Chemical+Engineering 2015 11 PDF

November
2015
www.chemengonline.com
Storing Sulfuric
Acid Safely
page 44
Filtration Hygienic Design Principles

CPI Salaries and Workforce Facts at Your Fingertips:
Bio-based Processing
Environmental Monitoring
and Control Process Safety
Focus on Pipes,
Tubes and Fittings
Circle 29 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-29
November 2015 Volume 122 | no. 11
Cover Story
44 Safety in Sulfuric Acid Storage Tanks
Commonly used in the CPI, sulfuric acid requires many special precautions to
ensure its safe handling and storage
In the News
7 Chementator
Turning wastewater treatment into resource recovery; A booster
bed for CFBs; Convert wasted natural gas to liquid fuels; Lithium
from coal; Liquid-infused surfaces move toward commercial
applications; Streamline turnarounds with faster catalyst cooling;
This chemical-free disinfection media requires no power; and more
16 Business News
BASF and Sinopec inaugurate world-scale isononanol plant
in Maoming; Air Liquide signs longterm contract with major
petroleum group in China; Evonik plans to build additional
methionine plant in Signapore; GE to acquire membrane
manufacturer IMT Solutions; and more
18 Newsfront CPI Salaries and Workforce Conditions in the 44

U.S. CPI continue to support high salaries for engineers and technically skilled
workers, but also continue to sustain ongoing workforce challenges
26 Newsfront EPA Bumps Up Enforcement Efforts Tighter
emissions enforcement requires up-to-date monitoring and control equipment
Technical and Practical

40 Facts at your Fingertips Bio-based Processing 18
This one-page reference provides information on the potential advantages
offered by processes that rely on biology and fermentation
42 Technology Profile Ethylene Production from an

Ethane-Propane Mixture
26
This column describes a process for producing ethylene from a mixture of
ethane and propane
50 Feature Report An Overview of Filtration Understanding

how different filtration methods work leads to a more informed decision when
selecting a filtration system
50
59 Engineering Practice Large-scale Fermentation
Systems: Hygienic Design Principles Follow these tips to
optimize systems that use microbial fermentation to produce biochemicals
and biopharmaceuticals
66 Environmental Manager Process Safety and
Functional Safety in Support of Asset Productivity
and Integrity Plant safety continues to evolve based on lessons
learned, as well as new automation standards and technology
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015 1

Equipment and Services
30 Focus on Pipes, Tubes and Fittings
These fittings are designed to reduce strain, ease installation; This standalone
hose handle reduces common injuries; Antimicrobial tubing inhibits bacterial
growth; Conductive and anti-static materials provide benefits; Repair pipes and
tanks with this composite technology; and more
35 New Products
Use this valve in high-pressure calibrations; A corrosion-resistant, lightweight
scale; These pressure transmitters address issues with drift; This modular
steam-trapping station reduces leakage; A versatile family of power-supply
devices; These new, miniature AOPDs are ATEX-certified; and more
59
Departments
5 Editor’s Page Casting a wide net for innovation
A number of companies are issuing challenges that use crowdsourcing
techniques to seek innovative ideas
66 76 Economic Indicators
Advertisers
71 Hot Products
72 Product Showcase
30 73 Classified
74 Reader Service
75 Ad Index
35 Chemical Connections
Follow @ChemEngMag on Twitter
Join the Chemical Engineering Magazine
LinkedIn Group
Visit us on www.chemengonline.com for Latest News,

Webinars, Test your Knowledge Quizzes, Bookshelf
and more
Coming in December
Look for: Feature Reports on Cost Engineering; and Level Measurement
and Control; A Focus on Mixing and Blending; A Facts at your
Fingertips on Water Treatment; an Engineering Practice article
on Chemical Plant Revamps; News Articles on the Kirkpatrick Award for
Chemical Engineering Achievement; and Safety Equipment; and more
Cover: Rob Hudgins
2 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015

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Editor s Page
PUBLISHER ART & DESIGN
Casting a wide net for innovation
I
MICHAEL GROSSMAN ROB HUDGINS
Vice President and Group Publisher Graphic Designer recall from the time that I worked as a research and development
mgrossman@accessintel.com rhudgins@accessintel.com
(R&D) engineer, the concept of a “rainmaker” — a talented re-
EDITORS PRODUCTION searcher who was challenged to come up with new technologies
DOROTHY LOZOWSKI JOHN BLAYLOCK-COOKE that could eventually lead to new businesses. Today, crowdsourc-
Editor in Chief Ad Production Manager
dlozowski@chemengonline.com jcooke@accessintel.com ing enables companies to tap virtually unlimited sources for ideas.
INFORMATION While internal R&D resources are still fundamentally very important to
GERALD ONDREY (FRANKFURT)
Senior Editor SERVICES most businesses, crowdsourcing techniques hold great potential for
gondrey@chemengonline.com
CHARLES SANDS discovery, as well as opportunities for innovative thinkers.
Director of Digital Development
SCOTT JENKINS csands@accessintel.com
Senior Editor
sjenkins@chemengonline.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Innovations for water sustainability
MARY PAGE BAILEY SUZANNE A. SHELLEY
Recently, a national (U.S.) competition was launched to cultivate
Assistant Editor sshelley@chemengonline.com new ideas for improving sustainability in the water industry. Fittingly
mbailey@chemengonline.com
CHARLES BUTCHER (U.K.) announced at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibi-
AUDIENCE
DEVELOPMENT
cbutcher@chemengonline.com
tion and Conference (Weftec; Chicago, Ill., September 26–30; www.
PAUL S. GRAD (AUSTRALIA) weftec.org), the competition is sponsored by Veolia (Paris, France;
SARAH GARWOOD pgrad@chemengonline.com
Audience Marketing Director www.veolia.com), The Water Council (Milwaukee, Wisc.; www.
sgarwood@accessintel.com
TETSUO SATOH (JAPAN)
tsatoh@chemengonline.com
thewatercouncil.com) and the Wisconsin Economic Development
JESSICA GRIER
Marketing Manager
Corp. The program offers a variety of rewards, including $25,000
jgrier@accessintel.com JOY LEPREE (NEW JERSEY) and $10,000 cash prizes, educational and training opportunities, as
jlepree@chemengonline.com
GEORGE SEVERINE well as a year of office space that will be awarded to up to three
GERALD PARKINSON (CALIFORNIA)
Fulfillment Manager
gseverine@accessintel.com
gparkinson@chemengonline.com winners. These incentives are being offered to find innovators and
entrepreneurs whose ideas can be fast-tracked. Details about the
JEN FELLING program, called “Pow! emPowering Opportunities in Water,” can be
List Sales, Statlistics (203) 778-8700
j.felling@statlistics.com found at www.veolianorthamerica.com/pow.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
JOHN CARSON HENRY KISTER Tackling CO2 emissions

Jenike & Johanson, Inc. Fluor Corp.
In another recent announcement, NRG, a U.S.-based energy com-
DAVID DICKEY GERHARD KREYSA (RETIRED) pany (www.nrg.com) and COSIA (Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alli-
MixTech, Inc. DECHEMA e.V.
ance; www.cosia.ca) are co-sponsoring a $20-million XPRIZE (Culver
MUKESH DOBLE
IIT Madras, India
RAM RAMACHANDRAN(Retired) City, Ca.; www.xprize.org) in a competition to address CO2 emissions
The Linde Group
from fossil fuels. The goal is to find breakthrough technologies that
HEADQUARTERS
40 Wall Street, 50th floor, New York, NY 10005, U.S.
can convert CO2 into valuable products. The 4.5-yr competition will
Tel: 212-621-4900
Fax: 212-621-4694
include testing the new technologies in either a coal-fired power plant
or a natural-gas facility. Details of the Carbon XPRIZE can be found at
EUROPEAN EDITORIAL OFFICES
Zeilweg 44, D-60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
carbon.xprize.org.
Tel: 49-69-9573-8296
Fax: 49-69-5700-2484
Crowdsourcing for innovation
CIRCULATION REQUESTS:
Tel: 847-564-9290 Crowdsourcing for innovation has been gaining momentum in recent
Fax: 847-564-9453
Fullfillment Manager; P.O. Box 3588, years. Another example is BASF SE’s (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.
Northbrook, IL 60065-3588
email: chemeng@omeda.com
basf.com) “Open Innovation Contest” for energy storage that was an-
nounced in February. This contest called for sustainable technologies
ADVERTISING REQUESTS: SEE P. 74
For reprints, licensing and permissions: Wright's Media, 1-877-652-5295, to store power and feed it back to the grid. A prize of €100,000 and
sales@wrightsmedia.com
the opportunity to collaborate with BASF in a research project based
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC on their ideas was offered to winners.
DON PAZOUR SYLVIA SIERRA And in an earlier program announced in late 2013, the Dow Chemical
Chief Executive Officer Senior Vice President,
Customer Acquisition and Retention Company (www.dow.com) and Innocentive (Waltham, Mass.; www.
HEATHER FARLEY
Chief Operating Officer ALISON JOHNS
innocentive.com) offered a $15,000 prize for novel applications for
Senior Vice President, Digital Development Dow’s oil-soluble polyalkylene glycols.
ED PINEDO
Executive Vice President MICHAEL KRAUS Companies are partnering with groups like In-
& Chief Financial Officer VP, Production, Digital Media
& Design nocentive, XPRIZE and others who can assist in
MACY L. FECTO crowdsourcing for innovative ideas. The websites
Exec. Vice President, STEVE BARBER
Human Resources & Administration Vice President, of these crowdsourcing experts reveal the variety
Financial Planning and Internal Audit
JENNIFER SCHWARTZ
of companies that are using this technique. And
Senior Vice President & Group Publisher
Aerospace, Energy, Healthcare
GERALD STASKO
Vice President/Corporate Controller
for the entrepreneurs among us, a look at some
of the challenges being offered can open doors
ROB PACIOREK
Senior Vice President, to opportunity. ■
4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor
Chief Information Officer Rockville, MD 20850
www.accessintel.com
Dorothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief

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Chementator
Turning wastewater treatment into
resource recovery Edited by:
Gerald Ondrey
I
n late September,
GE Power & Water NYLON RECYCLING
(Trevose, Pa.; www.
Validation has been com-
gewater.com) intro- pleted, and construction is
duced its new Mem- underway for an industrial-
brane Aerated Biofilm scale facility that will recycle
Reactor (MABR) tech- technical textile waste when
nology, tradenamed Zee- it starts up in 2016 at a site in
Lung, at the Water Environ- Secondary
Gorzów, Poland. The facility
ment Federation Technical clarifier is part of Solvay S.A.’s (Brus-
Exhibition and Conference sels, Belgium; www.solvay.
Fine-bubble aeration com) Move4Earth project,
(Weftec; Chicago, Ill., Septem-
which is supported by the Eu-
ber 26–30; www.weftec.org). Bioreactor
ropean Commission’s LIFE+
This technology is poised to Zeelung cassettes program. The project aims to
enable “energy neutrality” in develop a recycling process
wastewater treatment. In bio- Aeration
blower to “revalue” technical textile
GE Power & Water
logical wastewater treatment, waste into high-quality poly-
aeration typically represents 60% of a facil- to the membranes from the top header and amide 6.6 (PA6.6) grades.
ity’s power usage, and the ZeeLung MABR collected in the bottom header. Modules are Initially the effort is focused
can reduce the energy needs by a factor of installed in cassettes for installation into bio- on automobile airbags. More
four, according to GE. reactor tanks (diagram). than 70% of these products
are made of silicone-coated
In conventional biological wastewater The technology is being evaluated by the
nylon fabrics, mostly based on
treatment, oxygen is delivered to the micro- Metropolitan Water Reclamation District PA6.6. Solvay has developed
organisms via fine bubble aeration. Much of (MWRD) of Greater Chicago in a demonstra- a proprietary process for sepa-
the O2, however, is wasted as the bubbles tion project at the O’Brien Water Reclamation rating the fabric from the coat-
disperse on the surface of the water. The Plant in Skokie, Ill. The demonstration proj- ing, and producing PA6.6 with
ZeeLung MABR technology replaces this ect is being run at 500,000 gal/d of water. “no significant loss in material
method with a gas-transfer membrane that It is expected that the ZeeLung technology properties,” says Solvay.
delivers the O2 to a biofilm that is attached to will be commercialized around June of 2016.
the surface of the membrane. Hollow-fiber While the system is initially being targeted for OER CATALYST
O2-permeable membranes are assembled municipal-wastewater treatment plants, the The oxygen evolution reac-
around a core to form a “cord”. These flex- technology also has potential for industrial- tion (OER; 4OH– → O2 +
ible, but strong cords are fitted into headers wastewater treatment applications wherever 2H2O + 4e–) that occurs dur-
to form a module (photo). Air is distributed oxygen transfer is needed. ing water oxidation is a key
energy-conversion reaction
for rechargeable metal–air
A booster bed for CFBs batteries and direct solar
water electrolysis. Although
ABO3-type perovskites
T
he efficiency of circulating fluidized- were performed over three years, first at (where A and B are cations
bed (CFB) combustors can be sig- the Chalmers power plant, and from 2014, of different size) have been
nificantly increased by substituting in parallel at a commercial plant of Eon shown to have a high cata-
conventional bed material with an il- Swerge AB (Malmö, Sweden; www.eon. lytic activity for the OER, they
menite-based bed material, according to re- se) — a combined heat and power (CHP) are not stable, therefore ren-
searchers at Chalmers University of Technol- plant, Händelöverket in Norrköping. In one dering them unsuitable for
ogy (Gothenburg, Sweden; www.chalmers. of Händelöverket’s five boilers (a 75-MW industrial applications.
Now, a team of researchers
se). Conventional CFB boilers use silica sand CFB boiler), sand was replaced with the
from Osaka Prefecture Uni-
to evenly distribute the heat to the fuel to en- new bed material. The tests confirmed that versity(Japan;www.osakafu-
sure efficient combustion, which is especially “the combustion becomes more uniform u.ac.jp), in collaboration with
important for coarse fuels, such as wastes and efficient, says Fredrik Lind, product co- the Deutsches Elektronen
or biomass. Chalmer’s new bed material is ordinator at Chalmer’s Dept. of Energy and Syncrotron (Hamburg, Ger-
based on the mineral ilmenite — a metal Environment. The boiler’s total efficiency is many; www.desy.de), has
oxide of iron and titanium (FeTiO3). The ilme- increased, and the carbon monoxide emis- synthesized an iron-based
nite-based bed material has the same heat- sions lowered “radically,” as are problems catalyst that is both highly
distributing role as sand, but with the added related to ash fouling, he says. active for the OER, as well as
benefit of also evenly distributing O2 to the Eon plans to start using the ilmenite-based being stable.
The catalyst — an Fe+4-
fuel inside the combustion chamber. bed material in two boilers in Norrköping this
based quadruple perovskite,
Full-scale trials of the new bed material year, and has several other plants in line.
(Continues on p. 8)
Note: For more information, circle the 56-digit number on p. 74, or use the website designation.

Convert wasted natural gas to liquid fuels
CaCu3Fe4O12 ; CCFO — is syn-
One liquid product
thesized using ultrahigh pressure Air separation unit (pumpable syncrude)
(150,000 atm) and temperature
(1,000°C). The covalent bond-
ing network incorporating multiple
Syngas production and
Cu+2 and Fe+4 transition metal ions NG cleanup cleanup FT synthesis Product upgrading
is said to significantly enhance the
structural stability of CCFO, which
is a key to achieving highly active,
long-life catalysts. Natural gas
Process integration - utilities
In laboratory trials, CCFO was
shown to have an OER activity com-
parable to or exceeding those of No external utilities - self sufficient
state-of-the-art catalysts, such as
A
Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3− (BSCF), newly launched technology Buster can help to monetize gas that
as well as expensive RuO2. known as Flare Buster is capable would otherwise be wasted, and then
of converting natural gas streams, can be easily moved to another location
such as flare gas and stranded as needs change, he comments.
SOLAR H2 gas from remote sites, to synthesis gas Flare Buster (block diagram) initially
A combination of concentrator (syngas) and then to synthetic crude oil via converts the natural gas feed to syngas
photovoltaic (CPV) modules with
a Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis process. by partial oxidation or steam-methane
electrochemical cells has been
shown to electrolyze water into
The skid-mounted and transportable sys- reforming. Next, the syngas is then fed
H2 with a 24.4% efficiency, which tem converts nominally 5 million std ft3/d into the system’s Advanced Fixed-Bed
is more than twice that observed of natural gas into 500 bbl/d of synthetic F-T reactor. In a plug-flow catalyst sys-
from existing photocatalyst-based crude oil, adding value to a waste stream tem, the syngas is converted to synthetic
solar-to-H2 technology. The new and reducing emissions. crude oil over a proprietary, highly active,
world record was achieved by Developed jointly by Emerging Fuels gas-to-liquids (GTL) catalyst developed
the group of Masakazu Sugiyama Technology (EFT; Broken Arrow, Okla.; by EFT. The catalyst is engineered to lead
at the University of Tokyo (www. www.emergingfuels.com) and Black & to high yields and favorable economics
ee.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~sugiyama/ Veatch Corp. (B&V; Overland Park, Kan.; in this type of application, says B&V’s
index-e.html), in collaboration with
www.bv.com), the self-sufficient Flare Miller. The synthetic crude produced by
Yasuyuki Ota’s group at the Univer-
sity of Miyazaki (both Japan; www.
Buster system is now available in 500- the Flare Buster can be further refined to
miyazaki-u.ac.jp). bbl/d incremental sized units that can produce a variety of products, such as
The water-electrolysis system em- be combined for higher-volume applica- diesel, jet fuel, lubricant oils, base oils
ploys high-efficiency CPV modules tions. Customized facilities are also avail- and waxes.
using InGaP/GaAs/Ge three-junc- able to meet the specific requirements of Flare Buster operates without the need
tion cells, which have a solar-to- the plant. for external utilities, and facility capac-
electricity conversion efficiency of “Flared gas is lost money,” says Doug ity can be constructed and adjusted to
about 31%, combined with polymer- Miller, vice president of Black & Veatch’s match the volume of gas from a particular
electrolyte electrochemical cells. oil & gas and energy division. The Flare location, says Miller.
SYNTHETIC DYES
Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland;
www.archroma.com) has intro-
Lithium from coal
C
duced a line of six dyes for cel-
oal could become a major neglected, with no specific discussion re-
lulosic fibers that are made from
non-edible waste products in the
source of lithium, according to ported regarding Li concentrations in coal
agricultural and food processing a team led by professor Shen- and coal ash.
industries, rather than from pe- jun Qin, of Hebei University The team has also applied two tech-
troleum products. After four years of Engineering (Handan, China; www. niques for lithium or aluminium extraction
of research and development, the hebeu.edu.cn). From available data, the from coal ash. The first involves sinter-
company patented the synthetic concentration of lithium in most coal ing the ash with sulfur, followed by acid
transformation and manufacturing varies between 10 and 50 µg/g. For ex- leaching the metal (Li or Al) from the solu-
processes that result in the brown, ample, the concentration of lithium in tion. With this extraction process, up to
bordeaux, green and grey bio-syn- flyash samples is between 65 and 287 60% of the metal has been recovered as
thetic dyes. “By using non-edible
µg/g in South Africa and an average of Li2CO3, with a yield of 95.6%. An alterna-
natural products, such as almond
shells, rosemary leaves and saw
46 µg/g in China. tive technique, alkali sintering, avoids the
palmetto as raw materials, we can Using two analytical techniques — in- need for the sulfur step, but has shown
make dyes that improve sustain- ductively coupled plasma mass spectros- a lower yield (85.3% yield, with a metal
ability and reduce environmental copy (ICP-MS), and ICP atomic emission recovery of 55%).
impact compared to petroleum- spectroscopy (ICP-AES) — the team has “Although the investigation into Li re-
derived synthetic dyes,” says Nuria found Li dispersed, and even anomalously covery from coal ash is still at a laboratory
Estape, Archroma global promo- enriched in coal deposits. But in general, scale, it will promote the green and efficient
(Continues on p. 14) it says the analysis for Li has been largely application of coals,” says the team.
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Circle 17 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-17

WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015 9
Liquid-infused surfaces
move toward commercial
applications
A
set of Immobilized
lubricant
Unwanted fluid or
biological foulant
t e c h - overlayer slipping off the surface
nologies
that cre-
ate an immobi-
lized thin layer Roughened/
porous
of lubricant on surface
a solid surface,
thus enabling
highly repellent,
omniphobic sur-
SLIPS Technologies
faces, has moved
closer to com-
Chemical mercial application. Known as slippery, liquid-infused
porous surfaces (SLIPS), the technologies can be ap-
plied to metal, plastic, glass and ceramic surfaces,
and can repel a wide range of liquids and biological
Engineering’s premium fouling agents.
“SLIPS differ fundamentally from other nanostructured
repellent surfaces because they maintain a resilient liq-
product showcase uid covering over the solid surface, rather than present-
ing a solid surface to a liquid to be repelled,” explains
Daniel Behr, CEO of SLIPS Technologies (Cambridge,
for the latest Mass.; www.slipstechnologies.com), which is commer-
cializing the technology under an exclusive license from
Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.; www.harvard.
edu), where SLIPS were first invented. “The surface
products texture does not have to be highly ordered, as in nano-
structured coatings, allowing an easier path to scaling
up the technology,” he says. (For more on nanostruc-
and technologies tured, superomniphobic surfaces, see Chem. Eng.,
January 2015, p. 12).
The general process by which SLIPS are created in-
in the chemical volves introducing some degree of porosity or rough-
ness to a solid surface, which is then chemically func-
tionalized. The functionalized surface is then infused
processing with a lubricant material, which forms a stable, im-
mobilized and resilient liquid-film overlayer (diagram).
“By carefully engineering the surface morphology and
chemical functionalization, and matching it to a par-
industries. ticular lubricant type, a wide range of SLIPS can be
created that could have uses in many applications,”
says Behr. A major technical hurdle in development
was figuring out how to maintain robust and persistent
lubricant coatings through non-covalent interactions,
says Philseok Kim, a co-inventor of the technology
and a co-founder of SLIPS Technologies.
to subscribe SLIPS applications include promoting the shedding
of ice formed on the exterior of heat-exchanger coils in
to the e-letter, refrigeration, the release of highly viscous materials from
industrial equipment such as containers, chutes, molds
please visit: and others, and preventing the formation of biofilms.
The company also received a grant recently for develop-
www.chemengonline.com/ ing SLIPS for preventing the adhesion of barnacles and
eletter-signup mussels to ship hulls.
SLIPS Technologies is working with a number of com-
26033 mercial development partners on integrating SLIPS into
existing products, and on employing SLIPS in end-use
applications, Behr notes.
Streamline turnarounds with
faster catalyst cooling
Heat exchanger
Berndorf Band o ers

To top of
reactor customized steel belts
for each application
Surge vessel
From
compressor
discharge
C
Chiller
Pump
Spare Aggreko North America

visit us at:
A
new process technology from Aggreko North Chem Show
America plc (Houston; www.us.aggreko.com)
aims to make turnarounds at petroleum refiner- New York City, USA
ies more cost-effective by decreasing the time November 17 - 19, 2015
required for catalyst cooling. The catalyst materials
used for refining operations, such as hydrotreating, hy- Booth 511
drocracking and reforming, operate at very high tem-
peratures, and must be cooled prior to maintenance.
As these catalyst beds can contain millions of pounds
of material, the cooling process can be one of the most Detailed consultation in preliminary
time- and cost-intensive tasks during a turnaround. stages of production ensures that
Traditionally, a two-step cooling process is em-
ployed. The first step circulates hydrogen gas steel belts from Berndorf Band
through the reaction loop’s recycle-gas compressor, meet all requirements set by the
and cools the catalyst bed down to around 200°F. customer, e.g.
A second step is required to further cool the system
for safe maintenance, especially if vessel entry is re- • excellent mechanical,
quired. This second step utilizes large volumes of liq- physical and geometric
uid nitrogen, and can take several days. properties
Aggreko’s recently patented process (diagram) sim-
plifies the second step, and eliminates the use of costly
N2. In this process, coolant is circulated through a • high corrosion resistance,
closed-loop chiller system, cooling down the recycle- even in extremely
gas compressor. The compressor discharge is routed aggressive atmosphere
to a downstream heat exchanger, which forces the
coldest gas into the top of the reactor bed, and also
removes the heat of compression. According to the • perfect adhesion of vee-ropes
company, this process cools much faster than nitrogen-
based cooling, as demonstrated in one recent applica-
tion where the nitrogen-free cooling system decreased
catalyst temperature from 200 to 80°F in just 11 h. All
equipment for the cooling process is provided by Ag-
greko on a rental basis, and each system is designed
to fit the specific application. An important aspect of
the design is selecting the proper coolant for the re-
quired temperatures — water and glycol mixtures have Phone: +1 847 841 3300
been commonly used. The coolant is not consumed, sales@berndorf-usa.com
and usually does not need to be changed out once the
equipment is deployed onsite. www.berndorf-usa.com
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12 Circle 28 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-28
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015
‘Switchable solvent’ technology is a promising development for
advancing forward osmosis
F
orward osmosis (FO), whereby a concentrated colleagues use a solvent that switches between low
salt solution is used to “draw” water through a and high osmotic pressure using CO2 as the “trigger.”
membrane from a less-concentrated salt solu- Two versions of the process are being investigated,
tion (via osmotic pressure), has the advantage explains Jessop: one uses a gaseous amine (such
over reverse osmosis (RO) in that high pressures, with as trimethylamine), and the other uses a polymeric
the associated pumps and energy requirements, are amine. In both cases, the switchable solvent is made
avoided. In addition, FO can be applied for concen- by dissolving the amine in water to form an aqueous
trating brine solutions of much higher concentration solution with relatively low osmotic pressure. Bubbling
(up to 25 wt.%) than seawater — such brines, as are CO2 into the solution changes the amine into its bicar-
produced in hydraulic fracturing, cannot be treated by bonate salt, thereby “switching on” the high osmotic
RO, says professor Philip Jessop, Dept. of Chemis- pressure needed for the draw solution of the FO pro-
try, Queen’s University (Kingston, Ont., Canada; www. cess. After this draw solution becomes diluted, the
chem.queensu.ca). solvent is regenerated by simply removing the CO2 by
However, the main disadvantage with FO has been stripping with air. In the case of the gaseous amine,
the cost-intensive step needed to regenerate the draw the amine is removed with the CO2 — both of which
solution after it has been diluted. Now, a clever method can be recycled. The recovered water is suitable for
— using a switchable solvent discovered and patented industrial applications.
by Jessop — is being developed by Forward Water In laboratory trials, the combined FO/switchable-
Technologies (FWT; www.forwardwater.com), the uni- solvent technology has been shown to reduce the vol-
versity’s spinoff company aiming to commercialize the ume of 10-wt.% brine wastewater by more than 50%,
technology, in cooperation with GreenCentre Canada while producing clean water with less than 1,000
(both Kingston, Ont.; www.greencentrecanada.com). parts per million (ppm) salt content, says FWT CEO
Normally, diluted draw solution has to be regener- C. Howie Honeyman. FWT has just commissioned a
ated by energy-intensive methods, such as evapora- scalable 20-L/h miniplant to gather data needed for
tion or a temperature increase, or by a capital-inten- scaling up the process, as well as for evaluating the
sive step, such as crystallization. Instead, Jessop and economics of the process.
The Chemical Engineering store offers a variety

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This chemical-free disinfection media
tion manager. And the dyes perform equally
well to the existing range of sulfur dyes de-
requires no power
rived from conventional raw materials, adds
S
Albert Llort, product manager for special urface-modified ceramic ma- this way, the silver can kill microbes
dyes at Archroma. The company is now terials have been developed on contact, but does not leach out of
working on a blue dye and expanding the to disinfect water and air and the pellets.
range of waste natural materials. Archroma other fluids without requir- In tests, the technology has dem-
is also working with clothing and textile making additional chemicals or energy onstrated 5- to 10-log reductions in a
ers on an authentication project that guar- input. Developed by Claire Tech- wide range of bacteria, viruses, yeasts
antees the sustainably sourced dyes. nologies (Raleigh, N.C.; www.claire- and micro-algae, including Escheri-
tech.com), the disinfection media chia coli, Staphylococcus aureus,
NEW FLAME RETARDANT consist of silica- and alumina-based Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella
Researchers at the University of Texas at pellets that have been modified to adelaidensis and others.
Austin (www.utexas.edu) have found that have powerful cationic surface sites. Claire has built a production-scale
a synthetic coating of polydopamine — de- When they come into contact with facility for the disinfection media and
rived from the natural compound dopamine
microorganisms, the cationic sites is now testing its products for a host
— can be used as a highly effective, water-
applied flame retardant for polyurethane
at the ceramics’ surfaces pull elec- of applications, including wastewa-
foam. The researchers believe their dop- trons from the cells of the microbe, ter disinfection, well water sanitation,
amine-based nanocoating could be used in destroying them. drinking water disinfection, fighting
lieu of conventional flame retardants. “The excellent germicidal properties Légionnaires infections, cooling-tower
Using far less polydopamine by weight than of silver have been known for quite water disinfection, cooling oil disinfec-
typical of conventional flame retardant addi- some time, but it has proven difficult tion, ballast-water treatment and oth-
tives, the team found that the polydopamine to bring a silver-based disinfection ers. In February 2015, Claire entered
coating on foams leads to a 67% reduction system to industrial scale,” explains into a Cooperative Research and
in peak heat-release rate, a measure of fire Cristian Chis, chief technology of- Development Agreement (CRADA)
intensity and imminent danger to building
ficer of Claire. “We have developed with the U.S. Environmental Protec-
occupants or firefighters. The polydopamine
flame retardant’s ability to reduce the fire’s
a process for coating the surface of tion Agency (www.epa.gov) involving
intensity is about 20% better than existing the ceramic so that we can attach sil- wastewater and mobile emergency
flame retardants commonly used today. ver atoms covalently,” Chis says. In water-treatment systems. ■
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Business News
LINEUP Plant Watch will invest $100 million to increase its capacity
BASF and Sinopec inaugurate world- for biaxially oriented polyester film at its plant
ABB in Greer, S.C. The investment will include a
scale isononanol plant in Maoming
AIR LIQUIDE October 12, 2015 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, new film-production line scheduled to start
Germany; www.basf.com) and China Petroleum up in mid-2017.
AXIALL
& Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; Beijing; www.
BASF sinopec.com) have inaugurated a world-scale Inovyn to build large-scale potassium
isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming, China. The hydroxide plant in Belgium
CB&I
plant has INA production capacity of 180,000 September 25, 2015 — Inovyn (www.inovyn.
EVONIK metric tons per year (m.t./yr), and is said to com), a joint venture (JV) between Solvay
EXXONMOBIL be the first INA plant in China. S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) and
Ineos Technologies (Rolle, Switzerland; www.
GE POWER & WATER Air Liquide signs longterm contract ineos.com), is planning a major investment
GENOMATICA with major petroleum group in China in a large-scale potassium hydroxide (KOH)
October 12, 2015 — Air Liquide (Paris, France; production facility at its Antwerp/Lillo site in
INEOS Belgium. The investment consists of a KOH
www.airliquide.com) signed a longterm contract
JACOBS with Yan’an Energy and Chemical Co. in which plant with a capacity of 160,000 m.t./yr that
Air Liquide will invest around €80 million in will go onstream in 2017.
KRATON
two new air separation units (ASUs), with
KURARAY a total capacity of 2,800 m.t./d of oxygen. BASF to build production facility based on
Expected to start operations in early 2018, Genomatica’s renewable BDO technology
LANXESS
the new ASUs will supply air gases for a plant September 24, 2015 — Under the terms of
MITSUBISHI that will produce 600,000 m.t./yr of olefins. an expanded license agreement, BASF will
build a world-scale production facility that will
NIPPON SHOKUBAI
Jacobs awarded EPCM contract use Genomatica’s (San Diego, Calif.; www.
PPG from Nippon Shokubai Europe genomatica.com) process to manufacture
PRAXAIR October 6, 2015 — Jacobs Engineering Group renewable 1,4-butanediol (BDO). BASF has
Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) has secured rights to allow production of up to
SAUDI ARAMCO received a contract from Nippon Shokubai Europe 75,000 m.t./yr of BDO.
SINOPEC N.V. for detailed engineering, procurement and
construction management (EPCM) services for CB&I awarded FEED contract for
SOLVAY
the expansion of its superabsorbent polymer ethylene cracker project in Texas
THYSSENKRUPP plant and a new acrylic acid plant at a site in September 23, 2015 — CB&I (The Woodlands,
INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS Zwijndrecht (Antwerp), Belgium. The project’s Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract
total investment is approximately $390 million. by Total to provide its proprietary ethylene
TOTAL technology and front-end engineering and
Completion is expected in October 2017.
design (FEED) services for a proposed new
Evonik plans to build additional ethane cracker located in Port Arthur, Tex.
methionine plant in Singapore The proposed cracker will have a capacity
October 1, 2015 — Evonik Industries AG of 1 million m.t./yr of ethylene.
(Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has
started the planning stage for the construction PPG completes expansion of
of an additional plant complex in Singapore coatings facility in Spain
to produce the amino acid D,L-methionine. September 17, 2015 — PPG Industries, Inc.
The new plant will have a production capacity (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) announced
of 150,000 m.t./yr and is expected to start the completion of a $3.8-million expansion at
operations in 2019. its coatings manufacturing facility in Laguna
de Duero, Valladolid, Spain. The investment
Kuraray to expand production capacity provides new mixing and blending equipment
for optical-use base films in Japan at the facility that will support an 80% increase
October 1, 2015 — Kuraray Co. (Tokyo, Japan; in annual coatings-production capacity.
www.kuraray.co.jp/en) will expand production
of optical-use polyvinyl alcohol (poval) film Mergers & Acquisitions
at its facility in Saijo, Japan. The production GE to acquire membrane
capacity for these films will increase from 212 manufacturer IMT Solutions
to 232 million m2/yr. The expanded operations October 5, 2015 — GE Power & Water
are planned to commence in early 2017. (Schenectady, N.Y.; www.gepower.com) has
agreed to acquire IMT Solutions, a Netherlands-
Mitsubishi Polyester Film invests based manufacturer of filtration membranes
Look for more in South Carolina plant expansion for water treatment. With this acquisition, GE
latest news on September 30, 2015 — Mitsubishi Polyester expands its existing advanced ultrafiltration
chemengonline.com Film, Inc. (Greer, S.C.; www.m-petfilm.com) hollow-fiber membrane portfolio.
ThyssenKrupp merges plant ABB to collaborate with Lanxess and Saudi Aramco
technology businesses in France Werum IT solutions create JV for synthetic rubber
October 1, 2015 — ThyssenKrupp September 24, 2015 — ABB (Zurich, September 22, 2015 — Lanxess AG
Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; Switzerland; www.abb.com) has signed (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.
www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions. a memorandum of understanding with com) and Saudi Aramco’s subsidiary
com) is strengthening its plant technology Werum IT Solutions GmbH, a supplier Aramco Overseas Co. plan to establish
capabilities in France by merging the of pharmaceutical manufacturing- a JV for synthetic rubber, in which
formerly separate entities Polysius and execution systems, to collaborate each party will hold a 50% interest.
KH Mineral to become ThyssenKrupp on distributed control-system (DCS) The transaction is expected to be
Industrial Solutions (France). solutions for the life-science industries, completed in the first half of 2016. The
providing expertise in DCS and JV is valued at €2.75 billion. ■
Axiall’s aromatics business production-management software. Mary Page Bailey
acquired by Ineos
October 1, 2015 — Ineos Technologies
has acquired the aromatics business of
Axiall Corp. (Atlanta, Ga.; www.axiall.
com) for $52.4 million. The acquisition
Did you know
comprises a 900,000-m.t./yr cumene
production plant based in Pasadena,
that 90% of heat
Tex. In addition, the phenol, acetone
and alpha-methylstyrene business will
transfer fluid
transfer to the Ineos Phenol facility
in Mobile, Ala.
breakdowns
ExxonMobil to sell Torrance
are caused by
refinery to PBF Energy
October 1, 2015 — ExxonMobil Corp.
equipment issues?
(Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) Listing and temperature range chart for all Paratherm heat transfer fluids.
has reached an agreement with PBF
Energy, Inc. for the sale and purchase
of its petroleum refinery in Torrance,
Calif., as well as other associated
California-based assets. Subject to
repairs to the refinery’s electrostatic
precipitator and regulatory approval,
change-in-control is anticipated to take
place by mid-2016.
Avoid unplanned
Kraton to acquire Arizona
Chemical for $1.37 billion
process downtime,
September 30, 2015 — Kraton
If you just check your hot-oil on a regular be more profitable.
basis you could practically eliminate unplanned
Performance Polymers, Inc. (Houston; shutdown or loss of production. The easy way
www.kraton.com) has entered into a to do this is by conducting a Fluid Analysis. Services Training
definitive agreement to acquire all of the Because Fluid Analysis isn’t just to check your Fluid Analysis Troubleshooting
capital stock of privately held Arizona fluid, it’s to test your system. Fluid Maintenance Consulting
Chemical Holdings Corp. for a cash When we test your fluid (we suggest annually Products
purchase price of $1.37 billion. Arizona or more frequently for demanding service) the Paratherm™ NF HTF Paratherm™ OR HTF
values we get from boiling range, viscosity, and Paratherm™ MR HTF Paratherm™ GLT HTF
Chemical is a producer of high-value Paratherm™ LR HTF Paratherm™ SC Cleaner
performance products and specialty acidity tell us what’s going on in there. Better Paratherm™ HR HTF Paratherm™ LC Cleaner
yet, together with a one-to-one system review
chemicals made from non-hydrocarbon, Paratherm™ HE HTF Paratherm™ AC Cleaner
with you, those same test results can help Paratherm™ HT HTF Paratherm™ AP Antioxidant
renewable raw materials. pinpoint emerging issues with oxidation,
over-heating, or possible mismatches in those
Praxair expands business in interrelated components that could lead to a
Peru with Tecnogas acquisition downtime-causing problem.
September 24, 2015 — Praxair, Inc. This can help you keep the system up when www.paratherm.com/chemical-engineering
(Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) it’s supposed to be up, and know in advance if
has acquired Tecnogas, a producer any corrections are needed for when you do +1 (610) 350-4244
have scheduled downtime. Your system runs 31 Portland Road • West
and distributor of carbon dioxide and Conshohocken PA 19428 USA
industrial gases in Peru. Tecnogas owns better, your fluid last longer, and your process
earns its keep.
and operates three carbon dioxide ®
production plants that Praxair will use See the sampling process in a 1-minute video at www.paratherm.com/fluid-analysis
to serve the growing demand for the
gas in the country. Circle 26 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-26

Newsfront
CPI Salaries Hold Steady;

Workforce Solutions Expand
Conditions in the U.S. CPI continue to support high salaries for engineers and skilled technical
workers, but conditions also continue to sustain ongoing workforce challenges
IN BRIEF
E
ngineering expertise and technical FIGURE 1. INDUSTRY SECTORS OF
know-how continue to be in high de- RESPONDENTS TO THE 2015 CE SALARY AND
SOLID, BUT ERRATIC
mand in the chemical process indus- WORKFORCE SURVEY (GLOBAL)
LABOR MARKET
tries (CPI), and that is keeping upward Petroleum refining
SALARY SURVEY DATA
pressure on salaries for chemical engineers. Plastics and
WORKFORCE Survey data from a number of sources indi- synthetic resins
QUESTIONS cate that CPI salaries remain strong in 2015 Inorganic chemicals
CONSTRUCTION and unemployment remains low. Ongoing Organic chemicals
INVESTMENTS capital investments to take advantage of in- Food and beverage

expensive and plentiful natural gas from shale Pharmaceuticals
EDUCATION EXPANSION deposits continue to cast a large shadow Bio-based
chemicals and fuels
when considering current workforce issues,
Specialty chemicals
especially in areas of high activity, such as
Pulp and paper
Louisiana and Texas. Responses to workforce
Energy generation
issues surrounding the supply of skilled labor
Glass, stone,
for construction and operation of new facili- ceramics
ties are now maturing and expanding, but the Rubber
scope of the challenge remains large, and is Metals
complicated by the depressed price of crude 0 10 20 30 40 50
petroleum observed for the past year. Percent
Solid, but erratic labor market in the CPI. Lower oil prices have made life
By many measures, 2015 is a good time to more difficult for the U.S. oil-and-gas sec-
be a chemical engineer in the U.S., and a tor, and have meant a partial erosion of the
good time to be employed in the CPI in gen- competitive advantage for U.S. chemical
eral. With unemployment among engineers makers. Cheaper oil means lower feedstock
very low (estimated at 1% or less), compen- costs for those making ethylene from naph-
sation levels currently remain very strong for tha, for example, which eats into the advan-
those with degrees and experience in chem- tage enjoyed by U.S. petrochemical compa-
ical engineering. A large part of the strong nies using ethane and other natural gas from
demand for engineers in the CPI is driven by shale as a feedstock.
investments made in chemical manufactur- “The labor market for chemical engineers
ing to take advantage of inexpensive natu- seems to be behaving somewhat strangely
ral gas from shale deposits in the U.S. The this year, due in significant part to the drop
American Chemistry Council (ACC; Wash- in crude oil prices we have seen, among
ington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) other factors,” says Adam Krueger, recruiter
has found that jobs in the chemical industry with Sun Recruiting Inc. (Chicago, Ill.; www.
have been added over the past two years, sunrecruiting.com). “It’s been erratic in terms
and “as new production of basic chemicals, of the timing of hiring patterns.” Although it
resins, fertilizers and other shale-advantaged is still difficult for CPI companies to find tal-
chemicals comes online, new jobs will be ented workers, the hiring pace has slowed
created to support the expansion.” over the past year, Krueger says.
However, the depressed prices for crude In the U.S., the greatest demand for chem-
petroleum since late 2014 have complicated ical engineering jobs seems to be in the
the labor market somewhat for workers Southeast and Midwest regions, with less in
FIGURE 2. SALARY RANGE REPORTED BY RESPONDENTS
TO 2015 CE SALARY SURVEY (U.S. AND CANADA)
Less than $40,000/yr
$40,000 to $60,000/yr
$80,000 to $100,000/yr
$100,000 to $120,000/yr
$120,000 to $140,000/yr
$140,000/yr to $160,000/yr
$160,000/yr to $180,000/yr
Leader in White Biotech
$180,000/yr to $200,000/yr
$200,000/yr to $220,000/yr
Solutions
Greater than $220,000/yr
0 10 20 30 40 50
Percent of respondents
the Northeast and Gulf Coast regions, where traditional

hotbeds of engineering jobs, such as Houston and Baton
Rouge, La. have seen less than the normal number of
chemical engineering job searches, Krueger says. Part
of the explanation could be that chemical-manufacturing
companies have been able to locate engineers that may
have been laid off from jobs in the upstream oil-and-gas
sector as the petroleum prices remain low, reducing their
need for job search consultants.
The discrepancy between upstream and downstream
sectors of the market has been observed over the past
year, according to Krueger. “Companies involved in the
oil-and-gas sector and in petroleum refining are generally
hiring at a much lower level this year compared to other re-
cent years, while companies making specialty chemicals,
bio-based chemicals and inorganic chemicals are hiring at
a much higher rate, comparatively,” Krueger says.
Despite the uneven nature of hiring in 2015, there re-
mains a huge lack of talented engineers in the middle
experience levels. “Everyone is looking for engineers with
5 to 20 years of experience,” Krueger says. Project engi-
neers are in demand, as are maintenance and reliability
engineers, automation and control engineers and pro-
cess design engineers,” he points out.
“There’s still upward pressure on salaries for engineers
in the CPI,” Krueger says, “I’m constantly having to ask Offering flexible and efficient solutions, GEA is your
client companies if they can go higher in salary to land
process technology partner for Industrial Biotech.
the best talent.”
Competence to take you ahead.
Salary survey data
Surveys can provide data surrounding the salaries of en-
gineers working in the CPI. Two are discussed here.
A survey conducted by Chemical Engineering in Oc-
tober 2015 received close to 1,100 responses from
CPI workers around the world (Figure 1). The average
salary among all respondents that worked full time, in-
cluding several hundred international respondents, was
$104,055, down slightly from the $109,300 average from
a similar CE survey last year. For respondents in the U.S. GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft
and Canada, the average salary was $125,990, down
0.5% from the $126,700 average from last year. The me- Peter-Müller-Str. 12, 40468 Düsseldorf, Germany
dian salary was $120,000. The salaries reported in the info@gea.com, www.gea.com
U.S. outpaced those reported in Western Europe, where
the average was $87,190/yr.
Multiple years of on-the-job experience translates into
large pay increases. For U.S. and Canada respondents
CP-01-019
engineering for a better world

cording to the survey results.
EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY Another recent survey, conducted
earlier this year by the American In-
T
he workforce situation in Louisiana and Texas is an important part of a larger con-
versation in the U.S. regarding the connection between industry and education stitute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE;
and how we approach the education of technically skilled workers. New York; www.aiche.org), suggests
“There’s a profound mismatch in the U.S. between the education we provide to students a continued upward trend for salaries
and the needs of the workforce,” says William Symonds, director of the Global Pathways
of its members. The survey found that
Institute (GPI; www.globalpathwaysinstitute.org), which is based at Arizona State University
(Tempe, Ariz.; www.asu.edu). “As a society, we put almost no resources into promoting ca-
the median salary for chemical engi-
reer literacy and helping people make informed career decisions.” neers responding rose by 5.8% over
The way those issues are addressed will affect the workforce of the CPI. Symonds thinks the median value from 2013, when
that to address the issue in a permanent way, nationally, the country needs to place far more the survey was last conducted.
emphasis on career literacy — equipping students with the knowledge, tools and support
they need to make good career decisions. In addition, we need to greatly expand work-based Workforce questions
learning, including internships and apprenticeships. This is especially important in training en-
In addition to the salary-related ques-
gineers. “Engineering schools in the U.S. have not emphasized work-based learning nearly
enough,” he says. “A key initiative [that the GPI has] is to form partnerships with engineering tions, the CE survey also inquired
schools to provide more opportunities for intense, long-term, meaningful internships.” This about other workforce-related top-
would be a very effective strategy for exposing students to chemical engineering, as well as ics, including recent retirements and
for helping companies identify promising candidates to hire. hires made by the respondents’ em-
He also advocates for CPI companies to be even more proactive about attracting students. ployers. For hires, close to 33% of
Most high school students take chemistry, he points out, but the subject is generally taught
respondents said they estimated that
as an abstract subject. “We’re not talking to students about the opportunities to work in
chemistry,” Symonds says.
their employers had hired more than
“Chemical engineering is not perceived as a ‘sexy’ industry or career path, but it is of vital 15 engineers and technical staff over
importance to almost every aspect of our modern lives. We need programs to educate stu- the past year. Almost 92% of survey
dents on the import roles that chemical engineers play in our lives,” Symonds remarks. takers said their employer had made
“We need a cultural revolution in career awareness and literacy. In Germany and Switzerland at least one hire in the past year. Per-
and other Northern European countries, they do a much better job of linking education to haps somewhat correspondingly,
the workforce. Students are put into the college preparatory track or into a vocational track,
28.4% of respondents said their
where they are given on-the-job training while they are learning.
"Students are made to believe that all jobs require a four-year degree, but the reality is that company had experienced greater
many jobs don’t require one," Symonds says. "What they require is advanced technical skills." than 15 retirements over the past
GPI is working with several other national organizations to create a national coalition to pro- year, and 80% said their company
mote career awareness. The coalition is planning to hold a major meeting next February at the had seen at least one person retire.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Washington, D.C.; www.uschamber.com). Companies or orga- Retirements. The survey also asked
nizations interested in getting involved can contact Symonds (william.symonds@asu.edu). to what extent those retirements af-
Texas and Louisiana are among the states looking to address the issue through state legis-
lation. In Texas, for example, House Bill 5 was passed in 2013. It is an industry-driven piece
fected companies’ operations, an
of legislation aimed at renewing interest in technical programs for middle schools. Louisiana issue that has been important in
also has legislation for technical training in high schools. the CPI for the past several years.
Those reporting that retirements had
“greatly affected” their company to-
with 0–3 years of engineering experi- by 92.6% of respondents to the CE taled 16.0%, while those saying re-
ence, the average salary is $79,200/ survey, while another 4.0% said they tirements had “somewhat affected”
yr, while the average salary swells worked part time. Part-time incomes their company totaled 41.9%. Just
to $105,300/yr for those with 8–15 were not included in calculating aver- over 25% said that retirements had
years of experience. age salaries. Retired workers made only “minimally affected” their com-
Forty-five percent of survey respon- up 2.3% of the respondent pool, pany and 16.5% said retirements had
dents working full time reported that while those reporting unemployed not affected their company at all.
their salary fell somewhere between status was only 1.0%. Skills. The survey also asked to what
$100,000 and $200,000 annually, with Fifty-two percent of respondents extent respondents’ companies have
14.3% in the $100,000–$120,000 hold a bachelor’s degree, (avg. been affected by a shortage of skilled
range and 10% in the $120,000 to U.S. salary $120,229), while 36.4% trade workers, which has also been
$140,000 range. Almost 18%, how- have a master’s degree (avg. salary a much-discussed topic in the U.S.
ever, reported salaries of less than $132,686), and 10.5% have a Ph.D manufacturing and industry sectors,
$40,000/yr. Those respondents hailed ($143,517). Associate’s degrees were in general. Almost 63% of respon-
mostly from South America, Mexico reported by 1.0% of respondents. dents said that a shortage of skilled
and Central America, Southeast and Going forward into next year, trade workers had either greatly af-
Central Asia. Close to 5% of survey 45.2% of respondents said they fected (17.6%) or somewhat affected
takers reported annual salaries of anticipated their salary to be higher (45.22%) their companies’ busi-
greater than $200,000. Salaries dif- next year than this one, while 44.5% nesses, while 22.9% said the issue
fered somewhat by job function (Fig- thought their salary would remain had a minimal effect and 14.2% said a
ure 2 and Table 1). about the same. Only 10.3% antici- lack of skilled worker had no effect on
Full time employment was reported pated a lower salary next year, ac- their companies in the past year.
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Experience. Finally, the CE sur- TABLE 1. AVERAGE SALARY BY AREA OF WORK industrial expansion,” Scott says.
vey asked about demand for Job function / Area of work Average salary Scott describes the situation in
engineers with mid-level experi- 2015 (CE survey) Louisiana as highly concentrated
ence. In answering this question, Process operations $113,520 by industry and also by geogra-
20.8% of respondents said their Equipment and maintenance $123,000 phy. The majority of industrial
employer had been “highly af- Product design and process design $119,820 construction projects are cen-
fected” by an inability to hire en- Consulting $144,355 tered around the manufacture
gineers with mid-level experience, Environmental, Health and Safety/ $121,350
of petrochemicals ($50.7 billion
and 42% said their company was Security worth of investment in La.) and
“somewhat affected.” On the other Research and development $125,425 around facilities for the export of
hand, 22.2% said the availability Plant management $139,246
liquefied natural gas (LNG; $70.2
of mid-career engineers had only billion). Geographically, the in-
a minimal effect, and 15% said Average salaries were calculated for those U.S. and Canada re- vestments are concentrated
spondents who indicated a job-function area on the CE survey
that it had no effect at all. around the corridor from Baton
ana, particularly the areas around Rouge to New Orleans ($44.5
Construction investments Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lake billion) along the Mississippi River,
A major factor in current CPI work- Charles. “In the past, an annual in- and the Lake Charles region ($96.6
force issues over the past five years dustrial investment of $5 billion would billion) in southwest Louisiana.
has been the investment in capital have been considered a good year,” Statewide, of the $145.4 billion in
projects positioned to take advantage Scott remarks, but Louisiana alone announced industrial capital invest-
of inexpensive shale gas. “The natural- has seen over $145 billion of industrial ment, $62.3 billion is accounted for in
gas-driven wave of investment is like investment over the past two and half projects that are either currently under
nothing we’ve ever seen before,” says years, so the scope is huge.” construction or have been completed,
Louisiana economist Loren Scott. “Southeast Texas is similar to Loui- while $83.1 billion is accounted for in
Two regions that offer a window into siana in terms of the level of invest- projects that are in the front-end engi-
how the wave of investment is affect- ment and the number of construc- neering and design (FEED) stage.
ing the labor market — and vice versa tion projects, but other states are not This means that there is a poten-
— are southeast Texas and Louisi- even close to those areas in scope of tial for “a whole lot more demand for
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Circle 8 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-08
WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015 23
workers,” beyond even what has been “However, some layoffs in the oil & only for the construction projects, but
required so far, Scott says. “Construc- gas sector are benefitting the labor also for operations and maintenance
tion investment is still going.” supply for the chemical industry,” personnel that are needed once the
The construction is also being af- Scott says. projects come online. At this point,
fected by the low crude prices also, the workforce development efforts to
with subsequent effects on the labor Education expansion train for high-demand positions, such
market. “Some FEED-stage projects To meet the workforce needs of in- as process operators and instrumen-
are hitting the brakes because of the dustry in areas such as those dis- tation technicians, are robust, with a
low price of crude oil,” Scott notes. cussed above, community colleges number of programs having been es-
“There has been some hesitation this and technical schools have played tablished over the past several years
year on going forward, in an effort to an important role in training the across many campuses. More recent
see where the oil prices will settle.” skilled workers that are needed not efforts have been aimed at expand-
ing the existing programs to accom-
modate more students and at ensur-
ing the quality of the education.
“With the billions of dollars in in-
vestment coming in for construction
ABOUT YOUR projects in the CPI, there are huge
needs for construction trade work
now,” says Monty Sullivan, president
NEXT PROJECT of the Louisiana Community and
Technical College System (LCTCS).
“Once each project is completed,
there will be a large demand for pro-
cess operators and maintenance
personnel, and we are expanding
programs and standardizing cur-
ricula to train people with the skills
that industry needs.”
“The demand has not slowed
down,” adds Debi Jordan, executive
director of workforce and community
development at Lee College (Bay-
town, Tex.; www.lee.edu).
LCTCS’s Sullivan says, “Over the
past seven years, we have actually
cut the number of programs offered
across our colleges significantly (500
programs since 2008), but we have
still grown the enrollment in programs
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Examples of Typical Inventory try is asking for, such as process-op-
erator certification programs.”
“We feel that our educational pro-
When you grams are aligned more than ever be-
fore with industry needs,” he adds.
think equipment, At Lee College, Jordan says that
since the number of job vacancies still
think Federal outpaces the number of graduates,
the college is increasing offerings for
Equipment working adults to return to school
10,000 Gal DCI Storage Tank, 316L S/S
and obtain training that qualifies them
to work in the CPI. Lee College has
We Sell High-Quality Machinery www.fedequip.com also built new laboratories for hands-
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January 2016. Also, the college has
completed a $1.5-million renovation
of its on-campus pilot plant and de-
veloped a new certificate program to assist the industrial workforce in increased because of the retirements
that combines instrumentation tech- the region, which is primarily petro- of highly experienced workers.
nology, electrical technology and an- chemical. “So we are very focused “We are also looking at specialty
alyzer technology, Jordan says. on coordinating the involvement of needs for industry,” Fabre points out,
As enrollment grows, efforts to industry members to engage with and looking to identify training gaps.
work with industry partners in as- high schools, trade schools and For example, she says, GBRIA is de-
sembling specific and customized community and technical colleges.” veloping specific training for workers
training curricula are also expanding. Also, since there are now, and will in areas of CPI plants where high-
For example, LCTCS’s Sullivan says continue to be, a lot of new work- voltage electrical systems are used,
“A situation that could call for cus- ers on the job, concerns over safety and to train workers who can per-
tomized training might be a particu- are heightened, Fabré says, and the
855 PM Chevelle 050713_Layout 1 5/7/13
form non-destructive testing.
10:18 PM Page 1
n
lar new capital investment that has need for supervisory training is also Scott Jenkins
specific training needs.”
An ongoing issue associated with
expanding training programs is lo-
cating qualified faculty to teach the
courses. Lee College is working
to expand two of its most popular
programs currently — the process
technology program and the instru-
mentation technician program. “The
barriers to growing those programs
are the lack of qualified faculty to
teach the courses,” says Lee’s Jor-
dan. Lee is working with the other
eight community colleges on the
Texas Gulf Coast to address this
challenge. Technical faculty recruit-
1969 Chevelle SS
ment is a major initiative of the Com-
munity College Petrochemical Initia-
tive (CCPI), a consortium launched
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“Finding qualified faculty is a limit- vacuum receivers operating with up to 26” Hg
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“We are trying to attract recently receiver tank eliminates suction piping/NPSH problems.
Whether operating at a trickle or full flow, specially designed
retired industry workers, who have impellers allow pumping to resume even after periods of
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Another challenge has been the TYPICAL 1”- 4”, standard materials of construction include All Iron,
depressed crude-oil prices and sub- RECEIVER
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sequent layoffs in the oil-and-gas overhead v-belt drive arrangement as
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Chemical Engineering www.chemengonline.com november 2015 25
Newsfront
EPA Bumps Up
Enforcement Efforts
Tighter enforcement requires up-to-date monitoring and control equipment
IN BRIEF
W
ith stricter emissions regula-
MONITORING tions on the horizon and with
INSTRUMENTATION the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA; Washington,
EMISSION AND CONTROL
D.C.; www.epa.gov) actively enforcing ones,
TECHNOLOGIES
the chemical process industries (CPI) can not
AUTOMATION AND sit back and relax. The EPA has been actively
SOFTWARE cracking down on the enforcement of existing
regulations and is paying closer attention to
Siemens Corp.
reporting and quality assurance of the mea-
surements and information being reported.
FIGURE 1. Siemens’ Sitrans LDS 6 TDL instrument is de-
So what does this mean for chemical pro- signed to measure the necessary components directly in the
cessors? It necessitates the continued use stack without any sample handling or conditioning system
of top-notch environmental monitoring and
control technologies, as well as solutions that measurement technique allows measure-
provide more accurate and timely reporting of ment of ammonia, hydrogen chloride, oxy-
data. This article examines the newest trends gen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
in monitoring, control, software and solutions in extremely dirty, dusty or corrosive samples
designed to ensure compliance. where an extractive sampling system would
quickly fail or require constant maintenance.
Monitoring instrumentation The LDS 6 has an internal reference cell for
When it comes to monitoring, processors long-term stability and lifetime on-line, con-
tend to be moving away from traditional tinuous, automatic calibration requiring no
instruments toward newer, more accurate calibration gas. This technology ensures reli-
and reliable methods, including laser-based ability and accuracy of the measurements.
devices. “The real challenge with traditional The Rosemount Analytical division of Em-
methods of monitoring is in the sample con- erson Process Management (Irvine, Calif.;
ditioning system, which includes the probe, www.emersonprocess.com) is also turning
the probe filter, the pump and associated to laser technologies in the form of quantum
moving parts,” explains Warren Dean, senior cascade lasers (QCL; Figure 2). The technol-
strategic sales support with Siemens Corp. ogy is based upon TDL absorption spec-
(Alpharetta, Ga.; www.usa.siemens.com). troscopy (TDLAS) and replaces other mea-
“And those parts become even less reliable surement techniques, such as paramagnetic
when measuring reactive components.” detectors and chemiluminescence. QCL of-
To overcome this obstacle, he says instru- fers multi-element detection, high accuracy,
mentation providers have devised non-tradi- wide dynamic range, low maintenance and
tional ways, including laser technologies, to a long lifecycle. Unlike TDLAS, QCL doesn’t
measure these components in situ. “Tunable- require cryogenic cooling.
diode laser (TDL) analyzers are excellent at ac- QCL technology features a cascade of elec-
curately, effectively and reliably measuring am- trons down a series of quantum wells, which
monia and other highly reactive gases thanks result from the growth of very thin layers of
to the laser technology,” explains Dean. semiconductor material. Traditional single
Siemens’ Sitrans LDS 6 TDL instrument electron-hole recombination methods can
(Figure 1) is designed to measure the nec- only produce a single photon, whereas the
essary components directly in the stack, quantum cascade laser can cascade down
duct or process stream without any sample between 20 and 100 quantum wells, produc-
handling or conditioning system. The TDL ing a photon at each step. This technology
Emerson Process Management Golder Associates
“The industry is increasingly inno-
vating in technology and turning to
this type of monitoring to stay at the
forefront of regulatory compliance on
emissions controls,” says Arnold.
Emissions control technologies

Emissions control is one of the areas
where EPA is most likely to crack
FIGURE 3. Chemical processors may begin to down on existing regulations, which
move away from point emissions monitoring to could result in the need to upgrade
whole-site footprints via the use of remote sens- to one of today’s more efficient and
ing technologies like drones and lasers, according
to experts at Golder Associates
certifiable options.
For example, Scott Bayon, direc-
sulfur oxides (SOx), CO, CO2, am- tor of sales with Anguil Environmen-
FIGURE 2. Emerson Process Management’s quan- monia and oxygen. Replacing multi- tal (Milwaukee, Wis.; www.anguil.
tum-cascade laser instrument features multiple analyzers with a single solution is com), says many processing facilities
element detection, high accuracy, wide dynamic
range, low maintenance and a long lifecycle not only cost competitive, but it sim- that had been flaring emissions are
plifies the measurement process.” being forced to look at more-modern
produces an electron “waterfall” that And, lasers are expected to play control technologies where it is pos-
provides a step change in perfor- a huge role in the very near future of sible to accurately measure what is
mance in terms of efficiency, enabling measurement technology, as well. coming into the system and what is
QCL to emit several Watts of peak Sam Arnold, senior atmospheric sci- coming out of the system to ensure
power in pulsed operation and tens entist with Golder Associates (Notting- destruction efficiency.
of milliwatts continuous wave. All this ham, U.K.; www.golder.com) says, In addition, many of the oxidizer
translates, according to Ruth Lindley, “Chemical processors may begin technologies installed 20 years ago
product manager, into the ability to to move away from point emissions are reaching the end of their useful
collect up to a million measurements monitoring to whole-site footprints life, he says. This means that when
per second and measure up to 20 via the use of remote sensing tech- attempting to amend air permits,
gases simultaneously. nologies like drones and lasers (Figure many processors are finding that
“This means processors can use 3). Monitoring the average emissions they need to replace lower-efficiency
just one analyzer to reliably and ac- of a whole site with drones or lasers existing equipment with today’s
curately measure multiple gases,” has the advantage over point moni- more efficient models, says Bayon.
says Lindley. “The advantage is that toring in that it helps avoid having to “The 95% destruction efficiency
we can measure the majority of the take compliance actions based upon achieved by older technology might
components people must monitor, the measurements of single pieces of have been the gold standard when it
such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), equipment that could be outliers. was installed 20 years ago, but today
Ofering diversity.
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Anguil Enviornmental Epcon Industrial Systems
FIGURE 4. Regenerative thermal oxidizers provide

a cost-effective-emission control solution as they
achieve 99% destruction efficiency
99-plus percent efficiency is easily

achievable and is what regulatory FIGURE 5. Direct-fired oxidizers may be the pre-
agencies require.” ferred emission-control solution when there is
For this reason, many proces- a very high VOC or hydrocarbon load, as well as
fluctuating operating conditions
sors are moving away from catalytic
oxidizers toward thermal oxidizers. areas of the plant to alleviate the cost
Bayon says regenerative thermal of additional equipment and overall
oxidizers (RTOs; Figure 4) provide fuel consumption.
a cost-effective solution as they
achieve 99% destruction efficiency of Automation and software
hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), vol- When it comes to compliance, au-
atile organic compounds (VOCs) and tomation and software can provide
odorous emissions without the use much needed assistance to proces-
of a catalyst. RTOs achieve emission sors looking to ensure tighter control
destruction using a mix of tempera- and faster, more accurate reporting.
ture, residence time, turbulence and “One of the factors that has driven
oxygen to convert pollutants into car- the growth of automation is that it can
bon dioxide and water vapor. help with environmental compliance
Vipul Patel, project manager and and reporting,” explains Lee Swin-
environmental specialist with Epcon dler, program manager with Maverick
Industrial Systems (The Woodlands, Technologies (Columbia, Ohio; www.
Tex.; www.epconlp.com) says that mavtechglobal.com). “Automating the
direct-fired oxidizers (Figure 5) may process instead of relying on human
be the preferred solution when there operators not only makes the plant run
is a very high VOC or hydrocarbon more profitably and reliably, but it also
load, as well as fluctuating operat- allows it to run with fewer emissions.
ing conditions. In this technology, It can also be used to help document
flame arrestors are installed between and prove that the plant is in compli-
the vapor source and the thermal ance and can measure actual emis-
oxidizer. Burner capacities in the sion levels and make a record, which
combustion chamber varies based can be used to provide regulatory
on the size of the system and the agencies with the necessary informa-
VOC loading. Operating tempera- tion in a very timely manner.”
tures range from 1,400 to 1,800°F, One of the most important areas
and gas residence times are typically automation expertise can help is in the
1 s, or more. The conditions cause timely detection and reporting of emis-
the process stream’s molecular sions events, notes Swindler. “A lot of
structure to break down into simple the compliance requirements involve
CO2 and water vapor. being disciplined around how you
Patel acknowledges that this tech- monitor and report an event in which
nology may use a lot of fuel, but says an emission limit has been exceeded.
the solution is often offered as part of Typically this is a very lengthy manual
a package that features heat recov- process for many plants, which is prob-
ery equipment intended to reduce lematic because there are often time
overall fuel consumption of the plant limits associated with how quickly such
by using the waste heat to provide events are acted upon and reported.
steam, hot water or hot air to other A more automated reporting process
can help alleviate this challenge, and is To this end, Wood Group Mustang
one of the areas where we see a lot of offers ENVision, a software suite that
potential and promise.” provides a realtime flow of informa-
Philip Black, environmental prac- tion and notifications of potential is-
tice lead, with Wood Group Mustang sues, allowing proactive responses
(Houston; www.mustangeng.com) to prevent non-compliance. The sys-
agrees that time is of the essence. Pen- tem brings transparency to the cal-
alties, he adds, can become costly if a culation process and lowers the cost
problem goes unnoticed for a signifi- of compliance by automating the
cant period. “If you’re required to main- data gathering and reporting. The
tain compliance on an hourly basis, but software integrates with enterprise
your environmental management sys- resource planning (ERP) software
tem only processes data once a day, and environmental management
you may not have known there was information systems (EMIS) to au-
an event until the next day. This means tomate additional reporting require-
that you could have been out of comments, as well.
“One of the factors that has driven the growth of automation

is that it can help with environmental compliance and
reporting.”
Lee Swindler, Maverick Technologies
DEFINING THE LIMIT
pliance for 24 h, which could result in Software may also be used to
significant fines,” says Black. help processors reach compliance AS STANDARD
In addition, as technology in- earlier in the design process. For ex-
creased and regulations tightened, ample, aspenONE from AspenTech
processors began using continuous (Bedford, Mass.; www.aspentech. Electric actuators for the oil
monitoring systems to analyze sam- com) can be used to model, track
and gas industry
ples in realtime and provide values at and reduce emissions more effec-
a very high frequency. “Not only do tively and earlier on in the design Safe, explosion-proof, tough.
the environmental agencies require process. “Companies could achieve AUMA offer a large portfolio of
processors to report all these data, emissions reductions of up to 40%
but they often require a tremendous through improvements in operations actuator and gearbox type ranges.
amount of quality assurance on the and maintenance, investments in ■ Automating all types of
instruments themselves,” he says. energy-efficiency measures at the industrial valves
This means, according to Black, that equipment and process levels and
processors must certify that not only the use of software tools to model ■ High corrosion protection
are their emissions below a certain and manage their operations,” says ■ Integration into all commonly
limit, but also that the many instru- a spokesperson for AspenTech.
ments monitoring the emissions are The simulation modeling function-
used control systems
operating correctly nearly 100% of ality in aspenONE Engineering helps ■ Global certifications and
the time. “These data and associ- process manufacturers by making it approvals
ated quality assurance documenta- easier to comply with global health,
tion must be reported together, in a safety and environment policies and
timely manner,” notes Black. He says regulations. The greenhouse-gas
that over the years, many proces- (GHG) calculation capabilities within
sors have developed spreadsheets AspenHYSIS and Aspen Plus give
or other tools that require time-con- processors an automated solution
suming manual work to handle this that accurately determines GHG
arduous reporting task. emissions for simulated processes.
“However,” he continues. “There The new functionality calculates
are software solutions that handle equivalent greenhouse-gas emis-
all the environmental calculations, sions (GHG) from direct and indirect
quality assurance and validations in sources, such as energy consump-
realtime, so that operators always tion and chemical processes, and re-
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015 Circle 4 on p. 74 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-04
Focus
Pipes, tubes and fittings

These fittings are designed to the manufacture of pipes, hoses,
reduce strain, ease installation tubing and fittings that are able to
Kopex-Ex ISR strain-relief fittings meet the most exacting engineer-
(photo) are designed to secure tray ing standards. Its extrudable, con-
cables, portable cords and other ductive compounds (available in a
unarmored cables in a wide array range of elastomers and rigid base
of industrial applications. They are polymers) provide high-electrical
Thomas & Betts IEC-Ex-, ATEX-, CSA- and UL- conductivity and electrostatic dis-
certified. These fittings feature an charge (ESD) protection (thereby
internal clamping mechanism that dissipating charges before they are
reduces the need for additional able to reach potentially dangerous
external clamping, thereby reduc- levels). These compounds can be
ing installation time and cost, says used in the manufacture of vacuum
the company. This design enables hose, conductive pipe, ESD tubing,
the industrial strain-relief fittings to and fittings that must have consis-
comply fully with pullout require- tent, high electrical conductivity. This
ments specified by the International is achieved by uniform carbon black
Handle-Tech
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), dispersion, even in thin extrusions,
without the need for external clamp- says the company.— RTP Co., Win-
ing where the cables exit the enclo- ona, Minn.
sure. The design also ensures that www.rtpcompany.com
pulling and twisting will not affect
the terminations. — Thomas & Betts Antimicrobial tubing inhibits
Corp., a member of the ABB Group, bacterial growth
Memphis, Tenn. The Clearflo Ag-47 Antimicrobial
www.tnb.com PVC Tubing (photo) inhibits bacterial
growth to protect transferred fluids
This standalone hose handle from contamination, odor and the
reduces common injuries threat of transmission of illnesses
This sturdy, removable handle caused by more than 50 different
(photo) can be locked onto a hose types of bacteria, including E. coli,
or pipe, allowing personnel to easily Listeria, Salmonella, Pseudomonas
New Age Industries move heavy segments of piping or and others (tested in accordance
hoses from a natural, upright posi- with ISO 22196:2011). The tubing
tion. This device helps to reduce the is designed for use in fluid-transfer
risk of hand injuries, back injuries, applications involving food, beer
slips and falls, hose decoupling and and alcoholic beverages, dairy prod-
other accidents. Constructed from ucts, and for the transfer of clean
long-glass-fiber-reinforced nylon, the liquids that are required in medical,
portable handle can be used in a va- laboratory, water and wastewater
riety of industrial environments, and environments. Silver ion additives
it can be engaged and disengaged are used throughout the clear, flex-
from the pipe or hose using one ible PVC tubing — not just on the
smooth motion, says the company. interior surfaces, as is the case with
The device has a safe lifting capac- some competing products, says the
ity of 400 lb, and a breaking point company. This tubing is listed by the
of 1,125 lb. — Handle-Tech Ltd., National Sanitation Foundation (NSF-
Edmonton, Alta. 51) for use in food-handling equip-
www.handle-tech.com ment. The tubing does not contain
latex, animal-derived components or
Conductive and anti-static phthalates. The tubing handles tem-
materials provide benefits peratures between –40 and 52°C,
This company offers a broad range and is stocked in ten sizes, ranging
of structural thermoplastic elasto- from 3/16 to 1/2 in. inner dia. — New
mers, compounding and custom- Age Industries, Southampton, Pa.
engineering expertise, to support www.newageindustries.com
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number on p. 74, or use the website designation.
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Downtime. A word often associated with high cost and low production. Team has been
+ Emissions Control
+ Exchanger Services helping companies minimize downtime for over 40 years with our global online inspection,
+ Field Machining mechanical, and heat treating services. We’re here to help you repair, maintain, and ensure
+ Fitness for Service the integrity of your equipment to keep your facility up and operational.
+ Heat Treating
+ Hot Tap/Line Stop Team experts are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
+ Isolation Test Plugs
Call TEAM today: 1-800-662-8326
+ Leak Repair
+ Manufacturing/Engineering
www.teamindustrialservices.com
+ Mechanical Integrity
+ NDE/NDT Inspection
+ Specialty Welding
+ Turnkey Tank Program
+ Valve Insertion
+ Valve Repair Minimizing Downtime. Maximizing Performance.
INDUSTRIES SERVED:
Parker Hannifin Improved tube connector natural, solid color-coded, dual-layer
ensures easy assembly color-coded, striped and dashed-
These tube connections feature a strip coded. The dual-layer color-
flared-cone technology design that coded PEEK tubing has an integrally
allows for rapid installation with mini- bonded inner layer of natural PEEK,
mal training (compared to traditional to eliminate the risk that a sample
cone-and-thread tube connections). stream might be contaminated by
The new connector design (photo) pigments used to color-code the tub-
combines the makeup and installa- ing. A range of outer-diameter sizes
tion simplicity of compression-style are available (between 360 microns
connections with the strength of and 1/8 in.) and inner diameters are
cone-and-thread connections, and available as low as 0.02 in. diameter
provides more features and higher with different colorants added to read-
pressure capabilities than similar tech- ily identify and recognize the selected
nologies, according to the company. tubing according to its inner diameter.
The design prevents tube ejection and — Valco Instruments Co., Houston
provides a redundant, second seal www.vici.com
for enhanced reliability. Designed for
working pressures as high as 22,500 Repair pipes and tanks with this
psi (1,550 bars), the FCC technol- composite technology
ogy advances the performance of The Belzona SuperWrap II pipe-wrap
compression-style tube connections, repair system (photo) combines a
Milliken Infrastructure Solutions
providing users with a simple and reli- cold-curing, fluid-grade epoxy resin
able means of speeding the assembly and a hybrid reinforcement sheet con-
of instrument tubing systems for use sisting of glass and carbon fibers.The
in higher-pressure applications. — glass fibers provide sheet flexibility,
Parker Hannifin, Cleveland, Ohio while the carbon fibers give the ap-
www.parker.com plied composite the strength needed
to withstand high pressures and me-
Simple system minimizes chanical loading. Two different resins
crevice-related corrosion are available (to accommodate differ-
This company’s patented Pipe Sock ent service temperatures). This prod-
technology provides structural pipe uct has recently undergone additional
reinforcement, leak repair and corro- reformulation enhancements, to build
sion prevention (photo). Pipe Sock is upon and expand the performance
a fiber-reinforced polymer that helps of the predecessor product. The
to eliminate corrosion problems in composite-repair method restores
crevices on the exterior surfaces of strength to weakened or perforated
piping and tanks. It offers an improve- metallic substrates without the need
ment to traditional epoxy solutions, for hot work or lengthy downtime,
Valco Instruments
which tend to crack at the interfacial says the company. This product has
boundary, thereby creating additional achieved compliance with a variety
hidden opportunities for crevice corro- of key industry standards, including
sion opportunities, says the company. ISO 24817 (Composite Repairs for
Pipe Sock consists of a pre-formed, Pipework) and ASME PCC-2 Article
size-specific fiberglass wear pad and 4.1 (Non-metallic Composite Repair
a specially formulated adhesive sys- Systems for High-Risk Applications).
tem, thereby ensuring good integ- It is particularly well-suited for com-
rity between the Pipe Sock and the plex geometries that include bends,
pipe and eliminating penetration and straights and tees, and can also be
condensation cavities. The material applied as a patch repair to large
can accommodate temperatures up pipes (over 600-mm dia.) and tank
to 250°F, and installation requires no walls. It uses a simple, two-part epoxy
special tools. — Milliken Infrastructure resin system and provides a 20-year
Belzona Polymerics Solutions LLC, Spartanburg, S.C. design life (in accordance with ISO
www.infrastructure.milliken.com 24817). — Belzona Polymerics Ltd.,
Harrogate, U.K.
A range of PEEK tubing options www.belzona.com
to meet your needs
This company’s polyether ether ke- Monitor fluid leakage where
tone (PEEK) tubing (photo) is avail- visual inspection is not possible
able in a variety of options, including Several leak-detection systems are
available to monitor complex pip- metals, grades and sizes. Its offerings late that information to plant person-
ing installations. The TT3000 sensor include seamless-steel tubing, steel nel in a timely manner. The 918Q
cable is designed to detect waste- tubing with a chrome-plated inner Alarm Box handles up to four sen-
water, acids, bases and any other surface, aluminum, brass, carbon sor signals and features audible and
liquid that is conductive in double- and stainless steel tubing in many visual alarm indicators. The device
containment piping systems. The grades, steel tubes with chrome emits a 90-dB alarm from four feet
TT5000 Fuel Sensor Cable is a leak- plating on the outer surface and away and uses standard lithium ba-
detection sensor that is designed to more. Most tubing is available in the teries (low-battery visual indication
monitor the soil under and around honed, skived and roller-burnished, is included). The microprocessor-
pipes and tanks carrying fuels. It de- or unhoned condition. Customiza- based PAL-AT offers multi-sensing
tects fuel but ignores water. Branch tion is available. — Scot Industries, and remote monitoring of up to four
connectors simplify the tracing of Auburn, Ind. separate sensing zones, each with
complex manifolds and hydrant sys- www.scotindustries.com up to 7,500 ft of sensor cable, and
tems, and every meter of cable has is capable of locating multiple leak
a unique “address” so that leaks are Double-containment piping points, as well as growing leaks. The
detected and the locations are re- uses three leak-detection tools customizable Low Point Leak Detec-
ported to an accuracy of ±1 m along This company recently launched tion System uses 12 discrete inputs
the length of a pipeine or beneath a a new double-containment piping that allow the specific location of the
tank floor. This allows repairs to be system that features three leak-de- leak in the piping to be found.— GF
accurately directed, says the manu- tection systems — the 918Q Alarm Piping Systems, Irvine, Calif.
facturer. — Tyco Thermal Controls, Box, the PAL-AT Continuous Cable www.gfps.com
Redwood City, Calif. System, and the Low Point Leak De-
www.tracetek.com tection System. The piping system is Steels and alloys withstand
designed for wastewater treatment aggressive environments
Specialty tubing options are plants and buried applications. In This company offer a full range of
available in many metals the event of a leak, these detection stainless steels and alloys (includ-
This company offers a diverse array systems are able to help determine ing duplex and super-duplex grades)
of tubing products, in a variety of where the leak is located, and trans- that can provide reliable corrosion
Drier Steam Means Higher Profits

Steam drum design is critical to maintain steam dryness
and water quality for optimum performance of your boiler.
If water is allowed to carryover, then damage can occur
and energy is lost. Carryover is your boiler’s enemy.
Dyna-Therm’s high performance steam drums
have been protecting downstream equipment
including superheater tubes and turbines for
decades.
We offer proven designs for the following: Let us design the steam drum that best fits your system.
• High pressure
• Intermediate pressure Performance is what we guarantee!
• Low pressure
• Retrofitting of existing drum internals High efficiency steam
drums and separators!
No steam production rates are too high and no carryover
problems are too difficult for us to solve—steam qualities
of 99.995% with .001 PPM/TDS are possible!
281-987-0726
www.dyna-therm.com
SEPARATION AND STEAM DRUM SOLUTIONS SINCE 1961

AGC Chemicals Americas
resistance in high-temperature, Firm offers many piping

high-chloride-concentration environ- options and pipeline services
ments. The alloys have been devel- This company offers a range of
oped to combine high strength in the products and services, includ-
solution-annealed condition, with ing pre-insulated piping systems
localized corrosion-resistance prop- for direct heating and cooling, and
erties that are said to be better than pipe-in-pipe containment systems
super-duplex grades. The hyper-du- to ensure the proper management
plex grade Sandvik SAF 3207 alloy of hazardous fluids, subsea oil-
is especially well-suited for use in and-gas pipelines and equpment,
tubing, raw-seawater injection sys- variety of challenging applications, aboveground and underground in-
tems, aerated seawater environ- including tubing and pipe, wire and sulated piping systems for industial
ments, downhole applications in cable coatings, semiconductor and applications, leak-detection and
oil-and-gas recovery, umbilicals and electronic components, valves, fit- a variety of detection options. The
other applications that require high tings, and pump housings (photo). company also provides a variety of
strength and relatively thin walls To optimize chemical resistance leak-detection services, includ-
combined with improved resis- and engineering performance, three ing infrared leak-detection sur-
tance to chloride-induced corrosion Fluon ETFE compounds are rein- veys (which can identify areas of
and cracking and high operating forced with proprietary conductive, high thermal loss that indicate wet
temperatures.— Sandvik Materials, strengthening and reinforcing fillers insulation that has resulted from
Sandviken, Sweden and fibers, which allow itl to tolerate conduit or pipe leaks), tracer gas
www.sandvik.com extreme temperatures, pressures, surveys to pinpoint leaks in steel
harsh chemicals and volatile weather conduit systems, ultrasonic test-
Composite fluoropolyers conditions, and to remain flexible ing to measure pipe wall thickness,
handle challenging situations and withstand cracking during man- and more. — Perma-Pipe, Inc.
Fluon ETFE is a melt-processable ufacturing, spooling and use.— AGC Niles, Ill.
copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and Chemicals Americas Inc., Exton, Pa. www.permapipe.com ■
ethylene that is designed for a wide www.agcchem.com Suzanne Shelley
A Leading Provider of Advanced

CMC Emission Monitoring Systems
Solutions www.CMCPEMS.com • 248-960-1632
Boilers Power Generation Gas Turbines
Would you like to turn off your CEMS?

CMC Solutions provides PEMS that meet
all U.S. regulations and we guarantee
the certification of our product.
New Products
Use this valve in nals, including power consumption, High Pressure Equipment
high-pressure calibrations motor torque, bearing pressure and
This company’s new Trunnion-style mill speed, allowing for automatic se-
block-and-bleed ball valve (photo) is lection of optimal setpoints, says the
intended for calibration applications manufacturer. For inputs, SmartMill
up to 15,000 psi. This full-port, quar- uses power, torque and load, which
ter-turn double ball valve is designed are used to predict future mill behav-
to provide double positive isolation, ior. The outputs can take into account
and is appropriate for high-pressure several mill variables, such as feedrate,
hydraulic and pneumatic systems mill rotation speed, ore hardness and
used for pressure monitoring and purity, total load and water addition
testing, chemical injection and drain- rate. SmartMill provides stability to
line isolation. Featuring 316 stainless- individual mills without the need for
steel construction, Viton O-rings and additional controllers or sensors. —
polyetheretherketone (PEEK) ball ABB, Zurich, Switzerland
seats, the valve is suitable for severe- www.abb.com
service applications. The valve is
available with orifice sizes of 0.203, A corrosion-resistant,
0.250, 0.313 and 0.375 in. — High lightweight scale
Pressure Equipment Co., Erie, Pa. The Model 3001-3006TM Ton Cylin-
www.highpressure.com der Scale (photo) has been redesigned
for easier installation and improved
Powder transfer systems corrosion resistance. Fabricated from
for a wide density range high-grade plate steel, the new scale
This company’s powder transfer sys- is lighter and has a smaller footprint
tems (photo) incorporates stall-free air than previous models, says the com-
valving and a new air-induction system pany. The new design also features
that boosts efficiency and eliminates improved protection of the hermeti-
powder pack-out at startup, allowing cally sealed load cell and scale elec-
for the transfer of powders ranging tronics. The steel crossbar running
in density from 5 to 50 lb/ft3. The air- along the front of the scale base now
induction system also increases air ve- includes a cover plate to protect the
locity for optimum powder aeration and load cell from dust, dirt and dripping
diffusion, says the manufacturer. The liquids, such as condensate. The new ARO Fluid Management
four-way air-efficiency valve can control Model 3001-3006 Ton Cylinder Scale
the amount of air (or other inert gases) has a gross capacity of up to 4,000
required for operation. The system is lb, with weighing accuracy to ±0.5%
designed for portability so that it can of capacity. — Scaletron Industries,
be moved from site to site. The built-in Ltd., Plumsteadville, Pa.
delay timer ensures proper fluidization www.scaletronscales.com
of the powder before startup. Directly
controlled by the delay timer, the main These pressure transmitters
startup valve supplies air pressure di- address issues with drift
rectly to the pump’s major air valve. — The 4400 and 4600 hammer-union
ARO Fluid Management, Bryan, Ohio pressure transmitters (photo) are de-
www.arozone.com signed for use in hazardous areas, Scaletron Industries
where pressures can reach 20,000
A predictive control solution psi. Available with intrinsically safe
designed for grinding mills or explosion-proof approvals, these
SmartMill is a new predictive-control transmitters have been laboratory-
solution for continuous control of in- tested for shock and vibration resis-
dividual grinding mills. Embedded tance, and are field-tested for the most
within a variable-speed drive, Smart- extreme ambient conditions. Employ-
Mill utilizes realtime data to control ing a thick Inconel 718 diaphragm
feedrate, rotation speed, mill load and and silicon strain gages, these trans-
more. The speed is varied according mitters experience less drift, even in
to an advanced control concept that longterm service, says the company.
keeps the mill’s solids feed as high A cage around the pressure transmit-
as possible, while monitoring sig- ter is designed to protect the sensor American Sensor Technologies

Camfil Air Pollution Control (APC) and mating connector, allowing for and eliminates frequent filter replace-
proper drainage in flooding situations. ments. The unit can be positioned on the
— American Sensor Technologies, production floor and constructed to pro-
Inc., Mt. Olive, N.J. vide explosion protection in accordance
www.astsensors.com with NFPA standards. If located indoors,
there is no need for additional explosion-
A robust flowmeter designed safety devices. Thanks to a segmented
for superheated steam cleaning process performed during op-
The Optisonic 8300 is a two-beam ultra- eration, the Quad Pulse Package re-
sonic flowmeter for superheated steam quires a single primary filter cartridge.
that is capable of handling high flowrates The high-efficiency primary pleated filter
with 1% measuring accuracy. Built for comes in a conductive (anti-static) nano-
longterm use, the flowmeter has no ex- fiber or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
posed cables or sensitive elements, and media. — Camfil Air Pollution Control
features a full-bore flow sensor with no (APC), Jonesboro, Ark.
moving parts or obstructions. Accord- www.camfilapc.com
ing to the manufacturer, the meter can
maintain its measuring accuracy without A single-unit separation system
maintenance or subsequent calibration for recovering liquids and solids
for up to 20 years. The Optisonic 8300 The MRS-30 model material recovery
is rated for pressures up to 200 bars and station (photo) is designed to automati-
temperatures up to 540°C, with higher- cally separate liquids from solids within
rated units available on request. Temper- a single, self-contained unit that features
ature and pressure sensors connected a proprietary screening panel set inside
to the device provide the integrated flow a leak-proof, bulk plastic container to
computer with data to calculate steam screen out and capture solid particles
mass flow, eliminating the need for an and allow liquids to safely pass through
MODRoto
additional computer. — Krohne, Inc., and accumulate in the container bot-
Peabody, Mass. tom. When filled to its 30-gal capacity,
www.us.krohne.co the MRS-30 may be drained to allow the
liquids to be reprocessed and reused
This modular steam-trapping onsite, while the solids may be sold as
station reduces leakage scrap. Suitable as a standalone system
The STS17.2 steam-trapping station is or integrated within existing fluid-recy-
a complete assembly comprised of an cling systems, the MRS-30 effectively
isolation valve, a steam-trap connec- separates and collects metal waste
tor with a strainer and a check valve. chips, ceramics, plastics, rubber and
The station’s modular body eliminates other materials from spent cutting fluids
nearly all potential leak paths caused and other liquids. — MODRoto, Inc.,
by multiple screwed connections that Madison, Ind.
WAGO
conventional steam-trapping stations www.modroto.com
and on-site fabricated installations
typically include, says the manufac- A versatile family of
turer. The ability to integrate steam- power-supply devices
trap monitors allows for quick recogni- This company’s Epistron Classic
tion of trap failures, and stainless-steel power-supply devices (photo) are
components enable a longterm, low- available in one-, two- and three-
maintenance service life. — Spirax phase versions. All models in the
Sarco, Inc., Blythewood, S.C. Epistron Classic family have identical
www.spiraxsarco.com housing profiles, and wide input and
voltage ranges, making them suit-
This dust collector requires able for many types of applications.
just one filter cartridge The ambient temperature range for
The Quad Pulse Package PX dust col- the Epistron Class family is –25 to
lector (photo) is a compact unit designed 70°C, with a high transient-protection
for pharmaceutical, chemical and other level of up to 4 kV. Enhanced output
processes that produce hazardous dusts protection for standard circuit break-
in high concentrations. The collector has ers is integrated into the devices. —
a cleanable filter system that facilitates WAGO Corp., Germantown, Wis.
continuous manufacturing processes www.wago.us
This boiler-treatment technology Use this high-precision amplifier GE Power & Water
is now FDA approved in tough production areas

This company’s Solus AP boiler- The DMP41 digital precision measur-
treatment solution has recently ing instrument (photo) features an ac-
received approval from the U.S. curacy class of 0.0005 (5 ppm), and
Food and Drug Admin. (FDA) for is said to be the world’s most precise
use across regulated industries amplifier for strain-gauge-based sen-
where steam comes into contact sor measurements. Unlike other high-
with food products. Solus AP is an precision instruments that are limited
all-polymer technology in a stable, for use only in controlled laboratory
liquid formulation designed to meet conditions, the DMP41 is available in
the deposit-control needs of low- to a 19-in. rack-mount enclosure that is
intermediate-pressure steam boil- constructed to enable use in environ-
ers (up to 900 psig). By improving ments with demanding conditions.
the control of iron and hardness de- Manufacturers of strain-gauge-based
posits, steam boilers that have been sensors, such as force, torque and
treated with Solus AP (photo) help pressure transducers, load cells and
plant operators achieve design fuel flowrate sensors, can use the DMP41
efficiency, as well as higher levels of to precisely calibrate and adjust their
safety and reliability by preventing sensors during production. A back-
deposit-related failures, according ground calibration feature allows
to the manufacturer. With the recent the instrument to make measure-
FDA approval, the use of Solus AP ments even while internal calibration
HBM
can be expanded into food and bev- of internal measurement channels
erage, pharmaceutical and health- is in progress. This increases test-
care applications. — GE Power & system throughput. — HBM, Inc.,
Water, Schenectady, N.Y. Marlborough, Mass.
www.gepower.com www.hbm.com
A handheld anemometer with This AODD is equipped with an
environmental readings efficient air-distribution system
The Omega HHF-312 anemometer Stallion Original Metal air-operated
(photo) measures ambient tempera- double-diaphragm (AODD) pump
ture, humidity, barometric pressure, models (photo) are powered by the
wind speed and direction all in one energy-efficient Pro-Flo Shift Air Dis-
multi-functional, lightweight, handheld tribution System (ADS). The Pro-Flo
meter. The HHF-312 calculates wind- Shift incorporates an air-control spool
chill index, as well as dewpoint and that automatically restricts the amount
wet-bulb temperatures, and features of air going into the pump during the
a backlit LCD with dual readouts and latter part of each stroke, which elimi-
compass. The tripod fitting makes this nates over-filling of the air chamber and
anemometer ideal for outdoor environ- results in reduced air consumption. By
mental studies, and operations in cold, optimizing air consumption, the Pro-
windy environments. Application ex- Flo Shift lowers energy and operating
amples include environmental studies costs, achieving up to 60% savings
and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air con- over competitive AODD pump tech-
Omega Engineering ditioning) troubleshooting. — Omega nologies, says the company. The new
Engineering, Inc., Stamford, Conn. Stallion Series pumps are available in
www.omega.com three sizes. Flowrates range from 307
to 764 L/min. — Wilden Pump and En-
New industrial Ethernet switches gineering, Grand Terrace, Calif.
and media converter www.wildenpump.com
The LNX Series of unmanaged rug-
ged industrial Ethernet switches and Expanded filtration-system range
IMC media converters (photo) are now enables easier scaling
available from this company. Select Two new sizes of this company’s Beco
from a variety of models with up to Integra Plate filtration system are now
eight ports for copper or fiber cabling available: a small 7.9-in. and larger
on fast Ethernet or Gigabit networks. 39.3-in size, meaning that users in
Most units support extended –40 to the fine-chemical and pharmaceuti-
75°C operation and include a rugged cal industries can scale their systems
IP30 aluminum enclosure that resists from laboratory applications to higher
Acromag shock, vibration and free-fall impacts. batch volumes in commercial manu-
These industrial Ethernet switches and facturing processes. The system is a
media converters carry UL/cUL Class hermetically enclosed plate-and-frame
Wilden Pump and Engineering 1 Div. 2 certifications. — Acromag, filter that enables users to increase
Wixom, Mich. process efficiencies in demanding fil-
www.acromag.com tration applications. The range has
been expanded and is now available
This membrane bioreactor in five sizes, and delivers a filter area
requires less air from 0.6 up to 1,227 ft2. — Eaton,
The Pulsion MBR membrane bioreac- Tinton Falls, N.J.
tor pulses a large bubble through a www.eaton.com/filtration
chambered fiber bundle, creating an-
efficient pumping action that results in Stainless-steel pumps for the
lower air and aeration energy require- beverage and distilling industries
ments than traditional air-scour meth- The stainless-steel hybrid pump LES
ods, says the manufacturer. Improved (photo) is said to be an alternative
recirculation within the membrane to side-channel pumps. The pump
module boosts achievable fluxes. An features a specially designed pump
increase in packing density allows the cover with an integrated recirculation
overall system footprint to be signifi- system, as well as an inducer, which
cantly reduced. A reduced air flowrate allows the pump to be used in self-
applied to the membranes on a con- priming applications. The pump has a
tinuous basis reduces the size of the hygienic design, based on European
air-delivery equipment by an estimated Hygienic Engineering and Design
50%. — Koch Membrane Systems, Group (EHEDG) guidelines, making
Wilmington, Mass. it suitable for use in the food-and-
SAWA Pumpentechnik www.kochmembranes.com beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmet-
ics and chemical industries. Optional The MID provides flowrates up to 5 L/
versions are available with ATEX ap- min at pressures of up to 99.7 psi, and
proval (Zones 1, 2 and 21, 22); phar- has a maximum operating temperature
maceutical-specific design; magnetic of 60°C. The CU15 provides flowrates
coupling; and more. The pumps have to 17 L/min, with maximum operating
a maximum flowrate of 150 m3/h, and temperatures of 60°C for PP models
delivery heads of up to 60 m, and they and 95°C for ECTFE models. — Clark
handle liquids with viscosity up to 500 Solutions, Hudson, Mass. Clark Solutions
mPa-s. — SAWA Pumpentechnik AG, www.clarksol.com
Degersheim, Switzerland
www.sawa.ch This auto-start sterilizer
requires no pre-heating
These new, miniature AODPs The SteriMax Smart sterilizer uses
are ATEX certified specifically focused infrared light
Both the Model MID and CU15 (photo) (IR) to sterilize inoculating loops at
miniature air-operated diaphragm temperatures of 750 to 1,000°C in
pumps (AODPs) are ATEX certified 5–10 s without any preheating. IR
for potentially explosive atmospheres, sensor technology enables an auto-
making them suitable for environmen- start functionality. The device’s an-
tal and process-emissions monitoring. nealing tube is constructed of spe-
The standard version of both pumps is cialty quartz glass, and is designed for
ATEX classified II for Zone 2, and the simple cleaning. The housing is con-
optional Conduct versions are ATEX structed of stainless steel and safety
classified II for Zone 1. The pumps fa- glass, and is designed to be cool
cilitate transfer of liquids with very high to the touch. — WLD-TEC GmbH,
viscosity, and are available with poly- Göttingen, Germany
WLD-TEC
propylene (PP) or ethylene chlorotrif- www.wld-tec.com ■
luoroethylene (ECTFE) pump bodies. Mary Page Bailey and Gerald Ondrey
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Facts At Your Fingertips
Design and Operating Principles for Bioprocesses
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
T
he application of biotechnol-
ogy to the chemical process Feedstock Preparation Fermentation Cell removal
industries (CPI) has grown
significantly in the past decade
and now offers viable pathways to
manufacture a range of high-volume
chemicals, many of which can serve
as drop-in replacements for tradi- Salt removal Evaporation Purification Chemical
tional petroleum-derived chemicals.
Bio-based processes have some
FIGURE 2: This block flow diagram shows the sample operations for a generic bio-based process
unique characteristics compared
to traditional chemical processes, Simple plant design able products, and often increasingly
and that, when combined, have the Biotechnology has the ability to en- stringent pollution regulations.
potential to lower capital and oper- gineer microorganisms so a single New operating procedures. Bio-
ating expenses per ton of capacity, unit operation (fermentation) can based processes often require dif-
while enabling the use of alternative replace multiple chemical reaction ferent operating know-how than tra-
feedstocks. Bioprocesses can of- steps and efficiently convert feed- ditional petrochemical processes.
ten deliver more sustainability while stock into desired molecules, such Examples of this specialized exper-
meeting existing quality criteria. This as butadiene, caprolactam or bu- tise include the need for aseptic op-
column provides an overview of the tanediol. Bioprocess feedstocks eration of the fermentation, process
differences between bio-based and can include various carbohydrates control of a biological system, differ-
traditional processes. or cellulosic biomass, as well as tra- ent separation and purification op-
ditional petrochemical feedstocks, erations, process chemistry in aque-
Petrochemical
including C1 sources. ous streams, and new options for
Bio-based BDO process process integration and energy min-
BDO process
Starting material = Starting material =
Process differences imization. Even firms with deep pro-
Butane Carbohydrates The following items represent some cess engineering and petrochemi-
Isomerization potential advantages that can be real- cal-plant operating experience will
Oxidation ized with bio-based processes. benefit from working with experts in
Epoxidation Fermentation
Fewer unit operations. Fermenta- designing and operating integrated
Isomerization
tion by microorganisms means that end-to-end bioprocesses.
a single unit operation can, in some
Hydroformulation
cases, replace complex reaction se- Biotechnology: a useful tool
Hydrogenation
quences in conventional processes. Going forward, biotechnology will
Fewer byproducts. Biological sys- increasingly become a useful com-
1,4-butanediol (BDO) tems tend to be very selective, mean- ponent of the toolkit and production
ing that organisms can produce ex- portfolio of CPI companies. The in-
actly the chemical of interest, rather creased use of biotechnology will be
Capex/ton
than a mixture of hydrocarbons. This driven by its ability to provide added
can increase overall process yield, flexibility and cost benefits. Fully re-
reduce the number and volume of alizing the potential of a bioprocess
byproducts and thereby decrease to reduce capital and operating
the associated separation costs. Se- costs often requires changes in the
lectivity can sometimes even improve way plants are designed and oper-
final product quality. ated. These changes can be read-
Gentler operating conditions. Fer- ily addressed by collaborating with
mentations run at near-ambient tem- bioprocess experts. n
peratures and pressures, so plant
equipment is less costly. Editor’s note: This column was provided by Genomatica
Bio-based Conventional Inc. (San Diego, Calif.; www.genomatica.com), a leading
Differentiated products. Chemicals innovator in biotechnology for the chemical industry. The
FIGURE 1: A petrochemical-based route to butane- made with bio-based processes, es- author is Michael Japs, director of commercial technology
pecially those made from renewable development for Genomatica. The company is adept at
diol is compared to Genomatica’s bio-based BDO harnessing biotechnology to develop new, advantaged pro-
process. Fewer unit operations, fewer byproducts feedstocks, typically have a smaller cesses for major chemicals, as well as custom solutions for
and gentler operating conditions can result in environmental footprint, allowing its partners. The firm is a recipient of the 2013 Kirkpatrick
lower capital expenditures (capex) per ton of ca- Award for Chemical Engineering Achievement. Japs can be
pacity for bio-based processes. This can enable producers to better meet increas- reached at mjaps@genomatica.com.
economical deployment of smaller plants ing customer demands for sustain-
Technology Profile
Ethylene Production via Cracking of Ethane-Propane
By Intratec Solutions
E
thylene is a critical building Separation. The dried cracked gas
8%
block for the petrochemi- is fed to a cold box for the removal
7%
cal industry, and is among of hydrogen and light hydrocarbons,
the most produced organic while minimizing ethylene losses.
compounds. It is usually produced in At this point, condensates from the 13%
steam-cracking units from a range of chilling train are fed to a series of sep- 59%
petroleum-based feedstocks, such as aration columns. In the first column
13%
naphtha, and is used in the manufac- (demethanizer), methane is obtained
ture of several major derivatives. from the top and further used in the
cold box, while the bottom stream is
The process fed to a second column (deethanizer).
n Polyethylene
The process shown in Figure 1 is a The top of the deethanizer, com- n Ethylene oxide
n Ethylene dichloride
steam-cracking process for ethylene posed primarily of ethylene and eth- n Ethylbenzene
production from an ethane-propane ane, is fed to an acetylene converter n Others
mixture. The process can be divided and then fractionated in the C2-split- FIGURE 2. Ethylene is made into a host of products
into three main parts: cracking and ter. In this column, lights are removed
quenching; compression and drying; from the overheads and recycled to of 1,700,000 ton/yr of ethylene con-
and separation. the compression system, while poly- structed on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Cracking and quenching. Initially, an mer-grade (PG) ethylene is drawn from Estimated capital expenses (total
ethane-propane mixture is fed to fur- the column as a side stream. Ethane, fixed investment, working capital and
naces in which, under high-severity from C2-splitter bottoms, is recycled initial expenses) to construct the plant
conditions, it is cracked, forming ethyl- to the cracking furnaces. are about $2.37 billion, while the oper-
ene, propylene and other byproducts. The deethanizer bottom stream is ating expenses are estimated at about
The furnace outlet stream is subse- fed to a depropanizer, which distills $360 per ton of ethylene produced.
quently fed to a water-based quench, C3 components in the overheads.
to prevent further reactions and forma- This overhead stream is catalytically Global perspective
tion of undesirable byproducts. hydrotreated for methyl acetylene and With a global nominal capacity of
From a decanter downstream from propadiene removal, and then fed to about 155 million ton/yr, ethylene is
the quench tower, heavies, con- the C3-splitter. In this column, lights among the major petrochemicals pro-
densed dilution steam, tar and coke are removed from the overheads duced worldwide. The major part of
are removed. Cracked gas from the and recycled to the compressors, ethylene production is consumed in
quench is then directed to compres- while polymer-grade (PG) propylene the manufacture of polyethylene, but
sion and separation. is drawn from the column as a side ethylene is also applied in the produc-
Compression and drying. The com- stream. Propane from C3-splitter bot- tion of ethylene oxide, ethylene dichlo-
pression of the cracked gas is per- toms is recycled to the cracking fur- ride and ethylbenzene (Figure 2). n
formed across five stages. After the naces. A C4+ stream is obtained from Edited by Scott Jenkins
third stage of compression, carbon di- the depropanizer bottoms.
oxide and sulfur are removed from the Editor’s Note: The content for this column is supplied by
Intratec Solutions LLC (Houston; www.intratec.us) and edited
cracked gas by caustic soda and wa- Economic performance by Chemical Engineering. The analyses and models presented
ter washes in a caustic scrubber. The An economic evaluation of the pro- are prepared on the basis of publicly available and non-
compressed cracked gas is cooled cess was conducted based on data confidential information. The content represents the opinions
of Intratec only. More information about the methodology for
and subsequently dried by molecular from the first quarter of 2015, consid- preparing analysis can be found, along with terms of use, at
sieves that remove most of the water. ering a facility with a nominal capacity www.intratec.us/che.
1. Furnaces
3 3 5 2. Quench column
Dilution 3. Compression system
4 4. Caustic scrubber
stream
1 Lights to To waste 5. Drying unit
fuel treatment 6. Cold box
Ethane/
propane 6 7. Demethanizer column
2 CW 8. Deethanizer column
9. C2-splitter
7 10. Depropanizer column
PG 11. C3-splitter
Tar and Water to waste PG
coke to ethylene 12. Cooling tower
treatment propylene
disposal 8 9 product 10 11
Heavies by-product CW Cooling water
to fuel PG Polymer grade
C4+ to
fuel CW 12
FIGURE 1. This process diagram shows an ethylene-production process via the cracking of an ethane-propane mixture
Safety in Sulfuric Acid
Storage Tanks
Commonly used in the CPI, sulfuric acid requires many special precautions to ensure
its safe handling and storage
Koya Venkata
Reddy
FACT Engineering and
Design Org. (FEDO)
IN BRIEF
CORROSION CONTROL
INSPECTION
INSTRUMENTATION
SWITCHING OF TANK
SERVICE
TANKS IN SPENT-ACID
SERVICE
SECONDARY
CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS
PPE AND HSE
VENTING REQUIREMENTS
S
TRANSFER PUMPS ulfuric acid, sometimes called the FIGURE 1. Storage tanks in sulfuric acid serice require many
“king of all chemicals,” is widely used special precautions to ensure safe operations and prevent
HOT WORKS IN TANK accidental spills or ignitions
in the chemical process industries
FARMS
(CPI) for the manufacture of vari- storage tanks separated from its floor, instan-
PIPELINES, HOSES AND ous fertilizers and other chemicals. Sulfuric taneously releasing its contents. Other tanks
VALVES acid (H2SO4) is typically stored and handled in the tank farm also released their contents.
in steel storage tanks in tank farms (Figure A fire burned for approximately 30 min, and
1) located at ports, sulfuric acid plants, fertil- sulfuric acid reached a nearby river, result-
izer plants and so on. Numerous incidents ing in significant environmental damage. One
involving explosions and spills in sulfuric acid worker was killed and eight were injured [1].
storage tanks have been reported world- Such incidents draw attention to the vul-
wide. All too often, a lack of understanding nerability of sulfuric acid storage tanks to
regarding the proper safety aspects required fires and explosions, in addition to accidental
for handling and storing sulfuric acid leads to spillage. These occurrences can be avoided
catastrophic accidents. These incidents can by understanding the various aspects of cor-
result in environmental pollution, as well as rosion in storage tanks, inspection and vent-
injuries and fatalities. ing requirements, spillage-containment sys-
For example, in 2001 at a petroleum refin- tems, instrumentation, proper materials of
ery in Delaware, a crew of contractors was construction, various governing codes and
repairing grating on a catwalk in a sulfuric standards, guidelines for hot work and so
acid storage-tank farm when a spark from on. This article describes various problems
their hot work ignited flammable vapors in faced in sulfuric acid tanks and the efforts
one of the storage tanks. One of the acid needed to mitigate them.
Corrosion control Inspection
Corrosion is one of the most prevalent is- Periodic thickness 98% sulfuric acid
sues in handling sulfuric acid. Two common measurements of a
corrosion mechanisms — hydrogen groov- tank’s shell and roof
ing and boundary-layer corrosion — are should be carried out LT
S03 absorber
especially dangerous in sulfuric acid service to ascertain whether Oleum
because they lead to the formation of hy- the tank is fit for ser-
drogen gas (H2), which is highly flammable, vice. According to the
colorless, odorless and readily ignitable. It recommendations of
forms an explosive mixture with air and oxy- the National Asso-
gen. The lower and upper explosive limits ciation of Corrosion
(LEL and UEL) of H2 are 4% and 74.2%, re- Engineers’ (NACE;
spectively. This means that if the concentra- Houston; www.nace.
tion of H2 is between 4% and 74.2%, and if org) Standard RP
the gas mixture is ignited, it will lead to an 0294-94, an internal
explosion, causing potentially fatal harm and inspection of sulfuric
damage to assets. Hydrogen grooving and acid tanks is to occur Oleum storage tank
boundary-layer corrosion are detailed in the every five years, and
following sections. an external in-service inspection is to be FIGURE 2. Oleum, a product
Hydrogen grooving. Tanks for storing con- carried out every two years [2]. Similarly, the of sulfuric acid plants, creates
safety issues in storage tanks
centrated sulfuric acid typically are made American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard due to the presence of sulfur
of carbon steel. The acid reacts with iron 653 requires the evaluation of flaws, deterio- trioxide (SO3) fumes
(Fe) in the shell, forming a protective layer ration or other conditions that might affect the
of ferrous sulfate (FeSO4), while simulta- performance of a tank and the determination
neously releasing H2, according to the of its suitability for the intended service [3].
following reaction: The periodic inspections should be per-
formed more frequently as tanks become
Fe + H2SO4 → FeSO4 + H2 older. Per NACE RP 0294-94, inspection
frequencies may be decided on the basis of
At the inlet line, as the acid is flowing into operating conditions, experience, inspection
the tank, H2 bubbles float up and come into results, fitness-for-service evaluations and
contact with the metal. The bubbles will risk analysis [2]. Furthermore, risk-based in-
scrape off the iron sulfate coating, exposing spection (RBI) is to be conducted for all tanks
bare metal. This will form more iron sulfate in addition to inspections at service intervals.
and release more H2 bubbles. Eventually, the Historic tank leakage and failure data are inte-
formation of H2 bubbles in the metal forms gral to RBI assessments.
grooves or corroded portions and is called
hydrogen grooving. Instrumentation
Boundary layer corrosion. In tank farms, a As previously stated, sulfuric acid spills can
corrosive atmosphere also prevails, as sulfur be extremely dangerous. Therefore, level
dioxide vapors from the storage tanks can measurement and control in storage tanks in
combine with moisture, forming sulfurous sulfuric acid service is of the utmost impor-
acid (H2SO3). This causes the tank roofs tance. First and foremost, all tanks should
and other iron-containing materials in the vi- be provided with a level indicator. Addition-
cinity to corrode. ally, high- and low-level switches should be
In acid plants, the sump tanks of absorp- provided on tanks to contain the overspill
tion towers contain acid analyzers that con- control and to avoid vacuum conditions
trol the addition of dilute acid. If these ana- when pumps are transferring acid to con-
lyzers malfunction, it can lead to an increase suming plants. All instruments are expected
in the acid temperature. If high-temperature to be compliant with safety integrity level
acid is transferred to carbon-steel stor- (SIL) 2. For more information on SIL clas-
age tanks, corrosion will occur at a much sifications, see Tolerable Risk, Chem. Eng.,
faster rate. Sept. 2007, pp. 69–74.
The general rate of shell corrosion of stor- For acid storage tanks, the use of radar-
age tanks for concentrated sulfuric acid ser- type level-measurement devices is recom-
vice is approximately 5 to 20 mils per year mended, along with control-room alarms.
(0.005 to 0.020 in./yr) [1]. Anodic protection However, many facilities have installed dif-
should be provided for the storage tanks to ferential-pressure (DP) level-measurement
minimize the corrosion of the shell. devices without any reported issues. The

potentially release sulfur trioxide (SO3) va-
pors or volatile hydrocarbon vapors.
Operators must be attentive and
cautious with tanks in oleum service.
Oleum is sulfuric acid (100%) containing
around 23% free SO3. In some sulfuric
acid plants, oleum is also produced by
absorbing SO3 in concentrated sulfuric
acid, and it is common practice to locate
the oleum tanks near sulfuric acid tanks.
When oleum is introduced in a storage
tank, SO3 fumes are emitted out of the
vent, creating visible pollution and a cor-
FIGURE 3. A metal catwalk on the roof of wetted parts of radar level gages should rosive atmosphere. To curb the SO3
a storage tank provides some protection be 316 stainless steel, Alloy 20 or fumes, small-diameter packed columns
for workers, as it is unsafe for personnel
to walk directly on a tank’s shell
Teflon-lined. filled with random packings (Intallox Sad-
Some older tank farms use a type of dles are recommended) are fitted on top
tank level-measurement device called of storage tanks, as shown in Figure 2. A
a “bubbler system,” which uses instru- bleed of sulfuric acid (98%) is taken from
ment air as its medium. A small flow of the transfer-pump discharge and fed to
instrument air (forming bubbles) enters the top of the packed column to absorb
the tank near its floor through the level the rising SO3 fumes from the tank. After
probe. The air introduces some turbu- absorbing SO3 fumes, the concentrated
lence into the acid near the wall of the sulfuric acid is self-drained into the tank.
tank, which increases the corrosion
rate by disturbing the protective FeSO4 Tanks in spent-acid service
layer. Instrument air also contains mois- Fresh sulfuric acid typically contains
ture and oxygen, much of which would 98.4% acid and 1.6% water. Spent acid
likely be absorbed soon after coming typically contains 88–95% acid and up to
into contact with the acid solution [1]. 5% water, with the balance consisting of
Hence, level measurements based on hydrocarbons, including some light hy-
bubbler systems are to be avoided in drocarbons that can vaporize. A spent-
sulfuric acid storage tanks, especially in acid storage tank should be designed
spent-acid service, as air can form an and operated as if it contained volatile
explosive mixture with the volatile hydro- hydrocarbons [4].
carbons present in the acid. Special precautions are to be taken
Flow measurement is also an integral in storing spent sulfuric acid in storage
part of sulfuric acid handling. Magnetic tanks. The spent acid comes from vari-
flowmeters, Coriolis mass flowmeters, ous process industries as a byproduct
rotameters or ultrasonic flowmeters may and contains volatile hydrocarbons,
be used to measure the flow of acid which can be released during tempera-
into and out of tanks. As with level in- ture variations in the atmosphere (thermal
struments, all flow instruments are to breathing). Therefore, blanketing of the
be SIL 2 compliant. storage tanks with an inert gas, such as
carbon dioxide or nitrogen is advisable.
Switching of tank service Also, vent valves are to be provided with
Some tanks must handle various forms emergency tank venting and must be
of sulfuric acid, and switching between sized for the worst case, taking precau-
these materials introduces increased tions for scenarios such as a failure of the
risk. For instance, in some tank farms, inerting system (allowing excessive flow
tanks must be emptied to switch ma- of inert gas to enter the tank) or an exter-
terial-handling service between oleum nal fire that volatilizes hydrocarbon liquids
(an intermediate in sulfuric acid produc- in the tank. Additionally, flame arrestors
tion) and sulfuric acid or between con- should be placed in the vent line.
centrated sulfuric acid and dilute spent Tanks in spent-acid service should be
acid. These switchovers do not typically provided with a frangible roof [1]. A fran-
require cleaning or draining, simply the gible roof is a weak roof-to-shell attach-
removal of as much material as possible ment that preferentially fails over other
via pump. Each switchover represents an welded joints when subject to overpres-
opportunity to exacerbate corrosion and sure. Failure of the roof-to-shell joint pro-
FIGURE 4. Proper care must be taken when executing hot FIGURE 5. The same tank from Figure 4 was badly damaged after its roof exploded due to hot work
works in the presence of sulfuric acid storage tanks on the roof and the formation of hydrogen gas inside the tank while the tank was in service
vides a means to relieve overpressure ensure it is within the acceptable range,

and to avoid catastrophic failure of the typically 6.5 to 8.5.
tank and loss of its contents. Suitable valves must be placed at the
dike wall so as to divert the clean rain-
Secondary containment systems water to the dedicated rainwater drain
Special measures can be taken to en- and contaminated rainwater to an efflu-
sure that no acid escapes to the environ- ent treatment plant (ETP). Any acciden-
ment in the form of secondary contain- tally spilled acid is to be collected in spill
ment systems, including the installation tanks and neutralized properly before
of dikes. Dikes are to be built to contain disposal in the ETP.
110% of the largest storage-tank capac-
ity to contain the accidental overspill or PPE and HSE
catastrophic failure of the tanks. Dikes Although sulfuric acid itself is not flam-
must also be designed to withstand not mable, it should not be stored near
only the hydrostatic load of the liquid in organic materials, nitrates, carbides,
the tank, but also for the dynamic tidal- chlorates or metal powders. Contact
wave effect of liquid-flow load in the case between high concentrations of sulfuric
of tank failure. Acid-proof brick lining is to acid and these materials may cause ig-
be laid inside the dike so that spilled acid nition. Proper personal protective equip-
does not permeate into groundwater. In ment (PPE) and health, safety and envi-
addition to NACE RP 294-94 and API ronmental (HSE) precautions are critical
653, API Standards 650 and 620 also in any facility that handles sulfuric acid.
provide helpful guidance in the construc- Some best practices for PPE and HSE in
tion of sulfuric acid storage tanks. sulfuric acid handling are as follows:
Although dikes can be an extremely 1. Suitable eye-wash stations should
helpful measure in protection against be located near the tank farm for the
tank spills and failures, precaution must safety of personnel. The eye washers
be taken when handling the rainwater are to be tested for their functionality
that collects inside the dike area to pre- every shift.
vent environmental contamination. Col- 2. All of the flanges in the lines are to be
lected water from dikes in sulfuric acid covered with lead cladding to protect
service is acidic in nature because of the operating personnel from acciden-
the probable leaks of gases from vents tal acid leaks.
inside the dike. This can create environ- 3. Metal catwalks should be provided
mental issues if released to water bod- for working on top of tanks. Operat-
ies without correcting for pH. All rainwa- ing personnel should always use the
ter that accumulates inside the dike area catwalk and never walk directly on the
should be collected and tested for pH. If tank shell (Figure 3).
required, the pH should be adjusted to 4. All lines should be sloped toward the

TABLE 1. GUIDELINES FOR VALVES IN SULFURIC ACID SERVICE 4. If acid switchover (between either oleum
All of the valves in acid tank farms are to be constructed of Alloy 20
and sulfuric acid or concentrated sulfu-
ric acid and dilute spent acid) is rou-
Ball valves or plug valves are to be used for isolation purposes
tine practice in the tank farm, the vent
Copper, brass and bronze valves are not acceptable for sulfuric acid service at any concentration
valves must be sized for the worst-case
scenario of vapor release.
TABLE 2. CRITERIA FOR MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION FOR PIPING IN SULFURIC ACID 5. After decommissioning, the tank
SERVICE
should be re-commissioned by intro-
Fluid velocity (m/s) Material of construction Temperature limits, °C
ducing acid very slowly, so as to avoid
0–1 Carbon steel Ambient
static electricity.
0–2.5 SS 316 Ambient 6. The structural integrity of stor-
0–7 Alloy 20 60 age-tank roofs is to be inspected
For all ranges Teflon-lined pipe 200 in detail.
7. An explosion-proof hatch cover (mini-
storage tank, or toward the point of mum of 600 mm in size) should be pro-
consumption. This will prevent the vided on the tank roof.
accumulation of acid in low points in
the line, thereby eliminating possible Transfer pumps
safety hazards. Transfer pumps are used to transfer sul-
5. Operating personnel should wear furic acid from the tank farm to the end-
gloves that are loose enough to product processing plant or consuming
be easily removed in case acid plants (for example, a fertilizer plant), where
enters them. acid is fed into chemical reactors. Careful
6. Helmets should be worn at all times. To attention must be paid to these pumps.
ensure eye and face protection, a full Some recommendations for sound trans-
face shield and safety goggles are also fer-pump operations are as follows:
necessary. Goggles and a face shield 1. The transfer pumps to the consuming
are especially crucial when working in plants shall have a low-level tank trip.
a place where splashes can occur un- 2. The discharge line should be pro-
expectedly. It is essential that eye provided with a pressure gage and non-
tection is provided from all angles. return valve.
7. In the event of a small spill, one 3. For the transfer of sulfuric acid from
should contain and neutralize the acid ships at a higher rate, the discharge
with lime. line should have an excess-flow check
8. Whenever a modification is carried valve to prevent accidental spillage of
out in the storage tank area, a hazard acid to the surrounding environment or
and operability (HAZOP) study should to bodies of water.
be conducted before proceeding to
implementation. Hot works in tank farms
Hot works — those tasks that require the
Venting requirements use of flames or very high temperatures,
Another crucial aspect to ensuring stor- such as welding and steel-cutting — must
age-tank safety is adequate venting. be completed with safety in mind. This is
Some best practices associated with tank especially crucial in tank farms. The fol-
venting are as follows: lowing are some guidelines for executing
1. Each sulfuric acid storage tank should hot-works tasks in facilities where sulfuric
be provided with an individual breather acid is being stored:
valve. The vent diameter is to be calcu- 1. Hot work is to be permitted only after
lated based on in-breathing, out-breath- measuring for flammable gases in the
ing and thermal-breathing requirements storage tank area. The measurement
according to API Standard 2000 [5]. of flammable gases in the storage tank
2. The vent area should be greater than area is to be done continually during
the sum of the inlet-, outlet- and drain- the hot work period.
line areas. 2. According to API RP 2009, in situa-
3. The vent (breather) valve should be tions where the work is delayed or sus-
kept at the top of the tank. At no in- pended in an area that has previously
stance should it be located at ground been pronounced gas-free, the permit
level, as it has the potential for inunda- system should specify the length of time
tion in the case of tank rupture or the beyond which oxygen and flammability
dike filling with acid or stormwater. detector tests must be repeated or the
permit reissued [6]. be designed with a minimum work-
3. Periodic combustible-gas and oxygen ing pressure of 14 kg/cm2 and be full-
retests (or continuous monitoring) may vacuum rated. The end fittings must
be required while hot work is proceed- be crimped or swaged. Banding is
ing. The permit should specify the not recommended. The hose-end fit-
monitoring frequency. tings should be 316 stainless steel with
4. If the hot work is to be performed on flanges or quick-connect fittings. The
the shell or roof of the storage tank, gaskets should be constructed of vir-
and if there are holes in the roof or gin Viton B materials. The user should
shell, the tank contents must be emp- have a hose-management program in
tied and purged with inert gas prior to place to ensure the integrity of hoses.
the hot work. All hoses must be dedicated to sulfuric
In many instances, non-compliance with acid service. [9]
the above measures is a main cause for Following the guidelines presented in
explosions in sulfuric acid tanks. Figures this article will help enable engineers to
4 and 5 illustrate the devastation caused safely approach the storage and han-
by not taking the proper precautions with dling of sulfuric acid. ■
hot-works tasks. Figure 4 shows a stor- Edited by Mary Page Bailey
age tank in sulfuric acid service. Figure 5
shows the same tank after a catastrophic References
explosion due to the formation of H2 gas 1. U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
during hot work. (CSB), Investigation Report — Refinery Incident,
Motiva Enterprises LLC, Delaware City Refinery,
July 17, 2001.
Pipelines, hoses and valves 2. National Association of Corrosion Engineers,
Many special design and operating con- NACE Standard RP 0294-94, Design, Fabrica-
siderations should be taken for piping, tion and Inspection of Tanks for the Storage of
Concentrated Sulfuric Acid and Oleum at Ambient
hoses and valves that are to handle sul- Temperatures, 2006.
furic acid. Table 1 provides some best 3. American Petroleum Institute, API 653 — Tank In-
practices for valves in sulfuric acid ser- spection, Repair, Alteration and Reconstruction,
November 2014.
vice. For acid-transfer lines, the pipeline
4. McKetta, J.J., “Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and
should be of one piping class higher than Design,” CRC Press, June 1995.
required to mitigate the risk of accidental 5. American Petroleum Institute, API 2000 — Venting At-
rupture or overpressurization. mospheric and Low-Pressure Storage Tanks, 7th Ed.,
The materials of construction for pip- March 2014.
ing are dependent on fluid-flow velocities 6. American Petroleum Institute, API RP 2009 — Safe Weld-
ing, Cutting and Hot Work Practices in the Petroleum and
and quality concerns. If iron contamina- Petrochemical Industries, February 2002.
tion is a concern for the process, as in 7. American Petroleum Institute, API 570 — Piping Inspec-
the manufacture of caprolactam, carbon tion Code, November 2009.
steel is to be avoided. Polyvinyl chloride 8. NorFalco LLC, Sulfuric Acid Handbook, www.
(PVC) and chlorinated PVC are only to myh2so4.norfalco.com/documents/NorFalco_
H2SO4TechBrochure.pdf, 2007.
be used for vent lines and overflow lines.
9. DuPont Clean Technologies, Equipment Related Frequently
These pipes should not be used for liquid Asked Questions, www2.dupont.com/Clean_Technolo-
service. Table 2 provides some criteria for gies/es_MX/assets/downloads/Equipment_FAQs.pdf.
piping materials of construction based on
velocity and temperature requirements. Author
In general, piping should be inspected Koya Venkata Reddy is senior man-
visually every year. Ultrasonic thickness ager, process engineering at FACT En-
gineering & Design Organization
tests should occur biennially. Depend- (FEDO), a division of Fertilizers And
ing on the actual plant experience, an Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT;
increase or decrease in the schedule of Udyogamandal 683501, Kochi,
Kerala, India; Phone: 91-484-2568763
inspection may be required. Extra at- Email: koyareddy@yahoo.com). He has
tention should be paid to elbows, tees, 24 years of experience in chemical
plant operations, including expertise in
valves and any other areas in the piping the fields of process control, process design, process risk
where flow disturbances (and erosion or analysis, HAZOP, process simulations, environmental man-
corrosion) could occur. Piping inspec- agement and plant revamps. He is a recipient of FACT’s Merit
Award. Reddy holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from
tion criteria from API 570 may be used Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and a Master of Technol-
for guidance [7]. ogy degree in project management from Cochin University of
A hose lined with polytetrafluoroeth- Science and Technology. He also received an M.B.A. in fi-
nance from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU),
ylene (PTFE) is acceptable for 93–98% Delhi. He is a lifetime member of the Indian Institute of Chem-
sulfuric acid service. The hose should ical Engineers (IIChE) and a member of the Institution
of Engineers (India).
Feature Report
An Overview of Filtration
Understanding how different filtration methods work leads to a more informed
decision when selecting a filtration system
Alan Gabelman
F
iltration is arguably P1 > P2
Gabelman Process the most commonly
Solutions used unit operation in P1 P2
the chemical process
IN BRIEF industries (CPI). The range of Feed
Filtrate
DEFINITIONS applications for this important

unit operation is very broad Housing
PROCESS DESIGN — everything from beverage
ISSUES Medium
clarification to solids removal
TYPES OF FILTRATION from mining ores. If you are
CAKE FILTRATION
associated with the CPI, it is FIGURE 1. The driving force for filtration is a pressure differential
highly likely that you are in- trifugal force, a class of centrifuges known
ROTARY VACUUM volved with filtration in some form. This article as centrifugal filters, are outside the scope of
FILTERS provides an overview of filtration technology, this article (for more on this topic, see Filtra-
FILTER AIDS with an emphasis on solid-liquid separation. tion Centrifuges: An Overview, Chem. Eng.
December 2010, pp. 34–38).
LABORATORY DIP LEAF
Definitions
PRESSURE LEAF Filtration is the physical separation of a solid Process design issues
FILTER PRESS from a liquid or gas. Although an explicit dis- A number of issues must be considered in
cussion of gas filtration is outside the scope of the design of a new filtration process, or the
HORIZONTAL BELT FILTER this article, the basic concepts discussed here optimization of an existing one. These in-
CARTRIDGE FILTERS are applicable to gases as well as liquids. clude the following:
The principle of filtration is depicted in Fig- Feed solids content. This is an important
ure 1, which shows a filtration medium situ- factor in the choice of the type of filter for
ated inside of a housing. Feed is delivered to a given application, as well as the operating
the housing upstream of the medium, and conditions. Confusion must be avoided by
a pressure difference across the medium is clearly stating whether the solids content is
applied. By virtue of this differential pressure expressed on a weight or volume basis. In-
driving force, liquid (or gas) passes through soluble solids content is usually given in vol-
the medium and solids are retained. In prac- ume percent, but not always.
tice, this simple model is applied in a number Particle-size distribution. We often char-
of ways, leading to the numerous types of acterize the solids in a slurry by the average
filters available today. We will delve into a few particle size. While this is quite useful, the
of these different types (but by no means all) distribution is important as well as the aver-
in some detail. age. The filter must be designed to retain the
The differential pressure driving force may smallest particles that need to be removed.
be applied in one of four ways: gravity, up- The tendency for particles to agglomerate,
stream positive pressure, downstream nega- shifting the distribution toward larger sizes,
tive pressure (that is, vacuum), or centrifugal may also be a factor.
force. Simple gravity is the most straight- Nature of solids. The physical characteristics
forward method, and it avoids the expense of the solids have a substantial effect on the
and complexity of auxiliary equipment, such level of difficulty of the filtration process, and
as pumps or centrifuges. However, the in turn on the appropriate type of filter and op-
amount of differential pressure obtainable by erating conditions. For example, particles that
gravity is insufficient for many applications. are incompressible (rigid) are usually easier to
Upstream positive pressure is probably the filter than those that are soft and compress-
most common method, but vacuum filtration ible. If the particles are slimy or gelatinous, fil-
is also widely used. Devices that use centration becomes even more challenging.
Diatomaceous
a b earth particle Filter cake feed flows parallel to the filtration
Large hard particles
Particles
surface, rather than the conventional
retained perpendicular flow. Crossflow filtra-
P1 P2
Large soft particles tion processes employ a semiper-
meable membrane as the filtration
Feed Filtrate medium, and the name crossflow
membrane filtration is frequently
Submicron non-haze
(foam-retention proteins, etc) used. Membrane filtration is outside
Particles
retained of the scope of this article.
Submicron haze
FIGURE 2. In cake filtration (a), the separation Imerys Cake filtration
takes place on a buildup of particles (cake) on Cake filtration is the most commonly
the filter medium. In some cases (b), more than
simple size exclusion may be involved quired area is calculated by divid- used type of filtration in the CPI. The
ing the filtration rate per unit area, a concept is depicted in Figure 2a,
Liquid viscosity. If all else is equal, number obtained from laboratory or where the dark circles represent the
pressure drop is higher with a more pilot plant experiments, into the de- solid portion (for example, fibers) of
viscous liquid, meaning the flowrate sired productivity. For example, if the the filtration medium, and the gaps
is lower at a given applied differential filtrate rate obtained in the pilot plant between the circles denote the flow
pressure. Put another way, a higher is 25 gallons per square foot per path for filtrate. Feed is introduced
liquid viscosity results in a lower fil- hour, and the process specification upstream, and a layer of solids is
tration rate. To reduce viscosity, liq- is 12,500 gal/h, the required filtration deposited onto the surface of the
uid filtration processes are often op- area is 12,500/25 or 500 ft2. medium. Some of the particles in
erated at elevated temperatures. Filtrate clarity specification. How this layer bridge the gaps between
Output stream of interest. In many clear does the filtrate need to be? the fibers, a process that is aptly
cases the liquid filtrate is the valuable Sparkling clear filtrate may be re- named bridging. Subsequently, new
product, and the solids that are required, as in some fruit juices or particles are deposited onto this ex-
moved are waste. However, the op- other beverages. In other cases, isting layer, forming a second layer
posite may be true, that is, the solids some turbidity or even some small of solids. The process continues,
are valuable and the liquid is waste. particulate matter is acceptable or with new solids forming additional
A third possibility is that both the sol- even desirable. Even if high clarity layers adjacent to solids already
ids and liquid are valuable, usually is required, it may be more cost ef- deposited, and in this manner, a
with one of the two the main product fective to design for a turbid filtrate, cake forms. Rather than the actual
and the other a byproduct. then use a finer filter downstream to medium, the cake itself acts as the
Temperature constraints. As men- remove the turbidity. If the solids are filtration medium, determining the
tioned above, filtration processes the product and the filtrate is waste, quality and flowrate of the filtrate.
are often operated at elevated clarity is usually unimportant; in the The role of the actual medium is only
temperatures, to reduce the liquid process of removing as much liquid to support the cake. Cake filtration
viscosity, and in turn increase the from the solids as possible, some is suitable only for feeds containing
filtration rate. However, there are particulates are likely to find their way enough solids to form a cake, nomi-
constraints. The process tempera- into the filtrate. nally at least 1 vol.%. Higher levels
ture must not exceed the maximum Waste disposal issues. Provisions of feed solids lead to better results,
allowable operating temperature of must be made for proper disposal including improved bridging and
the equipment being used. Person- of waste solids or liquid, consistent more porous cakes.
nel safety must be considered, with with regulations. There are a variety of media
appropriate operating procedures Cost constraints. Both capital- and available, including paper, textiles,
and personal protective equipment operating-cost targets must be met. polymers, and even wire screens.
(PPE) to minimize the risk of injury. Among the materials used are ole-
Some products are heat sensitive, Types of filtration fins, nylon, polyester, acrylics and
and product degradation will limit the Filtration processes can be divided fluorocarbons. Both woven and non-
maximum acceptable temperature. into three broad categories. In cake woven media are employed, over a
Finally, rather than filtering hot, tem- filtration, the incoming slurry con- wide range of porosity. When select-
peratures below ambient must be tains a relatively large amount of sol- ing a medium, consider mechanical
used in some cases. For example, ids, enough to form a cake on the strength, chemical compatibility with
the solids may be soluble, and re- filter medium. On the other hand, the process material, temperature
duced temperature may be needed clarifying filtration involves feeds with tolerance, ease of cleaning, and of
to avoid dissolving them. low solids levels — too low to form course, porosity. If the medium is too
Productivity and filtration area. a cake. Instead, the solids become coarse, solids may become lodged
The main design specification of embedded in the filtration medium. in the openings, leading to blind-
a filter is the filtration area. The re- Finally, with crossflow filtration the ing. In other cases, solids may not

Komline-Sanderson Komline-Sanderson
a b Wash c
Precoat plus
filtered solids
Drying zone Knife
Liquid level
Direction
of rotation
Submerged zone
FIGURE 3. The inside of rotary vacuum precoat filter has internal piping (a). During the operating cycle (b), advancing knife cut away filtered solids (c)
be retained and bridging may not This is attributable to some mecha- Some filtrate remains in the cake
occur. Conversely, a medium that is nism other than physical exclusion, because of capillary forces, which
too tight will impose an unnecessary perhaps electrostatic or hydropho- cannot be overcome by the vacuum.
restriction to liquid flow, leading to re- bic interaction. This filtrate is recovered using a dis-
duced productivity. placement wash, which as the name
Solids that are soft, slimy or ge- Rotary vacuum filters implies, displaces the filtrate retained
latinous tend to pack tightly, form- These filters comprise a horizontal by the cake with wash solvent (usu-
ing cakes of low permeability. This cylindrical drum that is partially sub- ally water). After washing, filtered
problem can be alleviated by the ad- merged in the slurry to be filtered. solids are cut away by a slowly ad-
dition of a small amount of filter aid The drum is situated in an open tank, vancing knife (Figure 3c), along with
to the feed slurry. Filter aids are inert, known as the tub, which holds the a thin layer of precoat. In this man-
highly porous materials that act to slurry. The inside of the drum con- ner the filtration surface is renewed
separate blinding solids, leading to a tains a network of pipes, connected before the drum reenters the slurry
more open cake and in turn a higher to openings on the surface of the to begin the next pass. This peri-
filtration rate. Filter aid added directly drum, as depicted in Figure 3a. The odic renewal of the surface makes
to the slurry is known as body feed. surface of the drum is covered with a the RVPF a good choice (sometimes
Alternatively, prior to introducing the hard plastic grid, which in turn is cov- the only choice) for solids that blind
feed slurry, a layer of filter aid is de- ered with the filtration medium, usu- or otherwise are difficult to filter. Typi-
posited onto the filtration medium to ally a cloth or plastic sheet. In opera- cally the liquid is the valuable stream
form what is known as a precoat. tion, the drum slowly rotates through obtained from an RVPF, because the
These topics are covered in more the slurry in the tub, while vacuum is solids are contaminated with filter
detail later in this article. applied to the internal pipes. Liquid aid. However, there are methods of
A filter precoated with diatoma- drawn through the medium is carried recovering valuable solids in some
ceous earth (DE), a common type to a gas-liquid separator (also called cases. For example, filtered solids
of filter aid, is represented in Figure a filtrate receiver), while solids are may dissolve with an increase in
2b. This diagram shows how filtra- trapped on the surface of the drum. temperature or change in pH, to be
tion by simple size exclusion may be The bottom and top of the separator recrystallized later if necessary.
an oversimplification. At the top of are connected to the filtrate pump A process flow diagram for an
the figure, rigid particles larger than and vacuum source (usually a vac- RVPF operation is given in Figure
the openings in the DE precoat are uum pump), respectively. 4. The precoat is formed by charg-
retained, while smaller ones pass One type of rotary vacuum filter ing the tub with a slurry of filter aid in
through, consistent with our expec- that is particularly useful is the ro- water, then rotating the drum through
tation. However, the compressible tary vacuum precoat filter (RVPF). the slurry with vacuum applied. Fil-
nature of the large, soft particles Here a filter aid precoat is deposited trate (precoat water) is recycled to
shown in Figure 2b allows them to onto the medium before introducing the tub until clear, then it is rerouted
squeeze through, even though the the feed slurry, as in the example in to the drain as the precoat continues
particles are smaller than the open- Figure 2b. The operation is shown to form. Final precoat thickness may
ings. The sub-micron, non-haze schematically in Figure 3b. As the range from 2 to 6 in. If the precoat is
particles shown in the figure also drum rotates through the slurry, vac- too thin, it will be cut away too quickly,
are not retained, but this is expected uum draws the liquid into the inter- increasing the precoat frequency and
because these particles are smaller nal piping, while solids are retained associated downtime. On the other
than the pores in the cake. On the on the surface of the precoat. Upon hand, increased thickness means in-
other hand, the sub-micron haze emerging from the submerged zone, creased resistance to flow. Moreover,
particles seen at the bottom of the the drum rotates through the drying a precoat that is too thick may fall into
diagram are retained even though zone, where as much filtrate as pos- the tub because the vacuum may be
they are larger than the openings. sible is removed. unable to support it.
When the precoat is fully formed, Vent Cake wash
the filter aid slurry in the tub is re- PI Drum
Filter aid slurry (for precoat)
placed with the process feed. After Knife B
Water
displacing the water in the filtrate Vacuum pump
To A
Feed pump
piping and receiver by process liq- Solids trough From feed
uid, filtrate flow is redirected from LT LIC supply
TI
the drain to downstream process- Filtrate receiver Tub with rake
ing, sometimes automatically based A
on conductivity, refractive index, or To feed tank,
To B drain or filter-
other suitable property. Assuming Barometric leg aid slurry tank Key:
LT: level transmitter
the filtrate is the valuable stream, LIC: level indicator-controller
To downstream TI: temperature indicator
the point of switchover becomes a processing FI FI: flow indicator
tradeoff between product recovery
and evaporation cost. Filtrate pump
To drain
As shown in Figure 4, the tub is
normally fitted with a rake, which is FIGURE 4. Shown here is a typical flowsheet for a rotary vacuum precoat filter
a slow-moving agitator that main- sequent cake wash be less efficient, volume, with complete coverage of
tains the solids in suspension. Using but perhaps more importantly, the the cake surface and no overlap of
an automatic control valve situated cake will be sloppy and the knife will sprays. Moreover, the wash header
downstream of the feed pump, feed be unable to make a clean cut. The must be sufficiently large so that the
flowrate is regulated so that the level knife advance rate is set as needed pressure drop is insignificant, and
in the tub remains constant. If foam- to remove the filtered solids plus a the spray through the last nozzle in
ing in the filtrate receiver is significant, thin layer of precoat. A typical pre- the line is just as strong as through
chemical antifoam can be added as coat life is 3 to 6 h, with filtration rates the first one. In some cases the drum
necessary. Some installations use a ranging from 10 to 100 gal/ft2/h. is cleaned between precoats using a
sensor to detect the presence of foam Cake washing. During the cake separate wash header, designed to
at the top of the receiver, which trig- wash, the displacement of filtrate with deliver a higher flowrate and more
gers automatic addition of antifoam. water proceeds in a manner that ap- powerful spray.
When the filtration is done at el- proximates plug flow. Initially the con-
evated temperature, the humidity centration of the displaced liquid is Filter aids
of the gas stream leaving the filtrate high, but it drops quickly as the water Several types of filter aid are avail-
receiver is usually rather high. To re- comes through. The required amount able. Perhaps the one most com-
duce the load on the vacuum pump, of wash is a matter of economics. If monly used is diatomite, which is
a condenser may be placed up- the filtrate is the valuable product, the skeletal remains of single cell
stream to remove some of the water. use of more wash water improves the algae, composed primarily of silica.
The height of the filtrate receiver yield, but a greater amount of water Diatomite, also known as DE, offers
above the filtrate pump must be suf- needs to be removed downstream, the highest clarity of all types of filter
ficient to provide the head pressure usually by evaporation. As with the aid. Another option is perlite, which
needed to overcome the vacuum, switchover point following precoat- is milled volcanic glass composed
and avoid pulling the liquid into the ing (discussed above), the optimum mainly of potassium aluminum sili-
vacuum pump. The pipe connecting wash volume becomes a function cate. Because perlite is not as tor-
the receiver and the filtrate pump is of the value of the product and the tuous as diatomite, the high clarity
called the barometric leg. cost of energy. If the solids are the levels achievable with the latter are
Variables. Key variables for opti- valuable product, then the preferred not possible. Nevertheless, perlite
mized RVPF operation are the drum wash volume is the amount required may be more cost effective than
rotational speed, drum submergence to reach the purity specification, but diatomite for separation of coarse
and knife advance rate. The first two no more. In both cases, one to two particles. This is because the den-
are set so that a given portion of cake volumes are typical. sity of perlite is lower, so that less
cake remains submerged only long The wash assembly is simply a material is needed to form a precoat
enough to become saturated with row of spray nozzles connected to of a given thickness. Other types of
liquid, then the cake stays in the dry- a header. Spray nozzles can be ob- filter aid are also used, including ex-
ing zone only long enough for the ac- tained in a variety of types and sizes. panded cellulose.
cessible filtrate to be removed. If too Data on flowrate and spray angle, Filter aids come in a range of
little or too much time is spent in the both a function of pressure, are grades, which differ in porosity, or
submerged zone, productivity is lost. available from the manufacturer. The coarseness. The more coarse grades
Similarly, productivity suffers if the size and type of nozzle, distance be- typically offer higher flowrates, but
drying time is longer than necessary. tween each one, and distance from often at the expense of filtrate clar-
On the other hand, if the drying time the header to the cake surface, are all ity. Usually the preferred grade for
is insufficient, not only will the sub- selected to obtain the desired wash a given application is the coarsest

one that still gives acceptable filtrate FIGURE 6. A typical bulk han-
dling system for filter aids is Filter aid from truck or rail car
quality. In an RVPF application, if the
shown here
filter aid is too coarse, filtered solids
will penetrate into the precoat rather
than being retained on the surface. A
larger knife cut will be needed to re- Key
PI: pressure indicator
move them, leading to reduced pre- Filter aid storage silo
LSH: high level switch
coat life and higher filter aid usage. LSL: low level switch
With large plants, filter aid cost

can be significant. Considerable
savings can be realized by recovery
and reuse of spent filter aid. If waste
solids that are removed are heavier
Rotary valve
than the filter aid, as is often the PI
case with DE, the two can be sepa- Water User 3
rated using hydroclone separators.
These simple devices, which con- Pressure
User 2
regulator LSH
tain no moving parts, are inexpen-
User 1
sive and relatively easy to operate. LSL
The aqueous slurry of spent filter aid
Slurry circulation pump
and impurities (that is, the filtered
solids) enters the top of the hydro-
clone, then moves downward along the underflow from stage 3, enriched of pipes; the required linear velocity
the wall in a helical pattern. Lighter in filter aid, is reused. is typically 9–10 ft/s. Users remove
impurities travel back up the center For small plants with relatively low slurry from the loop as needed via T
and exit as overflow. However, the usage, filter aid is supplied in bags. connections, with piping that is de-
heavier filter aid particles have too On the other hand, bulk storage signed to minimize dead spots that
much inertia to make the turn, so and handling are more cost effec- would be prone to clogging, and
they exit the bottom as underflow. tive for high volumes. A flow sheet washout ports to remove clogs that
Of course the separation is not for a bulk system is shown in Figure do form. In addition, a bare metal
100% efficient, but enough impuri- 6. Filter aid delivered by truck or rail pump is not suitable for the highly
ties can be removed to allow reuse car is unloaded into a storage silo, abrasive filter aid. To avoid rapid ero-
of the recovered filter aid. using a pneumatic conveying sys- sion of the impeller and casing, both
A three-stage filter-aid-recovery tem. Dry filter aid is added by grav- are typically lined with rubber.
operation with countercurrent wash- ity to a mix tank via a rotary valve,
ing is shown in Figure 5. Because the where it combines with water to form Laboratory dip leaf
optimum separation is usually ob- a slurry. Flow of water and filter aid This device is used to simulate RVPF
tained with a relatively small hydro- into the tank are started and stopped operation in the laboratory. The data
clone (0.4–48-in. dia. range), each when the tank level reaches low- and can be used for feasibility assess-
stage actually contains numerous high-level switches, respectively. The ment, to size a production filter, or to
hydroclones in parallel, as needed water pressure is set to obtain the optimize operating conditions for an
to reach the required capacity. Feed desired flowrate, and the speed of existing one. The laboratory dip leaf
and wash water are introduced in the rotary valve is adjusted accord- (Figure 7) comprises two cylindrical,
stages 1 and 3, respectively, so that ingly, to achieve the targeted slurry threaded stainless-steel sections, ar-
the cleanest wash solvent contacts concentration. Continuous circula- ranged so that the top one screws
the cleanest solids. The overflow tion through the plant then back to into the bottom one. The bottom
from stage 1, enriched in impurities, the mix tank is necessary, to avoid section contains a perforated plate
is directed to waste treatment, while settling and subsequent clogging that supports the filter medium, and
a bottom outlet for filtrate flow. As
Impurities
shown in Figure 7, the filtrate outlet is
joined via flexible tubing to two grad-
Water
1 2 3 uated filtrate receivers connected
in parallel, and in turn to a vacuum
source. With two receivers, the op-
erator can fill one at a time, switch-
Spent filter-
aid slurry ing to the empty one and draining
the full one as needed. There is also
Recovered filter aid a feed vessel (typically a few liters
FIGURE 5. Hydrocyclones are used in this three-stage filter-aid recovery process with countercurrent wash in volume), which may be jacketed
Vacuum gauge Filtratration surface
Flexible tubing
Threads
Valves
Dip leaf
Vent
Vacuum Perforated support

pump Trap Graduated plate with medium
Filtrate pipe
receivers
Feed
vessel with
jacket FIGURE 7. A laboratory dip-leaf filter, such as
the setup shown here, is used to simulate RVPF
operation
filter aid hopper. In this manner the

rate of filter-aid body-feed addition
for temperature control. The vessel and grade of filter aid, and filter-aid changes with slurry flowrate, keep-
may also be equipped with a mixer, slurry concentration. ing the relative amount of body feed
but simple manual mixing using a constant. Anywhere from 0.2 to 2 lb
wooden paddle is usually sufficient. Pressure leaf filter filter aid per pound of slurry solids
In operation, filter aid slurry is A pressure leaf filter contains a se- may be needed, depending on the
charged to the feed vessel, vacuum ries of heavy screens or grooved nature of the solids. Cake is removed
is applied, and then the dip leaf is im- plates, called leaves, situated in a by sluicing with water, although there
mersed in the slurry. Water collects in housing. Each leaf is covered with are options for dry cake discharge as
the receiver, while filter aid solids are the filter medium, usually a cloth bag mentioned above. Prior to introduc-
retained and form the precoat. Once or fine metal screen. Slurry is deliv- ing the process slurry, a precoat may
precoating is complete, the precoat is ered to the housing, then by virtue of be applied if desired, using the pre-
trimmed flush using a scraper blade, the applied pressure, liquid passes coat tank and pump. Unlike those
receivers are emptied, filter aid slurry through the medium while solids are used with an RVPF, the precoat is
in the feed tank is replaced with pro- retained on the surface. The filtrate relatively thin, typically about 0.25 in.
cess slurry, and testing begins. The flows through the internal part of the Laboratory data for feasibility as-
dip leaf is immersed for a specific leaf, then exits through the bottom sessment, optimization or design of
period of time, then removed and al- outlet. The process ends when the a pressure leaf filter (as well as other
lowed to dry for a specific amount of filtrate flowrate becomes too low, types of pressure filters) can be ob-
time. If desired, the cake can then be the pressure in the housing gets too tained using a small (typically a few
washed using a spray bottle. After- high, or the cake holding space fills. liters) cylindrical pressure vessel. The
ward, the top piece is screwed into At that time the housing is opened vessel is fitted with a perforated plate
the bottom a specific amount (usu- and the cake is discharged by one of near the bottom, to support the filter
ally with the aid of graduations on the several methods. The most common medium, as well as a bottom outlet.
rim), bringing a small amount of cake method is to simply wash the cake If desired, a jacket may be provided
above the rim. This thin slice of cake off with a water spray, a technique for temperature control. In operation,
is removed using the scraper. The known as sluicing. If a dry cake is the tank is filled with the process
volume of filtrate obtained is noted, desired, the liquid is displaced by slurry, the vessel is maintained at the
then the dip leaf is immersed for a hot gas (usually air or nitrogen), then desired pressure using compressed
subsequent dip. the dry cake is removed by vibrating gas (usually air or nitrogen), and then
The process is repeated until the or spinning the leaves. the volume of filtrate collected over
volume of filtrate obtained per dip Unlike the RVPF, the pressure leaf time is recorded. The data can be
is consistent, then a new dip time, filter cannot handle highly difficult fil- used to size the required production
drying time or thickness of cake re- trations because the filtration surface filter, employing methods described
moved per dip can be evaluated. is not renewed, although the use of in textbooks on filtration or chemical
These three parameters are easily body feed is often helpful. On the engineering unit operations.
converted to percent submergence, other hand, the pressure leaf filter is
drum rotational speed and knife ad- less expensive, and simpler to oper- Filter press
vance rate of an actual RVPF. In this ate and maintain. This is perhaps the oldest filtration
manner, conditions are found that A process flow diagram for a pres- technology still in common use. A
maximize productivity while minimiz- sure leaf filter is shown in Figure 8. filter press contains a series of al-
ing filter aid usage. The dip leaf can Slurry flow is controlled to maintain ternating solid plates, with grooves
also be used to study other aspects a constant level in the feed tank, and or perforations for filtrate flow, and
of RVPF operation, including operat- the flowrate determines the speed of hollow frames, which provide the
ing temperature, wash volume, type the rotary valve at the bottom of the cake holding space. Alternatively, re-

cessed plates may be used without Slurry feed
Wash water
frames, with the recess serving as the
cake holding space. The plates and
frames, or recessed plates, hang ver-
tically on parallel support bars to form
a plate pack, which is closed between
Cake
two end plates. Smaller plate packs
can be opened and closed manually,
while hydraulics are used for larger
ones. Each plate is fitted with the filter Moisture
medium, usually cloth or stiff paper. Filtrate receivers trap
Feed slurry is directed to the cake

holding spaces; solids are retained
by the medium, while filtrate passes Barometric legs
through the grooves or perforations
on each plate prior to exiting.
Filter presses offer numerous ad-
vantages, including simplicity (no Mother filtrate
moving parts), relatively low cost, and Wash filtrate Seal tanks Vacuum pump
versatility. Capacity can be changed FIGURE 9. A schematic for a horizontal belt filter (Source: www.solidliquid-separation.com)
easily, by adding (up to the capacity
of the frame) or removing plates. The cess material is hazardous. For water, introduced just upstream of
filter media are readily accessible for these reasons, pressure leaf filters the drying zone, provides a coun-
cleaning or replacement, simply by are often preferred for new applica- tercurrent washing effect, with the
opening the plate pack. Floor space tions, with the exception of pilot or cleanest wash solvent contacting
and headroom requirements are small production operations. the cleanest cake. Upon reaching
low, and relatively dry, dense cakes the downstream roller, the cake is
are obtainable. Horizontal belt filter discharged by virtue of the change
However, there are also disad- This is the most commonly used in direction, then the underside of
vantages. Filter presses are labor vacuum filter in the CPI, mainly the belt is washed prior to the next
intensive; cleaning or replacement because of its flexibility, ability to pass. The belt, which uses raised
of the media is done manually. handle corrosive slurries, and high edges to contain the liquid, may be
Moreover, when the plate pack is throughput. As shown in Figure 9, as large as 12 ft by 90 ft and travel
opened, the operator is exposed the horizontal belt filter contains a at speeds up to 3 ft/s. Cake thick-
to the process material, which pre- belt that moves through cake forma- ness and solids holding capacity are
cludes applications involving haz- tion, washing and drying zones in an 1/8–6 in. and 2–100 lb solids per
ardous materials without special endless loop. Slurry is introduced at square foot, respectively.
measures for personnel protec- one end, with liquid pulled through Key design variables are the
tion. Finally, filter presses are prone the belt by the applied vacuum (typi- lengths of the feed, washing and
to leakage, which is a nuisance at cally 24–26 in. Hg), while solids are drying zones. A longer washing zone
best, and more serious if the pro- retained to form the cake. Wash may be needed for higher cake pu-
rity or greater recovery of filtrate. A
low filtration rate would require all
FIGURE 8. The process flow diagram Dry filter aid
for a pressure leaf filter sections to be longer. Important op-
erating parameters are feedrate and
Filter aid hopper SC
From belt speed, which are optimized to
Rotary valve
FIT feed maximize productivity while still ob-
supply
taining a reasonable cake thickness,
Sluice header
Water
Feed tank
adequate liquid removal and suitable
LIC
solids purity. The cake must be suf-
PI ficiently thick to easily fall from the
Pressure leaf filter LT
FI
belt at the discharge end, yet not so
To A thick that there is insufficient time or
Filter aid Feed pump too much resistance to flow for the
A
To down- Water
Key cake to dry adequately. Cake thick-
stream SC: speed control
processing FI: flow indicator
ness can be reduced by decreasing
To feed tank, Precoat
Filtrate pump waste treatment tank FIT: flow indicator-transmitter the feedrate or increasing the belt
or drain LIC: level indicator-controller
To drain LT: level transmitter speed, which may be necessary for
Precoat pump PI: pressure indicator high solids feeds.
Rosedale Products
Cartridge filters a central core. The sheets can be

Cartridge filters use one or more made from any thin material that
cylindrical cartridges situated in a can be folded without cracking,
housing. Feed is directed to the including cellulose, polyester, fiber-
outer surface, then filtrate flows glass, PTFE, and polyethersulfone.
through the cartridge to the hol- Some cartridges use a semiper-
low center and out, while particu- meable membrane, which can be
lates are trapped. Unlike the cake made with pores as small as 0.03
filters described above, the solids μm. These membrane cartridges
do not form a cake on the surface are employed in applications that
of the medium (that is, the car- require highly pure filtrates, such as
tridge). Feed solids should be low for production of ultrapure water in
(<1 vol.%), or the cartridge will be- electronics processing, cold pas-
come dirty and require cleaning or teurization of beverages, or steril-
replacement too quickly. A typical ization of fermentation media. Ex-
cartridge diameter is 2.75 in., with amples of membrane cartridges
lengths ranging from 10 to 40 in. are shown in Figure 10.
Porosities vary widely, from submi- Housings are available in a number
cron sizes up to 100 μm, but as of shapes and sizes. Most housings
discussed below, micron ratings accommodate multiple cartridges,
must be interpreted cautiously. although small housings that ac-
Fibrous cartridges are discarded cept a single 10-in. cartridge are
once they are fully used, as indi- also made. Most cartridges use a
cated by a substantial decrease gasket or O-rings to seal the open
in flowrate or increase in pressure bottom against a mating surface in FIGURE 10. Two types of filter cartridge are shown
drop. Alternatively, stainless-steel the housing. The top may be open or here: the double open end (DOE) cartridge (left) is
cartridges can be cleaned and re- closed, designs that are called dou- open at both ends; the single open end (SOE) car-
tridge (right) contains a spearhead in the closed end
used, and also offer higher temper- ble open end (DOE) and single open
ature compatibility. end (SOE), respectively. The DOE Zeta potential filters
Cartridges may be the surface cartridge seals against the top cover, Zeta potential is the net charge ex-
type or the more common depth while no top seal is needed with the hibited at the surface of a particle
type. As the names imply, with the SOE design. A DOE cartridge is de- when placed in aqueous solution.
former the solids are retained on the picted on the left of Figure 10, while The value, a result of interactions
surface, while with the latter they an SOE design is shown on the right; between the particle and the liquid,
are embedded within the medium. the top of the latter contains a so- varies with the ionic character of the
A popular depth filter is the yarn- called spearhead, which fits through particle, as well as the pH and ion
wound variety, where yarn is wound a perforated plate to locate the car- content of the liquid. Because many
around a central core. Usually this is tridge and stabilize its position. particles, including microorgan-
done in such a way that the open- In some applications a cartridge isms, clays, silica and others, have
ings are largest near the outside, filter serves as a polishing filter, situ- a negative zeta potential, filtration is
then become progressively smaller ated downstream of a coarse filter enhanced when a filter medium with
toward the center. Consequently or centrifuge. This is because it may a positive zeta potential is used.
the larger particles are trapped near be more cost effective to design the This can be achieved by attaching
the surface, and the smaller ones upstream separator to deliver a liquid suitable functional groups to the fil-
are captured closer to the core. The containing a small amount of particu- tration medium. The resulting filtra-
yarn can be any fibrous material, lates, to be removed using cartridges, tion process leverages electrostatic
including cotton, glass, polyester, rather than trying to reach the final interactions as well as physical size
nylon, or polytetrafluoroethylene clarity specification in a single step. exclusion, allowing capture of par-
(PTFE). Cores can be polypropyl- In other applications the cartridge fil- ticles smaller than the openings in
ene, phenolic resin, stainless steel, ter serves as a guard. Under normal the medium.
or other metals or alloys. Bonded operation, an upstream separator
cartridges, made from long, loose produces liquid of the required clar- Cartridge removal ratings
fibers impregnated with phenolic ity, with little or no improvement upon In principle, the removal rating is
resin, are self-supporting and do passing through the cartridge filter. the maximum particle size the car-
not require a core. However, if there is an upset that al- tridge will allow to pass. For ex-
Surface filters use media that are lows solids to escape the upstream ample, a 30-μm cartridge might
pleated, for increased surface area, separator, they are captured by the be expected to retain all particles
usually with multiple, concentric cartridge before contaminating the with sizes of 30 μm and larger,
pleated sheets wrapped around downstream process. with smaller ones appearing in the

filtrate. However, the real situation oped by the 3M Corp. for ratings of
is not so straightforward. 20–100 μm, and ASTM F 838-83,
Ratings can be nominal or abso- used for tight filters designed to re-
lute. A cartridge with a nominal rat- move microorganisms. However,
ing is purported to retain a percent- not all manufacturers use the same
age of particles the same size or test, and results vary from one to the
larger than the rating. For example, other. Moreover, performance can
a 30-μm nominal cartridge may have change during the life of the car-
Content Licensing for retained 98% of particles 30 μm and tridge, meaning filtrate emanating
Every Marketing Strategy larger in a laboratory test. On the from a new cartridge may not be the
other hand, a 30-μm absolute car- same as filtrate obtained when the
tridge should retain all particles 30 cartridge is nearly spent. And again,
Marketing solutions it for: μm and larger, consistent with the the test material is unlikely to be the
• Outdoor • Direct Mail expectation described above. same as the process material.
• Print Advertising • Tradeshow/ Nominal ratings are assigned by
introducing the test feed upstream, Bag filters
POP Displays • Social Media
then analyzing the filtrate to deter- Bag filters comprise a bag made from
• Radio & Television mine the percentage of particles of a polymer such as polyester, nylon or
a given size that were removed. This polypropylene, supported by a stain-
sounds simple enough, but there less-steel screen inside of a cylindrical
are numerous drawbacks. There housing. The feed enters the inside of
is no standardized test procedure. the bag, then liquid flows through the
That is, operating conditions (tem- bag to the exit port while solids are
perature, pressure, flowrate), solids retained. Bags with nominal ratings
composition and concentration are of 1–1,500 μm are available.
at the discretion of the manufac- Bag filters are usually used to
turer. Moreover, removal criteria are treat slurries containing at least a
not consistent. For example, one few percent solids. The solids grad-
supplier may offer a 30-μm car- ually fill the bag, which is then re-
tridge that, when tested, removed placed with a fresh one. While this
98% of particles 30 μm or larger is reminiscent of cake filtration, the
(the example given above), but an- retained material is usually too wet
other manufacturer’s 30-μm car- and loosely packed to be consid-
tridge may have removed only 95% ered a cake. The main advantages
Logo Licensing | Reprints of these particles. Because of the of bag filters are simplicity and low
Eprints | Plaques lack of standardization, micron rat- cost. On the other hand, bag fil-
ings of different manufacturers can- tration is labor intensive, making it
not be compared. unsuitable for large-volume opera-
Leverage branded content
There are other drawbacks as tions, and the operator is exposed
from Chemical Engineering well. Test results are not always re- to the process material. ■
to create a more powerful producible. With some cartridges Edited by Gerald Ondrey
and sophisticated statement (for instance, felts, woven yarns
about your product, service, and loosely packed fiberglass), Author
pores can shift during operating, Alan Gabelman is president of
or company in your next releasing trapped particles and Gabelman Process Solutions LLC
marketing campaign. (6548 Meadowbrook Court, West
complicating characterization ef- Chester, OH 45069; Phone: 513-
Contact Wright’s Media to forts. Finally, and perhaps most im- 919-6797; Email: alan.gabel
portant, the test feed used to de- man@gabelmanps.com; Website:
ind out more about how www.gabelmanps.com), offering
we can customize your termine the cartridge performance consulting services in process en-
is rarely, if ever, the same as the gineering. Gabelman’s 38 years of
acknowledgements and process material, and results are experience include numerous sep-
aration processes and other engineering unit operations,
recognitions to enhance your likely to be different. equipment selection, design and sizing, process simula-
marketing strategies. The situation is better with abso- tion, P&ID development and process economics. He
holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engi-
lute filters, but there are still issues. neering from Cornell University, the University of Dela-
For more information, call There are standardized test proce- ware, and the University of Cincinnati, respectively. He is
Wright’s Media at 877.652.5295 dures that specify operating condi- a licensed professional engineer, as well as an adjunct
instructor in chemical engineering at the University of
or visit our website at tions, test material and particulate Cincinnati. Gabelman has edited a book on bioprocess
www.wrightsmedia.com concentration. Examples are ASTM flavor production, and has authored several peer-re-
STP 975, or the modification devel- viewed scientific papers and a book chapter.

Engineering Practice
Large-Scale Fermentation Systems:

Hygienic Design Principles
Follow these tips to optimize systems that use microbial fermentation
to produce biochemicals and biopharmaceuticals
Bill Miley and Jim Riley ganisms occurring CIP supply FIGURE 1. In this typical
CH2M in nature (in general, CIP system, CIP solution
Yasha Zelmanovich is sprayed into the tank
highly specialized to clean internal surfaces,
EI Associates breeding in a micro- and is drained or pumped
organism tends to through a separate CIP-
F
ermentation has always been reduce its viability return line
Process
an important part of human overall). This is also vessel
history. Human beings are a safety consider-
known to have made fer- ation. Since you
mented foods since Neolithic times. are creating a novel
With the discovery of microorgan- microorganism,
isms in the 19th century, fermen- just in case it exhib-
tation became a viable route to its some unforeseen Process
produce synthetic chemicals and undesirable traits, CIP return
antibiotics. Between 1900 and 1930, you don’t want it
fermentation was the primary route to be able to out- CIP return pump
for producing alcohols and acetone. compete natural
But with the advent of cheaper oil, organisms. latter apply industrial-scale fermen-
chemical-synthesis routes became Therefore, preventing contamina- tation to produce bio-based chemi-
the preferred route for producing al- tion of the bioreactor/fermentor sys- cals and plastics on a scale that is
cohols and other solvents. tems is of paramount importance in orders-of-magnitude larger than
Due to the recent emphasis on the both biochemical and biopharma- the scale typically used for biophar-
use of renewable resources, interest in ceutical facilities. In biopharmaceuti- maceuticals production.
microbial fermentations has been ex- cal plants, this is accomplished by in- As a result, the ability to meet the
periencing a renaissance. The intent is corporating extensive clean-in-place potential demand for chemicals that
to use abundant and renewable raw (CIP) and sterilize-in-place (SIP) sys- are produced by fermentation will
materials, such as non-food crops, ag- tems, and using components and likely require the development of fer-
ricultural wastes and algae, to produce equipment that lend themselves to mentors with a capacity in the range
a broad array of desired chemicals or being cleaned and sterilized in place. of hundreds of thousands of gallons
biofuels. While some biorefineries that These requirements result in very ex- or larger. Many of the easy-to-clean
use these feedstock materials will use pensive construction, as most com- and easy-to-sterilize components
naturally occurring microorganisms to ponents are made of highly polished that have been developed for food
produce the desired chemical prod- stainless steel, and all vessels are and pharmaceutical production
ucts, most of them will rely on new designed for 25 psig or higher pres- do not exist at the scales that
organisms that have been genetically sure and full vacuum to withstand are seen in the production of indus-
engineered to favor the production of steam-sterilization conditions. trial biochemicals.
the target products. The same principles can be ap- There are no precise definitions
plied to the design of large-scale bio- or cutoffs with regard to scale.
Challenges chemical production, but this needs Today, the largest cell-culture bio-
The challenges associated with to be tempered by the fact that dif- reactors to produce biopharma-
designing large-scale biochemical ferent economic drivers are in play. ceutical products have a capacity
production facilities are very simi- While biopharmaceutical produc- of about 25,000 L (6,500 gal). This
lar to those related to the design of tion facilities yield products that sell article discusses many of the prob-
facilities producing biopharmaceuti- for thousands of dollars per gram, lems that can arise related to large-
cals. The genetically modified micro- biorefineries often produce products scale industrial fermentation vessels
organisms (GMM) used in both types that sell for, at most, a few dollars per (that is, those with a capacity up
of facilities are, often by design, not kilogram. The other big difference to 1 million gal) that are increas-
very robust; thus, they often find it between biopharmaceutical facilities ingly being used for industrial bio-
difficult to compete against microor- and industrial biorefineries is that the processes. It also presents recom-

FIGURE 2. Typical static sprayballs, which use
mendations for appropriate CIP high flow and low pressure to clean the internal
and sterilization design for large- surfaces of a tank, are shown here
scale systems.
CIP design considerations

In addition to preventing contamina-
tion by foreign living organisms, CIP
systems are also used to remove
non-biological contaminants, such
as grit, scale and organic matter,
which may also have an adverse ef-
fect on process performance.
CIP sequence. CIP systems achieve
these objectives by removing dirt by
impact or turbulence, and by break-
ing up and removing remaining dirt
by chemical action. Figure 1 shows
a typical arrangement for cleaning a
process vessel.
The CIP system supplies CIP fluid
to a spray device inside the vessel, Spraying Systems Co.
which sprays the solution onto the
vessel walls. A variety of spray de-
vices are available, including static dirt or other contaminants present. which is based on single use of de-
sprayballs (Figure 2) and fluid-driven Water rinse. A once-through rinse tergent solutions and rinse water, to
orbital cleaners (Figure 3). Sprayballs of clean water is typically used, with multi-tank systems, which allow for
are high-flow, low-pressure devices no circulation, and this substantially the recovery of these fluids. Figure
that are often used to clean smaller reduces the amount of residual ma- 4 shows a typical configuration for
tanks (typically smaller than 15-ft- terials from the detergent wash step. a multi-tank system. If an acid wash
dia.). Fluid-driven orbital cleaners If no acid wash is used in the CIP is not required, the number of tanks
are low-flow, high-pressure devices sequence, this water rinse step be- can be reduced to three.
that are typically used to clean larger comes the final rinse prior to either Heat-recovery and caustic-recov-
tanks (greater than 15-ft dia.). Line sanitization or sterilization. The rinse ery modules are optional and are
cleaning is accomplished by circu- water should be collected for reuse rarely included. Depending on the
lating CIP fluid in the pipeline. as the pre-rinse fluid used in the next location, type and elevation of the
A typical CIP sequence includes CIP cycle. process equipment, the facility could
the following elements: Acid wash. The solution used in this operate several CIP systems that are
Process heel drain. A complete drain step may be circulated in a loop (sim- dedicated to different process areas,
of the heel is needed to minimize ilar to the detergent wash), and this rather than a single system.
waste and avoid contamination of step serves two functions. The first is Even if one central CIP system is
the CIP fluid. to quickly neutralize and remove any possible, it may include two supply
Initial or pre-rinse. The primary objec- remaining caustic from the detergent and return headers. If there is more
tive of the initial rinse is the mechani- wash step. The second is to remove than one GMM used in the facil-
cal removal of dirt. Water recovered any hard-water-scale deposits that ity, or a combination of GMM and
from a later step in the CIP sequence may occur within the process equip- non-GMM, then providing separate
is used for the pre-rinse step. Note ment. As mentioned earlier, depend- CIP systems for the different micro-
that the pre-rinse effluent stream ing on the nature of the dirt, an acid organisms is advisable to prevent
may contain genetically modified wash may be required to ensure dirt cross-contamination.
microorganisms, and thus will need removal, as well. Equipment sizing. Process systems
to go through a bioinactivation pro- Water rinse. This additional water that are subject to CIP are divided
cess before being sent for further rinse step is only required if an acid into CIP circuits. For example, a pro-
waste treatment. wash is used (to remove the bulk cess vessel may constitute a circuit.
Detergent wash. This step involves of any acid wash solution that re- Piping coming out of the vessel may
chemical cleaning to remove remain- mains after the acid wash step). The constitute another circuit. At times,
ing dirt. The detergent solution is cir- water from this step is collected and the vessel and associated piping
culated through the system. The so- reused as the pre-rinse in the next may be combined into one circuit.
lution type and concentration should CIP cycle. Equipment in the CIP system should
be determined by plant experience. CIP system configuration. There be sized for the highest-possible
While a 2–4% caustic solution is are several different CIP system con- anticipated flow and volumetric ca-
commonly used in this step, an acid- figurations that can accommodate pacity requirements of the given CIP
based detergent (or both) can also the CIP sequence described above. circuit. If the CIP system is designed
be used, depending on the type of They vary from a single-tank system, to clean more than one circuit at a
Gamajet
Detergent tanks. These tanks need Materials of construction. The ma-
to have sufficient volume to fill the terials of construction for all process
CIP circuit with detergent solution, equipment and piping will need to
to enable recirculation, and to allow be compatible with both the pro-
for losses, which will occur during cess fluids and the cleaning agents.
switchover from water rinse to de- In general, type 304/304L stainless
tergent wash and vice versa. steel will be satisfactory for wet-
Final rinse tank. The volume of this ted surfaces. However, depending
tank is equal to the highest CIP upon the piping specification, type
flowrate multiplied by the duration 316/316L stainless-steel material
of rinse, minus fresh water makeup. may be a less costly option, espe-
This tank can be very small if the cially if stainless-steel tubing is used
makeup rate is equal to the rinse in smaller diameters. Elastomers and
flow requirements. gasket material must be checked
Pump design. The CIP supply pump for compatibility with the cleaning
design is an additional, complex agents, particularly considering the
issue. There will likely be a variety elevated temperature of the caustic
of unit operations and tanks using wash solution. Aluminum, copper
the same CIP solutions, but with and bronze materials should not be
FIGURE 3. This photo shows three kinds of orbital, differing flow and pressure require- used in the process areas, and are
in-tank cleaners that are widely used in large-
scale fermentation vessels ments. To address this engineering not acceptable in wetted portions of
challenge, variable-speed drives or the CIP system.
parallel pumps (systems with differ- Piping design. Key considerations
time, then the system should take ent flows and heads) may be used to of piping design for the CIP systems
into account the requirements of meet the range of requirements. and the process systems being
all the circuits that may be cleaned Hydraulic losses for spray nozzles cleaned include the proper design
simultaneously. Generally, CIP sys- and equipment (heat exchangers, of CIP circuits, the ability to drain
tems are designed to clean one or sterilizers and more) need to be cal- CIP lines, and the appropriate seg-
two circuits at a time. culated based on vendor informa- regation of the CIP system from the
Tank design. Tanks are typically tion. CIP flows may be higher than process being cleaned. Ideally, any
constructed from 304L or 316L the design process flows. Therefore, dead legs should be no longer than
stainless steel. Internal welds should values for design pressure drop may two pipe diameters, and the overall
be ground smooth and dead spots not be accurate. Sprayballs usually system should be designed to drain
should be minimized. Internal pol- require 20–25 psig pressure, and completely. Significant biological
ishing of CIP vessels is usually not spray nozzles and orbital cleaners growth can occur in water that has
required. Detergent tanks should be can require up to 250 psig. been allowed to stand stagnant even
equipped with agitators to ease the The pumps are normally centrifu- for short periods of time.
preparation of detergent solutions. gal pumps, often with variable-speed Lines should be sized for fully tur-
It is important to include provisions drives. NPSH requirements are an bulent flow. The general practice is
for periodic cleaning of the CIP sys- important consideration, due to the to have a velocity range of 5–7 ft/s.
tem. This requires that the CIP tanks elevated temperatures required for Individual CIP circuits must be de-
be equipped with sprayballs or or- some CIP fluids. signed so that every line in a circuit
bital cleaners. CIP tank volumes are Low available NPSH is especially maintains the appropriate velocity.
determined as follows: a problem in CIP return service dur- Reducers in horizontal lines should
Pre-rinse tank. The volume of this ing tank cleaning. This is because be eccentric and installed with the
tank is calculated as a function of the the cleaning fluid is often close to the flat side on the bottom of the pipe.
highest CIP flow volume, multiplied boiling temperature and there is no All horizontal lines should be sloped
by the duration of the pre-rinse step. static head because there is no liquid to a drain point, and low points must
Typical pre-rinse times are 15–20 level in the tank during cleaning. One be equipped with drains. The mini-
min for vessels, and 5 min for pipes. option (perhaps the best option) is to mum slope of the pipe should be at
The pre-rinse tank usually stores use sanitary liquid-ring, self-priming least 1/16 in. per ft.
the water from the final rinse. If the pumps, such as the one shown in Valve selection should be done
pre-rinse and final rinse volumetric Figure 5. Self-priming pumps have with care to avoid non-drainable
requirements are the same — which the ability to pump fluids with en- conditions or crevices that will not
is often the case — then the pre- trained gases. be cleaned. So-called “clean” ball
rinse tank is sized to hold the final However, some systems have flow valve designs are available for sizes
rinse volume. and capacity requirements that ex- 6 in. and less. For larger sizes, hy-
If the pre-rinse uses fresh water, ceed capabilities of currently avail- gienic butterfly-valve designs should
then the size of the tank is equal to able sanitary self-priming pumps. be considered.
the maximum CIP flow, multiplied by In those cases, consideration The tie-in point between the CIP
the duration of the pre-rinse, minus should be given to non-sanitary self- system and the process is critical.
fresh water makeup capacity. priming pumps. Ideally, connections to the process

FIGURE 4. This block flow diagram shows the
Caustic Acid typical components of a complete CIP system
supply supply
Water
supply
CIP return
pump
Strainer
Post-rinse Caustic Pre-rinse

Acid tank
tank tank tank
Process
Steam
Heat recovery
(optional)
Heater
CIP pump(s) To waste

treatment
or product
To caustic tank Condensate recovery
Caustic recovery (optional)

To waste treatment
should be either a block-and-bleed housings may have a larger cross- recommended instrumentation in-
connection, or a line break. Spe- sectional flow area than the pipe cludes the following:
cially designed, mix-proof valves feeding it. Flowrates and pressure • Visual sightglasses for CIP supply
are available for this service, but are drops should be calculated sepa- and return lines
limited to 6 in. or smaller in size. In rately for this equipment. • Temperature indicators on the
some cases, flow-transfer panels Flowrates required for equipment caustic, acid and rinse water
may be used to restrict the connec- cleaning depend on the process, or- tanks
tion of cleaning circuits and to pro- ganism and type of dirt to be cleaned. • Conductivity transmitters in the
vide a positive break between the Typical minimum flow values for verti- CIP supply and return lines
process and the CIP system. The cal tanks and reactors range from 2 • Temperature indication and control
severity of potential consequences to 3 gal/min per foot of tank circum- on the CIP solution heater
that could arise from leakage of the ference. Additional flow and spraying • Temperature indication in the CIP
CIP solution into the process should devices may be required, depending return line
guide the system designer when on the number and locations of large • Level indicators on all tanks
establishing an appropriate level of nozzles, dip tubes, baffles and other • Differential pressure indicators
separation between CIP and pro- internal obstructions. across filters and heat exchangers
cess systems. The choice between sprayballs • Limit switches confirming position
CIP flowrate. Determining the de- and orbital cleaners is driven by of crucial valves
sign flowrate for the CIP system re- vessel size and type of dirt. As ves- Automation. Full automation of the
quires knowledge of the number and sels get larger, flow requirements CIP process is recommended. The
types of systems and accessories to for sprayballs become very large only exception to full automation
be cleaned. Turbulent flow conditions (often excessively so); thus orbital would be in rare cases where flow-
are required for effective pipeline CIP. cleaners become a more eco- transfer panels are used to isolate
This is achieved when the fluid ve- nomical choice. Another reason the CIP system from the process.
locity is between 5 and 7 ft/s. Table 1 to choose a high-pressure orbital A variety of items in the CIP system
shows flowrates that correspond to cleaner is when a high-impact force should be automated, when pos-
fluid velocity between 5 and 7 ft/s for is required for effective CIP. Close sible. These include sequencing of
various pipe sizes. coordination with spraying device valves for circuit lineup, minimum cir-
A flowrate that produces this ve- vendors is required for proper de- culation times, permissive inputs be-
locity range will be adequate for vice selection. tween steps, cycle stops and alarms
cleaning in-line equipment, as well. Instrumentation and controls. The for CIP process values. Automation
There are possible exceptions that extent of instrumentation in the CIP should allow for stopping, repeating
should be checked. For instance, process depends on the automation or increasing the duration of steps in
some heat exchangers and filter philosophy in the plant. In general, the CIP process.
SPX Flow, Inc. TABLE 1. FLOWRATES FOR TYPICAL
PIPE SIZES
Flow, in gal/min, for
Nominal Schedule 10 pipe
pipe size 5 ft/s 7 ft/s
1 15 21
1½ 35 48
2 57 80
3 130 182
4 222 311
6 495 692
8 849 1,189
10 1,329 1,860
12 1,879 2,630
FIGURE 5. The liquid-ring centrifugal pump shown here is able to pump fluids with low suction head and
entrained air equipment is moist-heat sterilization
with steam. The steam-sterilization
Sterilization amounts), that are still present after process typically involves the follow-
In a typical biopharmaceutical pro- the CIP cycle is complete. This is ing three steps:
cess, CIP is followed by equipment particularly important in processes • Displacement of air with steam
sterilization. While the goal of CIP is involving long-running mammalian and heating to sterilization tem-
to clean equipment surfaces (includ- cell cultures, where the presence of perature, usually 250°F
ing the removal of any microorgan- even one contaminating microorgan- • Holding at sterilization temperature
isms found on the surfaces), the goal ism can be disastrous. for a minimum of 15 min (although
of sterilization is to destroy residual The most common technique for 30 min to an hour is more com-
microorganisms
Chemical (even down
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• Cool down, which includes intro- 30 psig. only available choice for pressure
duction of sterile air to prevent a This approach relies on effective and vacuum relief for these large
vacuum condition resulting from CIP to keep competitive organ- vessels is to use pressure-vacuum-
steam collapse as the equipment isms at bay, and uses sterilization vent valves (also referred to as con-
cools off as backup in the event of CIP fail- servation vents) that are designed
Since the pressure of 250°F satu- ure. Even then, conventional steam for atmospheric storage tanks.
rated steam is 15 psig, this means sterilization is not an option, as the Since these are available only up
that the equipment undergoing design pressure and vacuum rating to 12-in.-dia. size, depending on
steam sterilization needs to be rated of the equipment is less than 1 psig. the size of the vessel, multiple relief
for a pressure higher than that. To accommodate this design pres- valves may be required.
And since the usual practice is to sure limitation, sterilization is done Chemical sterilization is an alterna-
use steam at pressure greater than using modified steam sterilization tive to steam sterilization, and this
20 psig to ensure a margin of techniques or using other sterilants approach gets around the problem
safety, this typically translates into a instead of steam. of dealing with vacuum conditions
25–30 psig design pressure for Carrying out steam sterilization at that arise during steam condensa-
equipment undergoing conventional atmospheric pressure is one way tion. There are a number of chemi-
steam sterilization. to modify steam sterilization. All the cals that can be used as sterilants;
This would be prohibitively expensive steps mentioned above would still some of the most commonly used
for the relatively low-value products be followed, but instead of 250°F, are discussed below.
that are typically produced in large- the vessel surfaces will only reach Chlorine dioxide. Chlorine dioxide
scale biofuel or biorefinery plants. As 212°F. This will result in a signifi- (ClO2) is an oxidizing agent. In its
mentioned, fermentors and other ves- cantly longer hold period, which gaseous form, it is registered as a
sels in such plants can range in size will have to be established based sterilant for manufacturing and pro-
from 100,000 to 1,000,000 gal. This on experience. Given the design cessing equipment, surfaces, tools
calls for a different approach to steril- pressure of these vessels, provid- and cleanrooms. It is a yellow to
ization — one that would allow these ing adequate pressure and vacuum greenish-yellow gas that must be
vessels to be designed for a pressure relief is of utmost importance, es- generated onsite. Chlorine dioxide
of a few inches of water rather than pecially the latter. At this time, the generators are commercially avail-
Now Available:
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able and they typically produce ClO2 sanitization of very large-scale pro- 3. Rivera, Elizabeth, Equipment and Processing Report,
Basic Equipment-Design Concepts to Enable Cleaning
by flowing dilute chlorine gas through cess systems. in Place: Part II, www.pharmtech.com, July 20, 2011,
sodium chlorite canisters. Chlorine To make HPV work, one would accessed online.
dioxide can be explosive at concen- have to generate HPV onsite by 4. APV White Paper, CIP and Sanitation of the Process Plant,
trations above 10 vol.% in air, so it is flash-evaporating 30–35 wt.% hy- www.apv.com, accessed online.
important to keep its concentration drogen peroxide. Currently, com- 5. Chisti, Yusuf, and Moo-Young, Murray, Short Review:
safely below that. ClO2 concentra- mercially available HPV generators Clean-in-place systems for industrial bioreactors: design,
validation and operation, Journal of Industrial Microbiol-
tions required for sterilization are on are too small to generate sufficient ogy, 13, pp. 201–207, 1994.
the order of 1 mg/L. quantities of HPV to carry out steril- 6. National Institutes of Health, NIH Guidelines for Re-
After the desired concentration is ization of very large systems in a rea- search Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic
achieved, the vessel is held at this sonable time period. Acid Molecules, http://osp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/
NIH_Guidelines.html.
concentration for 1–2 h, the exact A major attraction of HPV steriliza-
time to be based on experience. tion is that there are no wastes to 7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Microbial Prod-
ucts of Biotechnology Summary of Regulations under
The last step is to remove the ClO2, treat from this process, as the per- the Toxic Substances Control Act, http://www.epa.gov/
which is accomplished by displacing oxide decomposes to oxygen and biotech_rule/pubs/fs-001.htm.
it with sterile, filtered air. ClO2 has water vapor.
been used to sterilize bulk aseptic In the foregoing discussion, we Author
storage tanks, such as orange juice have used the terms sterilization and Bill Miley is a senior process en-
storage tanks, but to date, there are sanitization somewhat interchange- gineer in industrial and advanced
technology for CH2M (400
no reports of it being used in biopro- ably. Sterilization means destruc- E-Business Way, Suite 400, Cin-
cess facilities. tion of all organisms and that means cinnati, OH 45241; Phone: 513-
Peracetic acid. Peracetic acid that most or nearly all organisms are 587-7141; Email: bill.miley@
(C2H4O3) is usually available as a killed. ch2m.com). He has over 30 years
of experience in all aspects of pro-
mixture of acetic acid (CH3COOH) However, as mentioned below, cess engineering, from feasibility
and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in such high standards are generally through post-startup, including extensive experience in
water. It is a colorless liquid that not required during the production of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing, with par-
ticular skill in liquid mixing and fermentation. Miley’s
has a pungent odor and a low pH large-scale biofuels or biochemicals. specific expertise includes process and project engi-
value. Peracetic acid is produced A low-cost sanitization technique neering with a focus on plant process startups and
by a reaction between hydrogen that is capable of keeping biocon- training. He has two B.S. degrees (biochemistry and
chemical engineering) from Michigan State University.
peroxide and water. It is an oxidiz- taminants at an acceptable level
ing biocide, which is widely used to may be all that is required. Of the Yasha Zelmanovich is manager
of process engineering at EI
sterilize medical, surgical and den- techniques mentioned above, one of Associates (8 Ridgedale Avenue,
tal instruments. them — sanitization with peracetic Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927; Phone:
It is also approved for use in the acid — is the easiest to implement 973-775-7777, ext. 199;
Email: yasha_zelmanovich@
direct disinfection of fruits and veg- via the CIP system. eiassociates.com). He has more
etables. But the use of peracetic than 30 years of experience in the
acid as a hard surface disinfectant Closing thoughts chemical, pharmaceutical and
food processing industries, including all phases of pro-
is of interest here. Commercial for- The current relatively low price of cess design, as well as preliminary technical and eco-
mulations typically contain 5–6% petroleum has dampened some of nomic feasibility studies, safety and loss prevention
peracetic acid, 7–10% acetic acid, the enthusiasm for building large- studies, preparation of process flow diagrams, P&IDs,
and 21–27% hydrogen peroxide, scale biofuel- and biochemical-pro- material and energy balances, equipment selection and
more. As an adjunct professor at Stevens Inst. of Tech-
and are used in low concentrations duction facilities. However, ongoing nology, he teaches a course in chemical technologies
to disperse and penetrate biofilms. concern about climate change and for API production. Most recently, his experience has
They are effective against bacte- sustainability will eventually lead to included biorefining and biofuels projects with particular
emphasis on fermentation design and application of
ria, mold, fungus and yeast. These more of these facilities being built. hygienic design principles on a large scale. Zelmanovich
formulations, diluted to 200 ppm Hygienic design considerations are holds a B.E.Ch.E. from the City College of New York, and
in water, can be used as a sanitiz- critical to the reliable operation of an M.S.Ch.E. from the New York University Polytechnic
ing rinse at the conclusion of the these facilities, and implementation School of Engineering.
CIP process. No water rinse is re- of hygienic design in a cost-effec- Jim Riley is a technology profes-
sional in oil, gas and chemicals
quired after peracetic acid sanitiza- tive manner will be a major factor in for CH2M (1500 International
tion, and this agent will not corrode ensuring success of industrial-scale Drive, Spartanburg, SC, 29303-
stainless steel. fermentation for the production of 6745; Phone: (678) 530-4554;
Email: Jim.Riley@ch2m.com). He
Hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV). biobased chemicals. n has more than 30 years of pro-
HPV sterilization technology is used Edited by Suzanne Shelley fessional experience in a broad
primarily in the pharmaceutical in- range of process and project en-
dustry for bio-decontamination of References gineering areas, specializing in batch and continuous
specialty chemicals, polysilicon processes, biorefining,
isolators, freeze dryers, incuba- 1. Anbarasan, P., Baer, Z, Sreekumar, S., Gross, E.,Binder, gasification, simple-cycle combustion turbines, and
tors and laboratory or production J., Clark, D., Tose, F.D., Integration of chemical catalysis edible vegetable oil extraction and refining. Riley’s ex-
with extractive fermentation to produce fuels, Nature, Vol. perience includes the design and optimization of com-
rooms. HPV is effective against a 491, pp. 235–239, November 2012. plex CIP systems, process development, equipment
wide variety of microorganisms in- 2. Bremer, Phil J. and Seale, Richard Brent, “Encyclope- specification, plant startup and troubleshooting, mate-
cluding fungi, bacteria and viruses. dia of Industrial Biotechnology, Bioprocess, Biosepara- rial and energy balances, P&ID development and tech-
To date, there are no reports of tion, and Cell Technology, Volumes 1-7, Clean in Place nology transfer. Riley holds a B.S.Ch.E. from the Uni-
(CIP),”www.knovel.com, accessed online. versity of Cincinnati.
HPV being used for sterilization or
Environmental Manager
Process Safety and Functional Safety in

Support of Asset Productivity and Integrity
Approaches to plant safety continue to evolve based on lessons learned, as well as
new automation standards and technology
Luis Durán
ABB Process Automation Control
Technologies
I
n the chemical process industries
(CPI), one incident can have a tre-
mendous impact on the people
in the plant, the communities
around it, the environment and the
production asset.
This article outlines how learn-
ing from past incidents continues
to drive the development of both
newer standards, as well as new ap-
proaches to process automation as
it relates to plant safety and security.
Learning from incidents

Today, there is a lot of informa-
tion available about process inci-
dents and industrial accidents from
sources such as the Chemical Safety
Board (www.csb.gov), Industrial
Safety and Security Source (www.
isssource.com) or Anatomy of an In- FIGURE 1. Safety should always a priority at a process plant
cident (www.anatomyofanincident.
com). Regardless of the source, and (1992–2011). (OSHA; www.osha.gov) — the
considering the amount of public On the positive side, the Marsh re- agency tasked with safety of per-
discussion that takes place, particu- port shows that there has been im- sonnel — issued the Process Safety
larly following the very large and visi- provement in the sector after 1992. Management of Highly Hazard-
ble industrial incidents, it’s important This improved safety can be attrib- ous Chemicals standard (29 CFR
to take the opportunity to learn and uted, in part, to the introduction of 1910.199). This regulation set a re-
seek opportunities to improve and the process safety management quirement for hazard management
prevent these incidents from hap- (PSM) standards. and established a comprehensive
pening again (Figure 1). Taking a closer look, it is evi- PSM program that integrates tech-
The impact of incidents and acci- dent that the significant loss for the nology, procedures and manage-
dents on people, the environment and 1987 –1991 period was dominated ment practices. The introduction
plant assets is significant. According by three explosion events, two of of this standard may be credited
to a Marsh LLC (www.marsh.com) which were vapor-cloud explosions with improving process safety per-
publication [1], there is evidence that and account for 70% of the total formance in U.S. hydrocarbon pro-
the petrochemical sector suffered a losses for this timeframe. The key cessing facilities.
terrible period in terms of accidents takeaway from this is that a single
between 1987 and 1991 (Figure 2). incident can have a tremendous Defining safety
The losses (property damage of the impact on the people in the plant, In industry, safety is defined as a re-
production assets, liabilities and so the communities around it, the envi- duction of existing risk to a tolerable
on), recorded in that period were ronment and, last but not least, the or manageable level; understanding
about ten times worse than previous production asset. risk as the probability of occurrence
periods (1976–1986) and about 3.5 In 1992, the U.S. Occupational for that harmful incident and the
times worse than following periods Safety and Health Administration magnitude of the potential harm. In
FIGURE 2. The 1987–1992 period was exceptionally bad for the petrochemical FIGURE 3. Operators at a modern control room monitor both the operation
sector due to a few major accidents (Source: Marsh LLC [1]) of the process as well as the safety and security of the plant
many cases, safety is not the elimi- Connecting PSM and FS safety instrumented systems (SIS)
nation of risk, which could be im- Organizations, such as OSHA, rec- that were designed following a pre-
practical or unfeasible. ognize Functional Safety Standard vious RAGAGEP, and to effectively
Although the CPI must accept ISA 84 as a Recognized and Gen- keep its older equipment as long
some degree of risk, that risk needs erally Accepted Good Engineering as the company has determined
to be managed to an acceptable Practice (RAGAGEP) and one way that the equipment is designed,
level; which in turn makes safety a to meet the PSM requirements de- maintained, inspected, tested and
societal term as well as an engineer- fined in 29 CFR 1910.199. Apply- operated in a safe manner. As in-
ing term. Society establishes what ing ISA 84 is more than purchasing dicated by Klein [3], that does not
is commonly accepted as safe and a technology with a given certifica- mean that the existing system can
engineers have to manage risk by tion or using a particular technology be grandfathered and ignored from
introducing risk-reduction methods scheme or architecture. Industry best that point forward.
including human elements, such practices such as ISA 84 consider a The intent of the clause is for
as company culture and work pro- great deal of applied learning. ISA the user to determine if the PSM-
cesses and technologies that make 84 is a performance-based standard covered equipment, which was de-
the production facilities an accept- and describes multiple steps before signed and constructed to comply
able place to work and a responsible and after selecting and implementing with codes, standards or practices
neighbor in our communities. safety system technologies. These no longer in general use, can con-
The CPI has applied learnings steps — commonly referred to as tinue to operate in a safe manner,
from numerous events over the last the safety lifecycle — are also the re- and to document the findings.
40 years. These incidents and ac- sult of applying lessons learned from Therefore, the emphasis should be
cidents have resulted in changes to incidents and events. on the second part of the clause,
regulations and legislation and have Research (as documented in the which states that “the owner/op-
driven the adoption of best practices book “Out of Control” [2]) has shown erator shall determine that the
that address the known factors at that many industrial accidents have equipment is designed, main-
the root of those events. their root cause in poor specifica- tained, inspected, tested and op-
A lot of the best practices are re- tion or inadequate design (about erated in a safe manner.” And that
lated to understanding and evalu- 58%). Additionally, users should determination is a continuous effort
ating hazards and defining the ap- consider that installing a system is that should be periodically revised
propriate risk reduction, including not the “end of the road,” but rather until said equipment is removed
measuring the effectiveness of the another step in the lifecycle of the from operation and replaced with a
methodologies or technologies used facility. Approximately 21% of inci- system that is designed in line with
in reducing the risk. dents are associated with changes current best practices.
Risk-reduction methods using after the process is running, and Another consideration is that the
technology — including digital sys- about 15% occur during operation clause would cover not only hardware
tems — have received extensive cov- and maintenance. and software, but also management
erage in trade publications over time and documentation, including mainte-
as they are important contributors to ISA 84’s grandfather clause nance, all of which should follow cur-
process safety and plant productiv- It is well-known that Functional rent standards — that is, the most re-
ity. However, it is critical to recognize Safety Standard ISA 84.01-2004 cent version of ISA 84 or IEC 61511.
human factors and their impact on contains a grandfather clause
process safety in the design, selec- based on OSHA regulation Emerging technologies
tion, implementation and operation 1910.119. This clause allows users The last few decades have seen
of technology. to continue the use of pre-existing technology changing in all aspects

Potential common-cause failures
There has been a long-standing re-
quirement that a safety system must
be different (or diverse) technology
from its process-automation coun-
terpart to avoid common-cause
failures. But most safety systems
rely on component redundancy
(hardware fault tolerance [HFT]) to
meet reliability and availability re-
quirements, introducing a degree
of common-cause failure directly
into the safety system. Rather than
redundancy, modern systems now
provide a diversity of technologies
designed into logic solvers and
input/output (I/O) modules, along
with a high degree of diagnostics,
to allow a simplex hardware config-
uration to meet safety integrity level
FIGURE 4. This diagram illustrates the concept of functionally independent protection layers
(SIL) 3 requirements.
of humankind’s daily activities. Pro- provided by known technologies, Product-implementation diver-
cess automation and safety au- such as general-purpose program- sity is also key. Even though most
tomation have not escaped from mable logic controlers (PLCs), it is safety systems are manufactured
such changes (Figure 3). Neverthe- important to keep in mind that those by process-automation vendors,
less, technology-selection criteria platforms might not satisfy the cur- organizational diversity between the
should respond to the risk-reduc- rent risk-reduction requirements in two product teams is only the first
tion needs in the manufacturing the facility and a significant invest- level of separation. Within the safety
facility and consider the improvement to maintain the risk-reduction product team, leading suppliers will
ments that some of these technol- performance over the lifecycle of the also be separating the design group
ogies offer, such as enabling bet- plant asset micht might be required. from product-development group
ter visualization of the health of the Also, users will need to develop new and then again from the product-
production asset. competencies in order to under- testing group.
The new breed of systems not stand new risk-reduction require-
only addresses the need to protect ments and apply the next genera- Systematic capabilities
plant assets, but allows users to tion of technology accordingly. Systematic capabilities address how
bring safety to the center stage, side Performance-based safety stan- much protection against human fac-
by side with the productivity of the dards (IEC 61508 and IEC 61511/ tors is built into the safety system.
plant, in many cases by eliminating ISA 84) have changed the way Users should look for the following:
technology gateways and interfaces safety systems should be selected. • Certified software libraries that
that were common a few years ago. The days of simply choosing a certi- offer functions according to the SIL
There are also new developments, fied product, or selecting a preferred requirements of the application
particularly in software, that help technology architecture should be • Compiler restrictions to enforce
prevent human errors in the design, behind us; today’s system selection implementations according to the
and that guide users to fulfill industry is driven by performance require- SIL requirements
best practices using standard off- ments and the risk-reduction needs • User-security management to
the-shelf functionality. Off-the-shelf of the plant. separate approved from non-ap-
products avoid the introduction of proved users for overrides, bypass
error by complex manual program- Understand the hazards and other key functions
ming and configuration. Although this has nothing to do with • Audit-trail capability to record
Although productivity and profit- the safety system technology, it is and document changes to aid in
ability of many manufacturing pro- critical in the selection process to compliance with functional safety
cesses limit the rate of change in the understand the scope of the process standards
process sector, whenever there is an hazards and to determine the nec-
opportunity, facilities should explore essary risk reduction required. This Separate, interfaced or integrated
modern technologies and determine should be done to create the safety Typically based on the SRS and other
if they are a good fit. One should not requirements specification (SRS) business needs, it is important to de-
assume the system shouldn’t be necessary to start a system selec- fine one of these three integration
touched behind the shield of “grand- tion. Even when replacing an exist- philosophies. Integrated systems
father clauses” that are believed to ing system, this is critical because offer many key benefits, drawing on
justify maintaining the system “as- the risk profile of the plant may have common capabilities of the process
is.” Once again, despite the comfort changed since installation. automation system not related to
sified. This reduces the risk that the
system is compromised if one secu-
rity measure fails or is circumvented.
Defense-in-depth tactics can be
found throughout the SD3 + C se-
curity framework (secure by design,
secure by default, secure in deploy-
ment, and communications).
Examples of defense-in-depth
tactics include the following:
• Establishing defenses for the pe-
rimeter, network, host, application
and data
• Security policies and procedures
• Intrusion detection
• Firewalls and malware protection
• User authentication & authorization
• Physical security
The key message is that, like in
the case of safety, security is not re-
FIGURE 5. Integrated control and safety is a modern alternative to traditional point solutions solved only by certification and it’s not
an isolated activity after the product
the safety functions directly. But only maintenance, both in compliance to development is completed. Security
being interfaced or even kept com- functional safety standards and at a is part of the design considerations
pletely separate are also options, and lower cost over the lifecycle. early in the process and must be
need to be thoroughly considered. supported over the site lifecycle.
Network security
Protection layers The extended use of networked Summary
The use of multiple protection lay- systems is also territory for potential Although following the functional
ers, or functionally independent vulnerabilities. A lot of ground has safety standards is not a silver bullet,
protection layers (Figure 4) to be been covered in this area over the it’s a good place to start the journey
precise, is common in industry. last five years and industry has ex- to improve safety in the process sec-
These include technology elements perienced the emergence of stan- tor. If your industry requires compli-
such as the process control system dards to address new threats and ance to OSHA regulation 1910.119,
and alarms. Safety instrumented has the accelerated development of for the automation portion of any
systems are a last resort to prevent a strong relationship between safety project, complying with the require-
a hazard from escalating. and security. To satisfy the security ments of ISA 84 is a way to address
There are additional layers that requirements of a system network, PSM requirements.
mitigate the impact of a hazard or the user should do the following: Adopting ISA 84 is more than se-
contain it. Once more, there are • Perform a full vulnerability assess- lecting a certified or SIL-capable logic
other layers of protection that are ment/threat modeling and testing solver or having a given redundancy
not based on technology, but on of the different subsystems scheme on the instrumentation. It
work processes or procedures that • Define the best security mecha- requires a lifecycle approach that
might be even more critical than the nism for each of those subsystems starts with the hazards analysis and
technology in use. to cover any identified gaps defines the required risk reduction. It
Most times, system interfaces • Perform a full vulnerability assess- also involves evaluating technologies
are not designed, implemented or ment/threat modeling and testing that better address the hazards and
tested in accordance to industry of the entire interfaced architecture reduce the risk, as well as consid-
best practices or current functional For users of an interfaced system, ering the technical requirements to
safety standards, and therefore they which could be “secured” using “air- mitigate risk to an acceptable level.
have an impact on the performance gaps,” the key is establishing a se- Although existing systems can be
of the system. It has been common curity management system (SMS) of grandfathered, they can’t be ignored
to ignore safety requirements on the interface architecture and sup- from that point forward. Rather, it is
these interfaces. Failure of these in- porting it over the system lifecycle. a continuous effort that should be
terfaces should not compromise the periodically revised until the equip-
safety system. Defense-in-depth in security ment is removed from operation and
Integrated control and safety (Fig- The principle of “defense in depth” replaced with a system designed fol-
ure 5) is a modern alternative to pre- (Figure 6) means creating multiple lowing current best practices.
vious point solutions that takes into independent and redundant preven- When it’s time for selecting a new
consideration the best practices tion and detection measures. The risk-reduction technology, consider
and solves issues related to inter- security measures should be lay- that choosing a given technology
face design, implementation and ered, in multiple places, and diver- scheme is not enough to address the

Industry, 22nd ed., New York, N.Y., 2012.
ing technology gateways and inter-
2. Health and Safety Executive (HSE), "Out of Control:
faces that were common a few years Why Control Systems Go Wrong and How to Prevent
ago, therefore also reducing lifecycle Failure," HSE, London, 2003; available for download
cost and maintenance efforts. at www.hse.gov.uk.
The selection criteria should begin 3. Klein, Kevin L., Grandfathering, It’s Not About Being
Old, It’s About Being Safe, ISA, Research Triangle
with a proper understanding of the Park, N.C., 2005; Presented at ISA Expo 2005, Chi-
hazards and a technology assess- cago, Ill., October 25–27, 2015.
ment to address human factors, 4. Durán, Luis, Safety does not come out of a box, Con-
avoidance of common factors that trol Engineering, February 2014.
could disable the safety instru- 5. Durán, Luis, Five things to consider when selecting a
mented system, and the integration safety system, Control Engineering, October 2013.
of process safety information to the 6. Durán, Luis, The rocky relationship between safety
and security, Control Engineering, June 2011.
process automation systems; this
FIGURE 6. The concept of “defense in depth in
security” is illustrated here
integration is possible and must be Author
done right. Luis Durán is the global prod-
Like in the case of safety, security uct manager, Safety Systems at
ABB Inc. (3700 W. Sam Houston
functional safety requirements. As- (or network security) is not resolved Parkway South, Houston, TX
suming that your existing technology only by certification and it’s not an 77042; Phone: 713 587 8089;
or a “replacement in kind” still com- isolated activity after the product Email: luis.m.duran@us.abb.
plies with the safety requirements of development is completed but part com). He has 25 years of expe-
rience in multiple areas of pro-
your process might lead to a “false of the design considerations early in cess automation and over 20
sense of safety.” Consider the new the process and that must be sup- years in safety instrumented
breed of systems that not only ad- ported over the site lifecycle. n systems. For the last 12 years, he had concentrated
on technical product management and product mar-
dresses the need of protecting the Edited by Gerald Ondrey keting management of safety automation products,
plant assets, but allows users to publishing several papers in safety and critical con-
bring safety to the center stage side References trol systems. Durán has B.S.E.E. and M.B.A. degrees
from Universidad Simon Bolívar in Caracas, Venezu-
to side with the productivity of the 1. Marsh LLC, The 100 Largest Losses 1972-2011: ela and is a certified functional safety engineer (FSE)
plant — in many cases by eliminat- Large Property Damage Losses in the Hydrocarbon by TÜV Rheinland.
Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Requester Publications Only)

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Gemco Valve with Double Actuators
Pictured is a 20 inch/500 mm Gemco Valve designed to
maintain vacuum on a Thin Film Evaporator (TFE) process-
ing Glycerin/Biodiesel. It is part of a Double Dump/Airlock
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FREE PRODUCT INFO 14 Engineering, Design & Construction 30 50 to 99 Employees 48 Pumps

(please answer all the questions) Firms 31 100 to 249 Employees 49 Safety Equipment & Services
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YOUR INDUSTRY
16 Equipment Manufacturer 33 500 to 999 Employees ment
01 Food & Beverages
17 Energy incl. Co-generation 34 1,000 or more Employees 51 Solids Handling Equipment
02 Wood, Pulp & Paper
18 Other——————————— 52 Tanks, Vessels, Reactors
03 Inorganic Chemicals YOU RECOMMEND, SPECIFY, 53 Valves
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09 Agricultural Chemicals 24 Safety & Environmental Equipment tems
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Coal Products 44 Mixing, Blending Equipment
EMPLOYEE SIZE 58 Materials of Construction
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28 Less than 10 Employees 59 Compressors
12 Stone, Clay, Glass, Ceramics 46 Piping, Tubing, Fittings
13 Metallurgical & Metal Products 29 10 to 49 Employees 47 Pollution Control Equipment & Systems
1 16 31 46 61 76 91 106 121 136 151 166 181 196 211 226 241 256 271 286 301 316 331 346 361 376 391 406 421 436 451 466 481 496 511 526 541 556 571 586
2 17 32 47 62 77 92 107 122 137 152 167 182 197 212 227 242 257 272 287 302 317 332 347 362 377 392 407 422 437 452 467 482 497 512 527 542 557 572 587
3 18 33 48 63 78 93 108 123 138 153 168 183 198 213 228 243 258 273 288 303 318 333 348 363 378 393 408 423 438 453 468 483 498 513 528 543 558 573 588
4 19 34 49 64 79 94 109 124 139 154 169 184 199 214 229 244 259 274 289 304 319 334 349 364 379 394 409 424 439 454 469 484 499 514 529 544 559 574 589
5 20 35 50 65 80 95 110 125 140 155 170 185 200 215 230 245 260 275 290 305 320 335 350 365 380 395 410 425 440 455 470 485 500 515 530 545 560 575 590
6 21 36 51 66 81 96 111 126 141 156 171 186 201 216 231 246 261 276 291 306 321 336 351 366 381 396 411 426 441 456 471 486 501 516 531 546 561 576 591
7 22 37 52 67 82 97 112 127 142 157 172 187 202 217 232 247 262 277 292 307 322 337 352 367 382 397 412 427 442 457 472 487 502 517 532 547 562 577 592
8 23 38 53 68 83 98 113 128 143 158 173 188 203 218 233 248 263 278 293 308 323 338 353 368 383 398 413 428 443 458 473 488 503 518 533 548 563 578 593
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10 25 40 55 70 85 100 115 130 145 160 175 190 205 220 235 250 265 280 295 310 325 340 355 370 385 400 415 430 445 460 475 490 505 520 535 550 565 580 595
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13 28 43 58 73 88 103 118 133 148 163 178 193 208 223 238 253 268 283 298 313 328 343 358 373 388 403 418 433 448 463 478 493 508 523 538 553 568 583 598
14 29 44 59 74 89 104 119 134 149 164 179 194 209 224 239 254 269 284 299 314 329 344 359 374 389 404 419 434 449 464 479 494 509 524 539 554 569 584 599
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Advertisers Index
Advertiser............. Page number Advertiser............. Page number Advertiser............. Page number
Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service # Phone number Reader Service #
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Advertiser's Product
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adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-12 1-800-469-4887 Advertiser Page number
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Federal Equipment Co. ..........24 Indeck Power adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-251
1-877-503-9745 Equipment Co. .......................73
adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-18 Wabash Power
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Fluid Line Products...............13D adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-246
Equipment Co. ..................... 73
1-440-946-9470 1-800-704-2002
KnightHawk Engineering ........73 adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-252
Gamajet .................................28 adlinks.chemengonline.com/56203-247
Xchanger, Inc. ........................73
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Economic Indicators
2013 2014 2015
Download the CEPCI two weeks sooner at www.chemengonline.com/pci
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PLANT COST INDEX (CEPCI)

625
(1957-59 = 100) Aug. '15 Jul. '15 Aug. '14 Annual Index:
Prelim. Final Final
2007 = 525.4 600
CE Index ______________________________________________ 553.4 556.3 578.7
Equipment ____________________________________________ 664.9 669.7 703.7 2008 = 575.4
Heat exchangers & tanks _________________________________ 592.2 597.9 648.7
2009 = 521.9 575
Process machinery _____________________________________ 657.5 658.5 668.0
Pipe, valves & fittings ____________________________________ 822.3 829.1 877.1 2010 = 550.8
Process instruments ____________________________________ 391.1 394.7 413.9 2011 = 585.7 550
Pumps & compressors ___________________________________ 956.5 956.5 939.3
Electrical equipment ____________________________________ 509.8 512.5 516.3 2012 = 584.6
Structural supports & misc ________________________________ 731.3 737.7 773.7 2013 = 567.3 525
Construction labor _______________________________________ 323.4 321.6 320.4
Buildings _____________________________________________ 540.7 541.8 545.3 2014 = 576.1
Engineering & supervision _________________________________ 318.7 318.5 320.3 500
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Starting with the April 2007 Final numbers, several of the data series for labor and compressors have been converted to
accommodate series IDs that were discontinued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
CURRENT BUSINESS INDICATORS LATEST PREVIOUS YEAR AGO

CPI output index (2012 = 100) ____________________________________________________ Sept. '15 = 105.0 Aug.'15 = 105.1 July'15 = 105.6 Sept. '14 = 104.3
CPI value of output, $ billions _____________________________________________________ Aug.'15 = 1,847.1 July '15 = 1,879.9 June'15 = 1,923.0 Aug. '14 = 2,151.0
CPI operating rate, % __________________________________________________________ Sept. '15 = 75.8 Aug.'15 = 75.9 July'15 = 76.4 Sept. '14 = 75.8
Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) ____________________________________ Sept. '15 = 238.1 Aug.'15 = 249.1 July'15 = 247.3 Sept. '14 = 293.1
Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2012=100)* ____________________________________ Sept. '15 = 105.5 Aug.'15 = 105.7 July'15 = 106.1 Sept. '14 = 104.1
Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) ____________________________ Sept. '15 = 160.3 Aug.'15 = 158.6 July'15 = 159.1 Sept. '14 = 157.0
Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100)# _____________________________ Sept. '15 = 108.1 Aug.'15 = 107.3 July'15 = 107.9 Sept. '14 = 106.1
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2000 = 100)† CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
110 2300 80
105
2200 78
100
95 2100 76
90
2000 74
85
1900 72
80
75 1800 70
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
*Due to discontinuance, the Index of Industrial Activity has been replaced by the Industrial Production in Manufacturing index from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.
†For the current month’s CPI output index values, the base year was changed from 2000 to 2012
#Correction: The values for the Productivity Index published in the September and October issues of Chem. Eng. were not correct due to the omission of an adjustment factor. The correct value for the July Productivity Index in
the September issue should have been reported as 106.9, and the correct value for the August Productivity Index (October issue) should have been 107.3. We apologize for any confusion.
Current business indicators provided by Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
CURRENT TRENDS
EXCLUSIVE AD SPACE AVAILABLE!
Feature your marketing message T he preliminary value for the August
2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI;
top; the most recent available) fell com-
pared to the previous month’s value,
The Economic Indicators department includes current industry driven by declines in the Equipment and
trends and the Plant Cost Index. As one of the most valued sections Buildings subindices. The Construction
in the magazine, your ad is guaranteed to reach decision makers Labor and Engineering & Supervision
each month. Contact your sales representative to secure this spot. subindices rose slightly in the preliminary
August numbers. The August CEPCI
JASON BULLOCK TERRY DAVIS
value is 4.3% lower than the corre-
jbullock@chemengonline.com tdavis@chemengonline.com
sponding value from a year ago at the
DAN GENTILE PETRA TRAUTES same time. This represents a continued
dgentile@chemengonline.com ptrautes@accessintel.com chemengonline.com/mediakit increase in the year-to-year differential
over the past several months. Mean-
while, the latest Current Business Indi-
cators (CBI; middle) numbers showed a
minuscule drop in the CPI output index
in September along with a dip in pro-
ducer prices.

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