Last week I fulfilled one of my dreams by attending ACHEMA. For a chemical engineer going to ACHEMA is going on HAJ. Out of the tens of lectures that I attended and hundreds of exhibitors that I managed to visit, following 10 things impressed me most.
Ten Highlights from ACHEMA2009
1) Heat transfer enhancement by inserting wires into tubeshttp://www.calgavin.co.uk/Feed – Effluent heat exchanger was revamped by wire inserts for a 15% increase in plant capacity. The resultant improvement in heat transfer coefficient was so much that the residual heat duty in the fired heater downstream of the exchanger could be brought down and because of the reduced CO2 emission, the company could claim carbon credit.
There is freely available software that can be integrated with HTRI.
2) Zero stem leak valveshttp://www.habonim.com/home/default.aspHabonim has a patented stem seal design and their ball valves meet the ISO 15848-1 standard for fugitive emission. There are also valves to meet various special situations and requirements.
3) Refractometershttp://www.kpatents.com/K-Patents offers instruments to measure liquid density and concentration based on refraction of light.
4) E-Monitor of pump bearingsNikkiso – KSB has a device to electronically monitor the condition of bearings of canned motor pumps while in operation.
http://www.nikkiso-ksb.com/index.php?id=25&L=15) High temperature Sealinghttp://www.flexitallic.com/pro_therm.htmlFlexitallic, the inventors of Spiral Wound Gasket offer a proprietary material Thermiculite, based on Vermiculite for high temperature applications upto 1050 degrees C.
6) Dynamic Steam Heaterhttp://www.deltapompen.nl/downloads/Andritz%20Dynamic%20Steam%20Heater%20GB.pdfAndritz offers a rotating device for mixing steam into the medium for uniform and effective heating. Main application is in the pulp and paper industry.
7) Caustic Evaporation Unit using PHE’s instead of S&T HE’shttp://www.gocesco.com/customers/106112113470923/filemanager/Alfavap%20Caustic%20Soda%20Plant%20for%20Akzo%20Nobel.pdfAlfa Laval has 38 references, largest being 1100 TPD for Olin. They claim a steam consumption of 475 kg/t NaOH. Because of the high heat transfer coefficient, steam temperatures can be brought down to 165 degrees C, and this reduces the rate of corrosion.
8) Online Pump Selection and Costinghttp://www.ksb.com/ksb/tiles/easySelect.jsp?proxyId=501734Registration required only for getting the price.
9) Reflux Condensation in PHE’shttp://www.gesmex.com/gb/allgemein/home.htmlGESMEX manufactures circular plate packs which can be retrofitted in existing shell and tube heat exchangers. Condensing coefficients are better in rectangular channels than in tubes.
10) MicroalgaeMicroalgae cultivation is now a serious contender for CO2 capture from power plant emission. It is also an excellent source of biofuel. USA has huge investments into research on this subject. The key issue is to design large and cheap photobioreactors.
