Process Engineering articles from July 2002

Process Engineering archives from July 2002

MB wins Iranian piping order. (News).
July 1, 2002... Warrington-based Motherwell Bridge has completed a [pounds sterling]1.5million contract to supply 6 million km of corrosion-resistant piping to Bandar main Petrochemical, one of the largest chemical manufacturers in Iran. The pipework is bound...

ChevronTexaco gains control. (News).
July 1, 2002... Emerson Process Management has signed a three-year agreement to supply control valves to all ChevronTexaco operating units and to facilities of which the US company owns more than half. The agreement, which Emerson estimates will be worth over...

AMEC expands China operations. (News).
July 1, 2002... AMEC has opened a new company in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai to provide support services for its current contracts in China, and to develop and undertake new business. The company will serve the oil, gas, petrochemical, chemical and...

CIA attacks 'morally indefensible' White Paper. (News).
July 1, 2002... The Chemical Industries Association is maintaining its pressure on the government to press for amendments to the European Commission's chemicals policy White Paper. Calling the White Paper 'morally indefensible', Director-General Judith Hackett...

Bullish outlook from CompAir buyout team. (News).
July 1, 2002... Compressor manufacturer CompAir has achieved its independence from its troubled parent company Invensys through a management buy-out. Funded by venture capitalists Alchemy Partners, the deal sees four CompAir executives, led by ceo Nick Sanders...

Air Liquide expands [H.sub.2]. (News).
July 1, 2002... Air Liquide is to build a hydrogen plant capable of producing 100 000[m.sup.3]/hr of the gas at BASF's Antwerp complex, as part of an ongoing partnership between the companies. The plant, to be completed late next year, will also supply other...

Aveva strengthens DuPont bond. (News).
July 1, 2002... Engineering IT firm Aveva -- formerly CadCentre -- has signed a major contract to provide software, IT and outsourcing services to DuPont. The deal, the first contract for Aveva's managed services division, will net the company around [pounds...

Crystal online. (News).
July 1, 2002... The Crystal Faraday Partnership -- the industry/academia project focusing on sustainable technologies -- has a new home online, at www.crystalfaraday.org. Crystal is supported by the IChemE, RSC and CIA. The information held on the site...

New technology and trend to globalisation set to boost valve and actuator market. (News).
July 1, 2002... The industrial valves and actuators market in Europe is set to pick up as the global economy struggles back to life, according to market analysts Frost & Sullivan. An annual growth rate around 2.2 per cent will see that market reach a value of...

A century of Kennicott sees expansion and a new name. (News).
July 1, 2002... Water treatment specialist Kennicott is marking its centenary by branching out internationally. Acquired by Austrian industrial conglomerate BWT in 1998, the company has now been fully integrated into BWT'S water technology group, Christ, and...

Rotork wins Water contracts. (News).
July 1, 2002... Rotork is to provide valve actuation services to Yorkshire Water and to Scottish Water (formerly West of Scotland Water). As well as these new framework agreements, covering supply and maintenance of equipment, the company has secured...

Invensys unit sale agreed. (News).
July 1, 2002... The Department of Trade and Industry has authorised the acquisition of Invensys's flow control division by Flowserve.

[H.sub.2] progress for Caloric plants. (News).
July 1, 2002... German hydrogen generation specialist Caloric has completed several projects: the basic engineering phase of a methane stream reformer for a lube oil refinery near Milan, which will produce 99.99 per cent pure hydrogen; the engineering and...

HMD to provide 24hr service. (News).
July 1, 2002... Ceetak Engineering is to provide 24 hour service coverage for HMD/Kontro's sealless pumps anywhere in the UK. Ceetak will also install and commission the pumps.

DuPont completes Teflon expansion. (News).
July 1, 2002... DuPont has completed its $50million capacity expansion programme for Teflon PTFE. The upgrade, at production facilities at Dordrecht, in the Netherlands; Shimizu, Japan; and at the largest plant, Parkersburg, West Virginia, have boosted...

New body for UK nuclear clean-up. (News).
July 1, 2002... The DTI has created a new body, the Liabilities Management Authority, to oversee of the cleanup of nuclear sites in the UK. The LMA will maintain the safety, environmental and security standards of clean-up operations, says energy minister...

US membrane market to glow. (News).
July 1, 2002... The market for separation membranes in the US is to grow by 7 per cent annually to 2006, reaching $2.6billion, according a report from market analysts Freedonia. The main trend in the market is increasing acceptance of ceramic membranes and...

Loans for energy saving. (News).
July 1, 2002... The Carbon Trust--the Climate Change Levy-funded body which advises on carbon emissions reduction--has launched an initiative aimed at helping companies reduce their energy costs. Called Action Energy, the organisation is has several...

Managing the meters. (News).
July 1, 2002... Endress & Hauser's head of office in Manchester now boasts a flowmeter calibration rig, capable of providing traceable calibration for any liquid flowmeters with a range of 0-100[m.sup.3]/hr. The rig can handle a wide range of flowmeter...

Kvaerner lands Shell contract. (News).
July 1, 2002... Shell Chemicals has commissioned Kvaerner as engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the expansion of its ethylene oxide facility in Moerdijk. The project, costing a total of [euro]25million, is worth some [euro]4million to...

UK and International Plant cost Indices. (News).
July 1, 2002... Process Engineering's PREDICT plant cost index for the UK is traditionally 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]....

Recovery ahead but slow pick-up. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2002... The events of 11 September last year triggered an extremely, sharp drop in chemicals production in Europe, according to CEFIC's economists. Overall, chemical output fell by 4.2 per cent after September, with the sectors most linked to the...

Regulation wrangles: the new president of CEFIC laid the blame for the poor performance of the industry on the regulatory burden. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2002... Europe's chemical manufacturers must not abandon their drive for competitiveness, according to the new president of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), BASF board member Eggert Voscherau. Speaking at CEFIC's recent general assembly...

Who regulates the regulator? Who audits the auditor? (Comment).
July 1, 2002... 'Enronitis' is in danger of becoming endemic around the world's financial capital markets. The financial irregularities uncovered at the disgraced energy company Enron, compounded by the cavalier attitudes displayed by its auditors Arthur...

Events.
July 1, 2002... 27-31 July The 9th ISPE International Conference on Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications is hosted by Cranfield University, which says it is leading research, teaching and consultancy in IT applications for concurrent...

No trouble at the mill for reactions without solvents. (Research & Technology).
July 1, 2002... A process which has hitherto been used to prepare metal alloys could remove the need for many reactions to be performed in solution, according to researchers at the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. High-energy ball milling can provide...

Filters select enantiomers. (Research & Technology).
July 1, 2002... A filter system based on antibodies could provide drug manufacturers with a method for removing unwanted mirror-image variants of their active ingredients. The system, developed by Charles Martin and colleagues at the University of Florida...

Bayer's arsenic boost. (Research & Technology).
July 1, 2002... Research from Bayer and Severn Trent has led to the development of a substance which can remove arsenic from drinking water. The product, a ferric oxide, has now been approved for use in the US, where arsenic contamination is a problem. ...

German chemists' tribute to Moore. (Research & Technology).
July 1, 2002... Ask most people about the Bobby Moore procedure, and they'll probably think you're talking about the exquisite timing of a tackle or the lifting of the World Cup. But to chemists, the term could soon be synonymous with transferring metal oxide...

Raindrops keep falling on the oil tanker loading terminal. (Equipment in Action).
July 1, 2002... Problems caused by high rainfall and the need to replace an existing sampling system has led Shell Gabon to choose Jiskoot Autocontrol Fast loop sampling systems. Four of these systems will be installed at Shell terminals in the West...

Record order for oxygen monitoring. (Equipment in Action).
July 1, 2002... In the largest single order of its 50-year history, Servomex has shipped 48 of its new 2200 paramagnetic oxygen transmitters to Lyondell's new POSM (porpylene oxide styrene monomer) and associated BDO-2 (butanediol) plants in Rotterdam. The...

Kazakhstan motors ahead. (Equipment in Action).
July 1, 2002... Over 700 electric motors from Huddersfield-based Brook Crompton are destined for the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, centred onshore on the north east coast of the Caspian Sea. The orders -- placed by PFD, a joint venture between Parsons and...

Valves help engineer Turkish power plans. (Equipment in Action).
July 1, 2002... Apart from its new-found footballing prowess, Turkey is also home to one of the most advanced LPG (liquefied Petroleum gas) storage plants in the world. A joint venture between Totalgaz, Butangaz and Ipragaz, the facility, at Marmara-Ereglisi...

Energy savings for foam producer. (Equipment in Action).
July 1, 2002... At its polymeric foam manufacturing factory in Bollington, Cheshire, Kay-Metzeler is saving up to [pounds sterling]6000 a year in power costs following the installation of a variable speed drive (VSD) compressor from Atlas Copco. The GA75...

Cut out the fouling. (Heat Transfer).
July 1, 2002... Pristine processing is expected of many industries -- food and pharmaceuticals, for example -- but there is one piece of equipment that seems almost guaranteed not to stay clean. Adeel Khan looks at the problems of heat exchanger fouling and...

Best of both worlds. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... The patented Plate & Shell heat exchanger (PSHE), developed and manufactured by Vahterus of Finland, combines the thermal performance of a corrugated plate exchanger with the temperature and pressure capabilities of a shell and tube exchanger....

Exchanger spares, and accessories, over the web.
July 1, 2002... HeatExchangerSpares.com, launched last year to sell 'genuine and non-genuine' plate heat exchanger spares for all leading brand names, is now supplying an extensive range of compatible accessories. These include personal protective equipment,...

Synthetic oils boost exchanger life. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... For processes relying on indirect heating using heat transfer media, such as mineral oils, a problem with the high temperatures involved has been the degradation of the oils over time. This degradation can lead to expensive shutdowns for...

Welded plate benefits. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... The Ultramax from SWEP is a compact all-welded plate exchanger designed to handle high-temperature applications and corrosive materials unsuitable for use in gasketed exchangers. Available in a range of standard connection sizes up to 6in,...

Booming after-sales business. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... 'For the last few years,' says Alfa Laval's UK after-sales manager Andrew Peeke, 'Alfa Laval, in common with many other manufacturers, has seen after-sales business eroded by smaller companies selling, principally, on price. That trend now...

Wizard response to enquiries. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... The Invensys company APV Products has updated its heat exchanger order enquiry system through a web-based tool known as the PHE Wizard (www.phewizard.com). 'This tool means that you no longer need to invest valuable time in defining the...

Easier exchange in a package. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... Spirax Sarco says its EasiHeat packaged heat exchange systems make specifying and ordering easier, as well as providing faster delivery. The range comprises a core steam-to-hot water plate heat exchange package for basic heating applications,...

Regasketing service for food exchangers. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... With an established record in the food industries for service and repairs of centrifugal separators, CSC-Service has now entered the market for the reconditioning and regasketing of all makes of plate and frame heat exchangers. The...

Non-toxic media for heat transfer. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... Thermera is a new nontoxic heat transfer fluid for use in heat recovery units, air conditioning, heat pumps and industrial applications. Developed by the Finnish company Fortum Oil & Gas, the basis of Thermera is natural, water-soluble,...

Heating up the drums. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... New from trace heating specialist Flexelec (formerly Jimi-Heat), is a range of drum heaters, including base and side heaters and heating jackets. The CF/B base drum heater provides an even spread of heat to the contents of 45gal plastic...

Heating cables are certified for ATEX. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... Isopad FHT from Tyco Thermal Controls is a family of constant wattage parallel circuit heating cables designed for industrial heat tracing applications. Carrying full ATEX compliant certification, they can be used in hazardous areas and feature...

Air-sensing thermostat for frost protection. (Heat Transfer Equipment Focus).
July 1, 2002... Introduced by Heat Trace, the DIN-rail mounted AT-F Airstat is a digital, air-sensing thermostat designed for electrical freeze protection systems. Requiring no site calibration, the AT-F is a non-adjustable controller that energises the...

Heavyweight champion. (Weighing Calibration).
July 1, 2002... Load cell manufacturer Avery Berkel has another string to its bow: calibrating weighing systems on one of the largest deadweight testing machines in the world. Stuart Nathan visits the machine, which has just been certified after a short move...

Packaging under control. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... The Compupak 5 average weight system from Stevens Group is used for regulating and controlling the fill levels of packaged products coming off a production line. Fill levels are regulated by any of the following regulations average weight...

Load cells for process. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... Designed specifically for the process industries, Tedea-Huntleigh's 600 range of high performance S-cell load cells are available in a variety of housings. The range includes the 614, 615 and 616 cells, which are constructed from...

Intelligent box can cut losses. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... The Intelligent Junction Box from Applied Weighing connects to load cells and warns engineers in the event of their failure, leading to potentially large savings in avoiding lost production. The device continuously monitors load cell...

Plug-and-play weighing. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... The I 200 range of weight indicators from Precia-Molen has been designed with all calibration and other data held in a solid-state, plug-and-play module rather than in the indicator itself. This means that, in the event of damage to the I 200,...

High temperature compensation. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... A new temperature compensation method is now available on most load cells from Novatech Measurements. All load cells have outputs that change with temperature. The current way of compensating for this error is to use nickel or Balco foil...

Low cost mount for harsh conditions. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... Flintec's low-cost 52-14 tank and vessel weighing assembly is an all-stainless steel unit based on the low profile stainless steel BK2 shear beam load cell. Available in capacities from 200 to 2000kg, the mount is said to be extremely simple to...

Weighing for inventory control. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... To improve efficiency, BP Performance Films recently installed six silos fitted with weighing systems for inventory control. Supplied by Thermo Nobel, the silos receive raw material in the form of polyethylene pellets or resin. Each...

Assembly takes the strains. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... A high capacity load cell assembly, developed by Thames Side-Maywood for silo, tank and vessel weighing, has proved itself in demanding environment where mechanical integrity is paramount. Recent applications of the VC3500 include supporting...

Economy with accuracy. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... A new mounting arrangement for Variohm's Revere RLC range of load cells is said to offer economy combined with accuracy simplicity and reliability. Competitively priced, the plated steel mounts can be used to weigh tanks, silos, conveyors,...

Integrating weigh data. (Process Weighing).
July 1, 2002... MTConnections is a software package that connects Mettler Toledo's weigh terminals to PCs, making real-time and recorded weight data easily available. Suitable for terminals such as the web-enabled JagXtreme and ID7 and Viper counting...

The big freeze: ice-cream manufacturing is among the most complex processes in the food manufacturing sector. Stuart Nathan looks at how one of the leading producers, Ben & Jerry's, makes their quirky products. (Ice-Cream).
July 1, 2002... As the couch potato's mantra has it, ice-cream is one of the three basic food groups (along with pizza and beer). And as befits a basic foodstuff, it's been around for a long time -- some scholars believe sorbets were invented by the Romans,...

Small packages: the food industry is borrowing techniques developed by pharmaceutical manufactures to protect and deliver the molecules which impart flavour, texture and colour to processed foods. Stuart Nathan reports on encapsulation technologies.
July 1, 2002... Taste is one of the most important facets of the food industry. Much of spending on research and development involves finding ways of intensifying and delivering flavours -- and of protecting the often sensitive compounds that impart flavour....

Nice and smoothie does it. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Smoothie fruit drink maker Pete and Johnny's has installed Avery Berkel weighing systems to facilitate production at its plant in Newark. The company currently ships 45 000 cases of product per week, and needed to upgrade its systems to meet...

Cleanest Coriolis. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Emerson Process Management's Micro Motion division has launched a low-cost Coriolis meter aimed specifically at hygienic food and beverage applications. The first such meter to be EHEDG certified and 3-A authorised, the unit measures and...

Crisp and dry. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... On-line measurement specialist NDC Infrared Engineering measurement gauges are designed to ensure that cereal and snack food manufacturers maintain their quality standards. Monitoring levels of oil and moisture, the gauges help manufacturers...

Screw feeder is a saucy solution. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Screw conveyors and elevators don't always spring to mind as obvious solutions to the problem of elevating and feeding materials such as sauces and pastes. However, a suitably specified Guttridge Bulkflo was recently offered and accepted as the...

Sweet systems for confectionery. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Confectionery manufacturers often run twenty four hour production lines to meet demand, particularly in the run up to festive seasons. A leading UK confectionery manufacturer recently asked two experienced engineering companies to develop an...

A peel for animal feed with Westfalia. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Designed specifically to help vegetable processors handle the waste from cleaning potatoes and other root vegetables, Westfalia Separator's new dewatering unit turns vegetable waste into a dry animal feed. Until now, says Westfalia,...

Spring cleaning. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Silver Spring, the Folkestone-based mineral water company, has turned to ultraviolet specialist Hanovia to ensure that its product is completely free of microorganisms. Seven Hanovia uv units are in place at Silver Spring, each comprising a...

Safety first for starch handling at Unilever. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... NEU International has designed and built three starch handling systems for Unilever Bestfoods' margarine production facilities in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. Designed to deliver cooked starch to the recipe mix, the systems incorporate...

Danfoss aseptic motor cleans up. (Applications).
July 1, 2002... Danfoss Motion Control's new ac aseptic motor is designed for the food and beverage industries. The motor, sealed by a completely smooth non-drive end shield, has no cooling fan or body ribs and has no hiding places for product residues, belt...

Independent glass reactor. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Newly available from Ken Kimble (Reactor Vessels) is the FlexyLab system of 1 to 6 independently controllable 250ml glass reactors. Each vessel can have individual temperature control, stirrer speed and two parallel liquid additions per vessel....

ABB explains Ex designations. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Ex motor designations, according to the new ATEX directive, are explained on a new poster from ABB. For your free poster, please call 0800 7837491 501 on enquiry card

Trident supports Siemens TFT. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... The latest Siemens TFT is the ISFT100i, 10X. It has 1000cd/[m.sup.2] brightness, an operating temperature range of-10[degrees] to +60[degrees]C, and is supported with a full range of Trident interface kits and cables. As with all Siemens...

Flowmeters can be 'hot tapped'. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Torbar Flowmeters' HotTap averaging pitot tube flowmeters have been developed for safe and easy insertion and retraction in pressurised pipelines where units need to be removed for inspection, or during pipeline cleaning and maintenance...

Smart transmitters cut product loss. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... When engineers at Muller Dairy in Market Drayton, Shropshire, wanted to replace old pressure transmitters with accurate and hygienic models they chose the Klay series 2000 from Thermo Nobel. These pressure transmitters are used to calculate...

New IP67 industrials Ethernet switch. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... A new industrial Ethernet switch, developed by Woodhead connectivity, has a unique IP67 rating and can be used without a protective enclosure. The new RJ-Lnxx ENHSAURR8 8-port switch also has a vibration-resistant construction allowing it to be...

Pigs flying to new levels. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Pig clearing of pipework has been used in industry for many years, but it is taken to new levels by IST Pigging Systems in terms of both cleanliness and the range of fittings available. Pig clearing can now be used in al applications from...

Portable vessels. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Newson Gale has extended its range of stainless steel portable/mobile pressure vessels to include full CE-marked vessels according to the European Pressure Directive. 510 on enquiry card

Extra control for AS-i system. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... eal for incorporation in modern distributed control systems, yet powerful and versatile enough for use as a standalone programmable controller, the Controller E from sensing and control specialist FM Electronic incorporates up to two AS-i...

Panel meters extended. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Red Lion's popular PAX range of panel meters has been extended to include a number of new features including a variable intensity display and a Profibus communication option. The PAX panel meters were recently rated as the best on the market in...

Incinerable plastic-frame filters. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Air filtration specialist McLeod Russel has launched a new plastic framed Bag Filter into the UK market. The e ~ SoniQ replaces the existing galvanized steel frame version, is fully incinerable and 30% lighter in weight. Currently this type of...

Pump traps reclaim energy. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Armstrong pumping traps from Trouvay & Cauvin provide the benefits of reclaiming valuable energy without the maintenance problems of electric pumps. The new ETP200 and ETP400 range offers increased performance, with the float mechanism's...

CompAir's lower-output compressors. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... The introduction of five new models has completed CompAir's L series range of oil injected rotary screw compressors, first introduced to the UK last year with four high-output models. The new lower output L07 to L22 models offer motor sizes...

Refrigerated air dryers. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... Hankison UK has extended its HHDP series of refrigerated compressed air dryers to meet customer demands for state-of-the-art dryers that combine high performance with cost-effectiveness. The series provides consistent drying performance to...

Sound and light units. (Marketplace).
July 1, 2002... European Safety Systems has added combined sounder and beacon units to its BEx family of explosion-proof high-output modular sounders and beacons. A number of different options are available, including 117dB(A) maximum output three-stage...