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Latest Articles


Product Viscosity Versus Shear

Feb 11 2013 06:50 PM | Steve Hall in Fluid Flow

Many products are known to be “shear thinning,” which is a term given to materials that exhibit a decrease in viscosity when force is exerted. The viscosity of pseudoplastic fluids decreases with shear, and recovers quickly when the shear is removed. Examples include paper pulp in water, latex paint, molasses, and pharmaceutical suspensions (such as certain cough syrups).



Read story →    6 comments    ***--    product, shear and 3 more...

Valve Sizing and Selection

Dec 05 2011 03:20 PM | Chris Haslego in Fluid Flow

Sizing flow valves is a science with many rules of thumb that few people agree on. In this article I'll try to define a more standard procedure for sizing a valve as well as helping to select the appropriate type of valve. **Please note that the corr...

Read story →    16 comments    ****-    valve, sizing, selection

Falling Film Evaporators in the Food Industry

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

That orange juice that you had this morning sure tasted good didn't it?  Did you ever wonder how they get it concentrated into that little can?  Chances are the manufacturers used a falling film evaporator.  Falling film evaporators are especially p...

Read story →    4 comments    *****    falling, film, evaporators, food and 1 more...


Flow Through Orifice Plates in Compressible Flu...

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | dkirk in Safety and Pressure Relief

The calculation of compressible flow through orifice plates at high dP (critical flow) appears to be carried out incorrectly in most instances. This flow condition is often encountered on gas plants, compressor stations and pipelines where orifice plat...

Read story →    0 comments    ****-    high, pressure, orifice, flow and 2 more...

Heat Exchanger Effectiveness

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

Calculating heat exchanger effectiveness allows engineers to predict how a given heat exchanger will perform a new job. Essentially, it helps engineers predict the stream outlet temperatures without a trial-and-error solution that would otherwise be ne...

Read story →    0 comments    -----    heat, exchanger, effectiveness and 2 more...


Extractive Distillation: An In-Depth Look

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | Chris Haslego in Separation Technology

Distillation is the most widely used separation technique in the chemical and petroleum industry. However, not all liquid mixture are amenable to ordinary fractional distillation. When the components of the system have low relative volatilities (1.00...

Read story →    3 comments    *****    extractive, distillation

Plate Heat Exchangers: Preliminary Design

Nov 08 2010 12:50 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

Numerous articles have been published regarding the advantages of compact heat exchangers. Briefly, their higher heat transfer coefficients, compact size, ease of service, cost effectiveness, and their unique ability to handle fouling fluids make compa...

Read story →    5 comments    *****


Statistical Process Control: Process and Qualit...

Jul 14 2012 06:50 PM | Chris Haslego in Process and Reactions

Statistical Process Control (SPC) provides a way to monitor chemical and other processes. We'll focus on continuous chemical processes and how the process and quality control departments utilize SPC. Process control engineers use SPC to monitor a process's stability, consistency and overall performance. Quality control engineers use SPC to see if the process is functioning within quality standards. In industry, these two departments work together to monitor a chemical process.

Read story →    3 comments    *****    spc, statistical, process and 3 more...

Water Chemistry and Treatment

Jun 03 2012 06:50 PM | Chris Haslego in Utilities

Water is a natural solvent. Rain water is acidic due to carbon dioxide picked up in the atmosphere. Water and CO2 make carbonic acid (acid rain). Water hardness is primarily calcium and magnesium. Calcium is limestone - common throughout Midwest. Acid water dissolves limestone, iron, and other minerals in soil.



Read story →    3 comments    ****-    water, chemistry, treatment and 1 more...


Estimating Heat Capacities for Solutions with D...

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | Chris Haslego in Calculations and Tips

Often times it is necessary to find the heat capacity for solutions with dissolved solids. A quick estimation method was proposed by Dimoplon in 1972. The proposed expression is:Cp(soln) = W1 Cp(solid) + W2 Cp(water)Eq. (1)where:Cp(soln) = Heat capacit...

Read story →    1 comments    ****-

Tank Blanketing Basics Covered

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | proinwv in Safety and Pressure Relief

Tank blanketing, or padding, refers to applying a cover of gas over the surface of a stores commodity; usually a liquid. Its purpose is either to protect or contain the stored product or prevent it from harming personnel, equipment, or the environment....

Read story →    2 comments    *****    tank, blanket, blanketing, basics


Understanding Compressible Flow

Nov 08 2010 01:40 PM | rxnarang in Fluid Flow

Understanding the flow of compressible fluids in pipes is necessary for a robust design of process plants. The main difference between incompressible fluid, like water, and compressible fluid, vapor, is the greater change in pressure and density. This...

Read story →    0 comments    ****-    compressible, flow, understanding

Steam Tracing with MS Excel

May 24 2012 06:50 PM | adelange in Heat Transfer

Heat tracing is used to prevent heat loss from process fluids being transported in process fluid pipes, when there is risk of damage to piping, or interference with operation such as fouling or blockage, caused by the congealing, increase in viscosity, or separation of components, in the fluid below certain temperatures, or when there is risk of formation of corrosive substances or water due to condensation in corrosive services.

Read story →    3 comments    ****-    steam, tracing, calculation


Centrifugal Pumps: Basic Concepts of Operation,...

Nov 08 2010 11:30 AM | Mukesh Sahdev in Fluid Flow

The operating manual of any centrifugal pump often starts with a general statement, "Your centrifugal pump will give you completely trouble free and satisfactory service only on the condition that it is installed and operated with due care and is prope...

Read story →    17 comments    *****

Using Equivalent Lengths of Valves and Fittings

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | pleckner in Fluid Flow

One of the most basic calculations performed by any process engineer, whether in design or in the plant, is line sizing and pipeline pressure loss. Typically known are the flow rate, temperature and corresponding viscosity and specific gravity of the f...

Read story →    3 comments    ****-


Hollow Fiber Membranes

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | Chris Haslego in Separation Technology

Membrane separation processes has become one of the emerging technology which undergo a rapid growth during the past few decades. It has drawn the world attention especially in the separation technology field, one of the chemical engineers' specialty w...

Read story →    1 comments    *----

Fume Control and Scrubbing on Hydrochloric Acid...

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | Chris Haslego in Process and Reactions

New standards for hydrochloric acid emissions are expected to be proposed by the EPA soon, and these will affect the design of scrubbers for pickle line fume exhaust systems. This paper discusses hydrochloric acid fume scrubbing, with particular refere...

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Ammonia: The Next Step

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | Guest in Process and Reactions

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons for ammonia production was introduced in 1930. Since then, the technology has experienced revolutionary changes in its energy consumption patterns. Ranging from an early level of 20 Gcal/tonne (79.4 MBtu/tonne) to about...

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Making Decisions with Insulation

Nov 08 2010 12:30 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

Many people overlook the importance of insulation in the chemical industry. Some estimates have predicted that insulation in U.S. industry alone saves approximately 200 million barrels of oil every year.
While placing insulation onto a pipe is f...

Read story →    2 comments    ****-


Specifying A Liquid-Liquid Heat Exchanger

Nov 07 2010 06:00 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

As an engineer, specifying heat exchangers for procurement is an important step in the successful execution of any heat transfer or energy conservation project. Early recognition that there are many different heat transfer technologies available can he...

Read story →    1 comments    ****-

Experienced Based Rules of Chemical Engineering

Nov 08 2010 01:00 PM | Chris Haslego in Calculations and Tips

Experience is typically what turns a good engineer into a great engineer. An engineer that can look at a pipe and a flowmeter and guess the pressure drop within 5%. Someone who can at least estimate the size of a vessel without doing any calculations....

Read story →    13 comments    *****


A Students Guide to Refining

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | Chris Haslego in Energy

Distillation is the first step in the processing of crude oil and it takes place in a tall steel tower called a fractionation column. The inside of the column is divided at intervals by horizontal trays. The column is kept very hot at the bottom (the c...

Read story →    7 comments    *****

Correlations for Convective Heat Transfer

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | bspang in Heat Transfer

In many cases it's convenient to have simple equations for estimation of heat transfer coefficients. Below is a collection of recommended correlations for single-phase convective flow in different geometries as well as a few equations for heat transfer...

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U in Heat Exchangers

May 10 2012 08:19 AM | bspang in Heat Transfer

Typical values of U are useful for quickly estimating the required surface area. The literature has many tabulations of such typical coefficients for commercial heat transfer services.



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Pneumatic Conveying Design

Nov 08 2010 01:00 PM | Chris Haslego in Bulk Solids

One of the most popular methods of moving solids in the chemical industry is pneumatic conveying. Pneumatic conveying refers to the moving of solids suspended in or forced by a gas stream through horizontal and/or vertical pipes. Pneumatic conveying ca...

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Refinery Planning and Optimization

Nov 08 2010 01:10 PM | Mukesh Sahdev in Energy

Modern optimization techniques have challenged organizations to rethink the way they conduct business both internally and externally, i.e. how efficiently and effectively their entire supply chain is managed. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is one such b...

Read story →    1 comments    -----

Basics of Industrial Heat Transfer

Nov 08 2010 01:30 PM | Chris Haslego in Heat Transfer

Heat transfer is one of the most important industrial processes. Throughout any industrial facility, heat must be added, removed, or moved from one process stream to another. Understanding the basics of the heart of this operation is key to any enginee...

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Crystallization

Nov 08 2010 01:30 PM | Chris Haslego in Separation Technology

Crystallization refers to the formation of solid crystals from a homogeneous solution.  It is essentially a solid-liquid separation technique and a very important one at that. Crystals are grown in many shapes, which are dependent upon downstream proc...

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Keeping Ejectors Online

Nov 08 2010 01:30 PM | Chris Haslego in Utilities

Steam jet ejectors offer a simple, reliable means of producing vacuum, and have a low installed cost as well. They are commonly found in process plants having available steam. The vacuum produced is useful for many processes, including evaporation, coo...

Read story →    3 comments    *****


Forms of Corrosion

Nov 08 2010 01:20 PM | Chris Haslego in Maintenance and Repair

Corrosion is costly! If you doubt this, then you probably have never been bitten by the "corrosion bug". Imagine specifying Titanium for 10 brand new heat exchangers or reactors and later realizing that the processing stream has fairly high concentra...

Read story →    2 comments    ****-