illustrative case, a
an engineer should be aware of the to its well-established methods and careless designer may design a tank
standard pipe sizes that are already simplicity of its calculation using with diameter half a meter above
available on the market. Designing inexpensive software or even a the limits of the shop, and therefore
a given pipe that is sized to, for in- spreadsheet progra. For example, unnecessarily cause a price jump
stance, two decimal points, does not analyzing PSV opening phenomena because the tank suddenly changes
make sense, as the market already is not an easy task as it is inher- from a shop-fabricated item to a
provides defined pipe sizes. ently an unsteady-state operation- field-fabricated one. Shop limita-
Meanwhile, in some cases, one sce- However, during PSV sizing, we tions are imposed not just by the
nario can be converted to another often pick the largest flowrate that machinery-manufacturing limits
case, to enable the use of a simpler is considered a steady-state case for in the shop, but by the road restric-
version of the methodology and a mere few milliseconds during the tions or overpass weight limits that
shorten the calculation time. Such opening of the PSV. will affect the transportation of the
a conversion effort is only accept- Step 3. Verifying assumptions equipment to its final destination.
able if this new scenario is the more and results. This is not merely the 3. A case involving a large piece of
conservative approach. However, in end of the task, but is a very crucial equipment. In this case, the equip-
some cases, the more simplistic and step, the results of which may call ment will typically be custom
1. Ensure that all of the calculations are interconnected in such a way that altering the inputs will
alter the results accordingly. Take care in this effort, as any disconnections may be disastrous,
because adjustments to the input will not result in appropriate alteration to the output.
2. Ensure that all manual input is visible and clearly marked to give the designer the flex-
ibility to alter it. Any hidden manual input may not be recognized by a new designer as a
potentially adjustable value. for water treatment); PSV sizing
3. Ensure that new users do not disable any pre-existing macros in the program.
(performing the first steps of PSV
4. Ensure that iteration calculations are enabled where required.
5. Ensure that the calculations are legible both on the computer and in print.
sizing including defining pressur-
6. Ensure that when the flexibility of adding a new row or column is provided in a template, izing scenarios, finding the credible
all of the information is transferable. Such flexibility exists in some modular pump-sizing and governing scenario(s) and re-
spreadsheets. lease rate calculation)
Senior design process engineers: Re-
actors, especially complicated ones,
made in the field at a higher cost. cess engineers: Sizing of tanks and and industry-specific equipment. n
This high cost is due to the fact vessels; hydraulic calculations for Edited by Suzanne Shelley
that skilled workers and various pumps, compressors and control
required utilities will need to be valves; sizing of heat exchangers;and
shipped and present at the field in PSV sizing after receiving release Author
Mohammad Toghraei,
order to construct the larger compo- rates from an intermediate or se- P.Eng., is currently a con-
nents. As a result, this case is often nior engineer sultant and instructor with
Engrowth Training (www.
used as a last resort. Intermediate/senior design pro- engedu.ca; Phone: 403-808-
cess engineers: All of the above 8264; Email: moe.toghrae@
engedu.ca). Toghraei has over
The performer of the items, in multi-phase cases (that 20 years experience in the field
of industrial water treatment.
calculation is, two-phase flow for pipe sizing); His main expertise is in the
Generally speaking, each group of separators (two- and three-phase treatment of wastewater from
oil and petrochemical com-
process engineers is expected to be separators, gas-knockout drums, plexes. For the past seven years he has taken on
able to carry out specific types of sedimentation vessels, clarifiers); different technical and leadership roles in water
treatment areas of SAGD projects. Toghraei has
calculations, based on this rough other industry-specific items (such received a B.Sc. in chemical engineering from Is-
classification: as distillation towers for petroleum fahan University of Technology and an M.Sc. in
environmental engineering from the University
Junior/intermediate design pro- refining, and ion-exchange systems of Tehran, and is a member of APEGA.
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Feature Report
Optimization of a Steam
Network
Proper configuration of
HP steam header
HP steam
generators
(process)
Boiler Boiler Boiler
To electrical
substation
Vent
HP steam
steam-turbine drivers consumers
(process)
MP steam
generators
(process)
affects power generation MP steam header

Generator
in petroleum refineries Vent MP steam consumers

(process)
LP steam generators
C.C.S. Reddy and S.V. Naidu (process)
LP steam header
Andhra University
Cooling LP steam consumers
water (process)
G.P. Rangaiah LP condenaste header
National University of Singapore Cold condensate header
Vent
Condensate flash drum
P
etroleum refineries gener-
Deaerator
ate power from a number of
sources, including cogeneration DM water header
plants and steam networks.
Generally, steam networks use tur- FIGURE 1. A typical petroleum reinery steam network features equipment such as
bines to improve operational reli- turbines, generators, boilers and supply headers
ability, specifically as drivers for ro- HP steam HP steam MP steam
tating equipment. Due to increasing
mHL, HHP mHM, HHP mML, HMP
energy costs, it is essential to maxi-
mize the power-generation capabili-
ties of steam networks. This article W W W
presents a spreadsheet-based opti-
Pump or Pump or Pump or
mization model for a steam network. compressor compressor compressor
Figure 1 shows a typical steam net- mHL, HHP mHM, HMP mML, HLP
LP steam MP steam LP steam
work in a petroleum refinery.
For maximizing the total power Back pressure steam Back pressure steam Back pressure steam
turbine driver (HP to LP) turbine driver (HP to MP) turbine driver (MP to LP)
generation, a mixed-integer lin-
ear programming (MILP) model FIGURE 2. There are three different types of back-pressure steam-turbine drivers,
is formulated by linearization of based on their coniguration relative to steam supply headers
equipment models and use of a
spreadsheet for estimating steam types, steam-system considerations optimization model must also accu-
properties. The solution of this model have been the subject of many stud- rately represent very small steam-
determines the optimum operational ies over the years [6,7,10]. However, turbine drivers, since, for reliability
configuration of steam-turbine driv- almost all of these studies focused purposes, petroleum refineries may
ers for maximum power generation, on steam systems with a few very drive pumps or compressors with
while satisfying constraints related large steam turbines, with greater smaller turbines, some of which may
to material balances, equipment se- than 1.2 megawatt (MW) output, generate power as low as 5 kW.
lection and capacity limitations. One for which models are developed by This articles spreadsheet-based
case study is presented to demon- data regression. Significant errors approach provides the flexibility to
strate the potential and benefits of will result if these models are ap- realistically evaluate a steam net-
the spreadsheet-based approach for plied to smaller steam-turbine driv- work, without the constraints and
optimizing steam networks. ers (below 1.2 MW output). Also, licensing fees incurred by using
Due to the large volume of steam previous studies did not consider commercial process-simulation
required for power generation, and the effects of condensate recovery software. With accurate models for
the various turbine equipment on steam-system optimization. An both smaller and larger steam tur-
NOMENCLATURE
a, a0 Regression parameters in steam turbine model, kW mld Maximum flowrate of steam through pressure letdown
b, b0 Regression parameters in steam turbine model (unitless) valve, kg/s
a1 Regression parameter in steam turbine model, kW/C mLPG Total mass flowrate of LP steam generated by the pro-
b1 Regression parameter in the steam turbine model, C-1 cess, kg/s
Hblr Enthalpy difference between generated steam and boiler mLPC Total mass flowrate of LP steam consumed by the pro-
feed water, kJ/kg cess, kg/s
HBFW Specific enthalpy of boiler feed-water, kJ/kg mMPG Total mass flowrate of MP steam generated by the pro-
Hblr Specific enthalpy of condensate, kJ/kg cess, kg/s
HCRLP Specific enthalpy of LP condensate, kJ/kg mMPC Total mass flowrate of MP steam consumed by the pro-
HDW Specific enthalpy of demineralized water, kJ/kg cess, kg/s
HFS Specific enthalpy of flash steam, kJ/kg, at deaerators mv Maximum flowrate of steam through atmospheric vent
operating pressure valve, kg/s
HHP Specific enthalpy of HP steam, kJ/kg n Slope of Willians Line, kJ/kg
HMP Specific enthalpy of MP steam, kJ/kg p Number of HP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbines
HLP Specific enthalpy of LP steam, kJ/kg P Total site power, including both shaft power and electri-
HSD Specific enthalpy of LP steam, kJ/kg, at deaerators oper- cal power generation, kW
ating pressure q Number of HP-to-MP back-pressure steam turbines
Hin Specific enthalpy of steam at steam-turbine inlet, kJ/kg Qfuel Heat required from fuel in the boiler, kW
Hout Specific enthalpy of steam at steam-turbine outlet, kJ/kg Qsteam Heat content of HP steam, kW
His Enthalpy of steam at steam-turbine outlet pressure and r Number of HP-to-vacuum condensing steam turbines
having same entropy as inlet steam, kJ/kg s Number of MP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbines
Hvent Specific enthalpy of vent steam/gas, kJ/kg, at deaera- SR Steam rate for the steam turbine, kg/kWh
tors operating pressure Tsat Saturation temperature difference across steam turbine,
His Isentropic enthalpy change across steam turbine, kJ/kg C
Hreal Enthalpy difference between inlet and outlet of the steam W Shaft power produced by steam turbine, kW
turbine, kJ/kg WCS Cooling water supply
i Index for HP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbine WCR Cooling water return
j Index for HP-to-MP back-pressure steam turbine WINT Y-axis intercept of Willans Line, kW
k Index for HP-to-vacuum condensing steam turbine Y Binary variable for steam-turbine optimization
l Index for MP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbine Faction of deaeration steam vented through vent orifice
L Intercept ratio for steam turbine, WINT/Wmax boiler Boiler efficiency
m Mass flowrate of steam through the turbine, kg/s is Steam turbine isentropic efficiency
mBFW Mass flowrate of boiler feed water, kg/s mech Steam turbine mechanical efficiency
mblr Mass flowrate of steam generated in the boiler, kg/s overall Overall steam turbine efficiency
mCR Mass flowrate of steam condensate, kg/s
mCRLP Mass flowrate of LP steam condensate, kg/s Superscripts
mDW Mass flowrate of demineralized water, kg/s HL HP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbine
mFS Mass flowrate of flash steam generated in the conden- HM HP-to-MP back-pressure steam turbine
sate recovery drum, kg/s HC HP-to-vacuum condensing steam turbine
mG Mass flowrate of steam through steam-turbo generator, kg/h ML MP-to-LP back-pressure steam turbine
mHPG Total mass flowrate of HP steam generated by the pro- HML HP-to-MP and LP extraction-type steam turbine
cess, kg/s L LP steam
mHPC Total mass flowrate of HP steam consumed by the pro- M MP steam
cess, kg/s max Maximum flowrate, kg/s
mSD Mass flowrate of LP steam for the deaerator, kg/s min Minimum flowrate, kg/s
bines, the approach presented in steam network shown in Figure 1 ment relative to the LP, MP and
this article also includes a built-in includes a number of supply head- HP steam headers (Figure 2). See
properties database for steam and ers, including ones for low-pres- the Nomenclature section for defi-
water, which can be modified by sure (LP), medium-pressure (MP) nitions of symbols and abbrevia-
users for studying energy-saving and high-pressure (HP) steam, as tions that will be used throughout
schemes and arriving at accurate well as demineralized (DM) water. the article.
steam costs. The model can also Turbines are installed between
be linked with a plants distrib- these steam-supply headers, in Drivers and motors
uted control system (DCS) for different configurations depending The hallmark of steam-turbine driv-
realtime optimization. on power requirements, as well as ers is reliability. Generally, steam-
refinery steam and electricity bal- turbine drivers incur more operat-
Steam turbines ances. Pressure-control valves are ing costs when compared to motor
Steam turbines are used to con- used to depressurize the steam and drivers, mainly due to their smaller
vert part of the energy of steam to vent any excess steam to the at- size and lower efficiency. However,
into power, and there are many mosphere. Steam turbines have steam turbine drivers are frequently
possible turbine configurations two basic classes back-pressure used, because their reliability is de-
within a steam network [12]. Be- and condensing, which are shown sirable during power failures. For
sides equipment such as turbines, in Figures 2 and 3, respectively. instance, in many facilities, criti-
boilers, generators and consumers, Furthermore, back-pressure steam cal process pumps are installed in
supply headers are also an integral turbines have three types of con- pairs with a parallel arrangement
part of any steam network. The figurations based on their place- where one pump is installed with
10,000
9,000 Maximum capacity with two hand valves open
Engineering Practice 8,000 Maximum capacity with one hand valve open
FIGURE 4. Willans
Maximum capacity line allows for deter-
7,000
Steam flowrate, kg/h

Rated capacity mination of the power-
6,000 low relationship for
HP steam
5,000 a turbine. In this ex-
mHC, HHP ample, the steam con-
4,000 sumption and power
3,000 generation in a small
W steam turbine are plot-
2,000 ted. The steams inlet
Flash steam Pump or pressure and tempera-
compressor 1,000
under vacuum ture are 254C and 11.5
condition 0 bars, respectively, with
Cooling water 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
an outlet pressure of
return Power generated, kW
4.5 bar
Cooling Flash steam

water condenser turbine over the entire range of op- turbine from the manufacturers
supply eration can be described by a linear performance data or from actual op-
relationship known as Willans Line erating data. Actual work produced
[10] given by Equation (1). in a steam turbine can be calculated
Cold condensate using Equations (6) and (7).
mHC, HCCR W = n m WINT
(1)
W = ismech H is m
(6)
FIGURE 3. A condensing-type turbine Steam-turbine vendors usually
involves cooling water and cold conden- show steam consumption on the y- H H out H real
is = in =
sate return (CCR) lows, which are taken axis and power generated on the H in H is H is
into account for optimization (7)
x-axis, as illustrated in Figure 4.
an electric motor and the other with Steam turbine performance can be Isentropic efficiency (is) changes
a steam-turbine driver. accurately estimated from the per- significantly with load, whereas
An understanding of driver types formance curve, which is supplied mechanical efficiency is typically
is valuable, as selection of drivers by the turbine's manufacturer. If the high (0.95 to 0.99) and changes over
can impact a refinerys pressure- performance curve for a multi-valve a narrow range [10]. With a known
relief requirements. Selecting the steam turbine is unavailable, then mechanical efficiency, the enthalpy
best driver type for a pump or com- its performance can be predicted by of the exhaust steam can be calcu-
pressor depends on whether the models available in the literature lated using Equation (8).
pump or compressor in question is [10]. One such model is described W
critical to operations. If the equip- here. Slope (n) and y-intercept (WINT) H out = H in
mech m
ment is deemed non-critical, then in Equation (1) for a steam turbine (8)
the power can be switched between can be calculated from Equations
a steam-turbine driver and an (2) and (3). Deaerators
electrical driver, as needed. These Proper optimization of a steam
steam-turbine drivers are called L + 1 a network does not only involve tur-
n= H is
switchable turbines. b mmax bines other pertinent equipment,
(2)
However, if a pump or compressor like deaerators, must also be con-
is critical for the process, a steam- L sidered in the model. A diagram
turbine driver is always used. Such WINT =
b
( H is mmax a ) of a typical deaerator is shown
(3)
steam-turbine drivers are non-swit- in Figure 5. Deaeration is the re-
chable turbines. Non-switchable The regression parameters a, b moval of dissolved gases, such as
turbines are inflexible for optimiz- and L are related to the saturation oxygen or carbon dioxide, from the
ing steam networks, since a fixed temperature difference between treated water prior to its introduc-
amount of steam is required to flow the inlet and outlet conditions of tion into the boiler. Assuming a
through the turbine continuously. the steam turbine, according to fraction of flash steam is lost in the
Switchable turbines and steam- Equations (4) and (5). vent, material and energy balances
turbo generators (which generate around the deaerator are given by
electrical power) are much more a = a0 + a1 Tsat Equations (9) and (10).
(4)
flexible with regard to optimization, mDW + mCR + mSD + mFS
as steam flow can be adjusted based b = b0 + b1 Tsat
(5) = ( mFS + mSD ) + mBFW
on demand or relative price of gener- (9)
ated power [10]. Note that these parameters are mDW H DW + mCR H CR + mSD H SD + mFS H FS
obtained from published data and
= ( mFS + mSD ) H vent + mBFW H BFW
Turbine performance may not accurately predict the per-
Efficiency of a steam turbine varies formance of all multi-stage steam (10)
nonlinearly with the steam flowrate turbines [12]. It is recommended Steam-condensate recovery
or power generation. However, the to perform independent regression Steam-condensate recovery systems
power-flow relationship of a steam analysis for the particular steam (Figure 6) are another crucial part
Vent HP steam HP steam
(mFS+mSD), Hvent
Electric mHMLG, HHP Electric
DM water mDW, HDM generator generator
Steam condensate mCR, HCR W W
LP steam mSD, HSD

Flash steam mFS, HFS mMLG, HMP mMLG, HLP
mHMG, HMP
MP steam LP steam
MP steam LP steam
FIGURE 7. A steam-turbo generator generates electrical power that is useful for the
facilities; here, it is represented as two back-pressure turbines in series
Boiler feedwater
mBFW, HBFW HP BFW
231
Fluegas
FIGURE 5. A deaerator removes dis-
solved gases from treated water before it
enters a boiler 16.51
Flash steam Process Boilers

334 206 Fuel and air
HP steam
mFS, HFS
129.55 135.1 99 62.57 30 83.8
HP-MP-LDV
HP-MP HP-COND Process Process HP-MP-LP
HP-LP Process 0.0 0.0
Loss Vent
mCRLP, HCRLP 129.55 10 49.69 33
LP steam 32.93 114.34 75 MP steam
condensate Process Process
MP-LP Process MP-LP-LDV
0.0 0.0
Loss Vent
Steam condensate 32.93 135.1 13 27.9 34.11
mCR, HCR 110 87 WCS LP steam
99 1.1 45.84
Process Process WCR 11
FIGURE 6. A steam-condensate recov-
ery system usually consists of a lash Loss 214 Condensate
50 Deaerator
drum and a pump drum HP BFW
Loss
110 203
LP condensate header 104 613
of steam networks. Consisting of a
flash drum and pump to separate the DM water header 255
condensate and flash steam, these Total power generation: 32,589 kW
recovery systems must be taken into
Figure 8. This diagram shows the steam networks base-case coniguration. Data
account for optimization. Material shown in the diagram are steam lowrates in metric tons per hour (m.t./h). HP-COND
and energy balances around steam- is the high-pressure steam condensate
condensate recovery systems are
given by Equations (11) and (12). The steam-turbo generator, which demand for the steady-state model
generates electrical power, can be is fixed and SR variation is negligi-
mCRLP = mCR + mFS
(11) modeled as a combination of HP- ble for small changes in steam flow-
to-MP and MP-to-LP back-pressure rates. Hence, SR is used as a key pa-
mCRLP H CRLP = mCR H CR + mFS H FS
(12) turbines, as shown in Figure 7. The rameter for the selection of efficient
objective for the optimization of a steam turbines. Steam flowrate
Optimization model given steam network is to maximize through the steam-turbo generator
Optimizing the operation of steam total power generation while con- can be varied during the optimiza-
turbine drivers in refinery steam sidering the following constraints: tion procedure. This requires a non-
networks is a complex task, with Energy and material balances of linear model for predicting power,
many degrees of freedom, which re- the network which leads to mixed-integer non-
quires continuous monitoring and Choice of switchable drivers for linear programming (MINLP) for-
adjustment according to changes in turbines or motors mulation. It is very difficult to get
the operating scenarios. Although Variable steam flow through a global optimum for such a model.
many types of models and optimiza- steam-turbo generators However, the model can be con-
tion techniques are currently avail- Capacity limitations of the se- verted into MILP formulation by
able [6, 7, 10], mixed-integer linear lected steam turbines using Equations (1), (2) and (3).
programming (MILP) offers robust- Steam rate (SR) of a steam turbine The cost of steam must also
ness and reliability. Hence, the case is defined as the steam flowrate be considered. There are two ap-
study in this article is presented and (kg/h) required per unit power pro- proaches to estimate steam cost.
solved using MILP. The example in duced (kW). It varies nonlinearly The first method uses fuel pricing
this article describes the MILP for- with the amount of steam flow (or and enthalpy to estimate the cost
mulation for a steam network with power generated) due to variation of HP, MP, LP or flash steam. This
many steam-turbine drivers (both in the steam turbine efficiency. second method estimates the cost
switchable and non-switchable) However, this is not a problem for of LP steam by subtracting the cost
and a single steam-turbo generator. steam-turbine drivers as the power of power generated by the steam
TABLE 1. HP BFW
231
CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS Fluegas
FOR THE POWER GENERATOR
mGHML mGHMLmax 16.51
mGHML mGHMLmin
Process Boilers
mGHM mGHMmax
334 206 Fuel and air HP steam
mGHM mGHMmin
mG ML mGMLmax 129.55 114.2 99 62.57 30 104.66
HP-MP-LDV
mG ML mGMLmin HP-MP HP-COND Process Process HP-MP-LP
HP-LP Process 0.0 0.0
P Pbasecase Loss Vent
129.55 64.66 33
These constraints must be satisfied 47.9 10 114.34 75 MP steam
for the steam-turbo generators ma- Process Process MP-LP-LDV
MP-LP Process 0.0
terial balance Loss
0.0
47.9 114.2 13 27.9 40 Vent
110 87 WCS LP steam

turbines from the cost of HP or MP 99 1.1 46.01
steam (estimated based on the cost Process Process WCR 11
of production). This method reflects
Loss 214 Condensate
the true value of steam at any level, 50 Deaerator
drum HP BFW
and should be used to evaluate the Loss
110 LP condensate header 104 203 613
true benefits of energy conserva-
tion projects [10]. Using this ap- DM water header 255
proach, for sites installed with co-
generation plants, LP steam cost can Total power generation: 34,554 kW
be negative.
FIGURE 9. This diagram shows the optimized solution for the base-case network.
Some of the steam lows (shown in m.t./h) between turbines were altered, and the
Optimization objective resulting total power generation increased
The base-case steam network for
this optimization model is shown TABLE 2. KEY PARAMETERS FOR OPTIMIZATION
in Figure 8. It involves a total of 93 Parameter Base Optimized
steam-turbine drivers: 35 HP to LP, case case
15 HP to MP, 3 HP to vacuum (con- Steam turbo generator (HP-MP-LP) inlet flow, m.t./h 83.8 104.66
densing-type), 40 MP to LP steam Steam turbo generator (HP-MP-LP) extraction flow, m.t./h 49.69 64.66
turbine drivers and one steam- Steam turbo generator (HP-MP-LP) exhaust flow, m.t./h 34.11 39.99
turbo generator. Out of these, 65
Power from turbo generator, kW 6,435 8,375
are switchable and 28 are non-
switchable steam-turbine drivers. Total power generation, kW 32,589 34,554
Steam generation and consumption Total annual savings (compared to base case), $ 2,581,883
amounts for the network are shown (Note that total savings were calculated by assuming a
power cost of $0.15/kWh and 8,760 annual operating
in Figure 8 [12]. The following as- hours)
sumptions were made in obtaining
the optimum solution for the base Steam flowrates through the steam- for each switchable turbine in the
case: turbine drivers are considered con- base-case scenario. These binary vari-
Negligible pressure and tempera- stant ables are defined as:
ture drops in the steam headers The ultimate objective of this MILP YiHL for i = 1,,p
HP steam pressure of 43 bars and optimization exercise is to maximize YjHM for j = 1,...,q
HP steam temperature of 3,600C the total power generation from the YlML for l = 1,,s
for the steam-turbine drivers base-case steam network. Here, power The binary variable, Y, is used for
and 3,800C for the steam-turbo consists of the total shaft power from selecting the operating mode of a
generator the steam turbine drivers and the steam turbine. If its value is zero,
MP steam pressure of 11.5 bars electrical power from the steam-turbo the steam turbine is considered to
LP steam pressure of 4.5 bars generator. Equation (13) defines this be in stopped condition. If its value
Total HP, MP and LP steam gen- objective function. is one, the steam turbine is consid-
eration and consumption from p
m HL q
m HM ered to be in operation [12]. Addi-
process units are constant P = i HL Yi HL + jHM Y jHM tionally, many constraints must be
i =1 SRi j =1 SR j
All the steam generated at MP considered when evaluating Equa-
and LP steam levels by the pro- r
m HC s m ML tion (13), including the steam mate-
cess units are at saturated condi- + kHC + l ML Yl ML rial balances for the HP, MP and LP
k =1 SRk l =1 SRl
tions, corresponding to the header headers, given in Equations (14), (15)
pressure (
+ n HM mGHML WINT
HM
) (
+ n ML mGML WINMLT ) and (16), respectively.
The total boiler feed-water flow-
(13) p q r
rate requirement for the base case
mblr + mHPG = miHL + m HM
j + mkHC
and optimized case is assumed to In Equation (13), note that there i =1 j =1 k =0
be 102% of the total steam gen- are only three continuous variables
+m HML
+ mHPC + m HM
eration, accounting for overall (mGHML, mGHM and mGML), but the G ld
blowdown number of binary variables is 65, one (14)

TABLE 3. TRUE COST OF STEAM
Case Base case Optimized
Total power generated by HP-to-MP steam turbines, kW 8,720 10,368
Total steam flow through HP-to-MP steam turbines and steam-turbo generator, m.t./h 213 234
Total power generated by MP-to-LP, HP-to-LP steam turbines and steam-turbo generator, m.t./h 7,635 7,952
Total steam flow through MP-to-LP, HP-to-LP steam turbines and steam-turbo generator, m.t./h 202 202
HP steam cost, $/ton 27.48 27.48
MP steam cost after power generation credits from HP-to-MP, $/ton 21.35 20.84
MP steam cost after power generation credits from HP-to-MP and mixing saturated MP steam 21.42 20.99
generation from process, $/ton
LP steam cost after power generation credits from MP-to-LP, $/ton 19.25 18.09
LP steam cost after power generation credits from MP-to-LP and mixing saturated LP steam 19.59 18.63
generation form process, $/ton
q The 1,965-kW energy savings dem- Author

mMPG + mldHM + mGHM + m HM
j onstrated in this model translate into C. Chandra Sekhara
j =1 Reddy is a part-time Ph.D.
s
a financial benefit of over $2.5 mil- scholar at Andhra Univer-
= mlML + mGML + mMPC + mldML + mvM lion for the refinery. Table 3 shows a sity (Visakhapatnam, India
530003; Phone: +65 98624720;
l =1 (15) comparison of the true cost of steam Email: cs6_reddy@yahoo.
in the base case and the optimized co.in). He received B.S.Ch.E.
s p
and M.S.Ch.E degrees from
mLPG + mldML + mGML + mlML + miHL case. The true cost of MP steam is Andhra University and IIT
l =1 i =1 estimated by weighted-average costs Kanpur, respectively. He has
more than 17 years of process
= mLPC + mvL of MP steam generated by HP-to- design and operations expe-
rience in the petroleum refinery, petrochemical
(16) MP steam turbines, the steam-turbo and chemical industries. Reddy has been with
The material balance for the generator and saturated MP steam Singapore Refining Co., Pvt. Ltd. since 2007. He
is currently working as the lead process design
steam-turbo generator is defined in generated at the process. Similarly, engineer. He also worked in several positions at
Equation (17). the true cost of LP steam is esti- Celanese Singapore Pte. Ltd., SUT Singapore
Pte. Ltd., The Polyolefin Co. (Singapore) Pte.
mated by weighted-average costs of Ltd. and IPCL, India. His research interests
mGHML = mGHM + mGML LP steam generated by HP-to-LP are in process design and energy efficiency im-
(17) provement of process systems.
steam turbines, MP-to-LP steam G.P. Rangaiah has been
Constraints for this balance are given turbines, the steam-turbo generator with the National University
of Singapore (21 Lower Kent
in Table 1. Other pertinent material and saturated LP steam generated at Ridge Rd., Singapore 119077;
balances were previously established the process. The true value of steam Phone:+65 6516 2187; Email:
chegpr@ nus.edu.sg) since 1982,
in Equations (9) through (12). is essential for benefit analyses of and is currently professor and
energy-conservation projects. deputy head for student and
academic affairs in the Dept.
Solving the problem In conclusion, significant energy of Chemical & Biomolecular
Engineering. He received B.S.,
The solution to the MILP can be savings can be realized by optimizing M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from
reached using commercial tools, such steam-turbine driver selection and Andhra University, IIT Kanpur and Monash Uni-
versity, respectively. Rangaiah worked in Engineers
as Frontlines Premium Solver Pro, or operation in a steam network. The op- India Ltd. for two years before his doctoral study.
Microsoft Excels Solver. The resulting timized scenario presented in this ar- His research interests are in control, modeling and
optimization of chemical, petrochemical and related
optimized network is shown in Fig- ticle is quite attractive economically, processes. He has supervised ten research fellows
ure 9. Key results, including affected as it improves energy efficiency while and 35 graduate theses. He has edited four books,
published more than 150 papers in international
steam flowrates, are summarized in remaining physically sound. This ar- journals and presented 110 papers in conferences.
Rangaiah has received several teaching awards,
Table 2. Most notably, the optimiza- ticle mainly focuses on key require- including the Annual Teaching Excellence Awards
tion exercise increased the total power ments and benefits in a typical case; from the National University of Singapore for four
consecutive years.
generation from 32,589 kW to 34,554 economic benefits outlined in this
n
S.V Naidu has been with
kW, mainly due to improved efficiency study may vary from site to site. the Andhra University (Vi-
in the steam-turbo generator. Edited by Mary Page Bailey sakhapatnam, India 530003;
Phone: +91 0891-2844893;
Email: profnaidu90@gmail.
References com) since 1990, and is cur-
1. Bloch, H.P., Singh, M.P., Steam Turbines Optimization, Chem. Eng. Science, Vol. 53, rently professor in the Dept.
Design, Applications and Re-Rating, 2nd No. 8, pp. 1,5851,608, 1998. of Chemical Engineering
edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009. 7. Micheletto, S.R., Pinto, J.M., Operational Op- and Dean, Planning and
2. Branan, C. R., Rules of Thumb for Chemical timization of the Thermoelectric System of Resource mobilization at
Engineers A Manual of Quick, Accurate an Oil Refinery, 16th European Symposium AU College of Engineering.
Solutions to Everyday Process Engineering on Computer Aided Process Engineering and He received a B.S. degree
Problems, 4th Edition, Elsevier, 2005. 9th International Symposium on Process in science from Kakatiya University, B.S. and
Systems Engineering, Elsevier, 2006. Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering, from
3. Fleming I., Optimizing steam systems: Part Andhra University, and also a M.S. degree
II, PTQ (Petroleum Technology Quarterly), 8. Radle, J., The Importance of Intensive Steam
Trap Management, Chem. Eng., Nov. 2007, from R.E.C., Warangal. His research interests
Q3 2010, pp. 5462. are in heat transfer, PEM fuel cells and reac-
4. Lieberman, N.P., Process Engineering for a pp. 4047.
tive distillation. Prof. Naidu has supervised
Small Planet, How to Reuse, Re-Purpose and 9. Risko, J. R., Handle Steam More Intelli- six research fellows and 23 graduate the-
Retrofit Existing Process Equipment, John gently, Chem. Eng., Nov. 2006, pp. 3843. ses. He has published 23 papers in national
Wiley, 2010. 10. Smith, R., Chemical Process Design and In- and international journals and presented 11
5. Lieberman, N.P., Lieberman E.T., A Working tegration, 2nd edition, John Wiley, 2005. papers in conferences.
Guide to Process Equipment, 3rd edition, 11. Tanthapanichakoon, W., Saving Energy in
McGraw Hill, 2008. Multilevel Steam Systems, Chem. Eng. Prog-
6. Mavromatis, S.P., Kokossis, A.C., Concep- ress, Jan. 2012, pp. 2732. Editors Note: For additional information, ta-
tual Optimization of Utility Networks for 12. For more information, see Tables 48 in the bles and graphics, see the online version of this
Operational Variations - I. Targets and Level online version of this article. article.

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Feature Report
Gear Units David Brown
In CPI Plants FIGURE 1. In this conventional, double-

Follow this guidance to improve the selection helical gear unit (with a welded-steel
casing), double-helical gears are used to
minimize the axial load (that is, the load
and operation of gear units in CPI plants in the direction of the shaft). The complex
casing was fabricated by welding
Amin Almasi and the driven equipment, so the ferent mechanical loads, the shafts
Rotating Equipment Consultant gear unit(s) often receive virtually could displace in the plane perpen-
no attention. However, the client, dicular to the axial direction of each
G
ear units play a critical role the vendor, and the gear-unit sub- shaft (known as radial shifts). If
in a diverse array of chemical vendor should all pay considerable relatively large radial shifts occur
process industries (CPI) fa- attention to the following aspects of between each equipment shaft
cilities, to match the speed of gear units: and the gear unit shafts, a double-
a selected driver with the speed of Gear-set design, such as gear jointed coupling is needed, to allow
the driven equipment. Today, they teeth details for some movement between shafts.
are used extensively in pumps, tur- Gear-unit loading (loads on the This depends on thermal expan-
bines and compressors, in material- gears and shafts) and analysis sions, mechanical displacements
handling units (such as conveyers Material selection and other design and operation de-
and stackers), and in other equip- Heat-treatment options cisions.
ment, including mixers, kneaders Fabrication and assembly Option 2. In the second arrange-
and extruders. Gear-unit lubrication ment, the driver is attached directly
This article discusses high-power, Quality and testing to the gear-unit housing. In this sce-
high-speed gear units for large Commissioning nario, because the driver and the
rotating machines and material- A proper helix angle (the angle be- gear unit both display sufficiently
handling systems. These gear units tween the axis of a helical gear and low axial and radial displacements,
can be used in the power range of an imaginery line tangent to the the coupling (or shaft extension) be-
0.1100 MW, with gear tip speeds gear tooth) in the range of 1030 tween the driver shaft and the gear-
usually between 20200 m/s. The deg should be used for the gear unit input shaft could be omitted.
American Gear Manufacturers teeth. This will provide suitable The driven equipment is mounted
Assn.s (AGMA) Specification for operation and will considerably re- separately and connected to the
High Speed Helical Gear Units duce the axial forces. gear unit with a coupling. This cou-
(6011) covers different aspects of Within that range, a relatively pling is necessary because the dif-
high-speed gear units, such as the large helix angle (in the range of, ferent heat-induced expansions of
gear rating, lubrication, vibration, say, 2230 deg, compared to 1018 the gear unit and the driven equip-
testing and others. deg), can result in a high contact ment can cause relative shifts in
Large, high-speed gear units for ratio, which could offer better per- the shaft positions.
CPI applications are usually com- formance, smoother operation and Option 3. In the third design, the
prised of case-hardened, double- lower noise and vibration. The con- gear unit is directly connected to
helical gear-teeth in welded-steel tact ratio is the ratio of face advance the driven equipment, in anticipa-
casings (Figure 1). The gear shafts to the circular pitch. This ratio de- tion that no radial or angle shifts
are supported by modern bear- fines how many teeth are in contact can occur. In this scenario, no cou-
ings (typically plain bearings for at all times (on average). pling joint is required between the
low speeds). Ideally, bearing forces gear unit and the driven equip-
should be symmetrical with no tilt- Gear-unit arrangement ment. Figure 2 shows an example of
ing moment, to ensure minimum Several ways of integrating a gear a complex gas turbine coupled to a
axial load (the force in the direction unit into a CPI machinery train are gear unit (for the speed match).
of the shaft). discussed below:
Option 1. In this option, the driver, Planetary gear units
Practical notes on gear units the gear unit and the driven equip- The most commonly used special-
As is often the case, engineers tend ment are all installed separately. purpose gear-unit designs include
to focus their attention on the driver Due to thermal expansions or dif- different models of double-helical
Tognum
gear units. However, planetary gear gear type offers one of the
units can often be employed in high- most compact options.
speed CPI machinery (typically in An important loss in a
the 0.230 MW range). These are high-speed gear unit is
popular both for rotating machines windage loss, which rep-
and material-handling units, par- resents the power lost be-
ticularly where large speed ratios cause of the compression
are necessary. of the air-lubricant mix- FIGURE 2. Gas turbines typically have a deined op-
While double-helical gear units ture around teeth roots erating speed range. When used in a machinery train
are simple and popular, planetary during meshing and the (with a generator, compressor or pump train), a well-
gear units offer smaller size and aerodynamic trail of the designed gear unit is used to match the speed of the
turbine shaft to the driven equipment
higher efficiency compared to other teeth in the air-lubricant
types of gear units. Because the mixture. With any planetary-gear planetary gears (for example, in the
transmitted power is divided over type, it is necessary to take into ac- form of flex pins). These will bend
several tooth meshes, planetary count a relatively high windage. under a load, with the result that
gear units are more compact and The best operation and perfor- the planet gears do not skew but are
less expensive than other options. mance occurs when the load is simply minimally displaced parallel
The smaller gear diameters in a distributed as evenly as possible to the pinion or ring-gear axis. This
planetary gear unit also produce across the individual planet gears. solution can ensure an optimum
smaller mass moments of iner- An uneven load balance can create load balance between the meshed
tia, and this substantially reduces damaging effects. teeth and the even load distribution
the acceleration and deceleration The ability to reduce friction can, across the entire width of the tooth
torque during acceleration and theoretically, result in a better-cen- face at both full and partial load.
braking. Generally, high speed ra- tered gear-tooth loading. However,
tios can be achieved (even 80 or in real-life scenarios, some friction Selection criteria
more). The coaxial design permits (and thus some unbalances in the Key factors influencing the choice
a superior arrangement for many loading) should be expected. The of gear units are load capacity, effi-
CPI machineries. However, due to mass inertia of the gear-unit ele- ciency, and successful references (for
operational issues and reliability ments can also offer some dynamic comparable applications). In gen-
risks, planetary gear units will re- loads. It is desirable to reduce the eral, several types of gear types are
quire extra consideration. masses, but there are always practi- available for planetary gear-units,
Figure 3 shows an example of cal limits in the mass-reduction ex- including spur gears, single-helical
a planetary gear unit. They can ercises (some limits to achieve very gears, double-helical gears and oth-
achieve a large speed ratio (even 40 lightweight designs) ers. If single helical gears are used,
to 80) in a very compact unit. The partial-load operations and the two opposing axial forces acting
A planetary gear unit typically particularly the minimum-load on the planetary gear may generate
consists of three coaxially rotating case, can offer some challenges. The a large tilting moment (axial bear-
components: a sun gear, a carrier no-load case occurs when the gear ings could be required if the helix
with several planetary gears, and unit and the associated machinery angle is not selected properly).
a ring gear. Among the variants of train are operating with no load The double-helical gear set usu-
planetary gear units, the options for example, when a pump unit oper- ally requires free axial adjustabil-
preferred for CPI applications are: ates in the pre-commissioning stage ity to allow users to achieve an even
The star-gear type, with speed without actually pumping a liquid, load distribution across the two
ratios of around 212 and thus, the driven gear unit just tooth halves. However, the two gear
The planetary-gear type, with rotates with no load transmission. meshes can prevent the necessary
speed ratios of roughly 313 Some machinery trains should only movement (see Figure 1). In this
The star-gear type with the dou- operate a very short time in a no- way, two side-by-side gear meshes
ble planet, with speed ratios of load condition, otherwise damage or do not allow for the tiny move-
around 1240 reliability issues may arise. ments required for adjustments
The compound-epicyclic gear type, Usually, most gear units have and smooth operation. In addition,
with speed ratios of about 880 several backlash-prone joints and external axial forces may interfere
The star-gear type and the plane- relatively large masses that are un- with the load distribution.
tary-gear type can usually offer a able to center themselves when the Spur gears (or straight-cut gears)
similar ratio range (both can cover load changes, and this may cause a are the simplest type of gear. Their
a speed ratio in the range of 312). gear unit to behave unstably. This slightly better efficiency compared
The star-gear type is used when the issue needs considerable attention, to the spur gearing is one advan-
rotating carrier would cause unac- especially for planetary gear units. tage for the helical gearing. For
ceptably high pressure on the bear- For instance, sophisticated elastic planetary gear units, a single-heli-
ing journal. The compound-epicyclic mountings are usually used for the cal gearing with an optimum helix
FIGURE 3. In this planetary gear unit, the transmit-
ted power is divided over several teeth. Planetary
gear units are smaller, more compact and cheaper
than their conventional counterparts
before assembly and allowing it to and manufacturing stage. To achieve

return to the ambient temperature the most-even load distribution pos-
after assembly, employing the phe- sible, adjustments (also called cor-
nomenon of thermal expansion to rections) are usually necessary in
make a joint. the direction of the tooth height and
angle is commonly used (Figure 3). The shrink-fit design for the gear the tooth width. Because the pinion
In some cases, the CPI machin- wheel is usually limited by the in- gets hotter than the gears, the pin-
ery shaft could be connected rigidly fluence of centrifugal forces. For ions base circle and base pitch could
(without a coupling) to the plan- instance, the gear-unit codes do expand more. During manufacturing
etary gear-unit shaft. In other de- not accept the shrink-fit design for in a cold condition (say ambient con-
signs, the machinery bearing can be pitch-line velocities of over 140 m/s. ditions), the pinion has to be made
incorporated in the planetary gear- In those cases, the one-piece version with a pitch that has been reduced
unit housing. As a result, the differ- should be applied. In this configura- by a difference (an adjustment) be-
ent heat-induced expansions of the tion, the gear wheel and its shaft are cause of the thermal expansion. The
gear unit and that of the machinery in one piece. In gear units for rating increase in the pitch of the rotating
housing would produce no radial powers of more than 20 MW, the gear as a result of the centrifugal
shift. However, this could cause an one-piece design usually requires force should also be taken into ac-
angle error between the rotor and a large forging with a great weight. count during the manufacturing.
ring-gear axis. This can be absorbed Manufacturing large special-pur- The heat is distributed unevenly
by a single-jointed coupling. pose gear units requires access to across the width of the tooth face,
special forging shops for very large, resulting in uneven expansion of
Gear-unit reliability one-piece components. the gear body. Asymmetrical adjust-
Failures on gear units are usually The gear wheel shaft can be ei- ment techniques should be used for
related to teeth breakage and dam- ther solid or hollow. Because of a better corrections and consequently
age to the tooth flanks (these often better hardenability (during manu- smoother gear unit operation. In
result from impact or fatigue frac- facturing), the hollow-shaft design simple terms, these techniques de-
tures, wear or pitting). Having suf- is often preferred. pend on the accurate prediction of
ficient lubrication and maintaining Material selection and metal- asymmetrical thermal movements
the overall surface condition (par- lurgical issues are very important and the required asymmetrical
ticularly the roughness) of the tooth for any gear unit. Case-hardening- adjustments to achieve a perfect
flanks are important. Sufficient lu- grade gear materials are widely match and smooth operation during
bricant film on the gear flanks can used. Case hardening (or surface actual operating situations.
minimize the impact of pitting and hardening) is the process of hard- Suitable profile adjustments (cor-
micro-pitting. Cracks (particularly ening the surface of the gear while rections) can be employed by the
friction cracks) and erosions can allowing the metal beneath the sur- gear unit vendor to minimize the dy-
also cause gear-unit failures. face to remain soft, thereby forming namic loads and the gear unit noise.
Fractures can occur in areas of a thin layer of harder metal (the These adjustments, if implemented
high stress concentrations, which case) at the surface. properly, can considerably reduce
can result from abrupt changes Two important subjects for gear mesh impacts and shock loads at
in the geometry, localized areas of units deserve special attention for both the beginning and the end of
high strain (particularly bending optimal performance and reliability: meshing (and the transitions from
deformations) or regions experienc- 1. Tooth adjustments and correc- single to double meshing). These
ing thermal extremes. Reliability tions. The prediction of mechanical corrections can also help to achieve
and performance calculations (such and thermal deformations and ad- uniform transmission of the rotary
as the gear-unit rating, gear tooth- justments on the tooth dimensions movement, despite a position-de-
bending strength, gear surface pit- (such as tooth height and width) is pendent tooth deformation.
ting, scuffing and others) should be essential.
carefully reviewed. 2. Heat treatment. Heat treatment Heat-treatment options
The fabrication method also has involves the use of heating or chill- For critical gear units, carbur-
a great influence on reliability and ing, normally to extreme tempera- izing heat-treatment or nitrid-
gear failure modes. Pinions are al- tures, to achieve a desired result ing heat-treatment are commonly
ways made from one-piece fabrica- mostly the hardening of the gear used by vendors. Case hardening
tion, which is generally more reli- material. For gears, carburizing (in the usual form of carburizing
able than other options. heat-treatment or nitriding heat- heat-treatment or nitriding heat-
Shrink fitting is a technique in treatment are commonly employed. treatment) could be considered an
which an interference fit is achieved There is one potential problem economic solution, since it allows
by a relative size change after as- that every engineer working with a good range of adjustments to the
sembly. This is usually achieved by gear units should be aware of. This desired hardness depth of the gear.
heating or cooling one component should be considered in the design These manufacturing and heat-
treatment options offer one of the hardening method. With nitriding, It has been proven that the resid-
highest values to ensure long-term the whole heat-treatment process ual stresses can influence the total
resistance to pitting and tooth flex- is carried out below the transfor- strain of the gear sets. In the case
ure. Selection of the most appropri- mation temperature (that is, the of carburizing, residual stresses can
ate option depends on many fac- temperature where a metallurgical be relatively high. An advantage of
tors, such as the application (speed, phase transformation occurs). How- nitriding is that the inner residual
power, operating details and others) ever, only small hardness penetra- stresses are relatively low. n
and many other technical and com- tion depths can be obtained using Edited by Suzanne Shelley
mercial issues. this method. For instance, 0.40.7 Author
Carburizing usually improves fa- mm with normal nitriding steels, Amin Almasi is a rotating
tigue resistance. With better fatigue- while this depth could be up to 1.5 equipment consultant in Aus-
tralia (Email: amin.almasi@
resistance and better strength, the mm with special steels. Meanwhile, ymail.com). He previously
carburized gears need relatively nitrided surfaces are usually harder worked at Worley Parsons
Services Pty Ltd. (Brisbane,
lower thicknesses and materials and could show more brittleness in Australia), Technicas Reuni-
and thus gear dimensions can be case of shock strains compared to das (Madrid, Spain) and Fluor
(various offices). He holds
better optimized. As a result, car- carburized ones. Also, the damage chartered professional engi-
neer license from Engineers
burized components can theoreti- curve in the fatigue strength for the Australia (MIEAust CPEng
cally be designed smaller compared finite life in nitrided gears tends to Mechanical), chartered engineer certificate from
IMechE (CEng MIMechE), RPEQ (Registered
to the nitride-hardened ones. be flat compared to that of carbur- Professional Engineer in Queensland) and he
However, care should be taken ized ones. These factors can influ- also holds M.S. and B.S. in mechanical engineer-
ing. He specializes in rotating machines includ-
when selecting carburizing. Dis- ence the rating of gears for startup, ing centrifugal, screw and reciprocating compres-
tortions of the components during the shock loading the short-circuit sors, gas and steam turbines, pumps, condition
monitoring and reliability. Almasi is an active
quenching can result in some re- torque (for gear units connected an member of Engineers Australia, IMechE, ASME,
Vibration Institute, SPE, IEEE, and IDGTE. He
sidual stresses. By comparison, ni- electric machines) and other tran- has authored more than 60 papers and articles
triding is a relatively low-distortion sient situations. dealing with rotating machines.
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EnvironmentalColumn
Fractionation Manager
Corrosion: the silent killer

C
UI that acronym should ertheless, a new shell was ordered. Mike Resetarits is the technical direc-
be enough to capture your at- The lesson learned is that some- tor at Fractionation Research, Inc. (FRI;
tention. All chemical process times, when possible, vessels need to Stillwater, Okla.; www.fri.org), a distilla-
industries (CPI) plants are be totally stripped and fully entered. tion research consortium. Each month,
aging and some are aged, espe- At the September ChemInnova- Mike shares his first-hand experience
with CE readers
cially in the U.S. and Europe. Corro- tions conference in Galveston, Tex.,
sion under insulation (CUI) should Russ Davis, of Mistras Group, gave lines; hardened caulking; missing
be regarded as a silent killer, and an excellent presentation regard- insulation plugs and others. Davis
there arent enough doctors, or in ing CUI. He bemoaned the fact that provided the ChemInnovations at-
other words, experts in the field to too many U.S. companies do not tendees with an exhaustive list of
address the problem sufficiently. have complete and fully functional NDE (non-destructive evaluation)
FRIs experimental unit was con- CUI and insulation replacement methodologies, listing their advan-
structed in 1953 in Alhambra, Calif. programs. He described how even tages and disadvantages. Some of
In 1990, the unit was moved to stainless-steel vessels and piping those technologies only identify wet
Stillwater, Okla. The columns, heat can be affected by CUI in the insulation. Some identify corrosion
exchangers, vessels and piping func- U.S. Gulf Coast region due to chlo- areas, but they do not provide shell-
tion at pressures from 10 mm Hga rides present in the atmosphere. or pipe-thickness data.
to 500 psia. Most of the equipment He listed the equipment and piping Ultimately, Davis drew the exact
is comprised of carbon steel. Some of that are particularly prone to CUI: same conclusion that the FRI staff
that equipment is over 50 years old. areas exposed to mist from cooling drew: sometimes, vessels need to be
FRIs low-pressure kettle reboiler towers; dead legs; pipe hangers; vi- totally stripped and fully entered.
was well insulated. Holes in the brating pipes; bottoms of horizontal Mike Resetarits
metal wrappings were used for regu-
lar UT (ultrasonic thickness) inspec-
tions by certified technicians. His-
torically, none of those readings ever
caused concern. In 2011, a large por-
tion of that reboiler was stripped of
its insulation (when FRI added win-
dows to that reboiler). The underly-
ing steel shell looked great. In 2013,
another large portion of that reboiler Content Licensing for
was stripped (when FRI added two
more windows and borescope noz-
Every Marketing Strategy
zles). This time, the story was differ-
ent. This time, troublesome surface Marketing solutions it for:
rusting was observed. Outdoor
In retrospect, this section of the Direct Mail
reboiler might have been the focal Print Advertising
point for rainwater dripping from Tradeshow/POP Displays
Social Media
the deck above. The entire reboiler
Radio & Television
was stripped of its insulation. Many
UT readings were taken by both an
FRI technician and a contract certi- Logo Licensing | Reprints | Eprints | Plaques
fied technician. There was just one
small area where the metal thick- Leverage branded content from Chemical Engineering to create a more
ness was approaching the minimum powerful and sophisticated statement about your product, service, or
allowed. In response, the bundle was company in your next marketing campaign. Contact Wrights Media to
pulled and the reboiler shell was ind out more about how we can customize your acknowledgements and
entered. Deep in the shell, past the recognitions to enhance your marketing strategies.
liquid-product overflow baffle, deep
dimples were found in the bottom For more information, call Wrights Media at 877.652.5295 or visit our
of the shell. Weld overlay work was website at www.wrightsmedia.com
effected by an R-stamp welder. The
reboiler was hydrotested twice and it
held high pressures both times. Nev-
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New Product Information December 2013
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FREE PRODUCT INFO 14 engineering, Design & Construc- 29 10 to 49 employees 47 Pollution Control equipment
(please answer all the questions) tion Firms 30 50 to 99 employees & Systems
15 engineering/environmental Ser- 31 100 to 249 employees 48 Pumps
YOUR INDUSTRY
vices 32 250 to 499 employees 49 Safety equipment & Services
01 Food & beverages
16 equipment manufacturer 33 500 to 999 employees 50 Size reduction & agglomeration
02 wood, Pulp & Paper
17 energy incl. Co-generation 34 1,000 or more employees equipment
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18 other YOU RECOMMEND, 51 Solids handling equipment
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05 Drugs & Cosmetics (please circle all that apply)
20 Corporate management 53 Valves
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11 rubber & misc. Plastics 44 mixing, blending equipment 57 Chemicals & raw materials
12 Stone, Clay, glass, Ceramics EMPLOYEE SIZE 45 motors, motor Controls 58 materials of Construction
13 metallurgical & metal Products 28 less than 10 employees 46 Piping, Tubing, Fittings 59 Compressors
1 16 31 46 61 76 91 106 121 136 151 166 181 196 211 226 241 256 271 286 301 316 331 346 361 376 391 406 421 436 451 466 481 496 511 526 541 556 571 586
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68 ChemiCal engineering www.Che.Com DeCember 2013

Advertisers Index
Advertiser Page number Advertiser Page number Advertiser Page number

Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service #
Abbe, Paul O. 8 Federal Equipment Co. 20 Load Controls 64

1-800-524-2188 adlinks.che.com/45779-01 1-877-503-9745 adlinks.che.com/45779-18 1-888-600-3247 adlinks.che.com/45779-27
AMACS Process Tower Fike Corporation 39 Mller GmbH 6

Internals 27 1-866-758-6004 adlinks.che.com/45779-19 49 (0) 7623/969-0 adlinks.che.com/45779-29
1-281-716-1179 adlinks.che.com/45779-02
Flexicon Corporation 5 Orion Instruments FOURTH
ARC Advisory Group 18 1-888-FLEXICON adlinks.che.com/45779-20 COVER
1-781-471-1175 adlinks.che.com/45779-03 1-866-55-ORION adlinks.che.com/45779-30
Fluid Metering, Inc. 6
Arizona Instrument LLC 50 1-800-223-3388 adlinks.che.com/45779-21 Outotec Oyj 10
adlinks.che.com/45779-04 adlinks.che.com/45779-31
GEA Westfalia 15
AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG 47 49 2522 77-0 adlinks.che.com/45779-22 Quest Integrity Group 48
1-253-893-7070 adlinks.che.com/45779-32
49 7631 809-0 adlinks.che.com/45779-05 GIG Karasek GmbH 19
adlinks.che.com/45779-23 Sulzer Chemtech AG 29
Badger Meter, Inc 33
41 61 486 3737 adlinks.che.com/45779-33
1-800-876-3837 adlinks.che.com/45779-06 * Haver & Boecker Drahtweberei
und Maschinenfabrik 21 Therminol 3
Berndorf Band GmbH 23
49 2522 30-271 adlinks.che.com/45779-24 1-800-426-2463 adlinks.che.com/45779-16
1-847-931-5264 adlinks.che.com/45779-07
Inline Industries 28 Tiger Tower Services/Altair
Biazzi SA 9 1-800-568-8998 adlinks.che.com/45779-25 Strickland Holdings LLC 31
41 21 989 21 21 adlinks.che.com/45779-08
1-281-951-2500 adlinks.che.com/45779-34
John Zink Hamworhty
Brookield Engineering 49 Combustion 7 Triple/S Dynamics Inc. 25
1-800-628-8139 adlinks.che.com/45779-09 1-918-234-1800 adlinks.che.com/45779-26 1-800-527-2116 adlinks.che.com/45779-35
Brkert Werke GmbH 13

Classiied Index Advertisers
* Buss-SMS-Canzler GmbH 26
49 60 33-85-0 adlinks.che.com/45779-11
December 2013 Product Showcase . . . . . . . . . . 66
Computer Software . . . . . . . . . . 66
Carver Pump 30 Advertiser Page number Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Phone number Reader Service #
1-563-263-3410 adlinks.che.com/45779-12 Equipment, New & Used. . . . . . 67
Applied e-Simulators Software 66
Chemstations 12 Recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
EDPlus, LLC 67 Advertiser Page number
Collins Instrument Co. 53 adlinks.che.com/45779-242 Phone number Reader Service #
1-979-849-8266 adlinks.che.com/45779-14
Eriez Manufacturing Co. 67 Plast-O-Matic Valves, Inc. 66
Corzan HP Piping SECOND 1-888-300-3743 adlinks.che.com/45779-243 1-973-256-3000 adlinks.che.com/45779-201
Systems COVER
1-855-735-1431 adlinks.che.com/45779-28 Heat Transfer Research, Inc. 66 Ross, Charles & Son Company 67
adlinks.che.com/45779-251 1-800-243-ROSS adlinks.che.com/45779-247
Dickow Pump 22
HFP Acoustical Consultants 66 Vesconite Bearings 67
1-800-880-4442 adlinks.che.com/45779-15
1-713-789-9400 adlinks.che.com/45779-244 27 11 616 11 11 adlinks.che.com/45779-248
Enardo Manufacturing Co. 16
Indeck Power Equipment Co. 67 Wabash Power Equipment Co. 67
1-800-336-2736 adlinks.che.com/45779-17
1-847-541-8300 adlinks.che.com/45779-245 1-800-704-2002 adlinks.che.com/45779-249
* International Edition KnightHawk Engineering 67 Xchanger, Inc. 67

1-281-282-9200 adlinks.che.com/45779-246 1-952-933-2559 adlinks.che.com/45779-250
See bottom of oposite page

for advertising Send Advertisements and Box replies to: Diane Burleson
sales representatives'
Chemical Engineering, 11000 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77042
contact information
E-mail: dburleson@che.com Tel: 512-337-7890

People
DECEMBER WHO'S WHO
Dascalescu Hinman Kreisel Aldana Wiseman
Environmental Drilling Solutions Wolfram Kreisel becomes managing America (Newnan, Ga.), overseeing
(Lafayette, La.) names John Meckert director of Kreisel GmbH & Co. KG all Yokogawa business operations
CEO, and John Marty III business (Krauschwitz, Germany). in Canada.
development manager.
Paul Krauthauser becomes senior vice Lorraine Wiseman becomes presi-
Specialty chemicals company Evonik president, sales and marketing, and dent and general manager of Spirax
Canada, Inc. (East Gibbons, Alta.), Sherri Leonard becomes vice presi- Sarco (Blythewood, S.C.), a supplier
names Diana Dascalescu manager of dent, portfolio strategy, at of fluid-control and steam systems.
the companys Maitland, Ont., site. Rising Pharmaceuticals, a
subsidiary of Aceto Corp. (Port Engineering, architecture and envi-
Jacqueline Hinman becomes CEO of Washington, N.Y.) ronmental consulting company GHD
CH2M Hill (Denver, Colo.), replacing (Melbourne, Australia) appoints
Lee McIntire, who will step down in Rene Aldana becomes the managing Michael Muntisov to the position of
January. McIntire will continue to director of Yokogawa Canada, Inc., global technical leader for water.
serve as chairman of the the board. a division of Yokogawa Corp. of Suzanne Shelley
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PLANT WATCH MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
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November 11, 2013 PT Chandra Asri Pet- Evonik starts up new production facility in November 6, 2013 Ashai Glass Co., Ltd.
rochemical Tbk (Jakarta, Indonesia; www. Shanghai for organic surfactants (AGC; Tokyo, www.agc.com) has reached
chandra-asri.com) and Compagnie Finan- October 29, 2013 Evonik Industries AG an agreement with Petronas Chemicals
cire Michelin have formed a partnership (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has Group Berhad (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
for the inauguration of a synthetic-rubber opened a new production facility for or- www.petronaschemicals.com) under
plant. Construction of the plant is planned ganic specialty surfactants in the Shanghai which AGC will acquire a 78% equity stake
to begin in early 2015, with completion and Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China. in Vietnamese polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
startup targeted at the beginning of 2017. The new facility has a capacity of around company, Phu My Plastics & Chemicals
80,000 m.t./yr. Co., Ltd. With this acquisition, AGCs global
Mitsui Chemicals expands polypropylene PVC capacity will be 650,000 m.t./yr,
capacity in North America AkzoNobel opens new plant in India for which is more than double the current
November 8, 2013 Mitsui Chemicals decorative paints and coatings capacity.
Group (Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) October 29, 2013 AkzoNobel (Amster-
and Prime Polymer, a Mitsui Chemicals dam; www.akzonobel.com) has opened a AEA Investors to acquire Siemens Water
subsidiary, have announced expansions to new 20-million decorative paints plant in Technologies for 640 million
polypropylene production in the U.S. and Gwalior, India, which will have a capacity of November 6, 2013 AEA Investors LP
Mexico, to meet the growing demands of 55 million L/yr.The factory has sufficient infra- (www.aeainvestors.com) has agreed to
the automotive sector. The U.S. expansion structure in place to support future acquire Siemens Water Technologies (Al-
will increase production from 254,000 metric expansion plans. pharetta, Ga.; www.water.siemens.com) for
tons per year (m.t./yr) to 289,000 m.t./yr.The 640 million.Under AEA, the company will
expansion in Mexico will increase produc- WorleyParsons awarded detailed EPCM continue its focus on equipment and ser-
tion from 45,000 m.t./yr to 83,000 m.t./yr. contract by Invista vices for municipal and industrial water- and
October 24, 2013 Invista (Wichita, Kan.; wastewater-treatment.
Chemtura dedicates new plant for www.invista.com) has awarded Worley-
urethanes and petroleum additives Parsons Ltd. (www.worleyparsons.com) an Innospec expands oilfield chemicals
November 7, 2013 Chemtura Corp. engineering, procurement and construc- presence by acquiring Bachman Services
(Philadelphia, Pa.; www.chemtura.com) has tion management (EPCM) contract for November 5, 2013 Innospec Inc. (Littleton,
opened its new multipurpose manufactur- the development of a new hexamethylene Colo.; www.innospec.com) announced
ing facility in the Nantong Economic and diamine (HMD) plant at Shanghai Chemi- that it has acquired Bachman Services Inc.
Technological Development Area in Nan- cal Industrial Park.The plant will produce and its affiliated companies from its private
tong, China.The facility, located in Jiangsu 215,000 m.t./yr of HMD. Production is sched- owners. Bachman, based in Oklahoma City,
Province, consists of three production units, uled to commence in 2015. Okla. , provides chemicals and services for
including ones for petroleum additives and the oil-and-gas industry.
urethane products. Black & Veatch selected for desalination
project at worlds largest copper mine Chevron Phillips completes sale of
Solvay to build large-scale alkoxylation October 23, 2013 Black & Veatch (Over- polystyrene business
facility in Texas land Park, Kan.; www.bv.com) has been October 31, 2013 Chevron Phillips Chemi-
November 6, 2013 Solvay S.A. (Brussels, selected for the the engineering design, cal Company LLC (The Woodlands,Tex.;
Belgium; www.solvay.com) says it will build procurement, field inspection and pre-com- www.cpchem.com) has finalized the sale
and operate a large-scale alkoxylation unit missioning for the marine and desalination of its affliliate company, Chevron Phillips
in Pasadena,Tex., at a facility of LyondellBa- elements of the $3.43-billion Escondida Wa- Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., to Grand As-
sells Equistar Chemicals affiliate. Equistar will ter Supply project in Chile, which will deliver tor Limited.The sale includes a polystyrene
supply the ethylene oxide raw material to 57 million gal/d of water to Escondida, the plant in Zhangjiagang, China.
the unit, which is expected to be operational worlds largest copper mine.
in 2015. Solvay will invest nearly 40 million in Ametek acquires 3-D technology expert
the endeavor. Albemarle expands antioxidant Creaform for $120 million
manufacturing capabilities in China October 29, 2013 Ametek, Inc. (Berwyn,
Sibur launches new polypropylene-film October 22, 2013 Albemarle Corp. (Ba- Pa.; www.ametek.com) has acquired Crea-
production facility ton Rouge, La.; www.albemarle.com), has form, Inc., a developer and manufacturer
November 6, 2013 Sibur Holdings (Mos- completed installation of a granulation and of portable 3-D measurement technologies
cow; www.sibur.com) subsidiary Biaxplen blending system in Shanghai, increasing and a provider of 3-D engineering services
has launched a new production facility for Albemarles antioxidant capacity to over for approximately $120 million. Based near
biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) 10,000 m.t./yr. With these expansions, the Qubec City, Canada, Creaform has an-
films.The new facility is located on the site of facility can now produce non-dusting anti- nual sales of approximately $52 million.
Siburs Tomskneftekhim plant, which is the oxidants in both granules and pellets. Mary Page Bailey
FOR ADDITIONAL NEWS AS IT DEVELOPS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHE.COM

December 2013; VOL. 120; NO. 12
Chemical Engineering copyright @ 2013 (ISSN 0009-2460) is published monthly, with an additional issue in October, by Access Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd
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FOR MORE ECONOMIC INDICATORS, SEE NEXT PAGE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2013 71
Economic Indicators 2011 2012 2013
DOWNLOAD THE CEPCI TWO WEEKS SOONER AT WWW.CHE.COM/PCI
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PLANT COST INDEX (CEPCI) 650
Annual
Sept. 13 Aug. 13 Sept. 12
(195759 = 100) Index:
Prelim. Final Final 600
CE Index 567.3 564.8 577.4 2005 = 468.2
Equipment 686.2 682.8 700.8 2006 = 499.6
Heat exchangers & tanks 618.3 615.8 643.9 550
Process machinery 654.7 653.1 662.3 2007 = 525.4
Pipe, valves & fittings 875.3 871.2 895.7 2008 = 575.4
Process instruments 411.4 410.7 424.0 500
2009 = 521.9
Pumps & compressors 924.3 920.7 929.0
Electrical equipment 513.7 513.0 510.6 2010 = 550.8
Structural supports & misc 747.1 736.3 742.3 450
2011 = 585.7
Construction labor 321.8 320.9 324.8
Buildings 533.4 531.8 527.2 2012 = 584.6
Engineering & supervision 325.1 325.1 328.7 400
J F M A M J J A S O N D
CURRENT BUSINESS INDICATORS* LATEST PREVIOUS YEAR AGO
CPI output index (2007 = 100) Sep. '13 = 88.1 Aug. '13 = 88.2 Jul. '13 = 88.5 Sep.'12 = 86.1
CPI value of output, $ billions Sep. '13 = 2,160.0 Aug. '13 = 2,164.9 Jun. '13 = 2,179.2 Sep.'12 = 2,199.7
CPI operating rate, % Sep. '13 = 74.4 Aug. '13 = 74.6 Jul. '13 = 74.9 Sep.'12 = 73.4
Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) Sep. '13 = 299.9 Aug. '13 = 301.0 Jul. '13 = 299.6 Sep.'12 = 299.4
Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2007 = 100) Sep. '13 = 96.0 Aug. '13 = 95.9 Jul. '13 = 95.4 Sep.'12 = 93.6
Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) Oct. '13 = 156.6 Aug. '13 = 156.8 Jul. '13 = 156.3 Oct.'12 = 154.9
Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100) Sep. '13 = 105.7 Aug. '13 = 105.8 Jul. '13 = 105.2 Sep.'12 = 104.4
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2007 = 100) CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
120 2500 85
110 2200 80
100 1900 75
90 1600 70
80 1300 65
70 1000 60
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
Current Business Indicators provided by IHS Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
CURRENT TRENDS
Equipment Cost Index Available P reliminary data for the Sep-
tember 2013 CE Plant Cost
Index (CEPCI; top; the most
Exclusively from Marshall & Swift recent available) indicate that

costs rose in all subcategories
compared to the previous month,
except the Engineering & Super-
vision category, which remained
unchanged. The current CEPCI
value stands at 1.75% lower
than the value from a year ago.
The year-over-year gaps have
been narrowing over the past
six months. Meanwhile, updated
values for the Current Business In-
dicators from IHS Global Insight
(middle) generally also saw small
decreases in most indices. For
Quarterly updates of our industry-leading Equipment Cost Index example, the CPI output index,
CPI value of output and producer
are now available at www.equipment-cost-index.com. price index all fell slightly from
the previous values.

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