Most Recent

• Amazon Issues Restricted Substance List

  By Lynn L. Bergeson

  Big retailers strive to source products responsibly. This typically includes recognition of chemicals in the products they market (see: “Achieve the Transparency that Consumers Demand”). As part of its commitment to responsible sourcing, Amazon recently posted its Chemicals Policy, which…

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• Take The High Road With Low-Pressure Vessels

  By Dirk Willard, Contributing Editor

  A silo collapsed at an acid regeneration plant near Chicago. This “silo” actually was a low-pressure vessel, according to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code. It collapsed because the instrument that protected it failed. The instrument has been installed because the designers…

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• ‘Tis The Season To Save Energy

  By Alan Rossiter, Energy Saver Columnist

  A few years ago, I participated in a design review for a gas plant . The process featured a large distillation column in which the design basis included both summer and winter cases — but with operating conditions unchanged. The utility balances, however, showed the cooling water would be 35°F…

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• Knowledge Transfer: Plants Seek The Right Recipe For Seasoning

  By Seán Ottewell, Editor at Large

  Capturing knowledge that seasoned staff take for granted and transferring it effectively to new hires and inexperienced personnel remain urgent and ongoing challenges for the chemical industry. Fortunately, advances in technology and training are simplifying the tasks and boosting success, as the…

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• Weigh The Cause Of Feeder Problems

  This Month’s PuzzlerAt one of our pharmaceutical plants, an old powder weight-feeder system appears to be failing: the weights are correct most of the time but our rejects have increased significantly in the past few weeks. Some managers see this as a justification to get rid of the system, which…

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• Preclude Project Pitfalls

  By Andrew Sloley, Contributing Editor

  Many problems, perhaps even most, result from the attitude of people, not from purely technical causes. That general observation relates to both management and non-management personnel. Management-based problems don’t create themselves but stem from management failure.Very few staff at operating…

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