Process Engineering articles from September 2008

Process Engineering archives from September 2008

COMMENT: Skills the next "energy" crisis.
September 15, 2008... Today's global energy crisis was preceded by years of warnings about our over-reliance on oil. While paying lip service to these warnings, everyone went about their business as usual without doing much, if anything, to address the basic...

Confidence key to wireless adoption.
September 15, 2008... Process Engineering readership survey shows strong interest in cost- saving potential of the technology, but lingering concerns could block full-scale drive for adoption UK process operators are keen to introduce and/or expand the use of...

E.ON plans major biomass plant.
September 15, 2008... Power generator E.ON plans to build a 150MW biomass power station at the Port of Bristol. The proposed #300m Portbury Dock Renewable Energy Plant would be based on burning of wood brought in by boat. E.ON has issued a scoping statement...

Going "Live" in 2009.(Company overview)
September 15, 2008... The process sector accounts for 30% of the UK's GDP, UK process innovation is a global leader and the dynamic nature of UK industry is unsurpassed. So why does it not have its own event? Well now, it has! Process Engineering Live, being...

Biofuels poised for growth.
September 15, 2008... The UK biofuels industry is forecasting significant growth over the next 10 years, despite concern over any delay in implementing the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), as called for in the recently published Gallagher report into the...

GSK stuck on 42T knowhow.
September 15, 2008... Product design and development consultancy 42 Technology and global pharma company GlaxoSmithKline have announced novel technology for precision powder dispensing that has the potential to accelerate drug development programmes, as well as to...

IN BRIEF: BP and Verenium joint effort.(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... BP and Verenium Corp. have started a joint effort to commercialise cellulosic ethanol by combining their technology and operational capabilities to develop a range of low-cost production facilities in the US, and potentially worldwide. Under...

IN BRIEF: One NorthEast approves funding.(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... Regional development agency One NorthEast has approved funding of #432,000 for the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) to lead North East Energy 2015, a project aimed at generating over #80 million of investment over the next seven years. The...

IN BRIEF: UK government announces fund to support R&D projects.(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... The UK government has announced a #20-million fund to support innovative R&D projects that help manufacturers stay ahead of international competition. The investment by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to support the development of...

ANALYSIS: Process could miss out in new golden age for engineering.
September 15, 2008... The energy supply situation will raise the status of engineering in the UK. But, asks Nigel Hirst, will industry be positioned to capitalise? The promise of a high salary - as demonstrated by the recent IChemE survey (see below) - is...

ANALYSIS: Higher earnings for chemical engineers.
September 15, 2008... Chemical engineers have achieved an average pay rise of around 9% over the last two years, according to the 2008 IChemE Salary Survey. The study puts the average annual salary for chemical engineers in the UK and Ireland at #47,000. ...

PROJECT COSTS: Labour of loss.
September 15, 2008... Engineering firm CB&I blames massive LNG project losses on employment issues and regulatory environment. Patrick Raleigh reports US group CB&I (Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.) expects to be hit by pre-tax charges of around $317 million (#150m)...

PROJECT COSTS: Rules are the issue.
September 15, 2008... According to capital funding specialist Greville Warwick (see pp16-17), the Process Engineering Plant Cost Indices (p77) provide a 'well- researched set of data that is starkly indicative of the higher cost of projects in the UK,' compared...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Grants going for process projects.
September 15, 2008... Companies that belatedly decide to go for grants and other financial assistance have probably already blown it, writes Greville Warwick. They deserve to lose for failing to explore the options first To do a project or not is a question...

INTERVIEW: Cashing in on UK strengths in R&D.(Interview)
September 15, 2008... The Centre for Process Innovation aims to establish itself as an important global player in four key areas of technology, its CEO tells Patrick Raleigh Nigel Perry has much explaining to do in his role as chief executive of the Centre for...

CAREERS IN FOCUS: Tim Pemberton.
September 15, 2008... Process Engineering features the views of talented people at various stages of their careers in the process industries Tim Pemberton Who do you work for? A: Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk...

JOHNSON MATTHEY: Catalysts, cars and best practice.
September 15, 2008... Patrick Raleigh reports on how Johnson Matthey is driving improvement with a little help from ideas learned at Nissan Johnson Matthey's site in Billingham is making big strides in the areas of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and...

WIRELESS: Attitudes to wireless.
September 15, 2008... Process engineers have firm views on how wireless technology should be developed and adapted for use in their particular industries. Patrick Raleigh reports Caution and enthusiasm emerge in near equal measure from the Process...

PLANT MONITORING: OEE goes paper-free.
September 15, 2008... Speciality chemicals company Evonik Degussa has developed an innovative wireless technology to overcome barriers to monitoring overall equipment effectiveness at its Seal Sands manufacturing facility. Patrick Raleigh reports from the North...

PUMPS: Upturn, downturn.
September 15, 2008... Pump and valve manufacturers are proving remarkably robust and resourceful in the face of global economic woes, Patrick Raleigh discovers Shrugging off months of dire warnings for the economy overall, pump and valve manufacturers,...

PUMPS: On site in Rio de Janeiro.
September 15, 2008... Tomoe sales and marketing manager Neil Harden on site at the Maua Jurong shipyard in Rio de Janeiro, where the company supplied a 24- inch, double-flanged, class 1500, triple offset, butterfly valve to handle liquid hydrocarbons on the giant...

PUMPS: Record bookings for Achema 2009.
September 15, 2008... Space bookings for the three pumps and valves halls at Achema 2009 are running at record levels, according to organisers of the event being staged over the period 11-15 May at the Frankfurt Messe. "The amount of space requested is 20%...

PUMPS: Growth for valves, actuators.
September 15, 2008... Demand from various process industries, government regulations on emission control and the need for resources, such as water and power, will support steady, long-term growth in the world valves and actuators market. The rising global demand for...

PUMPS & VALVES: Selden mixing it at Buxton.
September 15, 2008... Selden Research has installed two standalone automated blending plants, designed by SPX Process Equipment, to optimise processing efficiency at its Buxton plant, which produces automotive windscreen wash. The systems combine alcohol, water,...

PUMPS & VALVES: Getting ECOfit in Germany.
September 15, 2008... Metering pumps, process diaphragm pumps and metering systems supplier LEWA Corp. is involved in many projects involving alternative energy resources and sustainable technologies, such as solar-powered metering systems, pumps for biofuel...

PUMPS & VALVES: Solenoid first.
September 15, 2008... Burkert is claiming an industry first with the introduction of a compact solenoid valve for universal use with neutral gases, liquids such as compressed air, water and hydraulic oil, and also steam. Believed to be the only valve of its type on...

PUMPS & VALVES: Greencore cleans up.
September 15, 2008... With an output of 175 kilotonnes per annum, the Greencore Malt plant at Bury St Edmunds is the UK's largest malting facility and one of the largest and most modern such complexes in Europe. Its products are used for brewing, distilling and...

PUMPS & VALVES: Water treatment plant targets steady flow.
September 15, 2008... A major UK water pumping station is maintaining water reserves much more precisely, following the automation of its CC-Link-based control system so that water inflow and outflow are accurately matched. The facility employs six variable...

PUMPS & VALVES: Nynas pumps out the black stuff.
September 15, 2008... Nynas Bitumen's core business is making bitumen emulsion and hot bitumen that has been modified either with polymers or oil to make road surfacing products. The company's Eastham plant at Ellesmere Port requires pumps to reliably transfer...

PUMPS & VALVES: Knowledge gap costs food processors.
September 15, 2008... A recent industry survey by Mono Pumps has revealed that the UK's food and beverage manufacturers are losing money by failing to exploit the potential for using pumps to automate processing and waste management duties. In terms of...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: Decanting for a better class of sewage sludge.
September 15, 2008... Autopilot for decanter centrifuges is finding increasing use at STWs in Europe and the US, where there is growing pressure to optimise the sludge dewatering process and improve end-product quality While Dewatering is necessary to make...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: Desalination for less.
September 15, 2008... US researchers have developed a chlorine-tolerant membrane made of sulphonated copolymers that should simplify the water desalination process, increasing access to fresh water and possibly reducing greenhouse gases. Today, chlorine is...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: Crossflow advance.
September 15, 2008... Separation technology company KMPT UK has introduced a crossflow filtration technology that is claimed to reduce energy consumption by up to 80% and open up new markets for these systems in biophamaceutical, biochemical and related...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: Modern Water on The Rock.
September 15, 2008... Modern Water plc is installing a proving plant for its desalination technology in Gibraltar. The facility, which is due to be operational later this year, is located next to existing desalination facilities and will use the same feedwater. ...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: Town can go off the boil.
September 15, 2008... Residents in a large area around Northampton recently got a 'boil water alert' from water provider Anglian Water following an outbreak of cryptosporidium in supplies originating from the Pitsford Water Treatment Works. Homes and businesses...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: London composting facility clears the air.
September 15, 2008... ACWA Air has designed and installed an active carbon odour abatement system for the Compost Centre on LondonWaste's Eco Park. The 30- kilotonnes-per-annum facility treats a wide range of biodegradable materials, including grass cuttings,...

SEPARATING & FILTRATION: SABIC targets VOC removal.
September 15, 2008... SABIC UK Petrochemicals' 400,000tpa LDPE plant at the Wilton International Site on Teesside - one of the world's largest single stream LDPE production plants - is to use a Regenerative Thermal Oxidation system (RTO) to remove VOCs in the...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: ICL team advances fractal mixing.
September 15, 2008... Fluid mechanics experts at Imperial College London have developed a fluid mixing technology that, they claim, offers major economic benefits over current industrial mixers in the process industries. The technology is based on "Fractal Flow...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Italian glass maker needs CAE for new lines.
September 15, 2008... Bottero SpA, a supplier of hollow and flat glass production lines, has selected Altair HyperWorks from Altair Engineering as its preferred computer-aided engineering (CAE) suite for optimising and verifying structural components used in its...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Fill it up with rubbish.
September 15, 2008... INEOS has unveiled a new process technology, which, it said, will be used to produce commercial quantities of bioethanol fuel from biodegradable municipal waste, organic commercial waste and agricultural residues within the next two years. The...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: 400-Mile heat-tracer for India.
September 15, 2008... Tyco Thermal Controls is to supply Cairn Energy of India with a skin effect heat-tracing system (STS) for a new underground crude oil pipeline in a deal valued at nearly $14 million. Once completed, the heat-tracing system will be the longest...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Simulation power.
September 15, 2008... RWE npower is employing simulation technology at Fawley Power Station to help it achieve more efficient start-up and better synchronisation to the grid to meet spikes in demand. Emerson Process Management's Scenario system was installed at...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: Metal carbide catalyst.
September 15, 2008... Oxford Catalysts has developed a metal carbide Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalyst that, it believes, could make second-generation biofuel production environmentally and economically viable. As a result, it has signed a memorandum of understanding...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: Loadable security module.
September 15, 2008... MTL Instruments and Byres Security have launched a loadable security module (LSM) for their Tofino cyber security system that can discover and identify what devices are on the network and create firewall rules to control the traffic flowing...

TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF: High-pressure autoclave process technology.
September 15, 2008... LyondellBasell Industries has launched a high-pressure autoclave process technology for the production of speciality low density polyethylene and ethylene vinyl acetate polymers. Called Lupotech A, the technology employs a unique reactor design...

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: Cutting the cost of hydrogen monitoring.
September 15, 2008... Hydrogen is widely used in both traditional applications, such as petroleum refineries, and is growing rapidly in newer sectors, such as fuel cells and power generation. Currently, over 90% of all hydrogen produced is used in the petroleum...