Chemical Processing - May 2008 - (Page 7)

May 2008 • VoluMe 71, Issue 5 26 Avoid costly fabrication mistakes Design and Optimization T his second part of our series provides pointers on how to avoid delays and achieve savings in the fabrication process. These techniques can improve vessel reliability and forestall costly repairs down the road. WirelessHart signals a change at plants 33 Watch out with variable speed pumping Solids and Fluids Handling T eaming a centrifugal pump with a variable speed drive is becoming increasingly popular. However, variable speed pumping isn’t always a smooth operation. Certain aspects of pump performance curves can lead to variations in flow at reduced speeds. 18 ColuMns 9 Cover Story Plants can gain many benefits today from the open Hart Communication Foundation’s HART 7 approach, which includes wireless connectivity. It provides the chemical industry with a wireless network that can support instruments from multiple vendors in an industrial environment. dePartMents 14 In Process • perator performance O takes center stage • icrobes promise cheaper M biofuels 39 Hot cutover boosts control system migration Making it Work Component failures in a 1980s–1990sera distributed control system (DCS) were jeopardizing production of acrylonitrile and its marketable acetonitrile and cyanide byproducts. The next scheduled turnaround for the acrylonitrile unit isn’t until 2010, so management had to grapple with whether the plant could wait four years for an automation upgrade or replacement. The decision was that it couldn’t. From the editor What’s needed in process automation? 11 ChemicalProcessing.com What vendors do you value most? Keep plant layout from laying you low. A void fouled exchangers. Biomonitoring continues to gain momentum. Cast a cold eye on columns. What’s the CATCH? 13 Field notes 43 Process Puzzler Pump up performance. 16 energy saver 45 equipment & services 46 Product spotlight/ Classifieds 49 ad Index 17 Compliance Advisor 44 Plant Insites 50 end Point Chemical Processing (ISSN 0009-2630) is published monthly by Putman Media Inc., 555 West Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL 60143. Phone (630) 467-1300. Fax (630) 467-1109. Periodicals postage paid at Itasca, IL, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Chemical Processing, P.O. Box 3434, Northbrook, IL 60065-3434. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Qualified reader subscriptions are accepted from operating management in the chemical processing industries at no charge. To apply for a qualified subscription, fill in the subscription card. To nonqualified subscribers in the United States, subscriptions are $68 per year. Single copies are $14. Canadian and foreign annual subscriptions are accepted at $115 surface per year. Single copies are $16. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40028661. Canadian Mail Distributor information: Frontier/BWI, PO Box 1051, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, L2A 5N8. Copyright 2008 Putman Media Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the copyright owner. REPRINTS: Reprints are available on a custom basis. For price quotation, contact Foster Reprints, (866) 879-9144, www.fostereprints.com also publishes Control, Control Design, Food Processing, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Plant Services. Chemical Processing assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. www.chemicalprocessing.com May 2008 • 7 http://ChemicalProcessing.com http://www.fostereprints.com http://www.chemicalprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chemical Processing - May 2008

From the Editor ChemicalProcessing.com Field Notes In Process Energy Saver Compliance Advisor WirelessHART signals a change at plants Avoid costly fabrication mistakes Watch out with variable speed pumping Hot cutover boosts control system migration Plant InSites Process Puzzler Equipment & Services Product Spotlight/Classifieds Ad Index End Point

Chemical Processing - May 2008

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