Venkat Pattabathula, a member of the AIChE Ammonia Safety Committee, reports on the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) Safety in Ammonia Plants and Related Facilities Symposium held in San Diego on 8-12 September 2024.
Digitalisation is making a strong impact in the process industry and is providing an opportunity to have a positive impact on the production KPIs. Metso’s Metals & Chemical Processing Business reviews the impact of digitalisation in the sulphuric acid industry today and discusses the concept of a future pit-to-port system within a digital eco-structure.
How does an engineering company complete the basic and detailed engineering for a phosphoric acid plant – and provide the full design for the off-site sections and utilities? Jan Tytgat, De Smet Agro’s Process Engineering Manager, explains an approach based on partnership with the technology licensor and client that combines engineering expertise with experience.
With increased demands to reduce SO2 emissions and lower energy consumption, Eduardo Almeida and Nelson Clark of Clark Solutions highlight the advantages of single absorption sulphuric acid plants compared to double absorption plants.
Mathijs Sijpkes, Nuria Pascual Vasco and Jan Hermans of Sulphurnet discuss the importance of a whole life cycle cost analysis at the conceptual design phase when making investment decisions about new sulphur processing facilities.
The fertilizer industry’s leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, by setting zero incident safety goals, are making construction sites across world safer. In this article, we highlight the safety advantages of modular construction and digital approaches to safety at construction sites.
Operating plants in extreme environments can present unique challenges. If these challenges are not anticipated and addressed in design and commissioning, the plant will not be able to start up nor meet its specification. This article examines the challenges faced in commissioning amine plants operating in three diverse environments (extreme heat, extreme cold, and offshore) and the technical and procedural solutions employed to resolve them. Mike Sheilan, Ben Spooner, Kaiyr Tekebayev, and Philip le Grange , Amine Experts.
Enhancing the reliability of sulphur plant starts in the thermal stage. Matt Coady and Martin McCallister of Delta Controls report on a recently developed and launched insertable process camera that monitors the vessel interior of online Claus thermal reactors, providing valuable process data which will allow plants to make better informed operation decisions.
Inshan S. Mohammed of Sulfur Recovery Engineering shares lessons learned from a recent SRU shutdown assistance programme involving an error with the tags used within the BMS system installed on a direct-fired reheater.
Condensate formation in sulphuric acid plants can cause severe corrosion problems leading to high maintenance and plant downtime. Santhosh S . of Metso Outotec discusses the importance of carrying out regular monitoring and maintaining accurate and detailed data about condensate to increase equipment life and avoid downtime. Different sources of condensate formation in the plant are discussed as well as the typical locations in the plant where the condensates end up.