http://www.che.com Chemical Engineering en-us 2010 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:07:19 EST An alternative to thermal oxidation is catalytic oxidation of VOCs, which runs at much lower temperatures — about 500–900 ºF. A regenerative catalytic oxidizer (RCO) uses the same operating principle as RTO, but consumes substantially less auxiliary fuel. The authors have found that in many situations, RTOs can be retrofitted to RCOs. Energy savings after such a retrofit can quickly justify the costs for the catalysts and installation. This article discusses basic RTO and RCO technology with an emphasis on thermal efficiency and energy balance. ... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/5500.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST Today’s high costs of energy make an energy audit evaluation of process facilities a must. Most plants were designed and built when energy costs were low by today’s standards. This... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/5454.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST A survey of tower failures [ 1 ] ranks kettle reboilers as the most troublesome reboiler type in the chemical process industries (CPI). Excessive pressure drop in kettle reboiler circuits is the... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/heat_exchangers_condensers_and_coolers/5453.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST Typical industrial and municipal wastewater-treatment plants consume an amount of energy that can represent 50% of the facility's variable operating and maintenance costs. This article discusses a variety of design and operating improvements that can be undertaken to reduce energy consumption in wastewater treatment.... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/5404.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Solutia Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.; www.therminol.com) announced today that it has supplied Therminol D12 and Therminol 66 synthetic heat transfer fluids to a new state of the art, 15,000 metric ton... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/heat_transfer_media/5329.html Wed, 2 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST Faced with increased workloads and time and budget constraints that often restrict external training support, many chemical process operators are forced to get the most out of their heat transfer system with less help. This article offers recommendations for how to carry out proactive maintenance on heat-transfer fluids, to maximize their useful life and minimize problems associated with fluid degradation, such as excessive downtime for unplanned maintenance when the heat transfer system has become unsafe or is no longer able to carry heat in a reliable manner.... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/heat_transfer_media/5322.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST 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... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/fuels/5288.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 0:00:00 EST International Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT; www.imtt.com) in St. Rose, Louisiana has selected Therminol 55 synthetic heat transfer fluid from Solutia Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.; www.therminol.com) for... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/heat_transfer_media/5283.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 0:00:00 EST Direct-fired heaters find wide application throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) and are common in petroleum refineries, where they are used to preheat petroleum or petroleum-derived... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/kilns_ovens_and_furnaces/5241.html Sun, 1 Nov 2009 0:00:00 EDT Saving a kilowatt-hour through energy-efficiency improvements costs one-third or less than the cost of any new source of electricity supply, according to a new report from the American Council... http://www.che.com/processing_and_handling/thermal_and_energy_mgmt/5084.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 0:00:00 EDT