Process Engineering articles from July 2000

Process Engineering archives from July 2000

Ciba and Symyx in combination.
July 1, 2000... Ciba Specialty Chemicals has joined forced with Californian combinatorial chemistry specialist Symyx to develop more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing processes' for additives. The companies have already collaborated on product...

Borealis starts Borstar PP.
July 1, 2000... Nordic polyolefin producer Borealis has started up its first polypropylene plant using the Borstar loop and gas phase process. The 200 000tpa plant, at Schwechat, Austria, which cost El4Omillion, replaces two plants using a slurry process....

Sanderson to step down.
July 1, 2000... BP Amoco Chemicals chairman Bryan Sanderson is to retire at the end of September. He will be replaced by current group executive vice-president Byron Grate. From the Amoco side of the company, Grate was previously responsible for overseeing the...

Chemical industry maintains environmental improvements.
July 1, 2000... The latest set of Responsible Care indicators of performance from the Chemical Industries Association show further improvement in 1999 over previous years. In its tenth annual survey, the association claims improvements in energy efficiency and...

What do engineers read?
July 1, 2000... The publisher of PE, Centaur Publishing, is to invite publishers of other engineering iitles to join a project aimed at answering just that question. Neil Wood, md of Centaur's Engineering Division, is endorsing the plan to set up the first...

Calibration, that's what you need.
July 1, 2000... New facilities at ABB Instrumentation's site in Workington, Cumbria, will allow industrial flowmeter users to keep their instruments operating with the accuracy they require. The facility offers recalibration services for any make of flowmeter,...

Graphite seal makers sound alarm over quality of Eastern imports.
July 1, 2000... Two of Europe's biggest manufacturers of graphite seals have joined forces to warn of quality problems with graphite imported from the Far East. 'Some of the material is branded with well-known identities and sold with the inference of being a...

Strong pound 'threatens engineering jobs'.
July 1, 2000... Conditions in the UK engineering sector have 'deteriorated significantly' because of the strength of the pound, according to the Engineering Employers' Federation. Overall output fell in the second quarter of 2000 -- the first drop for a year....

Damage prevention set to drive market in water treatment plant.
July 1, 2000... European water treatment companies are increasingly finding that protecting their equipment against damage is more cost-efficient than carrying out repairs, according to a report from market analysts Frost & Sullivan. Preventative measures...

Correction.
July 1, 2000... In last month's feature 'A change is in the air' (PE Jun, p27), we stated that Colt International's Thermocat system 'is currently helping control emissions at a television manufacturing plant in South Shields.' In fact, this unit was an...

Medal for AEA fluidics pioneer.
July 1, 2000... The Royal Academy of Engineering has awarded a silver medal to Mike Bowe, business manager for advanced process systems at AEA Technology, for his pioneering work in the field of power fluidics. The technique, which uses hydrodynamic forces to...

AMEC to launch process website.
July 1, 2000... UK contractor AMEC is to launch an e-business website aimed at providing services and advice to the process industries. The site, called Operations Analysis, is a product of the company's recent merger with Canadian firm AGRA and will be based...

Shell to build Cardura plant.
July 1, 2000... Shell Chemicals has announced plans to build a new facility for its E10 glycidiester, Cardura, situated near its acetic acid plant at Pemis, the Netherlands. Replacing a smaller unit, the plant will offer a higher-purity product than is...

BOC in Korea.
July 1, 2000... BOC Gases has recently signed a long term agreement with Hyundai Petrochemical Company to supply hydrogen in various chemical processing applications at the complex in Daesan region of South Korea. BOC will invest an additional $12 million at...

Water works.
July 1, 2000... Paterson Candy has been awarded a [pound]6.65 million contract by Southern Water for completion of works at the Hardham Water Supply Works. The works includes the supply of a preozonation contactor a flat bottom clarifier; two D-floor filters...

Drugs foster.
July 1, 2000... Foster Wheeler has been awarded a contract by Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals for a new facility to be built at Lundbeck's Seal Sands site in Teeside. Part of a multimillion dollar investment, the project is valued at $48 million and will include...

Deal sealed.
July 1, 2000... A [pound]3.3 million exclusive contract has been awarded to John Crane by Shell for all aspects of mechanical seal management at its Stanlow refinery, near Liverpool. Over the last four years, John Crane, a subsidiary of the TI Group, has taken...

IT trend shakes hands in the process sector.
July 1, 2000... BP Amoco and AEA Technology-Hyprotech have forged a multi-million dollar business and technology alliance with a commitment to a 'single model' enterprise engineering approach. An industry trend seems to have been set. Meanwhile,...

Solutions Centre.
July 1, 2000... Who says process control isn't fun? Not Rockwell Automation, which has provided this monster Scalextric set for the benefit of visitors to its newly opened Solutions Centre at its Milton Keynes UK headquarters. As well as the fun part (actually...

A quick peek at the new Siemens site.
July 1, 2000... Siemens Automation & Drives has acquired Applied Automation, the gas analysis and chromatography specialist, previously part of Elsag Bailey. The acquisition is part of a long-term strategy to increase its analysis and instrumentation business....

AMEC subsidiary upgrades in Canada.
July 1, 2000... AMEC's subsidiary, Agra Birwelco, has been awarded $26 million in contracts, including managing the design, engineering, procurement and delivery of four fired heaters and two convection sections for the Scotford upgrader in Alberta, Canada....

Smarter pumps set to cut life cycle costs.
July 1, 2000... At the recent Achema exhibition in Frankfurt, Goulds Pumps, part of ITT Industries, introduced the PumpSmart system with the claim that it significantly reduces all of the major portions of life cycle costs -- including initial capital,...

Scada supplier with designs on the Web.
July 1, 2000... Well known for its Wizcon Scada systems, eMation (formerly known as PC Soft) has acquired Intuitive Technology in a move which it believes gives eMation the controlling market share in Web-based visualisation software. 'Intuitive...

Condition monitoring spin for centrifuges.
July 1, 2000... Another aid to prolonging the life of process equipment was unveiled at Achema by Alfa Laval. Its Cosmos condition monitoring system is aimed at users of the company's centrifugal separators and decanters. An on-line system, Cosmos continuously...

Computer Aided Process Engineering.
July 1, 2000... Although widely adopted, Computer Aided Process Engineering (CAPE) has yet to make its mark in many sectors, particularly in many of the batch sectors. CAPE promises much. Modelling techniques are now so sophisticated that a true 'life...

Liikanen sets out EC plans.
July 1, 2000... The European Commission's forthcoming chemical strategy White Paper will focus on risk analysis and safety issues, according to Erkki Liikanen, commissioner for enterprise and information safety. Speaking at the CEFIC general meeting, Liikanen...

CEFIC pushes for greater approval from public.
July 1, 2000... Jean-Pierre Tirouflet, CEFIC's new president, wants the industry to have more influence over future regulations. The European Chemical Industry Council's choice of Venice as the venue for its annual meeting carried some uncomfortable...

Water -- a utility or a source of technological development?
July 1, 2000... The proposal is the latest example of the water companies diversifying from their public utility roots' At the end of this month the first Director General of Water Services, Sir Ian Byatt, hands over his regulatory role as head of Ofwat...

Getting the measure of powders and granules.
July 1, 2000... KROHNE is meeting the challenge of accurate level measurement in the bulk storage industry with its proven TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) level meter. The measurement of powders and granules is notoriously difficult. Clogged and encrusted...

A year is a long time.
July 1, 2000... A week may well be a long time in politics, and a year must seem like a lifetime to many a beleaguered government, but the time scale for the use of cost indices can legitimately stretch to five years. Any longer than that and extreme caution...

EXTENDING OUR COST DATA BOUNDARIES.
July 1, 2000... The countries listed here (right) were recently added to our long-standing international indices (below). The data is still somewhat inconsistent but we hope to have full details soon. The base for all data is 1996=100

UK AND INTERNATIONAL PLANT COST INDICES.
July 1, 2000... Process Engineering's PREDICT plant cost index for the UK is made up of five components covering mechanical [I.sub.M], electrical [I.sub.E], civil engineering [I.sub.C], site engineering [I.sub.S], and project overheads [I.sub.O]. These are all...

Lasers prevent oil blow-outs.
July 1, 2000... We're used to thinking of lasers as destructive tools: cutting and etching in the real world, causing spectacular explosions in generations of science fiction films. But new research from the University of Reading could give the much-maligned...

Yes, it is rocket science.
July 1, 2000... Grantham-based linings specialist Holscot Industrial Linings has won an innovation award from DuPont for developing a new type of fuel tank for liquid-fuelled rockets. Many times lighter than conventional alloy systems, the tanks are made...

Diagonal design distributes drops.
July 1, 2000... Design methods which allow engineers to predict separator outlet levels have helped UK firm KnitMesh to develop a new family of plate separators. The new methods, which KnitMesh has used to replace conventional droplet cut-off size prediction,...

Faraday Centre focuses on plastic.
July 1, 2000... Plastics consultancy Rapra Technology and Warwick Manufacturing Group are to manage a new government-sponsored research centre focusing on developing new applications for plastics. The new Faraday Centre will be funded by the DTI and EPSRC, and...

Venturi holds back steam.
July 1, 2000... Quest International, part of the ICI Group, is using eight venturi steam traps on four of the roller dryers at its yeast factory in Scotland. The traps, made by Gardner Energy Management, replace mechanical steam traps. The company measured a...

Enclosures protect critical pressure transmitters.
July 1, 2000... Integral enclosure systems from Anderson Greenwood have been chosen to protect critical pressure transmitters installed at Fina Antwerp Olefins' manufacturing plant. The plant produces a range of olefins, including ethylene, propylene, C4...

Final stick for pump valves.
July 1, 2000... Owens Coming Fiberglas has replaced its pumps which are used for transferring chemicals from bulk containers to process mixers with Yamada air-operated diaphragm pumps. The pumps were already being used in similar operations in the United...

Aluminium settles in at caustic soda ash plant.
July 1, 2000... Crane Heatex has implemented a corrosion prevention design based on using a grade of aluminium, resistant to the harsh processs conditions at Brunner Mend's soda ash plants. Three central gas coolers are used for condensing a wet mixture of...

Colt destroys solvent emissions.
July 1, 2000... Colt International has supplied and installed a Thermocat catalytic oxidation system to abate solvent-based VOC emissions from Abrapower's factory in Staffordshire, a manufacturer of foam based sanding blocks. During production solventbased...

Handed on a plate.
July 1, 2000... Electroless nickel has been used for plating purposes for many years. With its varied properties, it is increasingly been used across industry to protect a wide range of surfaces from the rigours of corrosion. Tania Coates looks at the surface...

Steel cements the deal with less plant downtime.
July 1, 2000... Castle Cement has replaced a mild steel 40 tonne capacity coal filter with 3CR12 stainless steel from Cromweld. Due to highly corrosive materials and the high maintenance costs associated with mild steel, normally refurbishment was necessary...

Strange Brews.
July 1, 2000... One of mankind's oldest technologies is being used to develop the newest families of medicines. Stuart Nathan looks at advances in fermentation techniques, and how they are being used There are very few things mankind has done which nature...

Process drives growth in pressure market.
July 1, 2000... The rise in demand for high-end applications and the trend towards electronic pressure measurement are stimulating growth for the European pressure sensors and instruments market, according to a new report [*] from market consultant Frost &...

Alarming news from OEM.
July 1, 2000... Available from OEM Automatic is the new IMT range of pressure gauges with built-in alarm indication. Specifically designed for high pressure gas monitoring applications where leak rates are critical to the operation of the system, the range is...

Pressure on the level.
July 1, 2000... A combined pressure transmitter and data logger from Status Instruments can record level measurement over the temperature range of 5[degrees] to 45[degrees]C in applications such as wells, bore holes, wastewater and sewage treatment plants. ...

Service offers guaranteed 72-hour turnaround time.
July 1, 2000... Following the introduction of a new range of service facilities for pressure, temperature and electrical instrument maintenance, calibration and repair, Druck can now offer 'Star-rated' customer agreements which offer many benefits including a...

Long-life gauges have six-year warranty.
July 1, 2000... The 3D Instruments pressure gauges, introduced by UK agent Flotech Solutions, are said to set a new standard of reliability and long-term accuracy. 3D stands for 'direct drive difference' and refers to the inconel Bourdon tube in the form of a...

Gauges give alarm outputs.
July 1, 2000... For applications where an alarm output is required, Gemlog Controls can offer its new high accuracy Bourdon tube contact pressure gauges. Options include full stainless steel housing with stainless steel measuring or copper alloy. Chemical...

No more liquid-filled devices?
July 1, 2000... That's the goal of Dresser Instruments Division with the introduction of its patent-pending technology intended to replace liquid filling of pressure gauges as a solution to the problems of vibration and pulsation in difficult applications. ...

Dashing to the rescue of gauges.
July 1, 2000... Bourdon Sedeme's complete range of process pressure gauges is fitted with a device to control any abnormal pulsations or vibrations in the system. Replacing both liquid filling and pulsation dampeners, the Dashpot device works like a 'windmill'...

SI goes down Mexico way.
July 1, 2000... Calibration specialist SI Pressure Instruments has supplied a number of products to Pernex, the largest company in Mexico and one of the five biggest petroleum companies in the world. The equipment supplied includes a 6000L deadweight...

Loop power-up for sensors.
July 1, 2000... The new PA series of loop-powered pressure sensors from IFM Electronic requires a simple two-wire connection and provides a standard 4-20mA analogue output signal. The sensors incorporate IFM's proven ceramic-cell sensing technology and...

Are you qualified to give HEALTH CHECKS.
July 1, 2000... Preventative maintenance is often seen as the best antidote to unplanned plant downtime but special skills are needed to implement it effectively. Ron Edmonds reports on a recent move to enhance these skills and encourage engineers to develop...

Asset management proves payback.
July 1, 2000... 'The high return on investment with a payback faster than one year helped win corporate approval,' says Solutia's Glenn Mertz of his company's decision to standardise on AMS (asset management solutions) software packages from Fisher-Rosemount....

Chips with six appeal.
July 1, 2000... A research collaboration involving Yorkshire Water and Siemens Environmental Engineering resulted in the development of a miniaturised water quality sensor that can measure six chemical and physical parameters at the same time. In 1994,...

Pump designed to handle variable flow rates.
July 1, 2000... Water companies are tightening the belt and have come up with a number of ways to decrease costs and improve efficiency, writes Tania Coates. A number of water companies are installing sewage pumping systems that incorporate a pre-rotation...

Chairman's Address.
July 1, 2000... A warm welcome to the first SHAPA supplement of the third millenium... SHAPA is an association driven by the efforts of energetic people from member companies who believe that a strong trade association will be of significant benefit to...

Avoiding the problems of FIRST IN, LAST OUT.
July 1, 2000... To meet changing market demands, many industries are now having to reassess existing plant to ensure consistency of product quality and filling efficiency. Richard Farnish outlines some of the problems of bulk solids handling and offers some...

Stopping the Big Bang.
July 1, 2000... An industrial dust explosion has the potential to cause substantial damage to plant and equipment as well as serious injury to factory personnel. Michael Ward of Fike UK takes a brief look at these explosions, and some ways in which they can be...

Safety in the bag.
July 1, 2000... Bulk Bags, also called Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs), can move and store from 250 to 2000kg of hulk materials. Malcolm Ranson discusses some serious issues which arise when handling FIBCs containing volatile products in...

WHAT'S IN THE MIX and is it really mixed?
July 1, 2000... Mixing and blending may be more art than science but science can help determine the degree of homogeneity of a mix, as Mike Kent explains It is becoming more common for end users of mixing and blending machinery to ask the supplier of the...

Safety measures up storage of SEWAGE SLUDGE.
July 1, 2000... Recent changes in both UK and European legislation have led to the installation of sewage sludge drying plants at many coastal treatment works. Ian Birkinshaw discusses the safety aspects of storing dried sewage sludge and ways of tackling the...

Eco filters make an impact.
July 1, 2000... A new range of high capacity self-cleaning filters has been designed by Russell Finex to provide high volume, continuous production, such as bulk water filtration and other types of liquid processing. Capable of handling flow rates of up to 200...

Multiple handling for the food industry.
July 1, 2000... STB Engineering is the UK market leader in the supply of turnkey bulk handling systems to the polymer and food industries. With 30 years' experience of handling a wide range of products, it specialises in the design of complex systems with...

JENCO passes with flying colours.
July 1, 2000... When Wavin Building Products of Chippenham needed to replace a number of individually powered hopper loaders for conveying colour concentrates it contacted JENCO. Wavin was experiencing filter blockages on the existing loaders, involving...

Total turnkey transfer system.
July 1, 2000... Pneumatic Conveying Systems designs and supplies equipment for transferring powders and granules throughout process plant. The company has turnkey contract management capability and provides a complete after-sales service contract. ...

Kingland squares the circle.
July 1, 2000... Kingland offers a range of high temperature and vacuum knifegate/slide valves for solids, liquids and gases. They are standard or high pressure and serve for food quality. Their versatility makes them bi-directional, with self-cleaning and...

Sweet work for Guttridge.
July 1, 2000... Materials handling specialist Guttridge Services manufactures a range of stainless steel mobile screw elevators and conveyor/feeders designed for efficient powder handling. Guttridge Services produces a range of machinery designed for the...

Mactenn Systems.
July 1, 2000... Mactenn Systems are pleased to announce the success of their marketing strategy which has enabled impressive growth of installations for their advanced pneumatic conveying and injection technology into the UK. A subsidiary of Macawber...

Specialisation key for Flomat Bagfilla.
July 1, 2000... Flomat Bagfilla International, pioneer of FIBO filling and discharging, concentrates solely on designing and building machines to fill and discharge FIBCs. The combined expertise and experience of Flomat dischargers and Bagfilla filling...

Flexicon conveys new Quick ship of units.
July 1, 2000... In today's competitive environment so many companies now embrace "just-in time" practices. Others are pressurised to meet production schedules or struggle to respond to erratic customer demands. Common to most, are the difficulties or orders...

Clean up more than dust.
July 1, 2000... As well as suppliers of dust extraction systems, Leeds-based Dust Extraction (International) has been designing and installing centralised vacuum cleaning (OVO) systems for many years. A lorry mounted vacuum tanker has been supplied to the...

With precision of eyes.
July 1, 2000... The new Mucon Series JS Valve, an addition to its comprehensive range of Iris Diaphragm Valves (IDVs), is designed for applications associated with the discharging of Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs). When fitted to an FIBC...

Mobile flexible screw conveyors are mechanical.
July 1, 2000... The flexible screw conveyor has special advantages for handling bulk powder and granular materials. Being a mechanical system, it is free from airborne moisture contamination and there are no messy filters involved. An added advantage is that...

Acrison in your palm.
July 1, 2000... Acrison International, pioneer in weight loss feeding technology, has introduced two new products. The first of these is the model 270 continuous weigh feeder. This completely new design allows continuous weigh feeding of powders and...

Collinson opts for modular design.
July 1, 2000... The Compac System from Collinson offers accurate, economical batch weighing and transfer of single or multiple ingredients in pelleted or granular form. The Compac unit consists of a blower/fan unit, rotary valve and weigh hopper -- all...

Cantilever offers easy cleaning for Kemutec.
July 1, 2000... The design of Kemutec's Kek Cantilevered Sifter or 'easy clean' sifter range offers users high standards of hygiene and ease of cleaning. The essence of this machine is a drive shaft and paddle assembly cantilevered from the motor end, thus...

Soil stabiliser mixes well.
July 1, 2000... SMR (UK) makes soil stabilisers based on lime and/or cement. SMR offers a product incorporating cement, plaster, di-sodium metasilicate and small additives including oil. The resulting mix, when added to the spoil from holes dug in the road or...

21st Century technology hits the processing market.
July 1, 2000... Following its recent acquisition by the BMH division of the Babcock International Group, BMH Chronos Richardson continues to focus its business in the weighing, bagging and batching systems markets. The weighing portfolio has recently been...

Filter dust out of the air.
July 1, 2000... DISA-Airmaster, a world leader in air pollution control, can provide a solution for virtually any dust extraction or air filtration need. DISA was, formed in 1997 with the combination of dust extraction pioneers: Airmaster Engineering (of the...

Intensive mixing for lab and R&D available in UK.
July 1, 2000... Hosokawa Micron has introduced a new small Cyclomix, an intensive conical mixer, into the UK market. Now available for the mixing of capacities as small as five litres, the Cyclomix 5 is ideal for the mixing of expensive materials, batch or R&D...

Weighing systems take the load at PPMA.
July 1, 2000... Applied Weighing one of Europe's leading manufacturers of load cells and vessel weighing solutions, will use the PPMA show to launch its new range of single point load cells and level probes. Applied Weighing will also demonstrate its BASEEFA...