From: MaverickIdeas, a blog by the people at Maverick Technologies By Chad Harper A perfect storm is brewing in the automation world, and it has nothing to do with hardware or software. It’s about resources, which are fast becoming a bottleneck in the industry. Why? Well, there are several factors at play. I’ll address some […]
Refining
Refinery Status: Units Shut At Motiva, Tx., Refinery Due To Power Failure DOW JONES NEWSWIRES The following table lists unplanned and planned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining sources and doesn’t purport to be a comprehensive list. A fluid catalytic […]
from PlantServices.com The United States lost 28% of its high-technology manufacturing jobs over the last decade, as the nation’s rapidly shrinking lead in science and technology in the global marketplace was accompanied by a toll on U.S. high-tech jobs, according to a new study released today by the National Science Board (NSB), the policy […]
Overview: Mean time between failure is a reliable term used loosely throughout many industries and has become widely abused in some. Over the years the original meaning of this term has been altered which has led to confusion and cynicism. MTBF is largely based on assumptions and definition of failure and attention to these details […]
from Modeling and Control by Greg McMillan Reactors are the pivotal unit operation that sets plant capacity and efficiency besides product quality. Reactors provide good examples of the common and distinctive opportunities for the PID control of batch, fed-batch, and continuous unit operations. Here we examine pressure, temperature, and endpoint control.
PlantServices.com By Plant Services Staff Honeywell’s 2011-12 Engineer of the Future Scholarship program will challenge Houston’s high school seniors to offer ideas for making industrial manufacturing facilities more energy efficient. The company is accepting applications from all Houston Independent School District seniors who are interested in pursuing engineering degrees from accredited universities. It’s the […]
I am currently doing a search for individuals with strong Process Safety Analysis (PHA) or Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) experience in either the petrochemical, refining, paper or power industries. There are a series of opening available, in locations around the country. Travel may be considerable, but it may be possible to office from home […]
To achieve best overall plant operation, it is often necessary to coordinate the operation of equipment in multiple process areas. In Chapter 16 of Control Loop Foundation – Batch and Continuous Processes, some examples are given where multi-loop techniques may be effectively used for such coordination. One of the examples from this chapter is power […]
IT can help create a secure network connection to the industrial plant floor. It can be ideal for a machine builder to monitor and connect to a piece of equipment in a plant remotely. However, how many machine builders have tried to cross that invisible barrier? As soon as you mention you want to open […]
A continuous chemical reactor process is characterized by the continuous feed of two or more chemical reactants and a continuous output flow of product. To achieve the desired product specifications, the proportions of each reactant must be tightly maintained at a target value using ratio control. The chemical reaction that occurs within the reactor is […]