Process Engineering articles from November 2008

Process Engineering archives from November 2008

EDITOR'S COMMENT: Tilting at the wrong targets.(Editorial)
November 19, 2008... Hence, the lack of surprise when the European Parliament Environment Committee, last month, voted through proposals to require power generators to pay for all emissions from 2013 and, quite possibly ban the building of all new coal-fired...

Sector losing 'war for talent'.
November 19, 2008... Oil & gas companies are struggling to staff current projects with suitably skilled workers, according to senior managers at the Future Talent conference in London The oil & gas industries need new strategies to address the current skills...

Carbon Trust to help firms hit by credit crunch.
November 19, 2008... The Carbon Trust has doubled the maximum size of its interest-free Energy Efficiency loans from #100,000 to #200,000. Also, it has increased the overall loans pot by 45%, to #31 million this year. The move, said the trust, is intended to...

Drax, Siemens in biomass deal.
November 19, 2008... Drax Group has entered into a joint development agreement with Siemens Project Ventures to build, own and operate three large dedicated biomass-fired generation plants in the UK. The plants will have a total capacity of 900MW and will cost...

Cogent in #50m training deal.
November 19, 2008... Employers in the process industries have access to a new #50-million fund to help meet skills needs in the sector. The money is being made available under a three-year deal between the Government and Cogent SSC, the Sector Skills Council for...

REACH urgent.
November 19, 2008... It is vital that SMEs find out how the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations could affect their business and take any required action before the 1 Dec. This is the warning from UK...

IN BRIEF: Tranter International AB.(Brief article)
November 19, 2008... Gasket and welded heat exchanger products manufacturer Tranter International AB has acquired Pressko AG of Artern, Germany as part of its strategy to acquire businesses with growth potential in its key markets. Pressko has worldwide sales of $8...

IN BRIEF: Technology Strategy Board.(Brief article)
November 19, 2008... Wireless monitoring of gas turbines and sensors to monitor chemical leaks are among 11 R&D projects to win funding support from the UK's Technology Strategy Board. The data-gathering projects, which have a total value of nearly #15 million,...

IN BRIEF: TTE Technical Training Group.(Brief article)
November 19, 2008... The TTE Technical Training Group, the UK's largest employer-led technical training organisation in the oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, process and chemical sectors, has taken delivery of training equipment worth over #300,000. To be...

ANALYSIS: Collaring a new breed of worker.
November 19, 2008... The process industries should welcome rather than fear the rising tide of the green industries, believes Henry Rowe The advent of a global public and political eco-consciousness and the rise of the sustainability agenda have not just...

ANALYSIS: Shortage of 'green collar' skills.
November 19, 2008... Engineering and environment consultancy Royal Haskoning surveyed over 500 UK business leaders on their abilty to recruit people for environmental-related roles or industries. The survey, conducted by ICM Research, found that pressure to be...

ANALYSIS: Carbon capture: 'The only show in town'.
November 19, 2008... CCS is costly, but offers the single most effective way to cut CO2 emissions. Patrick Raleigh reports The European Parliament has backed proposals to set up a Euro10-billion fund to help kick-start the development of carbon capture and...

JACK BOLICK INTERVIEW: Honeywell boss taking process to the top.(Interview)
November 19, 2008... Jack Bolick talks to Patrick Raleigh about standards, wireless and plans to get HPS closer to the market at boardroom level Bringing process issues into the boardroom is a key target for Jack Bolick, president of Honeywell Process Solutions...

Wireless standard vote.
November 19, 2008... The ISA100 Committee on Wireless Systems for Automation narrowly failed to approve the second draft of the proposed ISA100.11a standard on wireless systems for industrial automation: process control and related applications. The proposal was...

CAREERS IN FOCUS: Gemma Bowers.
November 19, 2008... Process Engineering features the views of talented people at various stages of their careers in the process industries I work in the Reading, UK, head office of Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. Foster Wheeler is a global engineering,...

PLANT REPORT: Collaboration a catalyst for advanced PO plant.
November 19, 2008... Start up at Antwerp site will be the culmination of a unique partnership between major chemicals market competitors, writes Patrick Raleigh BASF and Dow Chemical Co are currently preparing to commission a 300 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa)...

PLANT REPORT: BASF catalyst breakthrough.
November 19, 2008... When BASF was developing the catalyst for the HPPO process it found that titanium could be used as an epoxidation catalyst when it forced from an octahedral, as in its rutile or anatase forms, into a tetrahedral coordination environment. "As a...

ENVIRONMENT: Keeping one step ahead.
November 19, 2008... Failure to stay up to speed with environmental monitoring obligations can lead to fines and even closures, warns Tony Hoyle Across Europe, the regulatory enforcement regime is undergoing a fundamental shift in its approach to environmental...

EMISSIONS CONTROL: Check the gas.
November 19, 2008... Today's regulatory environment is driving the development of a wide range of monitoring technologies. Nick Denbow reports European and UK laws are setting increasingly strict operational limits on plant emissions and require businesses to...

ENVIRONMENT: "Cost effective" CHP is ignored.
November 19, 2008... Combined heat and power (CHP) - the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat - is almost twice as efficient as conventional power generation. However, Alan Barlow, managing director of ENER-G Combined Power, believes that...

ENVIRONMENT: Green rust removal.
November 19, 2008... Lake Industrial, part of Lake Chemicals & Minerals, believes that many process operators could do more to reduce the use of solvent-based or aggressive chemical rust preventatives, cleaners and paints in their processes. As part of its...

ENVIRONMENT: Performance monitoring.
November 19, 2008... National Instruments has introduced an instrument driver that gives users of its NI LabVIEW graphical system design platform the ability to interface with environmental monitoring sensors that communicate via SDI-12 - a serial-based...

ENVIRONMENT: Glycol process yields rewards.
November 19, 2008... Shell Global Solutions' OMEGA technology team has won an IChemE engineering excellence award for developing a new integrated mono- ethylene glycol (MEG) process. The novel catalytic process is seen as a significant advance for the global...

ENVIRONMENT: Colliery project rooted in success.
November 19, 2008... Yorkshire Water has recently completed a #300,000 project, which featured the use of reed bed technology at the old Monkton Colliery wastewater treatment plant at Royston, near Barnsley. The work, which began in October 2007, was delivered by...

ENVIRONMENT IN BRIEF: Assessing carbon footprint.
November 19, 2008... Businesses can now assess the carbon footprint of their goods and services and play a greater part in fighting climate change, thanks to a new standard launched by BSI British Standards, the Carbon Trust and Defra. The standard - called PAS...

ENVIRONMENT IN BRIEF: Algae Biofules Challenge launched.
November 19, 2008... The Carbon Trust has launched the Algae Biofuels Challenge with a remit to commercialise the use of algae biofuel by 2020. The R&D initiative that could see the Carbon Trust commit #3 million to #6 million of initial funding. The Department...

ENVIRONMENT IN BRIEF: Four criteria for good biofuels.
November 19, 2008... Ensus, which is building Europe's largest wheat refinery to produce both bioethanol transport fuel and animal feed, is proposing four criteria for 'good biofuels'. A new company website, www.ensusgroup.com, lists these as: Food and Fuel - a...

ENVIRONMENT: Wessex tunes into nature.
November 19, 2008... Reducing environmental impact has been a key target for Wessex Water in redeveloping its Maundown water treatment plant in central Somerset. The #25-million project is due to be completed by the end of 2008. Flow through the treatment...

ENVIRONMENT: Biogas process control.
November 19, 2008... Biogas is an energy source derived from manure and other organic resources that can be used for power production, as well as for heat. It is produced by the anaerobic digestion of many different sources, including sewage, livestock manure, food...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Stakes high in the level playing field.
November 19, 2008... Remote level data management systems provide a variety of options, companies just need to choose what suits them. Nick Denbow reports In this world of instant data over the internet, mobile phones and text messages, everything is easy when...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Keeping track of your products.
November 19, 2008... Mark Perry, from Siemens Automation & Drives, looks at how linking into an RFID system can create an intelligent and information-led platform for tracking and tracing products through the supply chain With ever increasing competitive,...

DATA MANAGEMENT: SCADA to beat the crunch.
November 19, 2008... Current economic and regulatory trends will help to drive rather than hinder market growth, Copa Data MD tells Patrick Raleigh On-going turmoil in the world's financial markets is unlikely to have a major impact on the market for SCADA...

DATA MANAGEMENT: Steel recycler cuts energy bills.
November 19, 2008... Data programs enable major US steel recycling operation to significantly reduce its energy requirements. Patrick Raleigh reports TWO THIRDS OF STEEL ON THE MARKET TODAY IS produced from previously used steel, making it one of the world's...

MIXING: Mix and match.
November 19, 2008... The food, pharma and industrial sectors are placing wide-ranging demands on mixing equipment suppliers, writes Nick Denbow Process operators are under increasing pressure from both customers and regulators to ensure the integrity and...

MIXING: Valspar focuses on wide-ranging process needs.
November 19, 2008... Cheshire operation requires mixers that are reliable and suitable for handling hazardous materials across its 24/7 batch processing regime Valspar in Cheshire is a major producer of coatings for the packaging industry and most of the...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Tyre spin to bio-process drive.
November 19, 2008... Genencor, the industrial biotechnology division of Danisco, and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. are to jointly develop a process for producing isoprene using renewable raw materials. The companies expect to complete work on the production technology...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Wireless first in seals system monitoring.
November 19, 2008... John Crane has developed a 'world-first' wireless technology to remotely measure the pressure, temperature and level of the barrier fluid in a sealed system. Called the 3in1 Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), the system is claimed to be easier...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Steaming ahead with biomass.
November 19, 2008... Drax Power Ltd has signed a #10-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd to supply direct injection biomass co-firing systems to all six coal-fired generating units at the 4,000MW Drax...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Pharma production breakthrough.
November 19, 2008... Engineers at the University of Leeds have developed a technology that provides high quality images of the crystallisation process. This, they claim, is a significant advance towards a 'right-first-time' approach to drug manufacture. ...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Syngas catalyst advance.
November 19, 2008... Today's high prices of naphtha feedstock are prompting the chemical industry to re-evaluate the long-known Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process as an alternative to cracker technology for converting synthesis gas - carbon monoxide and hydrogen -...

TECNOLOGY IN ACTION: Pump casings for nuclear plants.
November 19, 2008... Sheffield Forgemasters is manufacturing cast stainless steel pump casings for the new wave of nuclear power plants in China. The 16-tonne reactor coolant pump castings will first see service on China's Westinghouse AP1000TM nuclear power...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: BP.
November 19, 2008... BP is increasing the application of wireless technology at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington, USA. The refinery has expanded a 15- transmitter Emerson's SmartWireless network - used to monitor bearing and coke temperatures on a calciner...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: Shell.
November 19, 2008... Shell has signed biofuels research agreements with six academic institutions in a move to accelerate its own R&D in raw materials and biofuels production. The agreements are with: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Campinas;...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: Borealis.
November 19, 2008... Polymer producer Borealis has claimed a "significant breakthrough" in its product development strategy with the completion of laboratory reactors for polypropylene (PP) polymerisation at its Innovation HQ in Linz, Austria. The development,...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: Kistler.
November 19, 2008... Is this a world record?, asks Kistler, which has fitted 112 pressure sensors to injection moulds for insulin pen components; one each to the 96 cavities and 16 manifolds. The aim is to use cavity pressure monitoring to achieve zero defect...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Milk processor cuts energy, carbon bills.
November 19, 2008... Murray Goulburn (MGC), Australia's largest milk processor, aims to cut its annual energy and maintenance costs and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 1,908 tonnes over 12 months through the installation of a new air compressor system. In...

CONTRACTS: Foster Wheeler Energy.
November 19, 2008... Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd has been awarded a front-end engineering design contract by BP Exploration (El Djazair) Ltd on behalf of the In Salah Gas (ISG) JV for the Southern Fields Development Project in Algeria. The contact value was not...

PEOPLE: ABB.
November 19, 2008... ABB has appointed Arthur Charlesworth as its new manager for the UK's ABB University located in Telford. He will help the university develop its training of ABB's own staff and external customers in all aspects of automation systems,...

PEOPLE: Diploma Employer Champions Network.
November 19, 2008... Stephen Tilsley, former CEO of West Midlands-based Metsec, has been appointed a diploma employer champion within the national Diploma Employer Champions Network (DECN), which promotes the new 14-19 Diploma qualification, being introduced for...

PEOPLE: MWH.
November 19, 2008... Environmental engineering and water company MWH has appointed Ian Cranshaw to the newly created role of business area manager for process and hydraulics. Based in MWH's High Wycombe office, Cranshaw has been with the company for a year, having...

PEOPLE: Weir Valves & Controls UK.
November 19, 2008... Weir Valves & Controls UK Ltd has appointed two industry experts to its sales and marketing team. Andy Connell has taken up the role of sales office manager. He brings many years of experience in the industry, including 18 years at Dresser,...

PEOPLE: Markem-Imaje.
November 19, 2008... Coding and labelling equipment company Markem-Imaje, has appointed John Murray as operations manager and Steve Ellison as sales manager for its UK operation. Both are prominent figures in the coding and labelling industry, Murray and Ellison...