Neutralization

Large-scale distillation towers use a reflux system to achieve a more complete product separation. Reflux is that portion of a tower’s condensed overhead liquid product that is cycled back to the top of the tower where it flows downward...

Vaporized ammonia is used in catalytic and noncatalytic reduction systems for emissions control. Ammonia is injected into the flue gas stream and acts as a reducing agent. It is also used to enhance precipitator efficiency for particulate...

Nitrogen - the most widely used commercial gas - is the ideal tank blanketing gas when injected into the vapor space of a storage tank. It prevents ignition of flammable liquids, inhibits vapor loss, and protects chemicals, pharmaceuticals...

Nitrogen is commonly used as a tank blanketing gas in order to prevent ignition of flammable liquids, provide an oxygen and moisture barrier, inhibit vapor loss and maintain a tank’s pressure balance. Nitrogen is the leading gas used for...

Following desalination, crude oil enters the distillation column where fractional distillation separates hydrocarbons into separate streams, cuts or fractions. For optimum operation of the distillation column, level controls must contend...

Changes a gas or vapor to a liquid; condensation is employed in the reflux process to improve the efficiency of distillation Challenges Tower vapors are condensed prior to entering an accumulator (reflux drum) where level can assist...

The catalytic method of converting compounds into other compounds uses a chemical catalyst to increase the rate of a reaction. The catalyst is chemically unchanged after the reaction has occurred and can be recovered from the reaction...

Scrubbers remove odors, pollutants, acid gases and chemical wastes from air and liquid streams or from biogas. In a wet scrubber, the polluted stream flows counter current past water or a liquid chemical, which removes the undesirable...

Industrial fermentation is the process of breaking down organic substances and re-assembling them in order to produce other chemical compounds. Alternative fuels like ethanol and chemicals such as methanol and a wide range of acids can be...

Liquid-liquid extraction (LLX), or solvent extraction or partitioning, is a selective separation procedure for isolating and concentrating a valuable substance from an aqueous solution by using an organic solvent. LLX can serve as an...

Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) from cracked gases for additional steam and power generation Challenges Improving heat rate efficiency through feedwater heater level controlUtilities steam and condensate recovery systemOptimizing...

From Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to Vapor Phase Corrosion Inhibitors (VCIs), any one of a thousand additives and agents can be injected into the process stream of a given industry to alter or impart new product properties or...

In terms of annual tonnage, lime ranks first among water treatment chemicals. Lime is used for pH adjustment, phosphate removal, sludge and biosolids conditioning, and in association with other chemicals for precipitation. Lime is...

Mixing finished gasoline requires level monitoring of blending stocks, in-line blending, additive storage, dilution systems and injection systems. Blend stocks are straight-run gasoline, alkylate, reformate, benzene, toluene and xylene....

Measuring and ensuring proper liquid levels in your seal pots protects expensive equipment and your brand. Whatever your application, high-quality liquid level instrumentation is crucial.For end-users that means accurate performance,...

Chlor-alkali (CA) refers to chlorine and caustic soda (NaOH) manufacturing. These are among the top ten chemicals produced worldwide and are main ingredients in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, detergents, disinfectants, herbicides,...

CHALLENGESLoss of interface control of caustic water and hydrocarbon in the quench settler means:• Reduced efficiency of the quench tower, leading to reduced productivity for the plant if the fluid composition negatively changes in the...

Chemical, polymerization and pharmaceutical processes utilize reactor vessels to contain chemical reactions. Chemical reaction speed and product quality are frequently controlled by an external heat exchanger for elevating temperature and...

Reboilers, or vaporizers, are heat exchangers that provide heat to the bottom of a distillation tower. They boil the bottom liquid to generate vapors which are returned to the tower to drive the distillation separation process. The...

Mixing and blending of liquid ingredients is essential throughout the broader chemical industry. In-line and skid mounted systems include batch and continuous mixing for liquid/liquid formulation and blending. An impeller in the process...

Chemical agents employed in field processing include drilling fluid additives, methanol injection for reservoir stimulation, glycol injection for hydrate inhibition, produced water treatment chemicals, foam and corrosion inhibitors,...

Surge drums are frequently located between process units to help reduce the effect of flow rate variations between interconnected process units. A low surge drum level can result in reduced capacity while a high level can cause liquid...

Chemical manufacturers are major users of steam for cleaning, drying, fermentation, steam stripping, and chemical recovery. Steaming-in-place (SIP) is a widely used method for in-line sterilization of vessels, valves, process lines, and...

Highly purified water is essential in processing premium grade and highly purified products in the chemical, pharmaceutical, beverage, cosmetics and electronics industries. Deionization (DI) is frequently used to remove minerals from water...

Selecting a separation technology from among 20 leading varieties depends upon a chemical’s nature, the number of phases, and the capacity, speed and efficiency required. Distillation - separating substances based on differences in...

Where the separation of vapors and liquids is required, a separator drum, or knockout pot, flash drum, or compressor suction drum, is integrated into the process unit. The separation vessel receives the flashing liquid mixture where the...