Process Engineering articles from July 2007

Process Engineering archives from July 2007

COMMENT: Flash Gordon wanted!
July 31, 2007... Reading-based Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd's ability to secure and deliver contracts to build massive process facilities around the world is a clear success story. At the other end of the size scale, an emerging new breed of companies...

BP axes UK carbon project.
July 31, 2007... Government failure to take positive action was the reason behind the oil company's decision to cancel its planned carbon capture and storage project in Peterhead The Government's slowness in deciding on how to support carbon capture and...

UK water industry is ready to invest.
July 31, 2007... UK water and wastewater companies are poised to accelerate their maintenance, infrastructure, quality and environmental improvements during the next three years. The push, says IMS Consulting, will be needed to make up for delays at the start...

Skills in short supply.
July 31, 2007... Industry skills shortages will seriously impact on the UK's ability to implement the recommendations of the recent Energy White Paper, a Doosan Babcock poll of 500 senior corporate executives, energy analysts, MPs and academics has found ...

Equity player bags Huntsman.
July 31, 2007... Huntsman Corp. has terminated its merger agreement of 26 June with Basell and is instead to merge with Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. Under the new deal, Hexion, which is owned by private equity firm Apollo Management, will acquire Huntsman...

TOTAL P&P visitors down 40%.
July 31, 2007... Organiser Reed Exhibitions has given the pre-audit attendance at TOTAL Processing & Packaging 2007 as 11,109 unique visitors, representing 9,611 unique companies. The ABC Audit Bureau figures are still awaited, but the Reed statistics...

IN BRIEF: EasyFairs news.(Brief article)
July 31, 2007... Exhibition organiser EasyFairs is to co-locate its Maintec and Industrial Environment industrial technology shows with its Solids exhibition. The NEC, Birmingham is the venue on 12-13 March, 2008.For regular updates on industry news visit:...

IN BRIEF: Mono Pumps enters hygiene market.(Brief article)
July 31, 2007... Mono Pumps is entering the hygiene market with the launch of the Helios range of progressing cavity pumps as an alternative to lobe pumps. A total of 29 models can handle flow rates up to 180m3/h and pressures to 24 bar. Potential end-user...

IN BRIEF: Helping users to achieve operation excellence.(Brief article)
July 31, 2007... Helping users to achieve operational excellence by maximising uptime, reducing maintenance costs, improving plant security and enhancing plant flexibility is the theory behind PCS 7 Version 7, the latest edition of the Siemens Automation &...

IN BRIEF: Analytical technology platform.(Brief article)
July 31, 2007... Industrial IT for PAT is a process analytical technology platform that collects and analyses data to determine the actual process conditions and passes it to the control system to optimise the settings. Manufacturer ABB says it is a single...

IN BRIEF: Plant and enterprise control.(Brief article)
July 31, 2007... Top-to-bottom plant and enterprise control that can be afforded by SMEs and is easy to use is the claim for Mitsubishi's iQ Platform, a "flattened architecture" technology originally developed for a servo motor plant in Nagoya, Japan. It...

BUSINESS: Process plans unlimited.
July 31, 2007... Patrick Raleigh interviews Foster Wheeler executives on the technologies and commercial trends behind the current wave of investment in new process facilities in the Middle East, China and other global regions Foster Wheeler's Global...

SPECIAL REPORT: Condition monitoring challenges.
July 31, 2007... Condition monitoring of decanter centrifuges highlights the need for joined-up strategies that link conventional and technology-based maintenance regimes. Patrick Raleigh reports Engineers increasingly rely on predictive maintenance tools,...

PLANT VISIT - DRAX: Green and Drax.
July 31, 2007... Patrick Raleigh visits the UK's largest coal-fired power plant, where engineers are working to safeguard the facility's long-term position as a key contributor to the country's diversified energy needs The village of Drax in North...

PLANT VISIT - DRAX: Generating on a huge scale.
July 31, 2007... The Drax power plant can handle 3,800 tonnes/hour of coal and uses 160 million litres of water a day from the nearby River Ouse in its cooling towers. Coal is delivered by trains; releasing automatically to underground hoppers without...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Energy costs in a climate of change.
July 31, 2007... Despite reluctance in some quarters, Steve Fitzsimons of npower believes process companies will soon be adopting a more cohesive approach to energy management The latest npower Business Energy Index (nBEI) reveals that 40% of major energy...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Cleaning.
July 31, 2007... The way in which plant is cleaned is an often-overlooked candidate for review when considering options for energy saving, according to Mike Watson, CEO and technical director of Tube Tech International. "With traditional cleaning methods...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Wireless.
July 31, 2007... Many process facilities are simply not fitted with enough sensors to provide the data that forms the basis of effective energy management. Wireless mesh sensor networks, however, can dramatically reduce the cost and time required to retrofit...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Remote.
July 31, 2007... New technologies for the remote monitoring of steam traps can individually test thousands of steam traps in a matter of seconds, warning of malfunctions almost immediately. According to ARI-Armaturen, the latest systems allow early detection of...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Steam.
July 31, 2007... A steam-system survey at Aesica found that around 10% of the steam traps at its Ponders End site in North London were failing open. This was resulting in 8,900 tonnes of steam being lost each year, at a cost of #67,200. In response, the...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Air.
July 31, 2007... Hull-based Orvec International achieved a 42% drop in its annual compressed air energy costs through installing a frequency-controlled screw compressor. The new Boge SF60 unit, which Orvec financed with a Carbon Trust Energy-Efficiency loan, is...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Monitor.
July 31, 2007... Automatic monitoring & targeting (AM&T) devices and smart metering provide users with an understanding of where and how much energy is being used, but do not help managers to deliver comprehensive energy- saving programmes. Newer energy...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Trading.
July 31, 2007... The Neta (New Electricity Trading Arrangements) have brought many benefits to customers, but have also introduced significantly more complexity and more risk exposure to the vagaries of global energy markets. In response, many businesses have...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Drives.
July 31, 2007... Paper maker James Cropper saved around #20,000 a year in energy costs through the installation of ABB variable speed drives to match changing demand at its mill near Kendal in Cumbria. The project also delivered a return on investment within...

GAUGES: The future is in modular.
July 31, 2007... Process companies increasingly require devices that are easier and cheaper to install, operate and maintain within challenging industrial environments Choice is generally a good thing but it is also possible to have too much of it - as...

GAUGES: BOC switches on to radar.
July 31, 2007... Vacuum equipment maker BOC Edwards has opted to use Krohne's Optiflex TDR level radar meter in its range of dry vacuum pumps for the chemical and pharma industries. The instruments are designed to accurately measure the volume of recovered...

GAUGES: Emerson goes with the flow.
July 31, 2007... Emerson Process Management has officially opened a new European Flow Centre in Ede, between Arnhem and Utrecht in The Netherlands. The purpose-built facility combines assembly, configuration, calibration, distribution and customer support...

GAUGES: Honeywell moves.
July 31, 2007... Honeywell is paying $260 million to acquire Enraf Holding BV, part of Delft Instruments of Delft, The Netherlands. The $130-million turnover company offers technology, products and services for transportation, storage and blending operations...

GAUGES: GE targets UK market.
July 31, 2007... GE Sensing has opened a #250,000 laboratory facility in Groby, Leicester to improve its calibration service for pressure, temperature, mass and electrical measurement devices. The investment is in response to 30% year-on-year growth in demand...

PROCESS WEIGHING: Making the weight.
July 31, 2007... Weighing techniques today are getting increasingly sophisticated as they become vital management tools for successful plant operation Reliable weight data is an essential requirement for Lafarge Roofing in its weekly management of over 200...

PROCESS WEIGHING: Integrating weighbridge data.
July 31, 2007... Collecting and integrating the data from weighbridges into existing management systems has traditionally involved a significant amount of paper work and manual data entry. Now Weightron Bilanciai has launched Smart-Weigh, which consists of two...

PROCESS WEIGHING: Weight indicator boosts business.
July 31, 2007... Monarch Chemicals, based in Sheerness, Kent, has developed business and increased the capacity of its chemical production area, thanks to the installation of a high performance, digital weight indicator that has offered customers wider...

PROCESS WEIGHING: Batch and de-lump.
July 31, 2007... A new weigh batching system from Flexicon discharges material from bulk bags, de-lumps the product, and feeds it gravimetrically into rigid bins. The bulk-bag-to-hopper interface consists of a manual Spout-Lock clamp ring at the top of...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Infrared camera beats the floods.
July 31, 2007... The 1,360 km-long Tisza is one of the major rivers of Central Europe and very prone to flooding. In Hungary, local authorities started as early as 1846 to build what has now become the largest flood protection system in Europe. The river is...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Coffee maker wakes up to steam costs.
July 31, 2007... Kraft Foods has fitted new steam traps to the feedwater heat exchangers, air heater batteries and distribution lines at its Banbury site, which houses the world's largest soluble coffee facility. It produces some 11 billion cups of coffee a...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Dual fuel helps Quickes process.
July 31, 2007... Devon-based cheese maker Quickes Traditional has decommissioned its existing boiler and installed a dual-fuel steam boiler to increase steam capacity at its dairy processing facility. The company selected an RBC steam boiler from Fulton...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Refinery automation.
July 31, 2007... Honeywell is implementing a $7-million contract to supply a process automation system to TOTAL's Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Lincolnshire, UK, one of the oil company's flagship refineries with capacity to process over 200,000 barrels per day....

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: BP in multi-phase modelling project.
July 31, 2007... A UK consortium including BP and BHR Group has secured funding to develop measurement techniques and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling methods for complex flows in highly turbulent, highly gassed flows, such as those found in...

CONTRACTS: Southern Water.
July 31, 2007... Southern Water has awarded a E28-million contract to Eurofins, which is to provide regulatory water testing and sampling services for its operations that serve over four million people across south east England. Under the five-year deal,...

CONTRACTS: Sinclair Oil.
July 31, 2007... Sinclair Oil Corp. is to employ a SimSci-Esscor operating training simulator (OTS) from Invensys Process Systems at its refinery near Rawlins, Wyoming. The facility produces 60,000 barrels of petroleum products per day. Advanced dynamic...

CONTRACTS: Chevron.
July 31, 2007... Chevron has selected Yokogawa and Maverick Technologies -- an engineering, systems integration and operational consulting firm -- as the joint main automation and control contractor for its global refineries. The Yokogawa Maverick Alliance for...

CONTRACTS: Brass LNG.
July 31, 2007... Brass LNG has signed a project management contract with Bechtel Corp. of the US to manage certain aspects of construction work on the Brass LNG Project, on the island of Brass in Nigeria's Central Niger Delta. With two 5,000-ktpa LNG trains,...

CONTRACTS: British Energy.
July 31, 2007... British Energy has signed a #550-million, seven-year partnership deal with Doosan Babcock, which will provide a mobile workforce of technical and engineering staff to support its UK power stations - eight nuclear plants with a combined...

PEOPLE: Saffron Scientific.
July 31, 2007... Saffron Scientific Equipment, based in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, has appointed Paul Marsh as its new managing director. The company supplies gloveboxes, dry anaerobic gloveboxes and bespoke containment systems for the storage, handling...

PEOPLE: Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
July 31, 2007... The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has appointed John Baxter, BP group engineering director, as its 122nd president. A graduate of Strathclyde University, Baxter has also held senior roles at the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Powergen....

PEOPLE: SolutionsPT.
July 31, 2007... Industrial automation company SolutionsPT has appointed Mike Lees as its head of product marketing. Prior to joining SolutionsPT, Lees was HMI product manager at Siemens and helped to facilitate Siemens' entry into the SCADA systems market....

PEOPLE: CompAir.
July 31, 2007... CompAir has appointed Gerry McGettigan as the new manager of its portable compressors and air tools division in the UK & Ireland. McGettigan has in-depth knowledge of the market from over 30 years' experience in the compressed air industry,...

PEOPLE: Saudi Arabia Petrochemical.
July 31, 2007... Shell Chemicals has appointed Thierry Capelle as venture manager, Saudi Arabia Petrochemical Co. (SADAF). He succeeds Aman Amanpour, who has joined Shell Exploration and Production as general manager for Middle East strategic alliances and...

PEOPLE: BJ Process and Pipeline Services.
July 31, 2007... Dave Warnes has been appointed as business development manager - process services for the Middle East - Asia Pacific region of BJ Process and Pipeline Services. With 29 years' experience, Warnes has expertise in process services and...

PEOPLE: AVEVA Group.
July 31, 2007... Engineering IT solutions and services company AVEVA Group has promoted industry veteran Rob Glasier to executive vice president and head of its Americas region. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors