Process Engineering articles from September 2001

Process Engineering archives from September 2001

Wilkie faces solid task.
September 1, 2001... Colin Wilkie has been named as the new chairman of SHAPA, the Solids Handling and Processing Association, replacing Doug Henry. Wilkie is currently director of support services for Clyde Materials Handling.

It's LOGICal for oil and gas.
September 1, 2001... A new scheme to bring the benefits of e-commerce to the UK oil and gas industries, called LOGIC, has been set up by the DTI. LOGIC chief executive Chris Freeman comments that its key role will be to improve collaboration across the industry....

Calls for energy action plan.
September 1, 2001... The UK urgently needs an action plan to transform business attitudes to energy efficiency, according to the Environmental Industries Commission. Increased funding for the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme of tax-relief on efficient equipment,...

BASF expands hydroxylamine.
September 1, 2001... BASF has announced plans to build a further 1300tpa hydroxylamine plant at its Ludwigshafen complex, taking total capacity to 7000tpa. The compound is used in the electronics industry.

Charges loom for Bayer.
September 1, 2001... Pharmaceuticals giant Bayer is under investigation for violations of the. German Medical Drug Act over its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipobay, which was withdrawn in August after the US Food and Drug Administration warned that it was linked to...

Dounreay to lead on decommissionnig.
September 1, 2001... Plans to put Dounreay at the heart of the UK's nuclear decommissioning industry are under discussion, as the environmental restoration of the site gathers pace. Energy minister Brian Wilson comments that the worldwide market for decommissioning...

Methanex projects.
September 1, 2001... Methanex's new UK marketing office has landed a long-term contract with Simon Storage to provide road loading facilities, weighbridges and operational facilities for its Riverside Terminal on Teesside. Methanol will be imported into the...

The drinks are on Anglian.
September 1, 2001... An effluent system which reduces the use of water treatment chemicals at power stations has won a major environmental award for Anglian Water. The process was developed for Anglian by Alpheus Environmental, and it could have applications for...

Kumar keeps his energy.
September 1, 2001... Ashok Kumar MP (pictured left, with IChemE Head of External Relations Andrew Furlong) has been re-elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies at its Annual General Meeting. Formerly a research fellow at Imperial College...

Pressure transmitter market faces fall.
September 1, 2001... Process companies turned away from conventional pressure transmitter technologies during the year 2000, according to a report-from the ARC Advisory Group. The market was caught by surprise by this fall in orders, and suppliers are now looking...

CIA calls for changes to R&D tax incentive.
September 1, 2001... The Chemical Industries Association has called on the government to adjust its policy on tax relief for R&D to make it simpler. While stressing his support for the concept of the R&D Tax Incentive Scheme, launched in a recent consultative...

Survey to promote safety.
September 1, 2001... As part of an effort to spread best practice in process safety, researchers at Loughborough University are undertaking a survey to assess how widespread is the use of the Inherently Safer Design (ISD) concept. Originally developed by safety...

Fluorochemicals demand to rise.
September 1, 2001... The world market for fluorinated chemicals is set to grow by 3.4 per cent per year in the next four years, reaching 2 million tonnes by 2005, when the market will be worth some $11.4billion, according to Freedonia Group. The US-based market...

EC support for bioengineering.
September 1, 2001... The European Commission has thrown its weight behind the controversial subject of bioengineering, issuing a memorandum saying that the EU sin danger of falling behind the US in this area. Europe 'needs to occupy a leading position in technical...

BASF sets out contract policy.
September 1, 2001... BASF is to step up its activities in the area of contract manufacturing, the company says. Already a major supplier to its own and other companies' pharmaceutical operations, the company will use its chemical synthesis expertise to produce...

Purac for AstraZeneca.
September 1, 2001... Purac is to build an effluent treatment plant for AstraZeneca's Avlon site in Avonmouth, on the Severn estuary. The plant will treat up to [300m.sup.3] of wastewater per day, using two mixed-bed biofilm reactors, one containing fungi, the other...

Cardiff takes Flygt for pumps.
September 1, 2001... The Cardiff Wastewater Treatment works -- the largest sequencing batch reactor installation in Europe -- has turned to ITT Flygt to supply its pumping and ancillary equipment. The company has installed 64 pumps for the SBRs, as well as 26...

Sasol turns to Honeywell.
September 1, 2001... South African oil company Sasol has awarded a [pound]12million contract to Honeywell to supply an integrated production solution for its large synthetic fuels complex in Secunda, which produces fuel and petrochemical products from low-grade...

Integrated demand response.
September 1, 2001... Bran + Luebbe has announced plans to set up a Worldwide Process Systems Group to develop the international side of its business. This will include the establishment of a European supply centre in Brixworth, near Northampton. The group will...

How d'you like them apples.
September 1, 2001... In what certainly qualifies juicy contract, Memtech has supplied a two-stage ultrafilitration plant to a Korean firm to clarify apple juice. The plant, which produces [6m.sup.3]/hr of clarified fruit juice, uses semi-permeable membranes to...

Mix and match.
September 1, 2001... BHR Group, the UK fluids research and development specialist, has sold its NIMIX mixing technology to Chemineer for an undisclosed sum. NIMIX works by flexing the base of a sealed container, which contains an internal holed plate. This...

E-manufacturing is the target for new PLC range.
September 1, 2001... Mitsubishi Electric's recently introduced Qn series of PLCs is at the heart of the company's MELSMART approach to e-manufacturing -- defined, in the company's words, as 'collecting and measuring shopfloor data on a continuous basis, providing...

Ready-made unit for dosing and metering.
September 1, 2001... A simple yet practical way of preparing and metering chemical solutions for dosing operations is now available from Bran + Luebbe. The ProCam compact metering station is a robust polyethylene container to which is added a ProCam metering pump,...

Pressure moves from Jumo.
September 1, 2001... Previously well known for its temperature measurement and control capabilities, Jumo Instruments has now moved into the fluids ket with the launch of a new range of pressure transmitters. The dTRANS p02 is aimed at process industries such...

Taking the control room into the classroom.
September 1, 2001... Process simulation is an invaluable aid to process design and control engineers, but now its benefits are being brought to plant operators on the Wilton International site by TTE Management & Technical Training. Based at TTE's training...

Mixed response to DEFRA guide.
September 1, 2001... The Chemical Industries Association has welcomed the framework for the emissions trading scheme, and is particularly pleased that some changes to the original proposals for which it lobbied have been included in the DEFRA guide. Originally, the...

Government sets out its terms for emissions trading.
September 1, 2001... Stuart Nathan looks at what the government's framework is for its emissions trading scheme, to run alongside the Climate Change Levy The Climate Change Levy is not a popular tax. Ever since it was proposed, companies have argued that it is...

Decades in the development, days in the decline and fall.
September 1, 2001... Anyone involved in the process industries knows that they are all A susceptible to the swings of the economic cycle. Some sectors are more susceptible than others, of course. Synchronising global supply and demand for basic chemicals and...

Keep your eye on inflation.
September 1, 2001... While inflation has been successfully maintained at a reasonably low level for the past few years, many younger engineers and project accountants are alarmingly ignoring this important element of capital cost estimating. Remember that in the...

Gas system is cool and low cost.
September 1, 2001... French process technology specialist Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP) has launched a new process for liquefying natural gas, based on combining the effects of mixed refrigerants and plate-fin heat exchangers. Dubbed 'Liquefin', the process is...

Living colour.
September 1, 2001... Colloids, the Liverpool-based manufacturer of masterbatches, concentrated dispersions of pigments used to colour large volumes of polymers, has opened its [pound]3million analytical and R&D facility in Knowsley. The centre houses equipment...

Dow picks the combination for chemical innovations.
September 1, 2001... Dow Chemical's combinatorial chemistry laboratory, opened a year ago, is using techniques more commonly associated with pharmaceuticals for a range of applications across the entire company's spectrum. Polymers, catalysts, electronic chemicals,...

Copper proves more stainless than steel.
September 1, 2001... Every food processing company is conscious of hygiene, and all use stainless steel equipment because of its ability to resist contamination. But according to new research from the University of Southampton, they may eventually have to replace...

Nailing a sticky problem.
September 1, 2001... You might not need to buy much at a time, but the makers of the successful 'No More Nails' adhesive are having to produce larger and larger batches to meet escalating demand. For some time, Henkel Consumer Adhesives blended the high-viscosity...

FIBC dischargers increase production for Akzo Nobel.
September 1, 2001... At its decorative coatings plant in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, Akzo Nobel has solved a major raw-material handling problem with the installation of two FloSpout FIBC discharging systems from Flomat Bagfilla International (FBI). The plant...

Vitafoam's pick-me-up from PICME.
September 1, 2001... Manufacturer of polyethylene-based speciality products, Vitafoam-Paisley is one of the first companies to benefit from the services of the Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence (PICME; see PE April 2001, p25). 'Our...

Storage silos on Thames.
September 1, 2001... Returning to its roots in the construction sector, bulk handling specialist Portasilo has solved a tricky cement storage problem at the burgeoning Canary Wharf development in London's rejuvenated Docklands area. With little land available...

Gentle separations for Renagel.
September 1, 2001... Following the successful introduction of its Renagel kidney drug, biotech company Genzyme is expanding production five-fold at its Haverhill, Suffolk, site. However, due to its relatively fragile and very hygroscopic nature, Renagel is...

CONCRETE solutions.
September 1, 2001... What do you do when your product s destroying the plant used to manufacture it?. Stuart Nathan looks at Terra, Nitrogen's attempt to prolong the life of a concrete prilling tower, which was suffering from corrosion by the fertiliser produced...

Invensys detects defects with no delay.
September 1, 2001... Defect testing can be a long and disruptive process, says Invensys. It requires plant closures and dismantling of equipment, so operators are often reluctant to build the tests into their maintenance procedures. Invensys has now developed a...

Question of scale.
September 1, 2001... Situated in one of the UK's hardest water areas, Smurfit Townend and Hook's paper mill in Snodland, Kent uses some 5500litre of water every minute. The limescale buildup problems are immense. However, the company has now found a solution to the...

Inlec camera is hot stuff.
September 1, 2001... Inlec's ThermaCAM PM 675 protable inspection system is now available for hire in the UK. Combining an automatic camera with software features such as reporting and analysis, the system 'allows cost-effective analysis when troubleshooting,' says...

ABB aims to help optimise assets.
September 1, 2001... ABB's asset management software suite, Optimize Asset Optimisation, allows plant operators to schedule predictive maintenance while reducing the need for corrective and preventative maintenance, the company says. The software works both on- and...

Service on a plate.
September 1, 2001... Plate heat exchangers are susceptible to fouling by scaling and organic materials, which can gradually reduce their efficiency until they no longer function. To counter this, Heat Exchanger Spares is now offering a plate cleaning and crack...

Mini drivers.
September 1, 2001... Stockton-on-Tees has been a centre for process technology for a century, first as part of Davy Corporation, and now with Kvaerner. Stuart Nathan looks at how the centre's innovative techniques are speeding up the development of new processes...

New seal series for ANSI pumps.
September 1, 2001... With its Ansitex seal range, Burgmann has introduced a new series of mechanical seals tailored to the specific installation dimensions of ANSI pumps. The Ansitex 'platform concept' involves cartridge seals fitted with O-ring or...

High-pressure option for mixer shaft seals.
September 1, 2001... The Mixerpac series of mechanical shaft seals from Flowserve include medium- and high-pressure options covering operating pressures of 40 and 25Obar respectively. Standard units are for in-vessel pressures of vacuum to 6, 10 or 16bar and are...

Charged with sealing.
September 1, 2001... Halifax-based KT Hydraulics is to supply sealing charging systems to a number of offshore and oil refinery applications. Specified by seal supplier John Crane Flexibox, the fixed units will be permanently connected to high-pressure rotating...

Goodbye to O-rings.
September 1, 2001... By using a spring-energised PRP ring for secondary and shaft sealing, John Crane has eliminated the need for O-rings in its GD gas and dry lubricated vessel and reactor seals for chemical and bio applications. Made from pure virgin PTFE,...

Custom seals made for process shafts.
September 1, 2001... Now available from FTL Seals Technology is the full range of Meco custom shaft seals. These patented systems are based on the use of a self-compensating driving elastomer. Available in unsplit and fully split versions, the seals will retrofit...

Steam turbine seal saves energy.
September 1, 2001... John Crane's new Type 28ST non-contacting seal for steam turbines is said to reduce steam leakage to less than 5 per cent, compared with traditional sealing devices such as segmented carbon rings and labyrinths. Originally designed for...

Couple pipes, seal leaks, all with the one clamp and sleeve.
September 1, 2001... From the US comes the Plidco Clamp+Sleeve, a device designed for both coupling pipe and sealing leaks in pipe. According to developer the Pipe Line Development Company, the device uses clamping surfaces to grip the outside pipe wall, providing...

Gee ups production to meet demand.
September 1, 2001... Although launched only 12 years ago, Dewsbury-based Gee Graphite has become firmly established as one of the UK's leading manufacturers of graphite gaskets and related sealing products. Responding to that success, the company is now doubling...

Swivel joints for pipework.
September 1, 2001... Featuring sealed rotation, Rotaflow's new range of low-cost swivel joints for light-duty use are suitable for many process applications. Featuring flanged connections for hoses and pipework, the light-duty range is an extension to the company's...

Transmitter seals for high temperature.
September 1, 2001... ABB Automation has developed new diaphragm seals for remote pressure transmitters that are said to eliminate the need for costly exotic wetted materials in corrosive, high-temperature, high-vacuum processes. The S6 range of 600T EN seals...

Asbestos-free gasket breaks record for size.
September 1, 2001... A 3m diameter gasket manufactured from Flexitallic's Thermiculite material has solved a tricky problem for Kemira Fertilisers at Ince, near Chester. The largest such Kammprofile gasket ever produced by Flexitallic, it is replacing a gasket in a...

Joint development speeds up field jointing of piping.
September 1, 2001... ITP Interpipe and Hyperlast have together developed a system for joining pipes in the field that has dramatically cut the number of welds needed for the average joint. Some pipelines required up to ten welds for each double joint, plus the use...

High pressure, high capacity steam traps.
September 1, 2001... Spirax Sarco has introduced an extensive range of high pressure and high capacity steam traps for the power generation, petrochemical and process industries. The range includes bimetallic traps capable of draining condensate from high pressure...

Swaging now easier for tube installers.
September 1, 2001... The well-known Swagelok system of tube fittings is now easier to use on large systems. The new MHSU multihead hydraulic swaging unit properly pre-swages multiple sizes of fittings. Available in 1/2-1in and 12-25mm, or 1-2in and 25-50mm...

Keeping the drains clear.
September 1, 2001... Although probably best known for the clay sewer pipes that it has been making since 1890, Barnsley-based Naylor has moved into the specialised area of chemical drainage since its acquisition of Hathernware -- a business itself probably best...

PPMA MOVES ON.
September 1, 2001... Moving from Birmingham to London's Docklands is a big step for the Process Packaging Machinery Association's annual exhibition, but the range of exhibitors is as strong as ever The PPMA Show has a new venue, but a familiar theme. Moving...

Mass fill for drums.
September 1, 2001... Permex is bringing its new Mass Fill filing technology to Docklands for the PPMA show. The company is displaying a filling device based on its 'fill-by-the-kilo' approach, which is approved by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory. ...

Cleaner designs.
September 1, 2001... Kemutec is exhibiting products from its KEK and GARDNER powder processing ranges at PPMA, as well as flow control products from its Mucon division. Products on display include KEK centrifugal sifters, whose cantilevered shaft design makes them...

WLT's feeding film frenzies.
September 1, 2001... Specialist packaging supplier WLT is showing a range of product feeding systems at PPMA. This includes a number of feeders from KoRa-Packmat, such as the LLC model, which can handle single feeds up to 650mm width and the LB, a high-speed...

Angling labels.
September 1, 2001... Pago will feature its System 100A machine at PPMA. The machine will be fitted with a Pagomat AM labelling unit, which will allow it to pitch and orientate an oval container for labelling. This eliminates the need for separate modules, the...

Everything for OEMs.
September 1, 2001... All of the divisions of OEM Automatic are represented at the ExCel Centre, with a range of products on display for OEM machine builders. The pressure and flow division, for example, is showing a range of rodless pneumatic cylinders, vacuum...

Coats of many batches.
September 1, 2001... Manesty is exhibiting a working model of its latest tablet coater, the mobile 'plug-and-play' XL model. Designed for fast coating and a wide range of batch sizes, the XL has a coating efficiency of greater than 97 per cent. The company...

Omron focuses on motion.
September 1, 2001... Omron is concentrating on implementation of its systems at the PPMA Show, looking particularly at how its automation technologies can be used in motion control, quality inspection systems and diagnostics. Omron's specialist engineers will be...

Home and drying.
September 1, 2001... New developments in air drying systems are the focus of Sekomak's stand at PPMA. The company is showing products from across the drying spectrum, including an air knife demonstration unit, a Thermoshrink sleeve tunnel, and the new turbo blower,...

Boosting business at BP Chemicals Baglan Bay.
September 1, 2001... An Emerson Process Management DeltaV automation system and AMS software is enhancing plant efficiency at BP Chemicals' Baglan Bay site in Port Thlbot, South Wales At Baglan Bay, BP Chemicals' Isopropanol (IPA) plant is to receive utility...

SENSING a gap in the flow market.
September 1, 2001... Mike Spear reports on a company that has managed to find new markets for its switching and sensing devices, without moving away from its core manufacturing business roots When a manufacturing company finds the market for its main product...

From 'manufacturer' to 'complete solutions provider'.
September 1, 2001... We'd heard the rumours, seen the ads (PE, May 2001, page s42) and already made the mental shift (see above), but now it's official. Fisher-Rosemount and associated companies are, from now on, Emerson Process Management. Complementing the...

Driving down the cost of coating.
September 1, 2001... BSL Engineering has helped Lafarge Aggregates slice nearly a third off the power bill for its Dry Rigg asphalt plant in North Yorkshire. Asphalt is made by coating mixed stone aggregate with bitumen in a 2.5m wide by 20m long heated drum....

A direct line to steel productivity.
September 1, 2001... Sixteen dc drives from Eurotherm Drives have been installed at Corus' Redcar sintering plant in Teesside as part of a major refurbishment project. The sintering process involves fusing various iron ore products together, with burning coke...

A sound investment for Fawley tank farm.
September 1, 2001... As part of a tank farm optimisation project, Esso has developed a more efficient way of managing its crude oil inventory at the UK's largest refinery, Fawley near Southampton. Part of the project required new flowmeters in an on-line blending...

Keeping the power on for Dudley.
September 1, 2001... At Dudley in the West Midlands household and commercial waste form the 315000 population in processed in a waste-to-energy incineration plant run by MES Environmental when sold to the National Grid electricity generated by the plant's steam...

Poultry power!
September 1, 2001... 'Trapped behind barbed wire, fearing for their very lives, Ginger, Bunty, Babs and Fowler were chickens with a mission.' But did the stars of the hit animation film 'Chicken Run' really know what that mission was? Apart from helping feed the...

Sensors stand up to the heat.
September 1, 2001... A biotech process developed by Agrol for turning agricultural waste into ethanol presented challenging conditions for the Mettler Toledo probes and sensors selected to monitor the high temperature fermentation. Agrol's patented technology...

Keeping PEEK in top condition.
September 1, 2001... At its site in Thornton Cleveleys near Fleetwood, Lancashire, Victrex produces the high-performance thermoplastic PEEK. Victrex produces the material in both powder and granular form and has found that level and flow measuring instruments...

CCL savings are not just hot air.
September 1, 2001... The recently launched partnership between Control Techniques and EnergAir is already helping offset the effects of the Climate Change Levy for compressed air users. Following an analysis of air usage at Colgate Palmolive's factory in...

Rugged PCs take the strain in potash plant.
September 1, 2001... CKS modular HMI systems and 96T keyboards with trackerballs provide the rugged control interface needed for a process-wide PLC and Scada system at Cleveland Potash (CPL), the UK's only potash mining and processing facility. 'We tried an...

Quantum leap for Conoco.
September 1, 2001... Modicon Quantum programmable controllers from Schneider Electric have played a central role in the [pound]9million upgrade of Conoco's Lincoinshire Offshore Gas Gathering Station (LOGGS). The LOGGS field has five subsea developments feeding...

Eurotherm within the loop.
September 1, 2001... A multiloop I/O controller is the latest addition to Eurotherm's Type 2500 modular control system. The PID control unit is capable of running up to eight multiple, single or compound loops, the company says. Among the new functions the...

Verify alarms on the level.
September 1, 2001... Verify, a high-level simulation circuitry system from Able Instruments, allows users of RF Admittance point level alarm systems to simulate high-level conditions electronically without having to raise levels in the tank. This proves the system...