Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2013
PA
G
www.che.com E
30
PAGE 32
Focus on
Screening
Employing Process
Simulation Software
Bio-Based
Chemicals
The Texas Shaker
In base mounted
units, the
Pendulink
system isolates
98.5% vibration
from the structure.
You can feel the
difference.
Circle 14 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-14
www.che.com
COVER STORY
32 Cover Story Ten Things You May Not Know About Liquid
Mixing Scaleup Follow the guidance provided here to ensure
success when moving liquid-mixing systems from small-scale to
commercial-scale units
NEWS
9 Chementator Commercialization is set for a biomass-to-gaso-
32
line process; Ethylene in FCC off-gas is upgraded for motor fuels;
Inorganic membranes show promise to halve energy consump-
tion in distillation; A solid way to eliminate contaminants from
wastewater; Reduce air consumption by AODD pumps with this
technology; and more
ENGINEERING
24a Facts at Your Fingertips Detection and Prevention of
DP:DPO Fluid Leaks This one-page reference discusses how
to maintain a leak-tight heat-transfer-fluid system when using
diphenyldiphenyl oxide (DP:DPO) eutectic heat-transfer fluids
SHOW PREVIEW
30 The Fourth ChemInnovations Conference and Expo will be held
September 25 and 26 in Galveston, Tex. at the Moody Gardens Conven-
tion Center. Programmed by chemical industry leaders and designed for
professionals in the chemical process industries (CPI), the event aims to
supply information that will help companies and individuals prepare for
the future of the industry
COMMENTARY
5 Editors Page The Greening of China Judging by the content and ex-
hibits of the AchemAsia tradeshow in Beijing, China's attention is heavily on
environmental protection and water treatment
DEPARTMENTS
26
6 Letters 54 Whos Who
7 Calendar 55 Economic Indicators
52 Reader Service
ADVERTISERS
50 Product Showcase/Classified
53 Advertiser Index
30
COMING IN SEPTEMBER
Look for: Feature Reports on the Maintenance of Pumps and Other Assets;
and Steam Traps; a Solids Processing article on Bulk-Solids Mixing; an Engi- *ONLY ON CHE.COM
neering Practice article on Finned Heat-Exchanger Performance; a Focus on Look for a Web-exclusive Article
Sensors; A Facts at Your Fingertips on Materials of Construction; News ar- on Solar Power; A Test your
ticles on Modular Construction; and the Chemical Industry in India; and more Knowledge Quiz; additional
New Products; Latest News;
Cover: David Whitcher and more
Bulk Bag Conditioner with Stand-alone Bulk Bag Conditioner Bulk Bag Conditioner with Bulk Bag Conditioner integral to
cantilevered I-beam, electric with variable height turntable variable height turntable Bulk Bag Discharger reduces cost,
hoist and trolley, eliminates allows conditioning on all sides designed and constructed footprint, and loading time of
the need for a forklift of the bag at all heights to sanitary standards separate equipment
See the full range of fast-payback equipment at flexicon.com: Flexible Screw Conveyors, Tubular Cable Conveyors, Pneumatic Conveying Systems, Bulk Bag Unloaders, Bulk Bag
Conditioners, Bulk Bag Fillers, Bag Dump Stations, Drum/Box/Container Dumpers, Weigh Batching and Blending Systems, and Automated Plant-Wide Bulk Handling Systems
2013 Flexicon Corporation. Flexicon Corporation has registrations and pending applications for the trademark FLEXICON throughout the world.
Circle 4 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-04
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
T
PUBLISHER ART & DESIGN
MICHAEL GROSSMAN DAVID WHITCHER pretty good guide to trends in the chemical process industries (CPI) in
Vice President and Group Publisher Art Director/
mgrossman@accessintel.com Editorial Production Manager
China. Held every three years, you can measure changes simply by study-
dwhitcher@che.com ing what is on show, and what delegates have come to hear. When the 15,000
EDITORS PRODUCTION or so attendees came to Beijing this past May, one of the biggest things on
DOROTHY LOZOWSKI JOHN BLAYLOCK-COOKE their collective mind was environmental protection and water treatment.
Executive Editor
Ad Production Manager
dlozowski@che.com
jcooke@accessintel.com
Organizer, Dechema e.V. (Frankfurt am Main, Germany; www.dechema.de),
GERALD ONDREY (Frankfurt)
INFORMATION
says that of 418 exhibitors, 116 were showing environmental solutions, while
Senior Editor
gondrey@che.com SERVICES 135 were displaying water treatment technologies. The AchemAsia confer-
SCOTT JENKINS CHARLES SANDS ence program was no less focused on the environmental future. We have come
Senior Editor
sjenkins@che.com
Senior Developer
Web/business Applications Architect
to think of environmental concerns as being at the bottom of the list for China
MARY PAGE BAILEY csands@accessintel.com in its dash for growth. But that may be changing. Heres why:
Assistant Editor AUDIENCE First, Chinas business model is shifting fast. The last 30 years have seen
mbailey@che.com DEVELOPMENT the country become the worlds factory, based on low-cost production. Those
CONTRIBUTING SARAH GARWOOD days are over. Chinas costs are rising rapidly, for labor, for raw materials,
EDITORS Audience Marketing Director
sgarwood@accessintel.com and for energy. It no longer makes sense to import oil valued at $90100/
SUZANNE A. SHELLEY GEORGE SEVERINE barrel to convert it into cheap plastic goods for Americans and Europeans
sshelley@che.com Fulfillment Manager
CHARLES BUTCHER (U.K.) gseverine@accessintel.com
to buy. There may be a transition period as commodity industries move in-
cbutcher@che.com JEN FELLING land to the West of the country to take advantage of lower wage costs there,
PAUL S. GRAD (Australia) List Sales, Statlistics (203) 778-8700 but Chinas will have to become a high-tech economy. Nothing else will be
pgrad@che.com j.felling@statlistics.com
TETSUO SATOH (Japan)
sustainable in the long-term. The shift to high-tech will be accompanied
EDITORIAL
tsatoh@che.com ADVISORY BOARD by more efficient use of energy and resources, and a shift out of commodity
JOY LEPREE (New Jersey)
JOHN CARSON businesses. Expect to see the rise of materials science companies, focused
jlepree@che.com
GERALD PARKINSON
Jenike & Johanson, Inc. on and enabling the growth of sectors such as energy efficiency, renewables
DAVID DICKEY
(California) gparkinson@che.com MixTech, Inc.
technology, biotechnology, batteries, electric cars and semiconductors.
MARKETING MUKESH DOBLE The second reason is that China is investing in alternative energy with
IIT Madras, India
MICHAEL CONTI the same all-out ferocity that it once reserved for coal investments. Its cur-
Marketing Director HENRY KISTER
TradeFair Group, Inc. Fluor Corp. rent five-year plan calls for a rise in the proportion of power generated from
michaelc@tradefairgroup.com TREVOR KLETZ non-fossil fuels of 3.4% to 11.4% of total energy use by 2015, to be accom-
Loughborough University, U.K.
JENNIFER BRADY
GERHARD KREYSA (retired)
panied by a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 17% compared with
Assistant Marketing Manager
TradeFair Group, Inc. DECHEMA e.V. 2010. Solar, wind, renewable fuels and nuclear all have growing shares of
jbrady@che.com RAM RAMACHANDRAN the energy mix.
(Retired) The Linde Group
HEADQUARTERS China also has big reserves of shale gas. The deposits are not in wide flat
88 Pine Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10005, U.S. beds like in the U.S., but are often affected by fault lines and other geologi-
Tel: 212-621-4900 Fax: 212-621-4694
cal features that make drilling difficult. The country lacks the technology to
EUROPEAN EDITORIAL OFFICES
recover shale gas over long distances from the well head and many basins are
Zeilweg 44, D-60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel: 49-69-9573-8296 Fax: 49-69-5700-2484 in water-poor areas. But when these problems are overcome, as they will be,
CIRCULATION REQUESTS: we can expect China to shift its energy generation platform quickly to include
Tel: 847-564-9290 Fax: 847-564-9453 a significant proportion of gas, resulting in cleaner-burning fuel, with much
Fullfillment Manager; P.O. Box 3588,
Northbrook, IL 60065-3588 email: chemeng@omeda.com lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal, if it is managed properly.
ADVERTISING REQUESTS: see p. 56 Finally, you cannot forget that China is a centrally planned economy, at
For photocopy or reuse requests: 800-772-3350 or info@copyright.com least for now, and that the full weight of the state can get behind renewable
For reprints: Wrights Media, 1-877-652-5295, sales@wrightsmedia.com
fuels, for example, without waiting for legal and incentive structures to come
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC into place, as would happen in the U.S. or Europe. And while five-year plans
DON PAZOUR
Chief Executive Officer
ROBERT PACIOREK
Senior Vice President,
are not reliable guides to what happens in practice, they do indicate intent
ED PINEDO
Chief Information Officer in this case to go greener.
Executive Vice President
& Chief Financial Officer
SYLVIA SIERRA
Senior Vice President,
Chinas green shift will have implications for the CPI
MACY L. FECTO
Corporate Audience Development around the world. We can expect more basic R&D and
Exec. Vice President, MICHAEL KRAUS process design to originate in China as it searches out
Human Resources & Administration VP, Production, Digital Media
HEATHER FARLEY
& Design a high-tech future. We can expect a redrawing of the
Divisional President, STEVE BARBER world map of where high- and low-tech products are
Access Intelligence Vice President,
DANIEL MCKINNON
Financial Planning and Internal Audit made. Finally, as the wealth and power of Chinas 1.2
Vice President, GERALD STASKO billion people starts to rise, we will see that Chinas de-
Energy and Engineering Events Vice President/Corporate Controller
cisions today will affect the manufacturing standards
we adopt tomorrow.
John Pearson, CEO, Chemical Industry Roundtables
4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor
Rockville, MD 20850 www.accessintel.com CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 5
Letters
Do you have
Ideas to air?
Feedback about our articles?
Comments about todays
engineering practice or education?
Job-related issues to share?
NORTH AMERICA Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for Oil & Gas.
Energy Storage North America. Messe Dsseldorf Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd. (Blackburn, U.K.).
North America (Chicago, Ill.). Phone: 312-781-5185; Web: Phone: +44-1254-295400 Web: idexcorp.com
mdna.com Houston Oct. 8
San Jose, Calif. Sept. 1012
Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for the Semi-
Winding: Machines, Mechanics and Measure- conductor Industry. Precision Polymer Engineering
ments. Assn. of International Metallizers, Coaters and Ltd. (Blackburn, U.K.). Phone: +44-1254-295400 Web:
Laminators (Fort Mill, S.C.). Phone: 803-948-9470; Web: idexcorp.com
aimcal.org Santa Clara, Calif. Oct. 10
Chicago, Ill. Sept. 1920
Gasification Technologies 2013 Conference. The
The 2013 Polyurethanes Technical Conference. Gasification Technologies Council (Arlington, Va.). Phone:
American Chemistry Council, Center for the 703-276-0110. Web: gasification.org
Polyurethanes (Washington, D.C.). Phone: 202-249-7000; Colorado Springs, Colo. Oct. 1316
Web: americanchemistry.com
Phoenix, Ariz. Sept. 2325 Process Expo: Food and Beverage Processing.
Messe Dsseldorf (Chicago, Ill.) Phone: 312-781-5185;
4th Annual ChemInnovations Conference & Expo. Web: mdna.com
TradeFair Group, an Access Intelligence Company Chicago, Ill. Nov. 36
(Houston). Phone: 713-343-1891; Web: cpievent.com
Galveston Sept. 2526
EUROPE
42nd Turbomachinery and 29th International 5th Symposium on Continuous Flow Reactor
Pump Users Symposia. Texas A&M University Technology. AIC ASTI Incentives & Congressi S.r.l.
(College Station, Tex.). Phone: 979-845-7417; Web: (Pisa, Italy). Phone: +39-50-598808; Web: aicgroup.it
turbolab.tamu.edu Pisa, Italy Sept. 1112
Houston, Tex. Sept. 30Oct. 3
K 2013 Annual Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber.
Coating Process Development. Assn. of International Messe Dsseldorf North America (Chicago, Ill.). Phone:
Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (Fort Mill, S.C.). 312-781-5185; Web: mdna.com
Phone: 803-948-9470; Web: aimcal.org Dsseldorf, Germany Oct. 1623
Chicago, Ill. Oct. 12
Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for Oil & Gas.
Solution Preparation and Mixing. Assn. of Interna- Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd. (Blackburn, U.K.).
tional Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (Fort Mill, Phone: +44-1254-295400; Web: idexcorp.com
S.C.). Phone: 803-948-9470; Web: aimcal.org Duisberg, Germany Oct. 22
Chicago, Ill. Oct. 34
Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for the Semi-
Valve Manufacturers Assn. Annual Meeting. VMA conductor Industry. Precision Polymer Engineering
(Washington, D.C.). Phone: 703-554-3609; Web: vma.org Ltd. (Blackburn, U.K.). Phone: +44-1254-295400; Web:
Palm Beach, Fla. Oct. 35 idexcorp.com
Dresden, Germany Oct. 24
WEFTEC 2013. Water Environment Federation (WEF;
Alexandria, Va.). Phone: 751-830-1545. Web: weftec.org
Chicago, Ill. Oct. 59 ASIA & ELSEWHERE
Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for Critical
Elastomer Technology & Seal Design for the Oil Sealing Applications. Precision Polymer Engineering
& Gas Industry. Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd. Ltd. (Blackburn, U.K.). Phone: +44-1254-295400; Web:
(Blackburn, U.K.). Phone: +44-1254-295400 Web: idexcorp.com
idexcorp.com Suzhou, China Sept. 13
Houston Oct. 8
2013 International Symposium on
2013 AFPM Q&A and Technology Forum. American Pharmaceutical Solid-State Research. Crystal
Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM; Pharmatech Co. Ltd. China (Princeton, N.J.) and Ameri-
formerly NPRA; Washington, D.C.). Phone: 202-457-0480. can Chemical Soc. (Washington, D.C.). Phone:
Web: afpm.org 609-529-4135; Web: crystalpharmatech.com/conference/
Dallas, Tex. Oct. 79 Suzhou, China Oct. 1719
Suzanne Shelley
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 7
Where Liquids-Rich
Markets Converge
NGLs, Gas, Crude, Condensates
www.nglforum.com
apanese researchers from the New En- widely applicable. It is made by a crystal- Based on an agent al-
J ergy and Industrial Technology Develop-
ment Organization (NEDO; Kawasaki City;
fabrication technology that optimizes the
crystal composition at the nanoscale. The
ready used in Teijins Biofront
heat-resistant bioplastic, the
new agent has now been
www.nedo.go.jp), Waseda University, JX research group has also developed a man- confirmed for application in
Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (JX_NOE) and ufacturing process to produce separation other types of plastic, includ-
five other companies along with five more modules with membranes on a porous ce- ing polyesters, polyamides
universities have developed an inorganic ramic support. and polyurethanes. The cyclic
membrane that enables energy savings of The membranes are used in a hybrid pro- carbodiimide can be used in
up to 50% compared to conventional de- cess within the reflux section of a distilla- relatively smaller quantities
watering distillation processes. Developed tion column. Initially, the test application to increase plastics durabil-
under a five-year NEDO research project is the dewatering of an isopropanol/water ity, and because it is heat
that began in 2009, the membrane has al- mixture. The group plans to demonstrate resistant to at least 300C,
it can be mixed with plastics
ready achieved 200 h of continuous opera- 1,000 h of continuous operation under real
at higher temperatures. It
tion since February in a 60 kg/h bench plant industrial conditions, and scale up the pro- can also be used as a cross-
at JX_NOEs Kawasaki factory. cess in 2016. Another membrane with acid- linking agent to harden or ad-
The membrane is said to be more hydro- resistant characteristics is also being co- just the viscosity of paint and
phobic than existing inorganic membranes developed in the project for the dewatering coating agents.
made of A-type zeolite, and thus more of acetic acid.
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number
on p. 52, or use the website designation. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 9
C HEMENTATO R Syngas from CO2 + H2
Last month, a three-year,
9.2-million research project
was started to develop a pro-
Linde to help commercialize an oil-from-algae process cess to make synthesis gas
(syngas) from CO2 and H2. The
project is funded by the German
Ethylene in FCC off-gas is upgraded to motor fuels but the recovery is usually below 25%.
This is because dry gas contains impuri-
Good thinking.
Feedback from our users is what inspires us to keep making
CHEMCAD better. As a direct response to user need, many
features like this one were added to our integrated suite of
chemical process simulation software. Thats why we consider
every CHEMCAD user part of our development team.
Get the whole story behind this user-inspired feature and
learn more about how CHEMCAD advances engineering
at chemstations.com/YourNeeds.
Circle 2 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-02
Engineering advanced 2013 Chemstations, Inc. All rights reserved. | CMS-2661 8/13
(Continued from p. 10)
C HEMENTATO R steel industry. The collaboration
will use fermentation technol-
ogy developed by Lanzatech,
to reuse the offgases from the
converter, coking plant or blast
Reduce air consumption from AODD pumps furnace processes as nutrients
and a source of energy. The
with this technology patented fermentation process
allows steel-plant operators to
N ew technology developed for air-oper-
ated, double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps
can reduce consumption of compressed air
filled with only enough air to maintain the
fluid flowrate, but no excess air. Although
improvements have been made to the air-
make use of the chemical en-
ergy contained in the offgases
(CO, CO2 and H2) for the pro-
by up to 60% without electronic components, distribution system of traditional AODD duction of bioethanol or other
while maintaining the same flowrates. The pumps, a significant amount of air is still base chemicals, such as acetic
reduced air consumption translates directly being lost during the time period from the acid, acetone, isopropanol, n-
to lower energy usage. end of the pump stroke to when the air valve butanol or 2,3-butadiene.
Developed by Wilden Pump Inc. (Grand shift is completed, explains Glauber. By re- LanzaTech has been operat-
Terrace, Calif.; www.wilden.com), and trade- stricting the air supply to the air chamber ing a pilot plant in Auckland,
named the Pro-Flo Shift Air Distribution toward the end of each pump stroke, Pro-Flo New Zealand since 2008
utilizing raw steel-mill gases.
System, the technology consists of a cylin- Shift prevents overfilling and saves air and
In 2012, LanzaTech became
drical-shaped air-control spool that shifts power, while the pump still performs the the irst company to scale up
back-and-forth between the two diaphragms same amount of work. gas-fermentation technology
of the AODD pump. The spool automati- Wilden has built a laboratory test skid to to a pre-commercial level. It
cally meters air toward the end of the pump mimic plant conditions to compare the Pro- developed and operated two
stroke, optimizing the pumps performance, Flo Shifts fluid-flow and air-consumption facilities, each with a capac-
explains Wilden innovation specialist and performance to other AODD pumps. Accord- ity of 300 ton/yr, that convert
technology inventor Carl Glauber. ing to Wilden, pumps equipped with the Pro- luegas from Baosteel and
The mechanically actuated spool works by Flo Shift consume up to 60% less air com- Shougang steel plants into
controlling the timing of the air intake dur- pared to a host of popular AODD pumps. ethanol. The company is now
planning to begin construction
ing the pump cycle, restricting the airflow The Pro-Flo Shift technology is commer-
on two commercial facilities in
from the compressor toward the end of each cially available and can be retrofitted onto China in 2013, with production
pump stroke. The pump cavity is thereby existing pumps, says the company. expected in 2014 (for more pro-
cess details, see CE, Decem-
ber 2010; p. 12).
ELECTROMAGNETIC SEPARATION sults of a demonstration carried out at to be pelletized into nutritious feed.
TECHNOLOGY (Continued from p. 11) aquaculture facilities in Coachella Val- The ability to remove ammonia can
ley, Calif. Operated in a continuously cir- greatly increase productivity in aqua-
wells, the pulses break oil-water emul- culated loop, the EWS technology elimi- culture ponds without adding capital
sions (see CE, July 2012, p. 12). The nates microorganisms from pond water costs, comments Jose Sanchez, Origi-
same technology can effectively rupture without the need for chemicals or anti- nOil vice president of quality assur-
bacteria cells and denature viruses, al- biotics, helping protect fish and shellfish ance and service. Continuously remov-
lowing its use in increasing algae shelf- from disease. The EWS can also remove ing ammonia allows densities of shrimp
life, eliminating bacteria from produced ammonia from the water, by converting or fish that are twice or three times as
water, and sanitizing water from aqua- it to nitrates or nitrogen gas. The nitrate- high as with conventional ammonia
culture ponds. rich water can be used to nourish algae, handling, without changing pond infra-
The company recently announced re- which is then harvested using EWS structure, Sanchez says.
12 CHemICAL eNgINeerINg www.CHe.COm AuguST 2013
C HEMENTATO R
Christine Banaszek
Applications Engineer
Employee Owner
Circle 13 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-13
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 13
Renmatix
Newsfront
BIO-BASED CHEMICALS
GAIN MARKET ACCEPTANCE
An acceleration of commercialization
for a number of bio-based building-block
chemicals signals further confidence
in the industry as a whole
Genomatica
s an industry sector, bio-based technology officer at Ren- FIGURE 1. Lanxess produced polybutylene
A
terephthalate from Genomaticas bio-based 1,4-bu-
chemicals have seen significant matix Inc. (King of Prussia, tanediol at this plant in Leverkusen, Germany
expansion over the past year, Pa.; www.renmatix.com), a
with several commercial devel- maker of cellulosic sugar for the bio- ogy for assessing developments in the
opments occurring in a group of four- based chemicals industry. bio-based chemicals market. Nexant
carbon commodity chemicals, including Taking stock of the recent activity projects that the bio-based industry
succinic acid, butanols, butadiene and in setting up demonstration- and com- will have added 4 million tons of novel
butanediol. While a host of technology- mercial-scale plants, Alif Saleh, vice bio-based capacity between 2012 and
based companies have built new facili- president of sales and marketing for 2015, out of a total of 6 million tons
ties and scaled up production capabili- the succinic acid and derivatives busi- of announced capacity, including cel-
ties, others have formed alliances with ness unit of Myriant (Quincy, Mass.; lulosic sugars, Cascone says. Other
established players in the chemical in- www.myriant.com), says The chemical Nexant work suggests there may be as
dustry in the form of strategic partner- markets are starting to take the ad- much as 15 million tons of cumulative
ships and development agreements. vent of commercial supply of bio-based capacity by 2020.
Meanwhile, larger chemical com- chemicals more seriously. Combined
panies are seeking to incorporate bio- with the new facilities, this factor helps C4 chemicals opportunity
derived chemicals into their product create an environment for bio-based The flood of inexpensive natural gas
portfolios, either through their own chemicals where commercialization from shale in the U.S. has had a trans-
development or through partnerships. will start occurring even more rapidly formative effect on the chemical in-
Cumulatively, the activity may have going forward, he adds. dustry in the region, and the effect has
placed the bio-based chemicals indus- While there hasnt been across-the- been felt by the bio-based chemicals
try on the cusp of a rapid acceleration, board success in this sector, there is a industry in a number of ways. Shale
in terms of volume increases and mar- growing sense of credibility for the bio- gas has made it more difficult for bio-
ket uptake for bio-based products. based chemicals industry, says Ron- based chemical producers to compete
However, the successes in commer- ald Cascone, a principal with Nexant economically in the C2 and C3 ole-
cialization have not come without (White Plains, N.Y.; www.nexant.com). fins space. But the shift on the part
difficulties. Some companies have Bio-based chemicals may be at a tip- of flexible-feedstock crackers toward
shifted their focus toward lower- ping point preceding even more rapid using ethane and away from naptha
volume, higher-margin products, growth, he explains, where a criti- in making ethylene (see Chem. Eng.,
and away from the larger market for cal mass of companies has adopted a October 2012, pp. 1719) has created
fuels. Also, they have had to navigate stance favorable to using bio-based ma- a shortage of C4 chemicals, and this
a set of changes to the chemical in- terials, and enough technologies have has opened up an opportunity for bio-
dustry that have been wrought by advanced to the point where they are based chemical makers.
increased natural gas production at or approaching cost parity with cor- When you run a cracker with
from shale. The industry has been responding petroleum-based products. lighter feeds, you end up with dramat-
somewhat soured by over-promising Along with Nexant colleague Bruce ically lower output of C4 chemicals,
and under-delivering in the past, but Orr and others, Cascone has devel- says Christophe Schilling, CEO of
there is now the potential for explo- oped and applied a capacity analysis Genomatica (San Diego, Calif.; www.
sive growth, says Fred Moesler, chief coupled with a risk analysis methodol- genomatica.com). That plays havoc
14 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
Gevo
Newsfront
technology industry and for the over- Mountain View, Calif; www.cobalt-
all mainstream chemical industry, tech.com) produced n -butanol at the
says Genomaticas Schilling. Genom- fermentation scale of 100 m3 per run,
aticas BDO has also been used by demonstrating lower production cost
the Far Eastern New Century Corp. than butanol produced from petroleum
to make high-performance fibers with (see Chem. Eng., July 2013, p. 15).
high bio-based content.
Genomatica also partnered with Three enablers FIGURE 3. Fermentation-based chemi-
cal processes require economically pro-
Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www. Three factors that will have a large im-
duced sugars from cellulosic biomass
lanxess.com) in a project where Genom- pact on the future of bio-based build-
aticas bio-based BDO was used to make ing-block chemicals are: the availabil- companies focus on one or the other,
polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) in ity of economically priced sugars from says Gevos Brett Lund.
Lanxess regular commercial process outside the foodchain; establishing A second driver for increased trac-
(Figure 1). In June, the two compa- new supply chains to connect feed- tion of bio-based intermediates is the
nies announced that Lanxess had fed stock and manufacturing; and market pull from large companies that have
20 m.t. of 100% bio-based BDO into its pull from end-use companies of bio- consumer-facing brands. Many large
continuous PBT production process. based materials. product manufacturers are increas-
Lanxess said the properties and qual- One of the key enablers [for the ingly seeking bio-based products. If
ity of the resulting bio-derived PBT are future bio-based chemicals industry] you can get pull (demand) from end-
fully equivalent to conventional PBT in is the ability to economically convert market companies, like what hap-
all tested parameters. cellulosic feedstock to sugars that can pened with [Coca Colas PlantBottle],
then be processed into chemicals, ex- that is very good for everyone in the
Bio-butanol plains Nexants Cascone, avoiding the supply chain, says Lund. The Plant-
Another C4 chemical that has seen sig- need for corn-based sugars. Murray Bottle is a PET beverage bottle con-
nificant commercial activity recently is McLaughlin, of the Sustainable Chem- taining a portion of bio-based PET.
bio-based butanol. Gevo (Englewood, istry Alliance (SCA; Sarnia, Ont., Can- Being a green product means more
Colo.; www.gevo.com) manufactures ada; www.suschemalliance.ca) agrees, as you get closer to consumer products,
isobutanol through a fermentation calling the economic extraction of sug- says Nexants Cascone, citing Coca Co-
process for both chemical and fuel ap- ars from non-food sources a key to the las PlantBottle as an example where
plications. The bio-isobutanol can be future of the industry (Figure 3). there is market value derived from the
manufactured into various chemicals Renmatix is one company trying to bio-based product. There is high inter-
and can be used as an alternative to serve the need for a bridge between est right now for bio-based chemicals
ethanol as gasoline blendstock. upstream biomass and downstream in disposable products, in biologically
The company is anticipating its next processing of bio-based chemicals. Cel- derived para-xylene and in recycling
commercial facility, in Silsbee, Tex., to lulosic feedstock is significantly more bio-based components, Cascone says.
come online at the end of 2013 (Figure stable than the price of crude oil, and Because the demand for renew-
2), following the successful production is not subject to the same perils that able content in products has grown so
of isobutanol at its Luverne, Minn. annual crops are subjected, says Ren- much in the last year, the challenge
facility since a year ago. At the Texas matix CTO Fred Moesler. becomes establishing effective sup-
site, Gevo will use isobutanol from the Renmatix converts three dry tons ply chains. The challenge for the bio-
Luverne plant to make para-xylene for per day of cellulosic biomass to sugar based chemicals industry is piecing
renewable polyethylene terephthalate in its facility in Kennesaw, Ga. (Figure together a new value chain and bridg-
(PET) for beverage bottles, says Brett 4). The privately held company recently ing feedstock suppliers with chemical
Lund, Gevos executive vice president. entered an exclusive joint-development producers, says Max Senechal, vice
The company also has an operational agreement with pulp-and-paper manu- president for bio-based chemicals at
isobutanol-based jet fuel plant in Sils- facturer UPM (Helsinki, Finland; Metabolix Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.;
bee that started production last year. www.upm.com) to further develop www.metabolix.com).
Gevo has a supply agreement with the Renmatixs Plantrose process, which
U.S. Air Force surrounding renewable breaks down woody biomass through Economics are king
jet fuel. supercritical hydrolysis to make low- Although it appears that the three en-
Gevos commercialization model has cost sugar intermediates (C5 and C6 abling elements are moving into place,
been to retrofit former corn ethanol sugars) for subsequent downstream challenges remain for the bio-based
plants with its proprietary technology processing into bio-based chemicals. commodity chemical makers. These
to produce bio-isobutanol. Its second Trying to develop a process to include achieving process economics
such endeavor will occur at a former breakdown cellulosic biomass into with their core technology, securing fi-
ethanol plant in South Dakota. sugar feedstock and simultaneously nancing for expansion and scaleup.
Other companies are pursuing bio- work on a process for making build- With shale gas available in the U.S.,
butanol as well. In April development ing block chemicals from the sugar is all players in the bio-based chemicals
tests, Cobalt Technologies (Cobalt; difficult. It compounds risk; so many space realize that its all about eco-
16 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
Renmatix
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Circle 12 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-12
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 17
Invensys
Newsfront
tal plus operating) economics; or opti- Optimization of a single variable and we find that our users are daunted
mizing startup of plants to minimize or the entire plant is something most by that technology, even though the
startup time; and more. users simply dont take advantage of, benefits of having a more optimized
Once seen as a management dream, says Steve Brown, COO with Chemsta- process are very significant.
this type of workflow is possible today, tions, Inc. (Houston; www.chemstations. For this reason, Chemstations and
if companies are willing to adopt a sys- com). But built into most simulation other modeling-and-simulation soft-
tematic model-based engineering ap- software tools are very powerful opti- ware providers, are looking into mak-
proach that focuses on plant-wide op- mization algorithms that allow users ing their tools easier to use and more
timization, says Matzopoulos. So, the to set constraints, set boundary condi- intuitive. One of the biggest chal-
question is, why arent more chemical tions, and define objective functions. lenges facing the simulation industry
processors doing this? They can look and seem very complex is what we call the chemical engineer-
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 19
AspenTech
Newsfront
FIGURE 3. The
ing computing environment, which
new aspenONE
includes all the tools, applications, and adds a Web-based
operating systems chemical engineers interface to Aspen
use to attack their job. This environ- Plus and Aspen
ment is constantly changing, so we are HYSYS. Now it is
possible to access
likely to find anything from Windows AspenTechs pro-
XP to Windows 8 in use. There are dif- cess simulators to
ferent versions of Microsoft Office in view models and
use, which means there are different plant data through
Web-enabled de-
versions of Excel.
vices without
Because the chemical engineering special software
computing environment is not static installation
and is not homogeneous, we have to
make sure that any tool or update we Invensys
FOCUS ON
Screening
Haver & Boecker
All screening needs are Magnetic, metal-detectable sumption; very low noise levels; very
contained in this mobile trailer screen cleaners low maintenance requirements; and
The Mobile Quality Assurance Sifter This company recommends the use no screen blinding, even at very fine
(photo) is said to be ideal for inline of U.S. Food and Drug Admin. (FDA; mesh sizes, says the company. The
sifting on product delivery or receipt; Washington, D.C.) approved poly- Longhorn can screen down to 325
sifting at a trans-loading location; urethane (PU) screen-cleaning balls mesh. Standard size decks (in feet) in-
silo evacuation or load-out; and emer- (photo) and cubes to prevent sifter clude 4 8, 5 10, 6 10 and 6
gency situations. The self-contained screens from clogging with product. 12. Up to five decks can be configured
trailer includes this companys inline PU balls are said to be more abrasion- in series. A 5 10, three-deck unit
sifter, which features stainless-steel resistant than screen cleaners manu- (photo) is available for free testing of
trays containing all of the interior ser- factured from other materials, and pro- products at the companys laboratory.
viceable components (gaskets, screens vide a much longer life. Unlike rubber, Triple/S Dynamics, Dallas, Tex.
and cleaners). The screens are me- PU balls are non-porous and extremely www.sssdynamics.com
chanically stretched and bonded to the oil-, moisture- and chemical-resistant,
screen trays, which can be rescreened says the company. The addition of a Screens with variable-frequency
indefinitely. Because the tray is a stainless-steel core to the ball and cube ultrasound cleaners
structural component, the intermedi- make them both magnetic and metal- This company offers ultrasonic screen-
ate stainless-steel sieve rings are of detectable. PU balls range in size from ing systems (photo) with innovative
simple design, thereby eliminating 5/8- to 2-in. dia. Sifter Parts & Ser- frequency variation, developed in co-
much internal structure making the vices, Inc. Wesley Chapel, Fla. operation with Artech Ultrasonic Sys-
trays lightweight and easy to clean. www.sifterparts.com tems. This type of equipped screening
Hinged guards provide full access to system provides efficient screening
the sifter and drives for inspection Reduce power, noise and more that improves screen throughput, pro-
and maintenance. The trailer also in- with this fine-mesh screener motes the disintegration of agglomer-
cludes a touchscreen PLC workstation; Unlike typical vibrating screens that ates, reduces the share of oversized
smooth Al interior panels, Al diamond- shake the entire screen box, the new material and delivers a permanent
plate decking; hydraulic leveling legs Longhorn Fine Mesh Screener moves cleaning effect for the screen, says the
and controls; generator and compres- only the screen cloth through a vibrat- company. Ultrasonic solutions can be
sor. Great Western Manufacturing ing rail. Among the advantages of the used for cut sizes from approximately
Co., Inc., Leavenworth, Kan. Longhorn are the following: minimal 25 to 1,000 m. With ultrasonic screen-
www.gwmfg.com structural vibration; low power con- ing, a special sound conductor is put
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 21
on p. 48, or use the website designation.
Focus
Circle 7 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-07
22 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
elliptical-linear motion of the sepa-
rator and equal feed distribution to
all screening decks ensures material
quickly stratifies and quickly spreads
across the width of the screen surface.
The long-stroke, low-frequency of the
unit gently separates material with-
out violent action that can reduce yield
of on-specification product. Rotex
Moyno Witte Global, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio
www.rotex.com
system can be used in place of bar the flow to the remaining grinders
rakes and screens, as well as drum during maintenance. Moyno, Inc., Screeners with full access, fast
screen grinders for enhanced perfor- Springfield, Ohio disassembly for easy cleaning
mance, says the company. The Max- www.moyno.com Vibrating screeners (photo) from this
Flow system contains two or more company are designed to permit fast,
Annihilator grinders mounted side- This minerals screener also easy and full access to the loading
by-side in a stainless-steel retrieval accepts hot materials tray, screening area and pan to allow
frame. They can be installed in an in- The Megatex XD/Mineral Separator frequent, thorough cleaning and speed
line, staggered or offset configuration (photo, p. 22) is designed for superior product changeover while minimiz-
to accommodate a variety of channel screening performance and increased ing downtime. Easily disassembled in
widths. The frame includes guide rails uptime. The machines design also al- minutes by a single person with no
to permit the independent retrieval of lows for material with temperatures tools, these low-maintenance vibra-
each grinder. Steel panels can also be up to 400F (205C) to be effectively tory screeners are accessed by opening
inserted in place of a grinder to divert screened at constant feedrates. The the companys one-handed C-clamps
PROTECT PUMPS
DRYRUNNINGCAVITATIONBEARINGFAILUREOVERLOAD
PUMPING
AMPS
Circle 8 on p. 52 or go to adlinks.che.com/45775-08
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 23
Focus
mounted around the perimeter. This In this process, a filter screen is au- two horizontally mounted screens in
releases the optional dust-control cov- tomatically moved out of the produc- a cylindrical housing supported on a
ers and screens for removal and re- tion position, and then backflushed circular base by rugged springs. The
veals the entire pan for inspection. The by the redirected melt stream. The screener is equipped with quick-dis-
screeners are available with a choice contamination is removed from the connect clamps between each screen
of wire mesh or perforated screens screen cavity and ejected via the frame, providing rapid interior access
in standard widths of 10, 23, 35 and drain channels. Compared to the use for inspection and screen changes. An
47 in. The screen is also available in of a screen-wheel filter, the back- integral CIP wash system employs
100% stainless steel with continuously flush screen changer reduced prod- spray nozzles strategically placed to
welded and polished seams to meet uct losses by 50%, says the manufac- emit cleaning solutions, rinsing so-
FDA requirements. Witte Company, turer. It was also possible to increase lutions or steam for sanitizing the
Inc., South Washington, N.J. the fineness of the filter mesh, the interior of the screening chambers
www.witte.com company adds. Kreyenborg GmbH, without the need to open or otherwise
Muenster, Germany disassemble the unit. Constructed of
Backflush screen changers can www.kreyenborg.com stainless steel with ground and pol-
reduce material losses ished welds, it meets 3-A, FDA and
This company recently equipped a Clean-in-place sanitary screener BISSC sanitary standards, as well
food-packaging-film producers re- scalps and dedusts as UL, ATEX, CSA and CE electri-
cycling lines with backflush screen A new sanitary, clean-in-place (CIP) cal standards. The unit is also offered
changers. The filtration process en- Vibroscreen Double-Deck Screener in diameters from 18 to 100 in., and
ables PET flakes to be processed at a removes oversize and undersize par- can operate on a batch or continuous
throughput of 500 kg/h. The backflush ticles from on-size chemicals, miner- basis, screening several pounds to 70
screen changer has a self-cleaning als, plastics, foods, dairy products, ton/h. Kason Corp., Millburn, N.J.
function, which is activated when the pharmaceuticals and other bulk ma- www.kason.com
specified pressure limit is reached. terials. The 40-in.-dia. unit contains Gerald Ondrey
Receive
Receivefull
fullaccess
accesstoday
todayby
by visiting
visiting http://store.che.com/product/facts
www.omeda.com/cbm/facts
1,600
Main utilities consumptions
Fixed costs
3 CW 8 9
CW Cooling water
ST RF Refrigeration fluid
ST Steam
Water ST ST RF 12
FIGURE 1. Propylene production from methanol, according to a process similar to the Lurgi MTP and JGC Mitsubishi DTP processes
Emerson Process Management
New Products
Schubert &
Salzer Control
Systems
Dow Corning
T
he fourth ChemInnovations Con- ences and Technology (BCST) and to
TRACK 5: Critical Workforce
ference and Expo will be held Sep- the scientific advisory board at Oak
Issues
tember 25 and 26 in Galveston, Ridge National Laboratorys Energy
Tex. at the Moody Gardens Con- and Environmental Sciences Director- TRACK 6: Automation and
vention Center. Programmed by chemical ates. He holds a Ph.D. from West Vir- Control Solutions and
industry leaders and designed for profes- ginia University (Morgantown, W.Va.; Strategies
sionals in the chemical process industries www.wvu.edu) and nine U.S. patents.
(CPI), the event aims to supply informa- On the events second day, the gen- TRACK 7: Energy Optimization
tion that will help companies and indi- eral session will mark the return of and Efficiency
viduals prepare for the future of the in- the Plant Managers Roundtable, an
dustry. The conference opportunity to hear TRACK 8: Practical Tools for
portion of ChemInno- insights and perspec- CPI Professionals
vations is organized tives on the CPIs
into eight tracks and current trends from
also includes two gen- a panel of plant man-
eral sessions, network- agers from the Gulf incidents drive the Boards recommen-
ing opportunities and Coast Region. The dations. She will also give updates on
a set of pre-conference makeup of the round- recent incidents at the Chevron Refin-
workshops that will be table is currently ery in Richmond, Calif. and the fertil-
held on September 24. being finalized. izer plant in West, Tex.
Prior to being confirmed to the CSB
General sessions Conference tracks at the beginning of 2013, Rosenberg
The keynote address The ChemInnova- was a researcher in environmental
on the morning of tions conference track and occupational health at Tufts Uni-
September 25 at the topics were developed versity School of Medicine.
conference will focus with the help of a dis- Lessons learned from industrial in-
on the impact of the tinguished advisory cidents, along with team situational
shifting feedstock Keynote speaker David Bem, Dow panel, who helped awareness, will be the topic of another
slate that the shale Chemical Co. global R&D director identify and frame presentation in the process safety
gas boom has en- key issues for the track. The talk will come from two
abled. To be delivered by David Bem, CPI. The group focused on assembling partners at Human Centered Solu-
global R&D director for the Dow sessions to include as much practical tions LLC (Lone Tree, Colo.; www.ap-
Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www. information and insightful context for plyhcs.com). Additional presentations
dow.com), the presentation will begin conference attendees as possible in in the track will focus on controlling
with how shale gas has revitalized the each track. The conference topics are static electricity in hazardous areas
CPI in the U.S. While the economic indicated by the track titles listed in and managing plant-worker fatigue.
benefits of inexpensive shale gas have the box. Another issue that is increasing in
been widely described, discussion Acknowledging the central role of importance globally is maintaining
about the impact of the great increase safety in the CPI, the Process and Oc- a longterm water supply. The confer-
in ethane cracking has been much cupational Safety track is designed to ences Water Management track con-
more limited. Bem will explain how identify a variety of safety risks and sists of three sessions, all surrounding
the shifting feedstock slate creates present solutions to address them. The the theme of implications of water
both challenges to the industry and track is divided into three sessions, the management for the chemical and
opportunities for new technologies. first two of which concentrate on pro- petroleum refining industries. This
Bem joined Dow in 2007 and has cess safety, while the third focuses on track at ChemInnovations includes
held various leadership positions occupational safety. The track features a session on water reuse and conser-
at the company. Prior to working at a talk from Beth Rosenberg, a member vation in the CPI, where conference
Dow, Bem held positions at Celanese of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Haz- attendees will hear from speakers
Corp. and UOP LLC. He was recently ard Investigation Board (CSB; Wash- at Dow Water & Process Solutions,,
named part of the National Academy ington, D.C.; www.csb.gov). In her pre- Veolia Water Solutions (Paris; www.
of Sciences Board on Chemical Sci- sentation, Rosenberg will discuss how veoliawater.com) and Seimens En-
30 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
ergy Inc. (Orlando, Fla.; (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.
www.usa.siemens.com). com), Jeffrey Goetz, is
In addition to conserva- titled From Integrated
tion, attendees will also Automated Plant De-
hear talks on wastewater sign to Excellence in
treatment and discharge Operational Optimiza-
from representatives of tion through Energy Ef-
Nalco Co. (Naperville, Ill.; ficiency. The track also
www.nalco.com) and Yates contains a presentation
Environmental Services on combined heat and
(Spokane, Wash.; www. power (CHP).
yatesenvironmentalser- The Practical Tools
vices.com). Also, the track Beth Rosenberg, U.S. Chemi- track offers engineers
will feature a session on cal Safety and Hazard Inves- a chance to learn both
the water-management tigation Board (CSB) about vital technical
issues that may be spe- and non-technical skills.
cific to the U.S. Gulf Coast region. In the non-technical session, attend-
Properly maintained process ma- ees will hear talks on effective com-
chinery maximizes equipment life- munication, executing investigations
times and reduces process downtime. and asset performance. The technical
In the Maintenance and Reliabil- skills session of this track includes
ity track, conference participants presentations on troubleshooting of
will hear from experienced speak- process pumps and statistical process
ers about risk-based inspections for control in the chemical industry.
instrumentation, fitness-for-service Currently being finalized, the Reg-
techniques and the future of manag- ulatory Issues track will examine the
ing asset-intensive businesses. Other most recent changes on the regula-
presentations in the track will cover tory front, and how they are likely to
practical solutions for maintenance impact the CPI.
and reliability.
Along with water management, an- Awards, exhibits and workshops
other topic of growing importance for In addition to the conference sessions,
the CPI is hiring and retaining the the ChemInnovations staff will host
workforce needed to accomplish busi- an awards banquet on the evening of
ness goals. To address this critical cur- September 25 at the conference lo-
rent issue, the Workforce Issues track cation. At the banquet, the winners
features presentations on developing of the 2013 Kirkpatrick Award for
technical leaders, accelerating opera- Chemical Engineering Achievement
tor development and recruiting, and will be announced. Also, a group of
hiring key employees. other awards, both company and in-
The Automation and Control track dividual, will be presented in areas
focuses on introducing new technolo- such as innovative energy strategies,
gies and on applying existing tech- community involvement, safety in-
nologies in new ways. One focus of vestment and others.
the track will be the use of wireless ChemInnovations attendees will
devices in the CPI. also be invited to explore the exhibit
As a key input for chemical facili- floor, where over 100 companies will
ties, energy is an ever-present con- display their equipment and services.
cern. Its efficient and sustainable use The September issue of Chemical En-
helps companies compete more effec- gineering will contain more informa-
tively. The Energy Efficiency confer- tion on the specific technologies being
ence track includes a presentation on showcased on the exhibit floor.
how energy will be used out to 2040, The pre-conference workshops on
given by Larry Gros, the polyolefins September 24 cover topics including
production technology manager at the basics of corrosion, root-cause
ExxonMobil Corp. (Houston; www. analysis and integrating a TWIC
exxonmobil.com). Another talk, to be (transportation worker identification
delivered by the director of operations credential) reader.
and sustainability for the Fluor Corp. Scott Jenkins
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 31
Feature
Cover Story
Report
T
he scaleup of liquid mixing sys- must be relevant
tems does not have to be a mys- to the large-scale
tery. The principles are quite well equipment
understood, although knowing
which principles apply is not always
obvious. Follow this guidance to im- the rotational speed of the impeller. In and feed locations, may also influence
prove operation. basic terms, three factors determine mixing intensity. Testing is usually
1. Liquid mixing scaleup. Liquid the size of any mixer required: 1) How done with a fluid that has the same
mixing is the most common use of much fluid must be agitated; 2) How properties as expected in the full-scale
scaleup methods in chemical engi- difficult the fluid is to move; 3) How application, although a test fluid with
neering. The concept of scaleup is to intense the agitation needs to be for the a different viscosity may be chosen
take small-scale results and predict application. if the flow pattern will change with
results in larger-scale equipment The answer to the question of how scale. For instance, the flow pattern
(Figure 1). The term liquid mixing, much can be quantified by either in larger tanks, with a higher impeller
more broadly called agitation, can be volume or mass. However, because Reynolds number, is less influenced by
extended to include most types of me- fluid density is an important factor in viscosity than in smaller tanks.
chanically induced fluid motion that is turbulent power, all combinations of Scaleup efforts will never be suc-
carried out for the purpose of increas- volume, mass, and density should be cessful unless the real objective and
ing the uniformity of concentration, known. The how difficult question critical variables have been identi-
composition or temperature. is measured by the properties of the fied correctly. For instance, scaleup for
In this article, the term mixing ap- fluid. Viscosity describes the difficulty product quality may be different from
plies to all types of mechanically in- for the motion of liquids, and may be scaleup for yield quantity. In some
duced fluid motion, including blend- applied to high concentrations of sol- cases, a high-quality product may re-
ing, suspension and dispersion. Fluid ids in slurries or pastes. sult in less quantity, or the opposite.
mixing also includes the blending of The settling rate of solids for a solids For example, the investigator should
viscous fluids, the suspension of solids suspension or the volumetric flowrate ask if a minimum requirement exists
in liquids, the dispersion of gases in of a gas for gas dispersion are also dif- for either quality or quantity, and how
liquids, the dispersion of immiscible ficult factors for multi-phase systems. much can be achieved for the other ob-
liquids and other efforts to combine Small-scale testing is often the best jective within the limiting constraint?
materials that behave as fluids. and sometimes the only way to The process of testing should explore
The reason that scaleup efforts are decide how intense mixing needs to the alternatives so that engineers
so prevalent for mixing processes is be. Properly designed and evaluated can choose a successful direction for
that the possible combinations of tank testing will include all three factors. scaleup and truly understand how
geometry, impeller types and process Deciding how much fluid needs to certain adjustments might be made
applications related to combining be mixed may also involve knowledge on the large-scale system to com-
fluids are almost limitless. To under- about the shape of the tank. Tall, slen- pensate for potential uncertainties.
stand how fluids behave when they der tanks and short, fat tanks may Testing to identify a range of possible
are mixed or agitated, you must un- present different mixing problems for conditions that will be successful pro-
derstand the fluid properties, the tank the same quantity of fluid. Tank fea- vides valuable information about how
size and shape, the impeller type and tures, such as the existence of baffles production-scale adjustments can be
32 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
B2
B1
D = the impeller dia., in. or m or mm
T = the tank dia., in. or m or mm
n = the exponent on the scale ratio,
unitless
Z2 W2 Because all calculations are ratios, the
units for each variable should be the
Z1 W1 same for the different sizes.
D2
During scaleup with geometric sim-
D1 ilarity, the ratio of impeller diameter
C2
C1 (from small scale to large scale) is the
same as the ratio of the tank diam-
eter (from small scale to large scale)
T1 T2 so the calculation can be carried out
FIGURE 2. With geometric similarity, linear dimensions are in the same proportion either way.
in both scales. For instance, the ratio of impeller dia. to tank dia. will be the same in The exponent, n, on the scale ratio
both scales.The relative size of all of the large-scale dimensions will be in the same determines how much the impeller
proportion to the small-scale dimensions
speed changes from small to large
made to ensure the desired outcome. ing, but both extremes need to be un- scale. For any positive value of n and
Other examples of problem defini- derstood. Often knowing the lowest any practical scaleup criterion, the
tion arise when considering solids intensity of mixing that is necessary large-scale rotational speed will be less
suspension. What aspect is the most for success will result in the most eco- than that of the small-scale mixer.
important for the specific application: nomical mixer scaleup. Some values for the exponent n
Keeping solids from settling on the bot- 3. Geometric similarity. Geometric have a physically significant meaning
tom? Or distributing solids uniformly? similarity means that all of the length for turbulent mixing. For instance, an
Or dissolving solids in the liquid? Or dimensions in the different scale tanks exponent value of n = 1 means that the
reacting the solids with something in are in the same relative proportions rotational speed is reduced in propor-
the liquid? Each may be governed by to one another (Figure 2). Geomet- tion to the linear dimension increase.
a different scaleup requirement. The ric similarity is not essential for all This speed change means that the
box on p. 35 shows sn off-bottom solids small-scale mixing tests, but it usu- impeller tip speed, ND, will be held
suspension, which is one type of sus- ally helps. Geometric similarity alone constant for scaleup. The constant
pension that can be observed visually. may be a sufficient reason for conduct- cancels out of the ratio of tip speeds,
Similarly, gas dispersion may be ing some small-scale tests. Unusual so ND is held constant on scaleup.
limited by several factors, including: tank geometry, impeller type or fluid If n = 2/3, the power per volume or
Mass transfer between the bubbles properties may be the primary reason power per mass is held constant with
and the liquid for small-scale testing. Geometry will scaleup. The exponent n can be devel-
Concentration uniformity in liquid dictate what flow patterns are created oped by simple algebra, using Equa-
A reaction taking place in the liquid and whether they will effectively con- tion 2:
Stoichiometric depletion of a compo- trol the entire tank.
nent in the sparged gas Scaleup with geometric similarity (2)
Correct identification of the primary means that the only remaining vari-
or a key process element is essential. able to be chosen is the rotational where:
2. Small failures. One major advan- speed of the large-scale mixer. Because P = impeller power, hp, W or kW
tage of conducting small-scale tests geometric scaleup from one size to an- = fluid density, lb/gal or kg/m3 or
before designing full-scale applica- other means that every length dimen- g/cm3
tions is that mistakes or problems can sion of the small scale is in the same N = rotational speed, rpm or rps
be observed using a smaller quantity proportion to the corresponding length D = impeller dia., in. or m or mm
of material. For instance, a reaction or dimension in the large-scale unit, any Equation 2 is only a proportional-
formulation failure on the small scale convenient length ratio can be used to ity not an equality, so appropriate
is less likely to create significant haz- calculate a large-scale mixer speed. constants and conversion factors are
ard or excessive quantities of waste. The most common length ratios to use needed to calculate actual values.
For investigators, one essential as- for this approach are the impeller dia. The constant of proportionality for
pect of those small-scale failures is or the tank dia. power involves the impeller power
noting the conditions that lead to the number, which is a characteristic of
failure, and establishing the reason the impeller geometry. Conversion fac-
for failure whether the problem is tors are necessary to ensure consistent
formulation or mixing related to (1) units for power, speed, and diameter.
avoid repeating those conditions. where: If the same fluid is used in both scales,
Insufficient mixing is more likely to N = the rotational speed of the mixer, the fluid density will be a constant for
cause a problem than excessive mix- rpm or rps scaleup, and will cancel out of the ratio
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 33
Cover Story
binations. The length of the turbulent may hardly need small-scale testing does not happen uniformly. For in-
micro-scale eddies is related to the local for proper design experience with stance, one aspect of the process may
dissipation of power per mass, which similarly sized tanks may suffice. scale down at constant tip speed, while
is also power per volume for the same Note that small-scale mixer testing another may scale down at equal
density fluid. For scaleup efforts with does not always involve chemical reac- power per volume. The result will be
geometric similarity, the local power tions. Many mixing processes involve a small-scale process that behaves
per volume is some proportion to the just formulation blending different differently than some aspects of the
total or average power per volume For materials to uniformity. What makes large-scale process.
instance, the local power per volume in formulation difficult is the variety of The most critical aspect of the pro-
the impeller region might be ten times types of mixing (such as blending dif- cess must be studied separately. Just
the average power per volume. With ferent liquids, suspending solids, dis- as with scaleup, only one or two pro-
geometric similarity, that ratio between solving solids, heat transfer, disper- cess behaviors can be duplicated at
local power per volume and average sion of immiscible liquids, dispersion different scales. For instance, if sol-
power per volume should remain the of gas, viscous mixing and more) that ids suspension can be duplicated on
same. So while the power per volume may be needed for a single batch. the small scale, then powder addition
in the impeller region may be greater The challenge is that no single mixer may be different, and vice versa. When
than the average power per volume, the design may be best for all of these pro- scale-down is expected to duplicate all
average will scale proportionately for cess steps, yet the batch operation still aspects of the large process equally
similar locations in the tank. needs to be completed in a single tank. well, the results will always be disap-
Scaleup by power-per-volume with Additionally, the liquid level and fluid pointing; some aspects of the process
reactant injection near the impeller properties may change as the batch will always change.
is often the best approach for control- is being processed. Pilot-scale testing Just as knowing the objective for
ling rapid chemical reactions. Using may focus on basic aspects of the oper- scaleup is important, knowing the ob-
power-per-volume scaleup also results ation, such as order of ingredient ad- jective for scale-down is critical, too.
in a conservative scaleup, providing dition, time required for dissolution or For example, if the process problem
intense mixing in the large scale. blending, proper location of impellers, involves solids settling on the bottom
Simpler rapid chemical reactions, and other practical matters related to of the tank with some of the impor-
such as acid-base neutralization reac- variables in the batch process. tant ingredient being left behind, then
tions, which have only one path and 6. Scale-down is difficult. Some- solids suspension may be the focus of
produce consistent final products, may times scale-down (Figure 3) is used small-scale testing. If powder addition
be more influenced by liquid blending. to investigate an existing process for is the problem, then the testing effort
Mixing intensity may affect the rate problem solving or process improve- should focus on proper scale-down of
of reaction, but not the final product ment. If geometric similarity were the surface motion and rate of addition.
constituents. In those cases, assuring only critical aspect for pilot-scale test- Investigation of solids suspension
that all parts of the tank are in motion ing, scale-down would be easy. should focus both on turbulence inten-
may be enough for successful scaleup. The more common problem is that sity and fluid velocity near the bottom,
Applications with simple reactions scale-down of a large-scale process since these factors account for lifting
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 35
OPTICAL DISTORTION WHEN VIEWING MIXING
IN A TRANSPARENT CYLINDRICAL TANK
caleup is often used to take experi-
particles and sweeping them away. time will increase with tank size. small, the power increments are to the
If surface addition of solids is being 7. Limitations of scaleup informa- fifth power of the impeller diameter
investigated, then surface velocities tion. Two questions are often asked in turbulent conditions. That effect of
must be duplicated and the addition with respect to mixing: those impeller diameter increments
rates must be scaled to account for What is the smallest tank in which I represents double the power between
volumetric flow of solids per surface can get good mixing results? small impeller sizes, and about a 50%
area. In many cases, choosing not only What is the largest scale change I increase between larger sizes.
the scale factor for adjusting the mixer can make successfully? The common recommendation for
speed, but also adjusting other rates, Neither has a simple answer for all testing to observe mixing flow pat-
may be essential for success. types of scaleup, just as the reasons terns in small tanks is for tank diam-
An objective, such as the rate of dis- for testing are different. eter between 1 ft (1/3 m) and 2 ft (2/3
solution of a solid, may not be affected The smallest tank for mixing tests m). In that size range, model impellers
by mixing intensity once all the par- depends on at least three variables: should create flow patterns similar to
ticles are suspended off the bottom The accuracy of the impeller shape those expected in larger tanks. And
of the tank. The critical factor in the The ability to observe flow patterns, with low-viscosity liquids, the flow
dissolving of solids is often solubility, The scale of mixing to be observed patterns will be fully turbulent. Such
which tends to be strongly affected by Small impellers always have propor- tests may improve the certainty of
temperature and particle size. Rate tionately thicker blades when com- scaleup for large tanks.
of dissolution is affected by the sur- pared with large impellers, to ensure In todays world of high-value prod-
face-to-volume ratio. For a given ap- that the small ones are not too fragile ucts and process minimization, a
plication, the mixing intensity must to handle. Also, small impellers for tank with a 1/4-m-dia. may be larger
be sufficient to ensure off-bottom instance, those less than 6 in. (300 than the standard production scale.
suspension of solids (Box, p. 35) and mm) in dia. typically come in size In which case, more must be known
rapid enough to maintain a nearly increments of about 1 in. (25 mm), about the controlling processes that
uniform concentration of solids in which is more than 15% of the dia. are observed in the laboratory. Scale
the liquid. The dissolving rate for the Increments for impeller size for di- testing and efforts must be carried out
same material and particle size may ameters that are larger than 20 in. to observe the effects of mixing, espe-
be nearly identical in the small scale (0.5 m) may be about 2 in. (50 mm), or cially if changing the stirrer speed in a
and larger scale, although the blend less than 10%. While percentages seem flask or beaker will affect the results.
36 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
Another scaleup consideration is just to move all of the fluid in a tank. cesses increase blend time and make
how much of a change can be done As a result, testing at a small scale can complete motion more difficult. For all
successfully. For instance, doubling a be useful in determining which type, of the experience in mixer design with
length dimension increases the vol- size, or number of impellers works low-viscosity liquids, limited experi-
ume by a factor of eight. Thus, an in- best for moving the fluid. ence and design guidance is available
crease of ten times the length scale Because flow is often laminar, for mixing high-viscosity fluids using
results in 1,000 times the volume. stretching and folding mechanisms close-clearance impellers.
For complicated scaleup applica- must replace turbulence and random However, a bright side to scaleup ex-
tions or those with limited small-scale motion for mixing. These slower pro- ists with viscous blending. Most viscous
data, a two-, three- or four-fold in-
crease in a linear dimension may cre-
ate significant uncertainties. In other
cases, laboratory data even for a
chemical reaction may allow for
scale changes involving a 10- or even
20-fold increase in the length dimen-
sions and the corresponding increase
in volume. Many large processes un-
dergo limited experimental testing, in
very small scales, yet mixing require-
ments can be met with large increases
in size.
Geometric similarity is not an essen-
tial for scaleup, provided the process
requirements are well understood and While the Water Environment Federation continues
the critical mixing variables are held to provide you with the greatest access to water
constant. A large-scale mixed tank, quality technology and education available today,
especially a pressure vessel, may be we understand the economic challenges being
much taller in relation to its diameter faced by the water sector, and are pleased to
compared with the small-scale tank provide you more for less.
that was used for development testing
and geometry modifications. For stor- We are pleased to announce the new WEFTEC
age tanks, small-scale testing is rarely pricing structure, including:
done, but large storage tanks may be Streamlined registration
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8. Viscous mixing. Applications in- Exhibition Hall registration for all attendees who
volving viscous mixing often experi- register online at NO CHaRgE (compliments of
ence many problems during scaleup, WEF and the WEFTEC Exhibitors)
so small-scale testing is especially im- Commitment to the highest-quality educational
portant. Rarely does a single viscosity content, featuring: 122 sessions, 3 exhibitor
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properties that complicate viscosity register, the greater your chances of winning!
are often those properties that are
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Mixing viscous materials often in-
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clearance impellers. Even with tur-
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 37
Cover Story
mixing scaleup can be handled by equal chemical reactions are developed at before going into production.
tip speed. The power requirements for the laboratory scale. Commonly avail- While work in a pilot plant may pro-
nearly all of the blending processes able laboratory mixers may be as vide additional information about the
depend on Reynolds number, which is simple as magnetic stir bars in glass reaction, a pilot reactor should be de-
affected more strongly by a primary beakers, or flasks on a shaker table. signed to test and observe the effects
length dimension, such as tank or im- These mixer types are not effective that mixing has on the chemical reac-
peller diameter, than velocity. So, if tip in large-scale processes because the tion. Pilot testing needs to investigate
speed, which translates to fluid veloc- rotational flow patterns do not create the positive and negative effects that
ity, is held constant during scaleup, the sufficient vertical and horizontal mo- mixing has on the reaction, in terms
Reynolds number increases in direct tion for good mixing. The only reason of yield, quality and even the overall
proportion to the increase in the length that the swirling motion in laboratory success of the process. Mixing is nec-
dimensions of the tank. glassware is adequate is that in such essary to bring reactants together and
As the Reynolds number increases small containers the ingredients mix to distribute the reactants and prod-
with tank size, the effect of viscos- quickly regardless of the flow pattern. uct uniformly in the tank. Heat addi-
ity in the laminar and transitional Scaleup of chemical reactions often tion or removal may also be part of the
ranges is reduced. This change means follows two different paths an easy chemical process.
easier fluid movement and potentially one and a more difficult one. The easy Information about the process must
greater mixing intensity. For the same path occurs when the new reaction also establish critical mixing variables
Reynolds number, the large-scale is similar to one previously put into that are required to ensure the suc-
mixer could even be considered to be production, where the reaction steps cess of the reaction. Insufficient mix-
operating as if the fluid had a lower and any exothermic heat generation ing may not provide adequate unifor-
viscosity. The reduced effects of viscos- have already been successfully scaled. mity or blending that is rapid enough
ity should make mixing easier with Other reactions with different kinet- for the reaction to produce the desired
scaleup. ics, stoichiometry and heat release products. Excessive mixing may in-
9. Chemical reactions. Most new may require extensive pilot testing troduce air, or may negatively impact
anufacturers face seasonal ing on industrial water conservation and colleagues [12]. The later work
M supply-and-demand varia-
tions in their production
cycle due to fluctuations in
both market demand and supply of
raw materials. Therefore, manufactur-
[37] and utility gas recovery [79].
In addition, pinch analysis techniques
have also been extended to a variety of
non-conventional areas, such as finan-
cial management [10], supply chain
also caters to cases with the limita-
tions of minimum and maximum in-
ventories, as well as the scheduling
of process shutdowns that were not
considered in the earlier works [11,
ers need solutions that can help them management [11, 12], emergy analy- 19]. Subsequently, Ludwig and oth-
to cope with this challenge in effective sis [13], carbon-constrained energy ers [20] extended the techniques for
production planning. Pinch analysis, planning [14] , short-term scheduling production with seasonal variations
which has been used for resource con- of batch processes [15], carbon capture in demand. Note that those previous
servation in the past few decades, has and storage [16, 17] as well as human works demonstrated the usefulness of
recently been extended to production resource planning [18]. However, there pinch analysis as a decision-support
planning problems. In this article, two has been very limited work on the use tool for production-planning problems.
novel graphical tools are proposed to of pinch analysis in the area of produc- Also, the main objective of those works
address two common production plan- tion planning. was to determine the production rate
ning problems, namely, factory capac- In most manufacturing companies, based on the seasonal forecast for a
ity planning and financial resource the producers are typically faced with given planning horizon. Besides, Foo
planning. Industrial case studies on seasonal supply-and-demand prob- and others [15] extended pinch-anal-
the small-scale production of high- lems, which leads to the emergence ysis approach for short-term schedul-
value products are shown to illustrate of lean and peak periods. Such varia- ing of batch reactors in multi-purpose
the approach. tion in supply and demand are beyond plants. However, none of the above
the manufacturers control. In order techniques address the minimization
Pinch basics to overcome such problems, manufac- of outsourcing; nor do they explore op-
Pinch-analysis techniques have been turing companies can only plan the portunities for operational changes.
widely used as systematic design tools production based on constraints, such The underlying principle of pinch
in the chemical process industries (CPI) as production capacity or available fi- analysis is the use of information about
over the past three decades. The tech- nancial resources, in order to accom- stream quantities, such as production,
niques were initially developed for the modate the varying demand. manpower, heat, water and carbon,
synthesis of heat-recovery networks Some earlier attempts to use a in conjunction with data about the
[1]. Through heat-and-mass transfer pinch-analysis approach for aggregate quality of those systems to optimize
analogy, the proposed techniques were planning in the supply chain have been the overall system. Depending on the
later extended for mass-integration developed by Shenoy and co-workers application, stream quality may be de-
problems [2]. More recently, pinch- based on a graphical approach [11, fined by key process variables, such as
analysis techniques were developed for 19]. An equivalent algebraic-targeting temperature for heat recovery or con-
resource conservation networks, focus- technique was later developed by Foo centration for mass integration [39,
40 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
TABLE 1. INVENTORY DATA AND FACTORY CAPACITY FOR CASE STUDY 1
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total
Inventory
(containers) 5 5 10 10 15 5 5 10 15 20 10 5 115 lem of production planning, we shall
Factory first identify the production sinks and
capacity 20 20 20 60 the sources of the planning problem.
Production sinks are defined as
the units or sections that demand re-
Jan 20 containers Source composite curve sources. Production sources are units
Feb or sections that contain the resources.
Mar
Apr For instance, production of noni pow-
May 20 containers der (a nutritional product extracted
Month
June
July from the tropical fruit, Morinda citri-
Aug folia) is treated as a sink that requires
Sep production space. On the other hand,
Oct 20 containers
Nov Sink composite curve factories are treated as sources, as
Dec they can be used to satisfy the produc-
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Number of containers
tion requirement of the goods. In this
context, sources may be viewed as pro-
FIGURE 2. This PPPD for case 1 (noni factory) is not feasible because the part of viding services (for example, produc-
the source composite curve is below the sink composite curve tion space) to the sinks. The overall
concept is illustrated in Figure 1.
Although supply and demand of
Outsourced: 60 containers
20 containers goods are typically beyond the manu-
Jan facturers control to a certain extent,
Feb
Mar control of time and capacity adapta-
Apr 20 containers tion is still possible. Note that produc-
May
tion capacity or factory space can ei-
Month
June Sink composite curve Source composite curve ther be fixed or variable. For instance,
July Pinch October
Aug if a factory is located in a standard
Sep 20 containers
Oct industrial lot with fixed dimensions,
Nov Excess: 5 it is classified as a fixed capacity/vari-
Dec containers
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
able time problem. On the other hand,
cases where the factory, or production
FIGURE 3. This feasible PPPD is obtained by horizontally shifting the source com- units are flexible (that is, if the manu-
posite curve of Figure 2 to the right facturer could acquire them according
to their exact requirements) can be
21]. In many management extensions nies (MNC) usually acquire adequate classified as a variable capacity/vari-
of pinch analysis, time is used as the space for future expansion of plants able time problem. For example, such
quality index [11, 1820]. and warehouses, and purchase ma- cases usually occur in pharmaceutical
In this article, two novel graphical chines that are custom-made to meet and allied industries. Both cases are
techniques for production planning are their production capacities (the ma- illustrated in the following industrial
proposed, namely production planning chines sometimes cater for expansion, case studies. The objective of the pro-
pinch diagram (PPPD) and produc- too). On the other hand, SMEs have posed approach is to determine the
tion planning grand composite curve relatively limited financial resources, minimum outsource requirement. To
(PPGCC). These new production plan- and thus tend to rent readily avail- fulfill the objective, the PPPD and
ning tools can be used to optimize fac- able industrial spaces as production PPGCC are used, and are illustrated
tory capacity and financial resources, units that are readily available in the using the following case studies.
which are common challenges in most market. Therefore, proper production
companies. Such problems are particu- planning in SMEs presents unique Case Study 1
larly critical for small and medium en- challenges. With these newly devel- We first consider an example involv-
terprises (SMEs), which typically are oped tools, SMEs will be able to han- ing production planning for a powder-
heavily constrained by limited capital dle the production planning problems production factory. This case study
resources. The problem arises when a more effectively. describes a food processing factory
company or facility is maximizing the that produces noni powder that is
use of its company resources, such as Underlying principles dried at very low temperature using
inventory or the factory capacity, while The basic principle of the newly devel- infrared drying technology. Table 1
minimizing outsourcing by reducing oped graphical techniques is based on shows the forecasted inventory data
idle space or excess factory capacity. the work of Ooi and colleagues [17], based on the previous years record.
This goal implies the minimization of which was originally developed for In this case study, a production cam-
additional costs. CO2 capture-and-storage planning paign across a one-year planning ho-
Large or multi-national compa- problems. In order to address the prob- rizon is considered.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 41
Feature Report
Month
J J
J Pinch (October) J
A A
S 20 containers S Pinch (Oct.)
O O
N N
D D
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Number of containers Number of containers
Month
J
these noni factories is different. Fac- sideration of the time fac- J
35 containers
A
tory 1 is available from the start of the tor. The y-axis of the com- S
planning horizon. However, Factories posite curve represents O
N
2 and 3 are only made available in the the time of availability D
months of May and October, respec- of the production sinks 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
tively. The company may outsource (inventory) and sources Number of containers
the production at added cost if the ca- (factory) throughout the
FIGURE 5. The shaded area of the PPGCC is the
pacity of these factories is insufficient. entire planning horizon time pocket for Case Study 1, where the production
To minimize the outsourcing require- while their horizontal dis- requirement is satisfied by internal capacity (existing
ment, the usage of all factories should tances represent the total factories)
be maximized. amount of product.
As mentioned above, the factories As shown in Figure 2, part of the curves, as the x-axis represents the
are treated as sources, as they pro- source composite curve stays below amount of inventory for both sink and
vide production space and services for the sink composite curve. This is an source composite curves, while the
the inventory (sinks). To make use of infeasible situation, as sources (that y-axis is the true timeframe for the
the PPPD, we first translate the pro- is, factories) cannot be used to pro- planning horizon.
duction forecast data into the sink duce goods before they are ready for Based on Figure 3, it is noted that
composite curve. Each horizontal seg- production. Hence, the source compos- there is a gap at the top section of the
ment of the composite curve is plot- ite curve is shifted horizontally to the composite curves. This indicates that
ted, based on its inventory amount right until the source composite curve 60 containers of product need to be out-
on the x-axis, against a correspond- is entirely above the sink composite sourced through production at off-site
ing time period on the y-axis. On the curve and touches the latter at the facilities. This is due to the time pinch
other hand, the sources (correspond- pinch point, to form the feasible PPPD that is formed in October; the latter
ing to factory capacities in this case) (see Figure 3). As shown, all storage may be viewed as the overall time bot-
are identified and plotted to form the sources are now prepared much ear- tleneck for the factory allocation prob-
source composite curve, similar to that lier than the sinks that they will need lem. Note also that excess capacity is
of the sink composite curve. Figure 2 to serve. Note that only a horizontal found at the end of the planning hori-
shows the PPPD of this case study. shift is permitted for the composite zon (five containers). This means that
References Ind. & Eng. Chem. Res., 42, pp. 4,3194328. finery Hydrogen Distribution Systems, Ind.
5. Manan, Z. A., Tan, Y. L. and Foo, D. C. Y., Tar- & Eng.Chem. and Res., 41, pp. 5,7595,769,
1. Linnhoff, B., others, A User Guide on Pro- 2002.
cess Integration for the Efficient Use of En- geting the Minimum Water Flowrate Using
ergy, IChemE, Rugby, U.K., 1982. Water Cascade Analysis Technique. AlChE 9. Foo, D. C. Y. and Manan, Z. A., Setting the
J., 50 (12), pp. 3,1693,183, 2004. Minimum Flowrate Targets for Utility Gases
2. El-Halwagi, M. M. and Manousiouthakis,V., 6. Prakash, R. and Shenoy, U. V., Targeting and Using Cascade Analysis Technique, Ind. &
Synthesis of Mass Exchange Networks. Design of Water Networks for Fixed Flowrate Eng.Chem. Res., 45(17), pp. 5,9865,995,
AlChE. J., 35(8), pp. 1,2331,244, 1989. and Fixed Contaminant Load Operations, 2006.
3. Wang, Y. P. and Smith, R., Wastewater Mini- Chem. Eng. Sci., 60(1), pp. 255268, 2005. 10. Zhelev, T. K., On the Integrated Manage-
mization, Chem. Eng. Science, 49, pp. 981 7. Agrawal, V. and Shenoy, U.V., Unified Con- ment of Industrial Resources Incorporating
1,006, 1994. ceptual Approach to Targeting and Design Finances, J. of Cleaner Production, 13, pp.
4. El-Hawagi, M. M., Gabriel, F. and Harell, D., of Water and Hydrogen Networks. AlChE J., 469474, 2005.
Rigorous Graphical Targeting for Resource Con- 52(3), pp. 1,0711,081, 2006. 11. Singhvi, A. and Shenoy, U. V., Aggregate
servation via Material Recycle/reuse Networks, 8. Alves, J. J. and Towler G. P., Analysis of Re- Planning in Supply Chains by Pinch Analy-
June
July operational changes
Aug of the PPPD are plotted against time
Sep throughout the entire planning hori-
Oct
Nov
zon. Once the PPGCC is constructed,
Dec time pockets the shaded areas in
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Figure 5 can be determined. The
Number of containers time pocket is analogous to the heat
pocket for heat recovery [1], where
FIGURE 6. The PPPD for the second scenario of Case Study 1 shows rescheduling
of the noni factories the required production requirement
(sink) may be supplied by internal ca-
pacity. The opening at the top of the
Outsourced : 15 containers PPGCC indicates when the outsourc-
Jan
Feb
ing (60 containers of product) are
Mar needed. As shown, storage outsourc-
New pinch Rent /acquire 2
Apr ing is needed between March and May
May (July) additional factories
to meet production (25 containers of products), as well as
Month
June
July for August to September (35 contain-
Aug
Sep
ers of products).
Oct Scenario 2. The opportunities of
Nov rescheduling can also be considered
Dec
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 with the aid of the PPPD. In a differ-
Number of containers ent scenario, we shall reschedule the
noni factories in order to make use of
FIGURE 7. Here, the PPPD for the second scenario of Case Study 1 shows resched- its excess capacity identified earlier.
uling of the noni factories with renting additional production capacity In this case, it is assumed that the
factory can be rescheduled by produc-
containers are needed ing some goods earlier than originally
J
F
to fulfill the given plan- planned. Assuming that Factories 2
M ning horizon. However, and 3 can now be rescheduled three
A
15 containers the outsourced contain- months ahead of the original sched-
M
ers are not needed at the ule, the pinch point moves forward to
J
Month
sis, Trans. of the IChemE, Part A, 80. pp. Analysis Approach to Short-term Schedul- mize Shift Scheduling Using Pinch Analysis.
597605, 2002. ing of Batch Reactors in Multi-purpose Chem. Eng., July, pp. 4852, 2010.
Plants, Int. J. of Chem. Reactor Eng., 5, A94, 19. Singhvi, A., Madhavan, K. P. and Shenoy, U.
12. Foo, D. C. Y., others, A Heuristic-based Al- 2007.
gebraic Targeting technique for aggregate V., Pinch Analysis for Aggregated Produc-
planning in supply chains. Computer and 16. Tan, R. R., Ng, D. K. S. and Foo, D. C. Y., Pinch tion Planning in Supply Chains, Comp. and
Chem. Eng., 32(10), pp. 2,2172,232, 2008. Analysis Approach to Carbon-Constrained Chem. Eng., 28, pp. 993999, 2004.
Planning for Sustainable Power Generation. 20. Ludwig, J., and others, Production Plan-
13. Zhelev, T. K. and Ridolfi, R. (2006). Energy J. of Cleaner Production, 17, pp. 940944,
Recovery and Environmental Concerns Ad- ning by Pinch Analysis for Biomass Use in
2009. Dynamic and Seasonal Markets, Int. J. of
dressed through Emergy-pinch Analysis, En-
ergy, 31 (13), pp. 2,1502,162, 2006. 17. Ooi, R. E. H., and others, Planning of Operational Res., Vol. 47, No. 8, January, pp.
Carbon Capture and Storagewith Pinch 2,0792,090, 2009.
14. Tan, R. R. and Foo, D. C. Y., Pinch Analysis Ap- Analysis Techniques, Chem. Eng. Res. &
proach to Carbon-constrained Energy Sector 21. Foo, D. C. Y., Process Integration for Resource
Des., (in press); http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. Conservation, Green Chemistry and Chemi-
Planning. Energy, 32(8), pp. 142149, 2007. cherd.2013.04.007. cal Engineering, ISBN: 978-1-4398-6048-9,
15. Foo, D. C. Y., Hallale, N. and Tan, R.R., Pinch 18. Foo, D. C. Y., Hallale, N. and Tan R. R., Opti- CRC Press, 2012.
tember. Based on this strategy, the TABLE 2. MONTHLY EXPENSES AND AVAILABLE FUNDS FOR CASE STUDY 2
production requirement of the factory
can be fulfilled (see Figure 7). Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total
Following the same approach as Expenses
before, the PPGCC for the case with $1,000 20 20 10 0 0 10 20 50 30 20 10 10 200
two rented production facilities is
Funds
shown in Figure 8. Note that the
opening of the PPGCC indicates that $1,000 30 50 70 150
outsourcing 15 containers is only re-
quired between April and July (see Deficit $ 80,000
Figure 8). Jan $ 30,000
Feb
Mar Source composite curve (Funds)
Case Study 2 Apr
The second case study involves a cel- May $ 50,000
Month
Month
J $ 30,000
allocated the funds for the factory and J
may reschedule the funds as required. A
S
Assuming that these funds can now be O
rescheduled one month ahead of the N
original schedule, the time pinch moves D
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
forward to the month of August instead Cash ($ x 10,000)
of September (see Figure 11). Note that
any process rescheduling or operational
adjustment can only be made after the Authors
pinch, as there now appears to be ex- Joseph S. H. Lim is the man- Dominic C. Y. Foo is pro-
cess resource availability. Shifting the aging director of Adirondack fessor of Process Design
Ptd. Ltd. (54A, Road 19/3, and Integration at the
pinch earlier gives the company room Petaling Jaya, 46300 Selan- University of Nottingham,
for operational adjustment. In this gor, Malaysia). He obtained Malaysia Campus (Dept. of
his masters degree in plant Chemical and Environmen-
particular case, the outsourced fund process management from tal Engineering, and Cen-
Institute of Bioproduct Devel- ter of Excellence for Green
requirement is reduced from $80,000 opment, Universiti Teknologi, Technologies, University of
to $50,000. This results in zero excess Malaysia, and is currently Nottingham Malaysia Cam-
pursuing his engineering doc- pus, Broga Road, 43500 Se-
funds at the end of the planning ho- torate in plant process engi- menyih, Selangor, Malaysia;
rizon similar to that in Case Study 1. neering in the same institution. He is the key Phone: +60(3)-8924-8130; Fax:+60(3)-8924-
person in the innovation and commercialization 8017; E-mail: dominic.foo@nottingham.edu.
The PPGCC for Case Study 2 in Fig- of natural health and beauty products under the my). He is a professional engineer registered
ure 12 shows that capital injections are brand Orifera (www.orifera.com) and several with the Board of Engineer Malaysia. His re-
other private brands. Currently, he manages search interests include the development of
needed in the same period as Scenario two manufacturing plants in Malaysia, namely process integration techniques for resource
Life Science Corporation (GMP) Pvt. Ltd., which conservation and production planning. Foo
1, but the amount is smaller. manufactures herbaceutical products; and Cos- routinely establishes international collabora-
mescience Corp. (GMP) Pvt. Ltd., which manu- tion with researchers from various countries
factures herbal toothpaste and cosmeceuticals in Asia, Europe, American and Africa. He is
Final remarks for both local and overseas markets. also the winner of the Innovator of the Year
Novel graphical-pinch-targeting Raymond R. Tan is a univer- Award 2009 of IChemE U.K., Young Engineer
sity fellow and full professor of Award 2010 of the Institution of Engineers
techniques have been developed for Ch.E. at De La Salle Univer- Malaysia, and Outstanding Young Malaysian
production planning problems. Two sity (Chemical Engineering Award 2012. He has over 80 published papers
Dept., De La Salle University, in chemical, energy and environmental engi-
industrial case studies on capacity 2401 Taft Avenue, 1004 Ma- neering journals, is subject editor for Trans.
IChemE Part B Process Safety and Env.
and financial planning illustrate how nila, Philippines; Phone/Fax:
Protection, and editorial board member for
+632-536-0260; E-mail: ray-
these graphical tools for decision sup- mond.tan@dlsu.edu.ph). He is Chem. Eng. Trans. and Clean Tech. and En-
also the director of the Center vironmental Policy, co-editor of the book Re-
port may be used for real-life prob- cent Advances in Sustainable Process Design
for Engineering and Sustain-
lems. They can be used to optimize able Development Research and Optimization, and sole author for the
(CESDR). Tan is the author of more than 70 pa- textbook of Process Integration for Resource
the utilization of company resources, pers in chemical, environmental and energy en- Conservation.
such as factory capacity and finan- gineering journals. He is member of the journals Denny K. S. Ng is an as-
editorial boards of Clean Technologies and Envi-
cial allocation, while minimizing idle ronmental Policy, Philippine Science Letters and
sociate professor at the
University of Nottingham
company resources. Sustainable Technologies, Systems & Policies, Malaysia Campus (Dept. of
and is co-editor of the book Recent Advances in Chemical and Environmen-
These techniques reduce the need Sustainable Process Design and Optimization. tal Engineering, and Cen-
for outsourcing of production or ac- He is also the recipient of multiple awards from ter of Excellence for Green
the National Academy of Science and Technol- Technologies, University
quiring additional funds through ogy (NAST) and the National Research Council of Nottingham Malay-
loans. Significantly, the graphical of the Philippines (NRCP). sia Campus, Broga Road,
Ramlan Aziz is a professor 43500 Semenyih, Selangor,
nature of these tools is also useful at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Phone: +60(3)-
for easy communication and visu- Malaysia (Institute of Bio- 8924-8606; Fax: +60(3)-8924-8017; E-mail:
product Development, Uni- denny.ng@nottingham.edu.my). He obtained
alization in management meetings, versiti Teknologi Malaysia, his Ph.D. degree from The University of Not-
technical presentations and reports 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malay- tingham. His areas of specialization include
sia; Phone: +60(07)-5536476; energy management, resource conservation
by non-engineers, decision makers or Fax: +60(07)-5569706; E-mail: via process integration techniques (such as
stakeholders. They provide intuitive ramlan@ibd.utm.my). He pinch analysis and mathematical optimi-
obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. zation), synthesis and analysis of biomass
visual insights that may be readily from University of Man- processing and integrated biorefineries, as
chester Institute of Science well as energy planning for greenhouse-gas
grasped with minimal training, un- & Technology (UMIST, U.K.). His main areas of emission reduction. He was the recipient
like alternative tools such as math- work include process and product development of the World Federation of Scientists (Ma-
utilizing natural resources, such as tropical laysia National Scholarship) award in 2007
ematical programming. The proposed plants and other bioresources for the wellness and the IChemE Young Engineer of the Year
techniques also are user-friendly and industry. He is the chairman of Biotechnology 2012. He has published more than 55 papers
Skill Development Advisory Committee in the and presented more than 80 papers at vari-
may be implemented using simple Ministry of Human Resource Malaysia, Council ous international and national conferences.
spreadsheet software. Member for Agriculture and Food Cluster in Na- Ng is also serving as international scientific
tional Professorial Council Malaysia and Mem- committee for several international confer-
Edited by Gerald Ondrey ber of Malaysia Herbal Development Board. ences.
Absorber Optimization:
Employing Process
Simulation Software
Applying simulation-model case studies
in the field yields significant savings
with no capital investment
Jignesh P. Patel, Viral Desai, Sunil Patil FIGURE 1. This photo shows the
and Dipak Mehta Aspen Technology, Inc. EOEG plant at Reliance, Dahej Manu-
facturing Division
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Lean
absorbent
Stripped EO
5 3
10 3
15 4
18 4
20 5
1C 3
2C 3
3C 3
4C 4
5C 4
EO content in EO ab-
Lean absorbent flow, Lean absorbent
Cycle gas flow sorber overhead gas,
% pumping energy, kW
ppm
Reduced from 95 to
Reduction 8 None 73 39
Reduction 8 1,000
product quality. Table 1 illustrates Higher efficiency in the lean absor- Authors
the resulting overhead EO composi- bent water cooler Jignesh Patel is a general
manager of Central Technical
tion with incremental lean absorbent Lower lean-absorbent supply Services (CTS) in the Dahej
flow reductions, as predicted by the temperature Manufacturing Division of Re-
liance Industries Ltd. (RIL).
process modeling software. This study Decreased pressure drop across (Email: jignesh.p.patel@ril.
also examined the absorbers poten- the absorber com). He has over 12 years of
experience in the petrochemi-
tial for column flooding by rating the Less energy consumption required cals industry. He joined RIL
trays based on existing tray geometry for pumping in 2007 and in his current
role is responsible for process
and current operating conditions. This The results of the plant trials vali- engineering, simulations and
advanced process control. Patel has a B.S.Ch.E.
hydraulics study revealed that during dated the findings of the simula- from Shri Sad Vidya Mandal Institute of Tech-
normal operation, the column was near tion study, as all predicted benefits nology (Bharuch, India).
its flooding limits, but that the recom- were observed in field operations. A
Viral Desai is a senior gen-
mended reduction of lean absorbent summary of unit performance after eral manager of CTS in the
would decrease potential tray flooding the plant trials is shown in Table 4. Dahej Manufacturing Divi-
sion of RIL. (Email: viral.
and increase the units efficiency. Most importantly, the absorber unit desai@ril.com). He has 14
Changes in lean absorbent tempera- reached the desired 8% reduction in years of experience in the
petrochemical industry. In
ture can also impact the absorption of lean absorbent flow without compro- his current role as Central
EO from the cycle gas. The sensitivity mising throughput or EO recovery. Technical Services general
manager, he is responsible for
analysis with respect to temperature Other notable operational improve- process engineering, simula-
tions, and advanced process
looked at typical summer conditions to ments included a 39-kW reduction control. Desai has a chemical engineering degree
evaluate the absorbers performance as in pumping energy and a 1,000-kg/h from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
and a postgraduate diploma in operations and
lean absorbent temperature increases. reduction in low-pressure steam in management from IGNOU, India.
The studys results, presented in Table the EO stripper reboiler. These im-
2, show that a variation of up to 2C in provements will save the company Dipak Mehta is vice presi-
dent of CTS in the Dahej
lean absorbent temperature does not an estimated 9.5 million INR an- Manufacturing Division of
significantly affect EO absorption. nually, with no additional capital RIL. (Email: dipak.mehta@
ril.com). He has more than
investment required. This study 30 years of experience in the
Plant trials and results underscores the value of using pro- chemical process industries.
He holds a Managers Exam
To apply the optimized models in the cess simulation technology for opti- certification from the Bureau
of Energy Efficiency (B.E.E)
plant, lean absorbent flow was incre- mization, driving operations to new and the Federation of Indian
mentally decreased over a six-day pe- levels of efficiency. Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI). Mehta graduated from the
riod (Table 3). With each reduction of Edited by Mary Page Bailey Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda with a
flow, key operating parameters and degree in chemical engineering.
compositions were measured once the References
Sunil Patil is a senior prin-
unit achieved stable performance. On 1. Gas Processors Suppliers Association, Engi- cipal business consultant at
the sixth day, the absorber reached neering Data Book, Tenth Ed., Vol.1 and 2, Aspen Technology, Inc. (200
Tulsa, Okla., 1987. Wheeler Road, Burlington,
the simulated optimized conditions Mass. 01803; Phone: +1-781-
2. Perry, Robert H. and Green, Don W., Perrys 221-6400; Email: sunil.patil@
with 8% lean-absorbent flow reduc- Chemical Engineers Handbook, Seventh aspentech.com). Patil has over
tion. Simulation data also predicted Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y., 1997. twelve years of experience in-
3. Aspen Plus Documentation, Aspen Technol- cluding work in process de-
that operations would experience the sign and modeling at Sulzer
ogy, Inc., Aspen Plus Software V7.2
following benefits upon optimizing and Honeywell. He joined
4. aspenONE Global Conference, Boston, Mass., Aspen Tech in 2007. His ex-
lean absorbent flow: May, 2010 pertise includes many Aspen Tech products in-
Decreased steam consumption in the cluding HYSYS Dynamics, Aspen Plus, HTFS,
5. AspenTech Global Conference Optimize and Economic Evaluation solutions. Sunil holds
EO stripper 2011, Washington D.C., May, 2011. an M.S.Ch.E from Shivaji University, India.
Evil chemicals
was at the local Panera Bread. I research work is regarded by some as
Diane Burleson
Email: dburleson@accessintel.com
Tel: 512.337-7890 Fax: 512.213.4855
50 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013
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New Product Information August 2013
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Fill out the form and circle or write in the number(s) go on the web and ill out the
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name title
Company
address
City state/Province Zip/Postal Code
FREE PRODUCT INFO 14 engineering, Design & Construc- 29 10 to 49 employees 47 Pollution Control equipment
(please answer all the questions) tion Firms 30 50 to 99 employees & systems
15 engineering/environmental ser- 31 100 to 249 employees 48 Pumps
YOUR INDUSTRY
vices 32 250 to 499 employees 49 safety equipment & services
01 Food & Beverages
16 equipment manufacturer 33 500 to 999 employees 50 size reduction & agglomeration
02 wood, Pulp & Paper
17 energy incl. Co-generation 34 1,000 or more employees equipment
03 inorganic Chemicals
18 other YOU RECOMMEND, 51 solids handling equipment
04 Plastics, synthetic resins
JOB FUNCTION SPECIFY, PURCHASE 52 tanks, Vessels, reactors
05 Drugs & Cosmetics (please circle all that apply)
20 Corporate management 53 Valves
06 soaps & Detergents 40 Drying equipment
21 Plant operations incl. mainte- 54 engineering Computers/soft-
07 Paints & allied Products 41 Filtration/separation equipment
nance ware/Peripherals
08 organic Chemicals 42 heat transfer/energy Conserva-
22 engineering 55 water treatment Chemicals
09 agricultural Chemicals tion equipment
23 research & Development & equipment
10 Petroleum reining, 43 instrumentation & Control sys-
24 safety & environmental 56 hazardous waste management
Coal Products tems
26 other systems
11 rubber & misc. Plastics 44 mixing, Blending equipment 57 Chemicals & raw materials
12 stone, Clay, glass, Ceramics EMPLOYEE SIZE 45 motors, motor Controls 58 materials of Construction
13 metallurgical & metal Products 28 less than 10 employees 46 Piping, tubing, Fittings 59 Compressors
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
9 24 39 54 69 84 99 114 129 144 159 174 189 204 219 234 249 264 279 294 309 324 339 354 369 384 399 414 429 444 459 474 489 504 519 534 549 564 579 594
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
11 26 41 56 71 86 101 116 131 146 161 176 191 206 221 236 251 266 281 296 311 326 341 356 371 386 401 416 431 446 461 476 491 506 521 536 551 566 581 596
12 27 42 57 72 87 102 117 132 147 162 177 192 207 222 237 252 267 282 297 312 327 342 357 372 387 402 417 432 447 462 477 492 507 522 537 552 567 582 597
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
15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 255 270 285 300 315 330 345 360 375 390 405 420 435 450 465 480 495 510 525 540 555 570 585 600
Wabash Power
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Engineering Consultants 51
* International Edition 1-800-704-2002
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Amato Spagnoletti becomes president company, welcomes Todd Fryzek as president of the South America re-
of Taylor Wharton Cryogenics lead environmental engineer, and gional division based in Sao Paulo,
(Theodore, Ala.), a maker of cryogenic Bruce Rehwaldt as LEED AP. Brazil. Michael Stumpp, currently
equipment for the industrial gases, senior vice president in BASFs global
life sciences, and liquefied natural Devin International (Lafayette, home and personal care business, will
gas markets. La.), a subsidiary of Greenes Energy succeed Schweens as managing direc-
Group and equipment supplier for tor of BASF Mexicana S.A.
Ulrich Spiesshofer becomes CEO of onshore and offshore oil-and-gas op-
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland). He was erations, names Buck Evans special Pump Solutions Group (Oakbrook
formerly the head of ABBs discrete operations coordinator. Terrace, Ill.) names John Pepper
automation and motion division. vice president of integration, and An-
BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) drew Usuki vice president of
Foth Infrastructure & Environ- announces two promotions: Ralph sales and business development in
ment, LLC (Green Bay, Wisc.), an Schweens, currently managing direc- the Americas.
engineering, science and construction tor of BASF Mexicana S.A., becomes Suzanne Shelley
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FOR MORE ECONOMIC INDICATORS, SEE NEXT PAGE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2013 55
Economic Indicators 2011 2012 2013
Annual
May. 13 Apr. 13 May. 12
(195759 = 100) Index:
Prelim. Final Final 600
CE Index 566.4 569.4 593.8 2005 = 468.2
Equipment 685.4 689.5 726.2 2006 = 499.6
Heat exchangers & tanks 624.3 626.2 683.6 550
Process machinery 655.0 656.5 680.1 2007 = 525.4
Pipe, valves & fittings 863.4 875.6 926.7 2008 = 575.4
Process instruments 410.8 413.2 428.9 500
2009 = 521.9
Pumps & compressors 919.3 924.5 928.1
Electrical equipment 513.1 512.6 515.2 2010 = 550.8
Structural supports & misc 741.7 746.8 763.8 450
2011 = 585.7
Construction labor 319.1 319.8 322.9
Buildings 534.0 536.5 527.7 2012 = 584.6
Engineering & supervision 326.0 327.6 328.3 400
J F M A M J J A S O N D
CPI output index (2007 = 100) Jun. '13 = 87.9 May. '13 = 88.1 Apr.'13 = 87.7 Jun'12 = 86.5
CPI value of output, $ billions May. '13 = 2,122.3 Apr. '13 = 2,098.1 Mar.'13 = 2,126.0 May'12 = 2,127.1
CPI operating rate, % Jun. '13 = 74.5 May. '13 = 74.7 Apr.'13 = 74.3 Jun'12 = 74.0
Producer prices, industrial chemicals (1982 = 100) Jun. '13 = 304.0 May. '13 = 301.7 Apr.'13 = 308.7 Jun'12 = 299.4
Industrial Production in Manufacturing (2007 = 100) Jun. '13 = 95.7 May. '13 = 95.5 Apr.'13 = 95.2 Jun'12 = 94.0
Hourly earnings index, chemical & allied products (1992 = 100) Jun. '13 = 156.2 May. '13 = 156.6 Apr.'13 = 155.3 Jun'12 = 156.3
Productivity index, chemicals & allied products (1992 = 100) Jun. '13 = 104.0 May. '13 = 104.7 Apr.'13 = 104.4 Jun'12 = 105.9
CPI OUTPUT INDEX (2007 = 100) CPI OUTPUT VALUE ($ BILLIONS) CPI OPERATING RATE (%)
120 2500 85
110 2200 80
100 1900 75
90 1600 70
80 1300 65
70 1000 60
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
Current Business Indicators provided by IHS Global Insight, Inc., Lexington, Mass.
CURRENT TRENDS
Equipment Cost Index Available P reliminary data for the May
2013 CE Plant Cost Index
(CEPCI; top; the most recent
Exclusively from Marshall & Swift available) indicate that the com-
posite index decreased by 0.5%
from the the final April value.
The data for each of the sub-
indices decreased in the May
preliminary numbers, except
for the index value for electri-
cal equipment, which rose. The
May 2013 preliminary PCI index
value stands at 4.6% lower than
the corresponding final PCI value
from May 2012. Meanwhile, the
latest Current Business Indicators
from IHS Global Insight (middle)
moved in both directions, with
Quarterly updates of our industry-leading Equipment Cost Index the CPI output index edging
slightly downward, while the CPI
are now available at www.equipment-cost-index.com. value of output increased slightly
in the latest numbers.
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