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Bio-coal can already be producedsynthetically through CO2 recycling, biobutanolcan be made with geneticallymodifiedmicrobes and biogas, andbiohydrogen can be generated with windpower electrolysis. But it will take yearsfor these technologies to be perfectedand become profitable. Until then,natural gas can secure supply and helppush forward the energy revolution ina practical manner. This could... happeneven faster for fuels with liquid naturalgas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)and compressed natural gas (CNG).Sick process analytics and ultrasonicmeasurement technology for custodytransfer applications is involved inproduction and distribution worldwide. [read more]

A look at one of the fluid handling industry’s biggest events.   Achema is a world forumfor chemical engineering,process engineering andbiotechnology. Every threeyears the fair attracts around4,000 exhibitors from overfifty different countries topresent new products,processes and servicesto 170,000 professionalsfrom around the world.The spectrum rangesfrom laboratory equipment,pumps... and analytical devicesto packaging machinery,boilers and stirrers through tosafety technology, materialsand software, coveringall needs of the chemical,pharmaceutical and foodproduction industries. Theaccompanying congress,featuring 800 scientificlectures and numerousguest and partner events,complements the wide rangeof themes of the exhibition.Achema 2018 will takeplace from 11-15 June 2018in Frankfurt am Main. [read more]

By the time a pipelinehas ruptured, it’s toolate. Preventativemeasures are essentialfor operational safetyand maintaining acompany’s sociallicense to operate theat a time when levelsof scrutiny have neverbeen higher. The oil and gas industry is focusedand committed to meet the world’senergy needs, but in tandem weare all responsible to maintain safe,environmentally sound and... sociallyresponsible practices. [read more]

Current and voltage sensing can enable condition monitoring in harsh environments. The costs of an hour of unplanneddowntime, such as loss of revenue, productwaste and excessive maintenanceexpenses are rising. Preventing machinefailure is therefore critical to maintainprofitability. However, it is increasinglychallenging to ensure operationalreliability: The workforce is ageing andtechnical... talent is in short supply. What’smore, there is less time available forproper maintenance due to processimprovements and 24/7 operations. Andassets are increasingly complicated tooperate and maintain. In short, fewerpeople have less time available tosustain increasingly complex machines. [read more]

A team of scientists,primarily workingtowards nuclearfusion, hasdeveloped a noninvasive,noncontactflowmeterthat requiresminimal calibrationand operates evenwithout electricity.Combined withultra-low frictionbearings, the deviceavoids the stumblingblocks associatedwith otherflowmeters that usethe Lorentz force. Scientists at the Princeton PlasmaPhysics Lab (PPPL) have developed anew rotating... Lorentz-force flowmeter(RLFF) that they say is less expensive,more efficient and more reliable thanwhat is currently used in industry. [read more]

The KSB PumpMeterconnection wirelesslytransfers load profiledata, enablingidentification ofenergy-savingpotential, as well asoperation of pumps attheir best efficiencypoint. The effortrequired by the user isminimal How do you get people to start thinkingabout energy efficiency as it pertainsto their processes? Despite all of thecoverage in the media, this topic stilldoes not receive enough... attention inproduction halls. “It’s not even specificto any one sector or industry: people arejust happy when the pump is running;the questions of ‘How it is running?’and ‘What can be improved?’ are in avery distant second place,” says HeikoFlurschütz, head of industry, at KSBGermany’s Water/Waste Water division. [read more]

Researchers in theUS have developed alaser spectrometerthat can accuratelyand continuouslymonitor a site formethane leaks.Having alreadyentered operation atsites in Colorado andCalifornia, the devicepromises a leap ingas leak detection.Fluid HandlingInternational spoketo part of the teamat the University ofColorado Boulder. In one way or another, scientists fromthe National Institute of Standards... andTechnology (NIST), the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)and the University of Colorado Boulder(CU Boulder, who led the project)have been working for over a decadeon a new way to monitor fugitiveemissions. The device is called a dualcomb spectrometer: it continuouslymonitors a site for methane leaksautomatically and accurately. [read more]

Why the chemical and CGP industries are embracing the cloud. As pressures on sectors like the chemical,consumer packaged goods (CPG), andfood and beverage industries increase,companies are beginning to embrace thepossibilities offered by cloud technologies.Rising consumer expectations, increasingcompetition and stringent compliancerequirements are driving organisationsworldwide to rethink their... IT strategiesand make the transition to cloud-basedsolutions and software-as-a-service. [read more]

Product contamination arisingfrom incorrect line-up of manualvalves can lead to huge costs andreputational damage. That issue iswidely acknowledged in the tankstorage industry and many operatorsare actively seeking ways of achievingbetter valve performance. With fullautomation being difficult for practicalreasons or prohibitively expensive,what can be done? The answer couldlie in innovations that... sit in the middleground between fully manual andfully automatic valve operations. Tank farms have a vast network ofpipelines and valves – many of whichare manually operated – in betweenthe loading arms on the jetty andthe storage tanks. This creates greatpotential for incorrect line-up of valvesduring loading and offloading. If handoperatedvalves (HOVs) are incorrectlylined up, fluids can escape, causingproduct contamination, an undesiredproduct mix, the loading of incorrectproduct, or environmental damage. [read more]