Process Engineering articles from November 2007

Process Engineering archives from November 2007

COMMENT: Taking a leaf from China.
November 23, 2007... While perhaps not everyone's ideal role model, former Chinese ruler Mao Zedong offers some useful object lessons when it comes to brining about cultural change in today's process industries. With his "Little Red Book", the military and...

#2bn refinery for Teesside.
November 23, 2007... Sonhoe unveils plans for one of the biggest ever investment projects in the UK processing sector. Crude oil complex could revitalise the North East chemicals industry One of the largest single investments in the UK process industries...

Blaze hits Coryton.
November 23, 2007... Petroplus Holdings is continuing to maintain limited operations at its Coryton refinery following the fire that occurred on 31 Oct. Preliminary findings indicate that the incident was localised in the site's pentane isomerisation unit's...

Rockwell snaps up Pavilion Technologies.
November 23, 2007... Rockwell Automation has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Pavilion Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Pavilion specialises in the supply of systems for advanced process control, production optimisation and environmental...

Chemicals, oil companies face REACH market ban.
November 23, 2007... An estimated 50% of companies affected by the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) legislation are not taking the necessary action to protect themselves, warns the BMT Group. A BMT survey of the...

Akzo on track to takeover ICI.
November 23, 2007... Akzo Nobel's #8 billion acquisition of ICI remains on track to go ahead on 2 Jan 2008 following strong shareholder support for the deal. At an Extraordinary General Meeting in Amsterdam on 5 Nov, shareholders voted 79% in favour of the...

IN BRIEF: Pfizer.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Clarification: The Pfizer rationalisation programme (last issue, p6) eventually led to the sale of its Morpeth facility to NPIL Pharmaceuticals, and not to its closure.For regular updates on industry news visit: www.processengineering.co.uk...

IN BRIEF: Borealis and Symyx enter an agreement.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Borealis has entered an agreement with Symyx for it to provide software and modular workflows to help maximise return on R&D investments and improve its high-throughput experimentation capabilities in the polyolefins and base chemical...

IN BRIEF: DavyMarkham renews apprenticeship scheme.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Following a recent MBO, Sheffield-based DavyMarkham has renewed its in- house apprenticeship scheme after a 20-year gap. A first cohort of seven apprentices has begun a three-to-four year programme that will lead to NVQ Level 3 and BTEC diploma...

IN BRIEF: Polygeneration facility.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... GE Energy and Bechtel Overseas Power Corp are to jointly develop a polygeneration facility in Canada with the ability to use petroleum coke and incorporate carbon capture and storage. Located in Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan, the facility is...

IN BRIEF: New pipeline link.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Shell UK and Esso Exploration and Production UK have completed a new pipeline link that is delivering wet gas feedstock from the StatoilHydro-operated Statfjord field. The gas is exported to the FLAGS pipeline and then landed at the St Fergus...

ANALYSIS: Entering a new era of functional safety.
November 23, 2007... Adoption of IEC61508 and IEC61511 is growing, as are the issues faced by the process industries in adapting to a whole new safety regime The IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 functional safety standards are steadily taking root in the process...

Q&A: China automation.(Interview)
November 23, 2007... Eduardus Pieter Beullens, Bayer MaterialScience PCT systems manager, explains to Patrick Raleigh the automation strategy at the group's mega- scale chemicals site near Shanghai The Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai chemicals production site...

WASTER & WASTE: Regulations could increase costs and carbon emissions.
November 23, 2007... Dr Arthur Thornton examines the challenges posed by the WFD, which is rated as the most substantial ever piece of European water legislation The UK process industries have an important role to play in implementing the Water Framework...

WASTER & WASTE: Water Framework Directive.
November 23, 2007... The overall objective of the WFD is to protect water quality and to restore ecology of the water environment, so compliance with the directive will lead to an improved water environment. The directive requires EC member states to put in...

WASTE MANAGEMENT: Coca-Cola develops a taste for water ultrafiltration.
November 23, 2007... Patrick Raleigh visits CCE's flagship UK plant, which is pioneering a move by the soft drinks major to adopt UF technology as a minimum standard across its global operations Global soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has made ultrafiltration (UF)...

DRIVES: Inverter drives: No sense in fiddling as the world 'burns'.
November 23, 2007... Amid all the on-going technology developments, Eddie Kirk says operators should remember that inverter drives are still basically all about the motor The first volume production drives were launched on the market by Danfoss in 1968 and in...

WHOLE-LIFE COSTS: Maintaining performance and reducing failures.
November 23, 2007... Environmental factors such as heat, dust, moisture and high peak loading can take their toll on inverter and servo drives. The sales of drives rocketed during the '90s and many are now reaching an age where they will need attention to prevent...

WHOLE-LIFE COSTS: Getting a handle on life-cycle costs.
November 23, 2007... Purchase price is given too much priority in the buying process, especially when it comes to acquiring important items of manufacturing equipment, believes Steve Barker Purchase price plays a crucial role in the use of drive equipment, yet...

WHOLE-LIFE COSTS: Corus cuts energy costs by #1m.
November 23, 2007... Corus Strip Products has installed 24 new industrial drives to control pumps on the hot strip and cold mills, plus three fans on the coke ovens, at its Port Talbot plant in Wales. The pumps recirculate cooling water in the mills, while the...

IN BRIEF: SEW-Eurodrive introduces Movidrive.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... SEW-Eurodrive has recently introduced the Movidrive MDX60/61B generation of drive inverters. The series offers more basic functions, an expanded lower power range, greater overload capacity and a modular unit design. It facilitates unrestricted...

IN BRIEF: Successful tests of motor controller.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Power Efficiency Corp, a US company focused on efficiency technologies for electric motors, has reported successful tests of a new motor efficiency controller on rock crushers and has completed its first sale for this application. ...

IN BRIEF: Philips research.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Researchers at Philips Applied Technologies have developed a technique that allows standard linear motors to simultaneously provide movement along two axes rather than along a single axis. In equipment such as the pick-and-place machines...

IN BRIEF: Drives Partners for Scotland.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... As part of the expansion of its distributor base in Scotland, Danfoss Drives has appointed Sinelco Control Gear as Drives Partner for Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Sinelco, part of the Park Electrical Group, is based in the Hillington...

IN BRIEF: ABB contract.(Brief article)
November 23, 2007... Abu Dhabi Gas Industries [GASCO) has awarded ABB a #1.5-million contract to supply1,000 hazardous area motors and 150 variable speed drives for the OGD-III project - a major expansion of its gas processing facilities in the UAE. Bechtel (UK) is...

Inverter package saves #16k/year.
November 23, 2007... Birmingham-based B Mason and Sons, the UK's largest manufacturer of precision rolled copper and copper alloy strip, is saving over #16,000 per annum in energy costs on just one 250kW motor since installing a new inverter drive package from...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Paper leaves recorder makers in a Catch 22.
November 23, 2007... Electronic data recorders offer a whole raft of advantages over pen recorders, but many users continue to stick with paper-based technology. Patrick Raleigh reports Digital, paperless data recorders have many advantages over their older,...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Plugging process into the market.
November 23, 2007... SABIC UK Petrochemicals is working to further leverage its technologies for linking commercial data such as feedstock pricing, availability and end-product prices to the production processes at its Wilton site in the northeast of England....

DATA MANAGEMENT: Advanced control at Wilton.
November 23, 2007... Under previous owner Huntsman, the Wilton site first implemented AspenTech's advanced control and optimisation in 1999. The supplier's DMCPlus system simultaneously controls over 840 plant constraints, adjusting 230 process set points every...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Sasol centralizes data.
November 23, 2007... Sasol Solvents has improved process reliability and efficiency at its plant in Moers, Germany through the installation of a central data management control room, which was designed, engineered and configured by Honeywell. The improvements...

DATA MANAGEMENT: PIMS for Saudi venture.
November 23, 2007... Petro Rabigh has awarded a multi-million dollar contract to Invensys Process Systems to implement an InFusion-based plant information management system (PIMS) for its refining and petrochemical complex in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. The plant,...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Surface sensor makes its mark.
November 23, 2007... Sensor system specialist Micro-Epsilon is working closely with BMW on the development of a complete surface detection system for its latest 5 Series range. The 3D inspection system can scan a whole car body in 90 seconds, although the...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Reducing bearing failure at United.
November 23, 2007... United Utilities has recently installed Revolvo SRB bearings at its Hale Bank Works, near Warrington, to replace solid bearings that were failing prematurely due to becoming submerged. The new bearings allow easy maintenance without having...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Ultrasonics for measurement and control.
November 23, 2007... Measurement technology has developed to offer a wide range of control options for process operators, explains Keith Flint Developments in the field of ultrasonic measurement technology are opening up a broad range of control options for...

UK and International Plant Cost Indices.
November 23, 2007... 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...

CONTRACTS: Foster Wheeler.
November 23, 2007... Foster Wheeler is to execute the FEED and to provide project management and construction management services for Qatar Petroleum's new petrochemical site at Mesaieed, Qatar. The new complex will include world-scale olefins and aromatics...

CONTRACTS: INVENSYS Process Systems.
November 23, 2007... Invensys Process Systems has gained a contract to provide an integrated training simulator for control room operators at the Trunkline LNG terminal near Lake Charles, Louisiana. The SimSci-Esscor operating training simulator will be used for...

CONTRACTS: Aspen Technology.
November 23, 2007... CB&I has awarded Aspen Technology Inc. a new multi-year license extension for the aspenONE Process Engineering application suite including Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus, which are used to design oil & gas facilities, refineries or chemical plants....

CONTRACTS: Honeywell.
November 23, 2007... Honeywell has secured a $9.1m deal to provide control valves for the new integrated Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar, a partnership between Qatar Shell GTL Ltd and Qatar Petroleum. EPC contractor Hyundai Engineering and Construction...

PEOPLE: Wonderware.
November 23, 2007... Sudipta Bhattacharya has succeeded Mike Bradley as president of the Wonderware business unit of Invensys. He joined the company in August 2007 as chief software solutions officer, moving from SAP where he was senior vice president of solutions...

PEOPLE: Atlas Copco Tools.
November 23, 2007... The new product manager within the quality assurance tooling department of Atlas Copco Tools is Gerard Everett. He joins the Atlas Copco from Cooper Power Tools, where he held the position of applications specialist. Copyright: Centaur...

PEOPLE: Fulton Boiler Works.
November 23, 2007... Fulton Boiler Works (GB) has appointed Gary Eckersley as its new UK managing director, in succession to John Ashby. Eckersley joins Fulton following a 15-year stint at Spirax Sarco. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

PEOPLE: OPW Fluid Transfer Group.
November 23, 2007... Mark Tipple has joined the OPW Fluid Transfer Group as vice president of Asia-Pacific & Latin America, with responsibility for the overall growth and development of the group's products within those regions. Tipple has gained extensive sales...

PEOPLE: FDT Group.
November 23, 2007... Invensys' chief of technology and VP for Europe and Middle East operations, Hartmut Wallraf, has been elected chairman of the FDT Group, the consortium of manufacturers and process instrumentation vendors working to enable interoperability...

PEOPLE: Hayward Tyler Group.
November 23, 2007... Darren Cowley has joined the Hayward Tyler Group as oil & gas market development manager. He has over 20 years' experience in the pump and valve industry. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors