The UK trade show for process, control, and plant engineers returns on 10 and 11 May and is free to attend. Keynote speakers include senior members of IChemE. THE CHEMUK 2023 EXPO will return this 10 and 11 May to the NEC in Birmingham. Running as part of the trade event, The Chemical, Process &…
Pumped Up
Steve Schofield offers strategies to optimise pump systems and identify energy savings GIVEN the global rise in energy costs, there has never been a better time to review and assess the efficiency of your pumping systems – whatever their size, complexity or indeed sphere of operation. In this article, I will offer guidance on purchasing,…
Imprinted!
Grant Wellwood says soft sensors offer process engineers intriguing new ways to monitor and bolster their processes A HATCHLING’S life ahead can be influenced by its first images of the world through a process known as imprinting, and so it was with my career in chemical engineering. Stepping onto a factory floor as a freshly-minted…
Pore Performance: One 3D-printing firm’s ambition to re-engineer membranes
Adam Duckett interviews Tom Pugh and Andrew Walker about Evove’s push to improve separations EVOVE wants to disrupt membrane technology. Using modelling and 3D printing, it has ambitions to change how membranes are designed, made, and who makes them while improving filtration performance, cutting energy use, and championing water conservation. These ambitions received a significant…
Safe Flow Meter Installation and Flow Monitoring in Hazardous Environments
Neil Hannay offers some practical advice FLOW meters are used in a wide variety of industries, processes and applications and are installed in a broad range of environments, including hazardous atmospheres. Because of this spectrum of variables, flowmeter manufacturers supply detailed technical datasheets and installation instructions for each specific flow measuring device. These documents should…
Opening Up Instrumentation
John de Mello explains how scientific instrumentation is becoming more open, more affordable and easier to make UNTIL recently, if you needed a scientific instrument, you had two options: you could buy a ready-made system or you could design and build one yourself. The first option was expensive, but the second was tricky and time-consuming.…
Rules of Thumb: Heat Exchanger Selection
Stephen Hall discusses the golden rules for design Critical elements: Heat exchangers at an oil refinery HEAT exchangers are critical elements in every process plant. Project engineers are responsible for determining the performance requirements and specifications. Specialty manufacturers then design and fabricate the exchangers in accordance with the specifications. I enthusiastically recommend to specifying engineers…
Do The Bump (Test)
Bump testing of portable gas detectors is necessary because they can save lives. TESTING the functionality of portable gas detectors is an essential safety procedure for anyone working in an environment which could contain hazardous gases. This can be achieved by performing a bump test – a simple method of ensuring portable detectors are working…
Rules of Thumb: Pressure Drop Due to Friction
Stephen Hall offers practical tips on calculating pressure loss due to friction THE Darcy-Weisbach equation is widely used to calculate pressure loss due to friction for liquids in pipelines. It is also sufficiently accurate for gases for most applications if the pressure drop is less than about 10% of the inlet pressure; the expansion of…
Flowmeters: Making the Right Choice
Flowmeters are essential measurement devices across industry and considering all the parameters at the outset is crucial in selecting the right one for the job, says Trevor Forster FLOWMETER sales in all sectors increase year on year as more control is required throughout the industrial landscape. In response, innovation in flow meter technology continues to…