Process Engineering articles from April 2006

Process Engineering archives from April 2006

Comment: Investing in new technology.
April 24, 2006... Manufacturing companies invest in new technology, especially information technology, to enable its human and technical resources to complete many more functions in much less time than previously possible. The expected payback then is...

Rockwell targets software integration.
April 24, 2006... Rockwell Automation plans to double sales in five years based on the integration of its plant-wide information software product offerings into a single integrated suite called FactoryTalk, supported by its Logix control plaform. ...

Emerson buys Bristol Babcock.
April 24, 2006... Emerson has acquired Bristol Babcock from FKI plc of Loughborough, UK for $121 million (#73m). The acquired company is to be renamed Bristol and positioned within Emerson Process Management. Bristol Babcock has sales of around $80 million...

UK energy firms form carbon capture group.
April 24, 2006... A group of companies active in the UK energy sector has formed the Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA) to promote the permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide from industry and power generation. The CCSA aims to expand the...

Invensys control advance.
April 24, 2006... Invensys is launching a new automation/information technology called the InFusion Enterprise Control System (ECS), which combines its own and third party automation technologies into a single system spanning plant and enterprise...

New environmental targets for DSM.
April 24, 2006... DSM plans to upgrade its production plants worldwide to ensure they all comply with the strict environmental standards that apply in Europe and the US within the next five years. The plan will position it among the global top 25% of...

Fluent partnership for DEM.
April 24, 2006... DEM Solutions, an Edinburgh-based developer of discrete element method (DEM) software, has entered a partnership deal with Fluent Inc, the global supplier of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The partnership will deliver...

IN BRIEF: FSA to visit all meat plants.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... The UK Food Standards Agency has launched a programme of approval visits to all UK meat plants. The move follows the introduction of new EU hygiene regulations on 1 Jan that require all meat plants to be approved if they are to continue...

IN BRIEF: Kemutec acquires PPS business.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Kemutec Powder Technologies Ltd of Macclesfield has acquired the intellectual property, employees, brand name and product range of Powder Process Systems Ltd (PPS), but the PPS plant in Shoeburyness, Essex is not included in the deal. The deal...

IN BRIEF: WBF affiliates with ISA.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Automation technology organisations the ISA and the WBF (formerly the World Batch Forum) are finalising an arrangement that will see the WBF operating as an independent affiliate of ISA. The move should be completed in the first half of 2006,...

IN BRIEF: CIA offers REACH support.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... The Chemical Industries Association has launched a services company, called REACHReady, to help industry to comply with the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) regulations, which are due to come into force in the...

Pump life cycle costs surveyed.
April 24, 2006... The life cycle cost of running and maintaining pumps is often much more significant than the initial capital investment needed to buy the equipment, a new study of different types of pumps shows. The independent study, by ex BASF pumps...

Amec to create an energy and process groups.
April 24, 2006... Amec is to restructure its operations into two businesses: energy and process industries; and UK infrastructure. The realignment will follow the sale of its Amec Spie mechanical and electrical services operation, announced in November and...

Process, chemical engineering bucks university trend.
April 24, 2006... The number of prospective university students applying for chemical, process and energy engineering courses has jumped by 8.6%, to 6,317, by mid-January, according to new UCAS figures. The increase is despite a marked drop in applications...

Fluent names CFD User of the Year winners.
April 24, 2006... Computational fluid dynamics company (CFD) Fluent Inc. has announced the winners of its second annual "CFD User of the Year" event, which covers five specific areas of applied usage. "The winning papers in each category stood out very...

'Sizzle' science promises plant efficiency boost.
April 24, 2006... Understanding what happens when tiny droplets of cold fluid meet high temperature particles could help to boost the efficiency of chemical plants, power plants and oil refineries, according to a US research team. Scientists at Ohio...

Leeds scientists lead on nanofluids.
April 24, 2006... Scientists at the University of Leeds have developed a nanofluids technology, which they believe could lead to a broad range of advances from lower heating bills to a new generation of miniaturised computers. Nanofluids are suspensions of...

'Ultra-clean' coal poised to fight climate change?
April 24, 2006... Scientists at the University of Nottingham are developing a coal treatment process that could significantly cut carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations. The process involves using chemicals to dissolve out corrosive...

Fischer-Tropsch for cleaner petrol.
April 24, 2006... Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is investigating the use of a largely forgotten chemical process to produce cleaner petrol via catalytic cracking - an important process applied in modern oil refineries. The Delft...

Shell awards spring clean technologies.
April 24, 2006... London - Shell has identified a number of innovative process technologies through its Springboard UK Innovation Awards initiative - a scheme to promote the development of commercially feasible projects for the reduction of greenhouse gases. ...

HEAT TRANSFER: Head of steam.
April 24, 2006... Modern plate heat exchanger systems represent a major challenge to the dominance of conventional shell-and-tube designs, reports Rick Plummer The steam heat exchanger remains king when it comes to process heating. But for many...

HEAT TRANSFER: Muddying the water.
April 24, 2006... Water purity can prove a critical factor in determining the heat transfer efficiency and hence life cycle costs of heating and cooling systems, explains Steve Cupples All industrial or large-scale heating and cooling systems that are...

CONTROL & AUTOMATION - PRESSURE: Going on-line.
April 24, 2006... Pressure sensor and transmitter suppliers are tuning in to meet process industry demands for higher levels of information and monitoring. Tim Tunbridge reports The ubiquitous pressure transmitter is widely used throughout industry,...

CONTROL & AUTOMATION - PRESSURE: Market nearing maturity.
April 24, 2006... The European pressure sensors and transmitters market is approaching a mature stage in its life cycle and had only a modest annual growth rate of 1.9% in the period 2002-2005. Sales grew from $1,401.6 million (#805m) in 2002 to $1,484.8...

PLANT MANAGEMENT - UTILITIES: Global cooling.(Company overview)
April 24, 2006... Dubai-based Tabreed is making waves with its ambitious plans to extend district cooling systems in the UAE and elsewhere in the Middle East. Patrick Raleigh reports One of the fastest growing utility businesses in the fastest growing...

PLANT MANAGEMENT - UTILITIES: Rising star.
April 24, 2006... With operations in five countries, Dubai-based Tabreed last year posted a 62% rise in net profits to Dhs51.1 million (#8.7 million) on sales of Dhs400.9 million (#63 million) - 65% higher than in 2004. Total assets reached Dhs2,671.6 million...

PLANT MANAGEMENT - UTILITIES: Letter of the law.
April 24, 2006... Recent changes to European Union and UK building regulations have put increased onus on manufacturing companies to ensure the energy efficiency of their facilities and operations meets minimum requirements Poorly managed buildings that...

PLANT MANAGEMENT - UTILITIES: Energy control.
April 24, 2006... Automatic monitoring systems can be an important tool for controlling energy costs within manufacturing operations - as a leading packaging operation recently found Kaysersberg Plastics, a Gloucester-based packaging company, recently...

INDUSTRY FOCUS - TEMPERATURE SENSORS: Fieldbus solution.
April 24, 2006... Drax recently upgraded the temperature controls at its coal-fired power station in Yorkshire - the largest such facility in western Europe. Emerson's installation featured multiple-input transmitters operating on a Foundation Fieldbus...

INDUSTRY FOCUS - INTERIM MANAGEMENT: Interims: getting a head.
April 24, 2006... The process sector is becoming increasingly reliant on the use of interim managers. Wilf Altman explores the factors behinds this trend and the key considerations for firms starting down this route Despite the many problems facing UK...

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: Pet pumps project.
April 24, 2006... C&D Foods has achieved significant savings at its pet food plant in east Yorkshire following the installation of cavity pumps, according to Mono Pumps, which supplied the units. The Widethroat W pumps helped C&D to improve processing...

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: Radar monitoring technology on the level.
April 24, 2006... Accurate measurement of storage levels in large-volume tanks is vital for industrial and specialty chemicals distributor Brenntag. When needing to install a level monitor for its main glycerine storage tank at its Lutterworth depot it chose...

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: Degussa goes with the flow.
April 24, 2006... Krohne Ltd has supplied all the flow measurement instruments for a new Degussa production division in China. The operation in Shanghai's Minhang Industrial Development Zone produces various chemical products, including special coating...

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: VS drives will improve Heinz energy efficiency.
April 24, 2006... A new energy centre at a Heinz canned foods factory in Wigan is expected to be 14% more efficient than an existing boiler plant, thanks, in part, to the use of variable speed drives. Four boilers have been installed in the energy centre....

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: Sub-sea leak detection.
April 24, 2006... A sub-sea camera is now available that will visually detect the latest red dyes being introduced for leak detection in wellheads, pipelines, offshore platforms and gas storage facilities. The highly dispersible dyes are biodegradable and...

SAP adds sparkle for fast-growing German wine producer.
April 24, 2006... Schloss Wachenheim AG, a major sparkling wine producer, has achieved significant benefits from the installation of a customised SAP solutions system, according to BASF IT Services, which installed the software. The wine company, which has...

EQUIPMENT IN ACTION: Data acquisition platform handles harsh conditions.
April 24, 2006... The latest data acquisition platform from Yokogawa UK, the MW100, can handle a wide range of data monitoring and historical logging functions, even when used under harsh operating conditions. The unit is scalable for either stand-alone or...

PLANT COST INDICIES: UK and International Plant Cost Indices.
April 24, 2006... First appearing in Process Engineering in 1973, our long-running UK and International Plant Cost Indices provide important data for process design and project engineers. For the benefit of new readers, a brief explanation of the...