As 2009 came to a close, the U.S. crossed a key milestone in the path toward regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nearly 10,000 facilities (Figures 1 and 2) — a significant portion of them in the chemical process industries (CPI) — became subject to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA; http://www.epa.gov; Washington D.C.) Final Mandatory Greenhouse Gases Reporting Rule. The rule requires that applicable facilities begin collecting data on January 1, 2010 for annual GHG emission reports that are due to EPA by March 31, 2011. Although the rule itself does not limit GHG emissions, the collected data will be used to inform future climate-change policies and programs, EPA says.... http://www.che.com/news/Greenhouse-Gases-U-S-Starts-Counting_5491.html
Not long ago, single-use bioprocessing equipment, such as disposable bags and tubing, appeared on the scene as an alternative to stainless-steel components for high-purity processing applications. Due to a fistful of benefits — including reduced costs, lower cross-contamination risk and increased flexibility — the use of disposables began to grow into a real trend... http://www.che.com/news/Disposable-equipment_5492.html
Many reactions, extractions, separations and other operations in the chemical process industries (CPI) involve the use of organic solvents. In addition to handling and disposal issues, organic solvents can pose a number of environmental concerns, such as atmospheric and land toxicity. In many cases, conventional organic solvents are regulated as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, certain organic solvents are under restriction due to their ozone-layer-depletion potential. Supercritical carbon dioxide is an attractive alternative in place of traditional organic solvents.
As chemical production shifts to growth regions such as China and India, and moves closer to areas like the Middle East, where there are less expensive sources of feedstocks, North American and European chemical processors are under global pressure to... http://www.che.com/news/Simulation-Software-Beyond-Plant-Design_5450.html
Current efforts toward process efficiency and environmental innocuousness have placed more demands on catalysts to produce more with less. Industrial catalyst manufacturers are pursuing several pathways to maximize their products ability to boost output for those who use them. Several recent examples show how employing alternate catalyst material or new manufacturing methodology has helped users realize manufacturing advantages.... http://www.che.com/news/Boosting-Catalyst-Productivity_5376.html
Most members of the highly regulated chemical process industries (CPI) are aware of the growing worldwide attention focused on the issues of climate change, air and water pollution and the supply and protection of natural resources. For this reason, air-pollution-control scrubbers play an integral role in most chemical processing facilities. However, the economic downturn caused... http://www.che.com/news/Scrubbers-Are-You-Ready_5377.html
In professional life, the influences that teach us, inspire us and drive us to succeed tend to come more from individuals than corporations. If you would like to bring recognition to... http://www.che.com/news/Recognizing-your-colleagues_5394.html
Last month at the Chem Show, Chemical Engineering had the pleasure of honoring this year’s finalists and the winner of the 2009 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award, a biennial prize that the magazine has bestowed continuously since the early 1930s. The award recognizes the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized anywhere in the world during 2007 or 2008.... http://www.che.com/news/40th-Kirkpatrick-Award-Announced_5303.html
Drying as a process is one of the most energy-intensive unit operations on the planet. Add to that the fact that dryers are used extensively throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) and it becomes obvious that there ought to be more attention paid to reducing the energy consumption and upping the “green” ante of drying processes. Unfortunately, the current economy is putting any such projects and plans on hold for many processors. Drying equipment experts, however, say it doesn’t have to be this way a... http://www.che.com/news/Building-a-Better-Dryer_5320.html
As the chemical process industries (CPI) continue to focus on improving operations and lowering costs, interest in process automation diagnostics, which can play a critical role in helping processors reduce maintenance spending, continues. “Processors are beginning to realize that good diagnostics can help them reduce their overall costs,” says Moin Sheikh, marketing manager with Siemens Energy and Automation (Spring House, Pa.). Coupled with the nearly limitless potential and growing acceptance for accessing data wirelessly, the spark of interest has prompted vendors to include technologies with improved logic, diagnostic data that is easier to exploit, and systems and services that help end users assimilate the plethora of data into their work processes.... http://www.che.com/news/Diagnostics-Simplifying-Optimization_5232.html
Among the most pressing concerns for the chemical process industries (CPI) are weathering the global economic recession and dealing with anticipated carbon emissions regulations. Switching from oil and gas to biomass for fuel in a CPI plant is a relatively simple way to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions and cut costs simultaneously.... http://www.che.com/news/Biomass-Combustion-Offers-3-to-1-Fuel-Cost-Reduction_5175.html
A continued economic contraction remains the dominant feature of the employment landscape for chemical engineers, with fewer job openings and choosier corporate hiring processes, but chemical engineering salaries are strong, according to those closest to the chemical engineering job front. Despite overall job losses in the chemical process industries (CPI), demand for creative chemical engineers with broad skill sets remain strong, which helps support higher salaries.... http://www.che.com/news/Employment-Outlook_5141.html
As the chemical process industries (CPI) continue to battle with cost containment, labor cost management and maintenance cost issues, there is additional pressure on engineering and maintenance staffs to deploy resources where they are needed the most. Though small in stature, pressure transmitters can actually play a sizeable role in this type of process optimization.... http://www.che.com/news/Feeling-the-Pressure_5142.html
Security at many U.S. chemical facilities is currently regulated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS; Washington, D.C.; www.dhs.gov) under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS). This rule, however, is about to expire this month, October 2009. All expectations are that CFATS will be extended for a year, while proposed modifications to the standard continue to be debated in the U.S. Congress.
As they work to comply with CFATS, the chemical process industries (CPI) are keeping a watchful eye on the Congressional proceedings that are leading to proposed changes in the regulation.
By definition, integrated safety instrumented systems (SIS) have the potential to reduce risks. But recent advancement is also enabling the use of more sophisticated instruments and tools that can benefit the process. For these reasons, integrated control and safety systems (ICSS) are receiving... http://www.che.com/news/Todays-SIS-Integrated-Yet-Independent_4973.html
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