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CP0912_FPA.indd 4 11/17/09 3:39 PM
 contents
December 2009 | Volume 72, Issue 12

14 18 21

Cover Story Columns

14 Bhopal Leaves a Lasting Legacy 7 From the Editor: Grasp All the Lessons of
Twenty-five years ago this month, the worst accident in Bhopal.
the history of the chemical industry occurred — a leak
at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, that 8 ChemicalProcessing.com: Where Does
killed thousands of people. This article looks at some of The Time Go?
the wider lessons learned — and still to be learned. [Cover
photo and article photos courtesy of Dennis Hendershot.] 9 Field Notes: Properly Estimate Engineering
Hours.
FEATUREs
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS 12 Energy Saver: Improve Batch Processing.
18 Build Operator Expertise Faster
Sites facing the dual challenges of increased requirements 13 Compliance Advisor: EPA Targets Electric
for safe and efficient operation and expected retirement Utilities.
of large number of staff likely will lose substantial expert
knowledge at a time when it’s of greatest need. Following a 30 Plant InSites: Assess the Gravity of the
few do’s and don’ts can significantly speed learning. Situation.

Solids and Fluids Handling 34 End Point: Are Chief Execs Paid Too Much?
21 Benefits Beckon in Heat Transfer
Boosts to heat transfer systems’ performance and ef- departments
ficiency can significantly impact operations. Recent de- 10 In Process: Shell Showcases Emerging
velopments provide valuable operational and economical Technologies | Better Data Promise Better
improvements plants can use. Catalysts

INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL 29 Process Puzzler: Guard Against Gas

24 Consider an Alternative Security Program
Sites covered by the U.S.’s Chemical Facilities Anti- 31 Equipment & Services
Terrorism Standards must develop suitable security plans.
Rather than using the standard approach, opting for an 32 Product Spotlight/Classifieds
alternative one may save time and money and provide bet-
ter protection from all kinds of threats. 33 Ad Index

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 operat-
ing 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 2009 Putman Media Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication December 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.

5  chemicalprocessing.com ● December 2009

CP0912_05_TOC.indd 5 11/17/09 3:15 PM

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Grasp All the Lessons of Bhopal
Industry still hasn’t adequately addressed one factor behind the disaster
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the
worst industrial accident in history — release of toxic
methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a chemical plant at
Bhopal, India, that killed thousands. Almost a genera-
tion of engineers has entered the field since the 1984
disaster. Hopefully most are aware of the incident
even if they don’t know its details. They probably can’t
fathom the horror that those of us who were working
then felt or appreciate the profound impact the release
has had on how the chemical industry operates.
Let me recount the basics of the accident. Early on
the morning of December 3, 1984, MIC gas leaked
from a pesticide plant in Bhopal operated by Union
Carbide India. The government of the state of Mad-
hya Pradesh estimates that about 3,800 people died
and thousands more suffered disabilities, although
other sources put the toll at many times higher.
Investigations blamed the release on a large vol-
ume of water getting into a tank containing about 42
metric tons of MIC, which was used an as intermedi-
ate in the production of carbaryl. This caused a chemi-
cal reaction that forced a release valve to open.
A number of factors made the accident so disas-
trous, including: the amount of MIC on site and the
way in which it was stored, shortcomings in safety sys-
tem operation, and the large number of people living in
a shanty town that had grown up adjacent to the plant.
The incident led to important efforts to make the
industry safer. For instance, in 1985 the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York City,
established the Center for Chemical Process Safety.
Governments also responded, instituting or bolstering
safety mandates. In the U.S., as the Web site of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes:
“When Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amend-
ments of 1990, it required EPA to publish regulations
and guidance for chemical accident prevention at
facilities using extremely hazardous substances... The
rule, which built upon existing industry codes and
standards, requires companies of all sizes that use cer-
tain flammable and toxic substances to develop a Risk
Management Program, which includes a(n):
• Hazard assessment that details the potential ef-
fects of an accidental release, an accident history
of the last five years, and an evaluation of worst-
case and alternative accidental releases;
• Prevention program that includes safety precau-
tions and maintenance, monitoring, and employ-
ee training measures; and
CP0912_07_FTE.indd 7
FROM THE EDITOR
• Emergency response program that spells out
emergency health care, employee training mea-
sures and procedures for informing the public
and response agencies (e.g., the fire department)
should an accident occur.”
Chemical companies today routinely employ
formal methods to identify potential risks and ways
to deal with them. Many sites now treat manage- Companies still
ment of change more rigorously. Safety concerns also
blunder into
are prompting increasing interest in the concept of
inherent safety — designing out hazards instead of serious accidents
just building in countermeasures against them (see
because they
“Rethink Your Approach to Process Safety,” www.
ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/158.html). don’t remember
But even after all these years and all the attention,
previous
more needs doing.
We asked internationally recognized safety guru incidents.
Trevor Kletz to reflect on lessons learned from Bhopal
and, particularly, to indicate where companies still must
improve (see p. 14). (Kletz long has focused on safety.
In 1968 he became the first technical safety advisor for
Imperial Chemical Industries, then one of the world’s
largest chemical companies but now defunct (see “ICI
Fades Into History,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/
articles/2008/082.html). It pioneered use of hazops,
and Kletz authored the first book on the topic. He has
written extensively about safety. The latest edition of his
landmark book “What Went Wrong: Case Histories
of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have
Been Avoided” has just come out (see “Make the Most
of Your Summer Reading,” www.ChemicalProcessing.
com/articles/2009/148.html).)
Unfortunately, as Kletz notes, companies still
blunder into serious accidents because they don’t
remember previous incidents or attempt to learn about
other firms’ past miscues with serious consequences.
So, industry, while deserving congratulations for
its solid progress since Bhopal, still has work to do. It
must put more effort into effectively retaining, retriev-
ing and sharing accident information. That’s one les-
son from Bhopal that firms haven’t fully grasped.
Mark Rosenzweig, Editor in Chief
mrosenzweig@putman.net
7  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009
11/17/09 3:16 PM
 chemicalprocessing.com
Where Does The Time Go?
This year saw a slew of site enhancements
I remember when I was a teenager
the adults around me would always
marvel at how fast time flies. I always
thought they were crazy and vowed
never to utter that silly idiom. Fast
forward 20+ years and I finally get it.
It seems like just last month I was in
“ChemicalPro- the beginning phases of planning proj-
ects for 2009. Now it’s the end of 2009
cessing.com ben- and many of the projects are complete
efited from a long and it’s on to next year’s wish list.
ChemicalProcessing.com benefited
list of improve- from a long list of improvements in 2009.
ments in 2009. At the very beginning of the year we
launched the Chemical Processing 50 –
CP 50 for short (www.ChemicalProcess
ing.com/cp50/index.html). This is a roster
of 50 chemical processing companies that
Become A ChemicalProcessing.com Insider
To become an Insider, click on the “Become a Member” link located at the
top right corner of ChemicalProcessing.com. This quick, one-time registra-
tion gives you access to members-only site benefits.
we think are worth watching and learn-
ing from. Throughout the year we have
been updating the profile pages of these
companies. In line with this, we launched
Insights From The CP 50, an eNewsletter
dedicated to covering the developments,
trends and lessons learned from the CP 50.
Also at the beginning of the year we
redesigned the Web site. The revamped
site includes more related content,
social media options and enhanced text
functionality, as well as a “Recommend
this?” button so you can see what articles
your peers think are worthy of reading
and recommend ones yourself. And just
recently we put a fresh coat of paint on
the site. We went from purple and green
to burgundy and beige.
We also put our flag in the ground at
Twitter (http://twitter.com/Chem_Pro
cessing) and Facebook (http://tinyurl.
com/chemprocessing-fb).
On the lighter side, we added the
December 2009 chemicalprocessing.com  8
CP0912_08_CP.COM.indd 8
555 West Pierce Road, Suite 301
Itasca, IL 60143
Phone: (630) 467-1300
Fax: (630) 467-1109
www.chemicalprocessing.com
E-mail: cpnews@putman.net
Subscriptions/Customer Service:
(888) 644-1803 or (847) 559-7360
Comical Processing cartoon caption Editorial Staff
feature (www.ChemicalProcessing.com/
Mark Rosenzweig,
articles/2009/comical_processing_cap Editor in Chief, x478
mrosenzweig@putman.net
tion_1.html).
This year also saw the launch of our Ken Schnepf,
Managing Editor, x442
first blog, called Chemical Reaction kschnepf@putman.net
(http://community.ChemicalProcessing. Traci Purdum,
com/chemical_reaction), which offers you Senior Digital Editor, x428
tpurdum@putman.net
a chance to voice your opinion, to argue
or agree with your peers, to question the Seán Ottewell,
Editor at Large
who, what, when, where, why and how, Ireland
sottewell@putman.net
to get answers or give advice or to simply
vent about your day at the office. Contributing Editors
And for those of you looking for Andrew Sloley,
Troubleshooting Columnist
a new job or seeking to hire more Lynn L. Bergeson,
Regulatory Columnist
employees, we introduced our online job Gary Faagau,
board Chem Connection (http://jobs. Energy Columnist
Dirk Willard, Columnist
ChemicalProcessing.com).
Design & Production
Stephen C. Herner,
Group Art Director, x312
sherner@putman.net
Tom Waitek,
Associate Art Director, x413
twaitek@putman.net
Rita Fitzgerald,
Production Manager, x468
rfitzgerald@putman.net
With all these things under our belts, Editorial Board
what else could we possibly do? Plenty. Vic Edwards, Aker Solutions
For 2010 we’re planning to host Tim Frank, Dow Chemical
Ben Paterson, Eli Lilly
Web-based panel discussions that will Roy Sanders, Consultant
Ellen Turner, Eastman Chemical
cover myriad topics including condition Ben Weinstein, Procter & Gamble
monitoring, energy efficiency, and deal- Jon Worstell, Shell Global Solutions
Sheila Yang, Fluor Enterprises.
ing with dust just to name a few. We also
Administrative Staff
plan on unveiling a podcast series dedi-
cated to leadership within the chemical John M. Cappelletti, President/CEO
Julie Cappelletti-Lange, Vice President
processing industry. And, of course, we Rose Southard, IT Director
Jerry Clark, Vice President of Circulation
also plan on inserting more fun features Jack Jones, Circulation Director
into the site. We are currently toying with
Reprints
the idea of a trivia contest, which will test
Claudia Stachowiak, Marketing Manager
your knowledge in the field. claudias@fosterprinting.com
There’s certainly a lot of work to do 1-866-879-9144 x121
Fax: 219-561-2019
in the coming year. This short to-do list Foster reprints
4295 Ohio Street
will continue to grow until we are look- Michigan City, IN 46360
ing at yet another new year. And once
again, I will be scratching my head and
marveling at how fast time flies.
Traci Purdum, Senior Digital Editor
tpurdum@putman.net.
Folio Editorial Excellence Award Winner
11/17/09 3:17 PM

Properly Estimate Engineering Hours
Don’t come up short on a project
Only 120 hours were assigned to investigate prob-
lems with a batch fluid-bed dryer. The scope included
troubleshooting and preparation of a project scope
document complete with process and instrumentation
drawings (P&IDs), justifications, vendor estimates
and a report. The client didn’t have a pipe standard let
alone AutoCAD files. The new sales engineer thought
he landed a whopper — I thought he should have
thrown it back! As it was, I spent at least 40 hours off
the books wrapping up the report and finalizing the
scope, schedule and budget. There’s got to be a better
way to prepare a solid estimate — right?
As with all budgets for engineering or construc-
tion, the soundest approach is to understand what the
task is, how many people are required, and what are
the goals and likely obstacles. Obviously, it’s best if the
person who will do the work makes the estimate.
For construction projects the best reference is
“R.S. Means Facilities Construction Cost Data 2009.”
This hefty paperback breaks down labor into manage-
able hours by trade. Once you know the billing rate
and skill level for each, it’s easy to estimate labor costs.
There’s no such tool published for engineering la-
bor. A few engineers have estimated projects based on
the number of drawings but this takes experience with
a particular job or type of work. The best solution I’ve
found — and one that other engineers also have used
— is to collect binders of old estimates.
Developing sensible estimates of engineering hours
requires familiarity with the work and with the cus-
tomer. Customers could be internal, e.g., your boss, or
external, a client. With clients that want flexibility to
make changes, agree on a time and materials (T&M)
contract for at least the beginning of the work. It’s
critical to understand the nature of the work before
deciding on the type of contract.
The most common problem in doing an estimate
is lack of a clear scope. “Scope creep” often stems from
having a scope that doesn’t meet customer needs. Even
a clear scope won’t forestall creep unless the customer
understands project limits and will abide by an agree-
ment. A team at Eli Lilly has had success in employing
a “Just Say No List” to address scope creep — see www.
ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2009/181.html.
The second leading cause of poor estimating
probably is inadequate understanding of the work.
This can be especially dangerous if there’re only a few
minor changes in work very familiar to the estima-
tor. People tend to be more cautious in new territory.
CP0912_09_FN.indd 9
field notes
A common problem is misapplying a past estimate.
Sometimes the simplest tasks can be more compli-
cated than expected. Once I specified a relief valve
for a slippery heating media: we used 300-psi flanges
on a 150-psi-rated system to prevent leaking. Finding
the right seal cost an additional 40 hours that were
unplanned. Thankfully, it was a T&M contract.
Another common problem is task assignment: Be able to justify
who does what. Often several disciplines are involved,
your contingency.
so it’s best to have a flow diagram and hierarchy es-
tablished. Just writing a memo won’t do. For example,
after process flow diagrams are developed, the instru-
mentation group should provide input into the control
scheme so the process team can create the P&IDs.
Without appropriate attention, waiting for approvals
and coordinating tasks can eat the whole budget.
Trying to protect yourself by including a healthy
contingency is a bad idea. It probably won’t fly with
the customer. Contingency frequently is based on
a percentage, which is why small (under-$100,000)
projects often are over budget. Use a fixed contingen-
cy for these projects. Look at specific scenarios where
the project can go sour. Be able to justify reasons for
a contingency greater or less than 10%. Doing so will
protect your contingency from being whittled away.
Now that I’ve discussed some of the pitfalls, let’s
consider what an estimate of engineering hours should
include. Consider adding these generic items: 1)
estimating hours; 2) preparation for meetings — zero
as a participant, a minimum of two hours per meeting
hour as a presenter; 3) drafting/revising the scope; 4)
writing request for proposal; 5) developing and cor-
recting drawings; 6) vendor time; 7) permit process-
ing; 8) training; and 9) closing the project.
Peer review is critical in assuring project success.
Leave plenty of time for reviews with at least three
attendees. Keep good notes and carefully file them. As
a minimum, conduct a department review followed by
another with a construction manager or project man-
ager. Sometimes, a vendor can be useful at these meet-
ings. At each step, provide sufficient hours to fix errors
as well as to modify scope, schedule and, potentially,
budget. Hence, pack as many meetings as possible in
the beginning of a project. Always include at least one
peer review before the customer review — unless you
have a desire for professional suicide.
dirk willard, Contributing Editor
dwillard@putman.net
9  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009
11/17/09 3:18 PM
 IN PROCESS

Shell Showcases Emerging Technologies

New processes promise environmental and economic benefits

SHELL GLOBAL Solutions, Houston, recently OMEGA pilot plant

offered a peek at a new route for producing a
polycarbonate feedstock and the next generation
of its OMEGA process for making mono-ethylene
glycol (MEG). CP got details during a tour of Shell’s
Westhollow Technology Center in mid-October.
The vast majority of polycarbonate production
relies on phosgene chemistry, notes Garo Vaporiciyan,
a venture manager at Westhollow. The process is rela-
tively energy intensive, involves dilute polymer solu-
tions in chlorinated solvents and requires salt removal,
he explains. So, there’s been a trend to replace toxic
phosgene with diphenyl carbonate (DPC). This avoids
a safety risk and obviates solvents and washing salt out
of the polymer. In addition, co-product phenol can be
used to make DPC or bisphenolacetone.
While this approach eliminates phosgene from the
88.0
polymer step, several companies use phosgene to make Figure 1. Unit at Westhollow Technology Center
DPC. Non-phosgene-based DPC synthesis87.0 technol- in Houston will start up in early 2010 and focus
on process improvements. Source: Shell Global
ogy exists but such routes are cumbersome 86.0and energy
85.0 Solutions.
61,500
intensive, contends Vaporiciyan, and so investment
84.0
in
61,000
phosgene-based DPC production continues.
83.0
Shell is developing a process for DPC that he
Economic Snapshot
terms a step change improvement in chemistry. In it,
61,000 82.0
carbon dioxide, phenol and propylene oxide react to
form propylene glycol and DPC. Using ethylene oxide
81.0
60,000 (EO) gives ethylene gyclol instead of propylene glycol.
80.0
“…For seven years we’ve moved from paper... to
59,000 79.0
pilot plants and now we’re smelling commercialization
58,000
78.0 within reach… all while still delivering on this target
77.0 of making this key material for the polycarbonate
57,000 76.0 industry cheaper with much lower CO2 footprint.”
75.0 Shell’s next step may be commercial production of
56,000
DPC via the route, says Vaporiciyan.
$ Million

74.0
%

55,000 Meanwhile, the company foresees significant

73.0
opportunities to improve its OMEGA process. The
72.0
54,000 first generation of the technology recently was com-
71.0 mercialized. Korea’s Lotte Petrochemicals started up
53,000
70.0 a 400,000-metric-ton/year plant at Daesan in May
52,000 69.0 2008, while Petro Rabigh began production in April
68.0 2009 at a 600,000-mt/yr unit at Rabigh, Saudi Ara-
51,000
67.0
bia. Shell expects to inaugurate a 750,000-mt/yr plant
at its Eastern Petrochemicals Complex in Singapore
50,000 66.0
by the end of this year.
Oct 08 Nov 08 Dec 08 Jan 09 Feb 09 Mar 09 Apr 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 Aug 09 Sept 09 The process relies on catalytic conversion of EO to
Shipments (NAICS S325) Capacity utilization MEG, rather than conventional thermal conversion.
It reacts EO and CO2 to form ethylene carbonate,
Shipments and capacity utilization both continued rising. which then reacts with water to yield MEG and CO2.
Source: American Chemistry Council. The approach cuts capital investment by about 10%,

uly ‘08, 75.4; Aug. 74.8; Sept., 68.8; Oct., 72.7’ Nov., 70.4; Dec. 67.2 (maybe the scale should be changed to 76 to 66)
DECEMBER 2009 CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM 10

CP0912_10_11_InPro.indd 10 11/17/09 3:20 PM

 IN PROCESS

consumes 20% less steam and produces 30% less Electrochemical insights
wastewater, while obviating di- and tri-ethylene glycol
purification, storage and handling, says Dave Van
Kleeck, regional technology manager.
A pilot plant at Westhollow set for 2010 start-up
will augment an existing one in Amsterdam and will
enable evaluating continuous improvement concepts
and their scaling to commercial units. It will permit
complete piloting of all recycle streams while its MEG
purification capabilities will allow assessing product
quality as well as manufacture of drum quantities for
customer testing, he says. The new pilot plant will
provide more information on EO reactor operation,
optimal process conditions, the fate of all impurities
and suitable materials of construction, he adds.
The goal, explains Van Kleeck, is to boost EO se-
lectivity to above 90% from today’s 88%–90%, while
lowering capital and operating expenses.
Figure 2. Artist’s rendition of reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ at elec-
trode shows x-rays (blue beam) irradiating surface from which
photoelectrons escape. Source: University of Nottingham.
Better Data Promise
Better Catalysts mechanism to electronic structure, allowing more ef-
For the first time in-situ monitoring of an electro- ficient ‘intelligent design’ of new materials,” he notes.
chemically induced oxidation state change by x-ray “The experiments carried out so far have proved
photoelectron spectroscopy has been achieved, say the concept and shown that we can make the
researchers at the University of Nottingham, Not- technique work,” says Licence. “We are now looking
tingham, U.K. “As a result of this research, we can at metal deposition/solution reactions and electron
design more efficient catalysts, new probes, sensors, transfer vectors with an aim to study energy capture
functionalized electrodes,” explains Peter Licence, an devices and electrochemically driven processes.”
associate professor in the School of Chemistry.
The researchers succeeded in getting spectroscopic
What’s your site’s interest in using “greener” chemicals?
data for the electrochemical reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+
in an ionic liquid mixture. Ionic liquids were neces- 5.9% 0%
sary because they have negligible vapor pressures and Nonexistant Non applicable
so don’t evaporate under the ultrahigh vacuum condi- 11.8%
tions employed. Slight

“It wasn’t easy and we had phenomenal problems.

We could do the electrochemistry in the vacuum and
we could measure the spectra of ionic liquids — but to 58.8%
do both at the same time has been a real uphill struggle Heavy
— but now we have cracked it,” Details on the experi-
ments appear in Chemical Communications. 23.5%
The next steps are to make the measurements Moderate

easier to carry out and then to investigate other

well-understood redox couples to further validate the
system, he adds.
“We are using the in situ technique to study on a
Responses(%)
fundamental level the electronic structure of solution
catalysts. We can use this data, in conjunction with
laboratory data, to design better and more efficient cata- More than half the sites display a high interest, according to respondents.
lyst. Essentially our technique closes a loop in a feedback To participate in this month’s poll, go to ChemicalProcessing.com.

mechanism — i.e., we can provide a direct feedback

60.0
11 CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM DECEMBER 2009

50.0

CP0912_10_11_InPro.indd 11 11/18/09 12:40 PM

 ENERGY SAVER
Improve Batch Processing
A number of steps can lead to better energy efficiency from the outset
Batch operators face extra factors that can
complicate any energy efficiency improvement. Un-
like continuous operations, energy project economics
is spread over fewer hours per year and may not help
during ramping up and cooling down. Also, these
operations tend to be more specialized, so industry
standards or comparable plants are hard to find.
Being a batch Still, general energy efficiency principles do apply,
but flexibility is needed during design.
operator doesn’t
For batch operations, make the unit energy
mean you have to sound from the start. A furnace that’s only 50% effi-
cient when running must be revamped or replaced to
have inefficient
be more efficient. A steam system with several leaks
operations. or faulty traps still needs to be repaired. Insulation
on hot lines and hot vessels has to be maintained.
The nature of batch operations poses unique
problems. One is energy recovery after the opera-
tion is over. One operator I know heats liquid to
450°F and then must cool it to store it. All that
energy is wasted.
The first possible solution is hot oil storage
consisting of a hot oil tank, a cold oil tank, and
a series of heat exchangers. After the operations
are complete, the product is run through a series
of heat exchangers where it’s exchanged against
cold oil. The heated oil is stored in a hot tank until
the hot oil is exchanged with the feed for the next
batch. Sometimes, when there’s a series of batch
operations, the heat from one unit can be used to
heat up another unit. Other solutions involve using
the oil to heat water.
Another problem is the need to reach reac-
tion temperature and then remove heat from an
exothermic reaction. In most cases, cooling water
or fin-fans remove heat while a furnace produces
the reaction temperature. Depending on reaction
temperature, you can use the reaction to create hot
oil, similar to the previously described processor,
you can produce steam to run a steam turbine or
supplement your steam system.
Most solutions for batch operating efficiency
can be solved by frequency and management. One
plant I audited had three batch operations,each
with different energy requirements and hot oil and
steam systems to produce the energy needed. Each
operation had several reactors, so some required
multiple heaters. I checked frequency and patterns
and concluded that everything could be done with
two furnaces, instead of five, if the plant spent
December 2009 chemicalprocessing.com  12
CP0912_12_ESAVER.indd 12
more time planning batch timing and added sys-
tems for hot oil temperature control.
By setting the hot oil system to the highest tem-
perature needed, some operations could be satisfied by
blending return oil from higher temperature reactions
to supply oil of lower temperature operations. This
required running certain batches before others. Man-
aging this can result in as much as a 50% energy sav-
ings. Most savings came from shutdown of furnaces
that sat on idle or worked at reduced rates because not
all batches were operating simultaneously.
One problem with the recent recession for batch
operators is production cost increase per batch because
of less frequency. Some have gone to one-shift opera-
tions, which means equipment must be cooled every
night and then reheated each morning. Checking the
economics may show that keeping the most energy
dependent operations going around the clock and
running less energy dependent batches during the day
would save energy. This eliminates cooling off and
start-up periods that substantially increase costs.
Idle energy is the time between batches when
equipment must be maintained. Some equipment
must be completely cooled while others are kept
at a temperature to reduce the need to reheat from
ambient. Running fewer reactors more often is a
great way to reduce idle energy. One plant I knew
used to run one batch every two to three days
because an undersized heater required a day to get
the reactor to the right temperature and undersized
cooling equipment prevented products from being
sent to storage tanks.
The plant replaced its heater with a system
that could ramp the reactor temperature up in
two hours and added heat recovery equipment for
faster product cooling. The results were amazing
with batch operations done twice a day — a 600%
production increase, and a 40% cut in energy con-
sumption per batch.
Being a batch operator doesn’t mean you have
to have inefficient operations. Maintaining systems
at high efficiency, storing heat in a hot oil medium,
reducing downtime by running shifts on energy-
intense batches, managing batches to take advantage
of available heat, and improving batch frequency can
help reduce per batch energy costs.
gary faagaU, Energy Columnist
GFaagau@putman.net
11/17/09 3:22 PM

EPA Targets Electric Utilities
The agency steps up efforts to manage coal ash damage
Approximately 5.4 million cubic yards, or 1.1
billion gallons, of coal ash from the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) plant near Knoxville, Tenn., in
December 2008 flooded some 300 acres of land, dam-
aging property, polluting waterways, and killing fish.
TVA will likely spend more than $500 million and
perhaps as much as $1 billion dollars on cleanup, says
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The TVA debacle was EPA’s wake-up call for potential
coal ash hazards staged in some 584 units at approxi-
mately 219 domestic electric utilities.
A Symptom of Accumulation
Coal ash has accumulated for years at U.S. electric
utilities. It’s the residual typically contained in surface
impoundments and similar land management units
from coal-fired power plants generating electricity.
The coal ash released at the TVA plant accumulated
over 50 years and rose to more than 65 feet.
Ash can be stored wet or dry. TVA used wet
storage, and last December, an earthen dam burst,
spilling the ash over land. While such incidents are
uncommon (four similar events have occurred over
the past five decades), they are messy, costly, contro-
versial and certainly memorable.
Coal ash isn’t regulated as a hazardous waste un-
der the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA). Congress asked EPA in 1980 whether
it should be regulated and in 1993, EPA responded
“no.” In 2000, EPA proposed regulating coal ash not
as a hazardous waste, but under stricter management
standards. Cost of the proposed rule to the electric
utility industry inspired fierce opposition, and EPA
relented. In 2006, a National Research Council
study found that coal ash contains metals and other
constituents in quantities that could pose a health
risk if improperly managed. Still, however, additional
regulatory controls weren’t forthcoming, until now.
EPA’s Plan
The coal ash release ignited renewed calls for stricter reg-
ulation. In January, Senate Committee on Environment Lynn Bergeson, Regulatory Editor
and Public Works Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) held a
hearing to explore the scope of the problem. Boxer noted
that the issue isn’t whether the material is considered
hazardous waste, but rather what measures are or should ington, D.C.-based law firm that concentrates on chemical industry
be in place to control the material and prevent releases.
She issued Senate Resolution 64 directing Lisa Jackson, This column is not intended to provide, nor should be construed
EPA administrator, to look into the matter.
CP0912_13_Comp.indd 13
compliance advisor
Jackson announced EPA’s new program to address
the TVA release and prevent future ones on March 9.
EPA will gather and assess information from electric
utilities and develop additional regulatory measures to
prevent future mishaps.
EPA requested information from electric utilities
about the structural integrity of their surface impound-
ments or similar land units. EPA also will compel Coal ash
repairs, where needed. The request was made under
management is
Section 104(e) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CER- an immediate
CLA), authorizing EPA to impose penalties for failure
EPA priority.
to provide adequate and timely responses. Among other
questions, EPA asks when was the last state or federal
regulatory coal-ash management unit inspection, when
the company last assessed or evaluated the safety of the
management unit, and does the company have profes-
sional engineer’s certification for the safety of the unit?
EPA intends to issue a proposed rule outlining new
regulations to address management of coal combustion
residuals. Information in the CERCLA Section 104 let-
ters will likely be used to develop new regulations.
EPA released information from electric utilities
on management of coal combustion residuals on
September 8. EPA also is assessing “all of the units
that have a dam hazard potential rating of ‘high’ or
‘significant’ in responses provided by utilities to EPA’s
request.” More information is available at www.epa.
gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/
index.htm.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), on October 20, re-
quested information on EPA’s “findings” on health and
environmental risks posed by coal ash. He is chair of
the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Sub-
committee on Energy and the Environment, which has
jurisdiction over protection of drinking water.
The TVA spill made coal ash management an im-
mediate priority in the Jackson Administration. Coal
ash management standards may well now be part of
Jackson’s legacy to environmental protection.
lbergeson@putman.net
Lynn is managing director of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., a Wash-
issues. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author.
as, legal advice.
13  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009
11/17/09 3:22 PM
CP0912_14_17_CvrStry.indd 14 11/18/09 12:33 PM

Twenty-five years ago this month, the worst
accident in the history of the chemical industry occurred
— a leak of highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas
at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India,
that killed thousands of people. Industry learned many
lessons; experts wrote many reports. Here, we’ll look at
some of the wider lessons learned rather than the narrow
points on which most reports concentrated.
The story started in 1974, 10 years before Bhopal,
when a large leak of hydrocarbon exploded at a Nypro
(UK) plant at Flixborough, U.K., killing 28 people. The
leak was large because only 6% of the hydrocarbon fed
to the plant was converted; 94% had to be recovered
and repeatedly recycled. The most important recom-
mendation made afterward was that we should look
for ways to reduce the amount of hazardous materials
in a plant, a process called intensification or minimiza-
tion. The slogan was: “What you don’t have can’t leak.”
This thought didn’t occur to most commentators or the
official inquiry. Reducing inventory in the Flixborough
process isn’t easy. One company started but then aban-
doned a research project after realizing there was excess
capacity in the process, a stage in manufacture of nylon.
The Bhopal disaster wouldn’t have occurred if the
plant managers had known about and then adhered
to the recommendation made after Flixborough. MIC
wasn’t a raw material or product but an intermediate.
Storing it was convenient but nonessential. It could have
been used as it was made — then the worst leak would
have been a few kilograms from a broken pipe rather
than a hundred tons from a tank. This time the chemical
industry paid attention; within a year many companies
had reduced or eliminated their hazardous intermediates
stocks and used the materials as they made them.
Broader relevance
The “Don’t Have” concept can be applied more widely.
If chemicals we don’t have can’t leak, people who aren’t
there can’t be injured or killed. The human toll at
Bhopal was so high because a shanty town had grown
up near the plant. It’s difficult in a country like India
to control development but necessary nevertheless to
prevent people from living too close to hazardous sites.
A 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City,
Texas, killed 15 people and harmed 170. One reason
for the large number of deaths and injuries was that
temporary buildings used by maintenance workers
were close to the explosion site. If the buildings had
been placed further away from equipment containing
hazardous materials — a recommendation that often
has been made — the toll would have been lower.
Similarly, if no buildings are nearby, they can’t be
CP0912_14_17_CvrStry.indd 15
All photos courtesy of
damaged or destroyed by explosions. The worst peace- Dennis Hendershot
time explosion in England occurred at Buncefield in
2005 when gasoline overflowed though the vent at the
top of a large storage tank. The ensuing explosion ex-
tensively damaged the storage area and a large number
of offices and small factories on an adjoining site.
The underlying cause of Buncefield was that all
the people and organizations involved in design,
operations and maintenance were unaware of similar
explosions in Newark, N.J., in 1983 [1,2,3], St.
Herblain, France, in 1991 [4], Naples, Italy, in 1995
[5], and elsewhere (other incidents easily can be found
by googling “gasoline spill”). They believed cold
gasoline couldn’t explode in open air. The group of oil
companies that owned the storage depot claimed an
explosion of cold gasoline in open air never before had
occurred. Damage at Buncefield, however, was more
extensive than at Newark and elsewhere.
If just one person at Buncefield had known about
just one incident, had realized that a similar event
could happen there, and had alerted colleagues, the
explosion might not have occurred.
If the designers or operators had carried out a
search for incidents at similar installations, the explo-
sion probably wouldn’t have occurred. Failing to carry
out such a search, and then estimating probability of
an explosion and extent of damage, was a dereliction
of duty by all organizations involved; they, not just the
firm that failed to maintain the high-level trips on the
tank, should share cost of the damage.
Many companies now have learned the lessons of
Flixborough, Bhopal and Buncefield and have reduced
amounts of hazardous materials in process or storage
— however, many others still have to learn them.
We’re now less likely to build plants near or in urban
or built-up areas or allow development close to exist-
ing plants, but many current sites are “grandfathered.”
Almost every company has applied the “Don’t
Have” principle to employees and has reduced their
numbers, often successfully. In many cases, though,
what firms have called “empowerment” of remaining
employees has been a euphemism for loss of support.
The classic example was a 1998 explosion at an Esso gas
plant in Longford, Australia, that left the whole state of
Victoria without natural gas for two weeks. In this case,
the company decided to relocate all professional engi-
neers from the plant to headquarters 200 miles away.
The official report on the explosion [6] said moving the
engineers “appears to have had a lasting impact on op-
erational practices at the Longford plant. The physical
isolation of engineers from the plant deprived opera-
tions personnel of engineering expertise and knowl-
15  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009
11/18/09 12:33 PM

REFERENCES
1. “
 Report on the Incident at the Texaco Company’s
Newark Storage Facility, 7th January 1983,” Loss Prev.
Bulletin, No. 57, p. 11 (June 1984). Reprinted in Loss
Prev. Bulletin, No. 188, p. 10 (Apr. 2006).
2. H
 enry, M. F., “NFPA’s Consensus Standards at Work,”
Chem. Eng. Prog., Vol. 8, No. 8, p. 20 (Aug. 1985).
3. Kletz, T. A., “Can Cold Petrol Explode in the Open
Air?,” The Chemical Engineer, p. 63 (June 1986). Re-
printed in Loss Prev. Bulletin, No. 188, p. 9 (Apr. 2006).
4. L echaudet, J. F., “Assessment of an Accidental Vapour
Cloud Explosion,” Loss Prev. and Safety Prom. in Proc.
Ind., Vol. 314, p. 377 (1995).
5. R
 usso, G., Maremonti, M., Salzano, E., Tufano, V. and
S. Ditali, “Vapour Cloud Explosion in a Fuel Storage
Area; a Case Study,” Proc. Safety and Env. Protect.,
Vol. 77, No. B6, p. 310 (1999).
6. Dawson, D. M. and J. B. Brooks, “The Esso Longford
Gas Plant Explosion,” report of Royal Commission,
State of Victoria, Australia (1999).
edge, which previously they gained through interaction
and involvement with engineers on site. Moreover,
the engineers themselves no longer gained an intimate
knowledge of plant activities. The ability to telephone
engineers if necessary, or to speak with them during
site visits, did not provide the same opportunities for
informal exchanges between the two groups, which are
often the means of transfer of vital information.”
Another misuse of the “Don’t Have“ principle
concerns knowledge of past accidents at a company or
elsewhere. Chemical makers investigate and report on
accidents and make changes — but then file away and
soon forget the reports. Moreover, they don’t always
share them with other firms.
This is a widespread lapse: “It is a truism in business
and industry that things go wrong when the last man
who remembers the previous disaster retires,” comment-
ed Roger Ford in Modern Railways (p. 18, August 2009).
Necessary steps
Engineers are good at solving problems but not as
good at recognizing ones that should be solved. The
major safety problem companies should address is

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 SAMSON

Related Content on
ChemicalProcessing.com
“Brain Drain Brings Big Headaches,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2009/036.html
“Panel Blasts BP Safety Practices,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/industrynews/2007/003.html
“Rethink Your Approach to Process Safety,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/158.html
“Check for Human Errors,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2006/161.html

maintaining awareness of incidents. Chemical makers should

set up systematic procedures — rather than rely on memory —
to recall lessons of the past, lessons for which we have paid a
high price in deaths and injuries as well as money.
Following are a few of the actions that can prevent the same
accidents from recurring so often:
1. Include in every instruction and code a note on the
reasons for it and accounts of accidents that wouldn’t have
occurred if the instruction or code had existed at the time
and been followed.
2. Never remove equipment or ignore instructions before
you know why they were adopted.
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4. Check at regular intervals to see that recommendations On the safe side
made after accidents are being followed — in design as
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curs when someone turns a blind eye to a missing blind.
You won’t have to worry about them
6. Cover important past accidents in training undergradu-
failing thanks to their high MTBF.
ates and company employees.
7. Keep a folder of old accident reports in every control Even more safety is guaranteed by
room. Make it compulsory reading for recruits; others the Series 3730 and Series 3731
should look through it from time to time. Positioners with integrated EXPERT
8. Read more books, which tell us what’s old, as well as valve diagnostics, certified solenoid
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9. When downsizing, make sure remaining employees at all Step response tests are automatically
levels have adequate knowledge and experience. performed and the resulting data
10. Devise better retrieval systems so that we can find details stored in the device.
of past accidents more easily. Staff members should review Stay safe and sound with
all published or privately circulated reports; any relevant products from SAMSON.
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SAMSON CONTROLS INC.
USA Phone: (281) 383-3677 · Fax: (281) 383-3690
TREVOR A. KLETZ is visiting professor in the Department of Chemical E-mail: samson@samson-usa.com
Engineering at Loughborough University, Loughborough, U.K., and an adjunct Website: www.samson-usa.com
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professor at Texas A&M, College Station, Texas. The fifth edition of his book E-mail: admin@samsoncontrols.com
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ing.com/articles/2009/148.html). E-mail him at T.Kletz@lboro.ac.uk.

CP0912_14_17_CvrStry.indd 17 11/18/09 12:34 PM

 MOST PROCESS plants are struggling with the
dual challenges of increased requirements for safe
and efficient operation and expected retirement of a
large portion of the workforce. Sites likely will lose
substantial expert knowledge at a time when it’s of
greatest need. This will ratchet up pressure to more
quickly develop expertise in newer operators.
Traditionally, operators have built expertise on a
particular unit by experiencing numerous events. Such
encounters result in a very accurate mental model for
predicting what will occur in a situation and what ac-
tions will be needed to ensure safe operation. However,
as a consequence of improved plant reliability and better
automation, operators now experience events much less
frequently. This makes it increasingly difficult to quickly
develop expertise to fill the void created by retirements.
Many plants are turning to simulators as the answer to
addressing gaps. However, simulators alone won’t guar-
antee development of the range of skills expert operators
possess — especially those skills needed for problem
detection, analysis of events and decision-making.
The Center for Operator Performance (www.
operatorperformance.org), which is collaborative ef-
fort of operating companies (BP, Chevron, Flint Hills
Resources, Marathon, NOVA Chemicals and Suncor
Energy), control system vendors (ABB and Emerson
Process Management) and academia (Wright State
University), is conducting research to identify how to
speed acquisition of expertise and improve operator
performance. An initial pilot study examined control
of two different process units and a pipeline. Here, we
summarize some key findings from that work.
DEVELOPING EXPERTISE
Many people believe that memorizing large amounts
of factual information and principles builds exper-
tise. While technical understanding is key to opera-
DECEMBER 2009 CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM 18
CP0912_18_20_Maint.indd 18
tor performance, knowledge not acquired through
experience — real or simulated — may not contrib-
ute to advanced learning or performance. People bet-
ter grasp new information in context of meaningful
activities rather than as an abstract set of facts.
Acquiring knowledge isn’t enough, though.
Novices also must engage in deliberate practice
applying that knowledge, recognizing key infor-
mation, setting goals and executing actions. For
example, one operating company member of the
center uses decision-making exercises that present
operators with cues to an unknown problem to let
them practice recognizing a problem, analyzing
its causes and generating a solution (instead of just
telling them the problem and best solution).
Here are some do’s and don’ts for developing
operator expertise:
• Don’t just give large amounts of factual informa-
tion or rules. A data dump from an expert will
be of little value.
• Do create opportunities to learn information as
it occurs in real situations. Present console opera-
tors with a list of alarms or screen shots of what
occurred during an upset and ask them what
they think is happening. Coaches with expert
technical knowledge then can help them better
interpret what they see.
• Don’t just expose novice operators to a variety of
generic circumstances. Learning by osmosis is
very unreliable.
• Do support practice recognizing cues, expectan-
cies, goals and actions. Expert mental models
come from doing not reading. Develop a list of
scenarios, such as major changes in feed composi-
tion/rate or product slates, that novices should ex-
perience while on the console. Prior to execution
of each task, have trainees list what they would
11/17/09 3:26 PM
 expect to see, what could go wrong, and what the
first indication of a problem would be. Discuss the
list and ensure it’s correct prior to task execution.
On-the-job training
Like many sectors, the process industry relies heavily
on knowledge transferred through on-the-job train-
ing (OJT). The expectation is that pairing novices
with experts will lead to transfer of appropriate job
knowledge. This training approach poses two main
issues. First, operators often have difficulty articulating
how they know what they know. For this reason, they
frequently lean toward telling rather than teaching. For
example, a trainee, when inputting a numeric adjust-
ment for a temperature change, asked if that number
would suffice. The trainer simply said “yes” rather than
communicating why that adjustment, versus another,
would give the desired result.
The second issue is that expert operators over
time have developed different techniques for doing
their work. This may lead to inconsistent information
transfer. New operators may learn varying techniques
for doing their work and get dissimilar assessments of
what’s important as well as diverse views of job expecta-
tions. For example, people define “critical” differently.
Some say if something out-of-the-ordinary happens
and I react to it, it’s not critical — it’s my job. However,
some people consider any unexpected change to be a
critical event. Others define critical as a problem that
occurs without explanation. Defining and training
for “critical situations” differently can result in uneven
response to events.
This fragmented understanding contributes to de-
creased operator performance. Further, it can feed into
a vicious cycle as newer operators become trainers.
To enhance OJT:
• Don’t just turn the trainee loose with a crew.
• Do use structured OJT after initial classroom
sessions. For example, one plant has trainers fol-
low novices’ progress to ensure they are learning
proper technique and valid knowledge. Trainees
should get a manual listing skills and knowledge
to master while shadowing actual operators.
Prior to each shift these operators should review
the list with trainees.
• Don’t presume that because people know the job
they can teach it.
• Do have training materials. This ensures trainers
provide consistent coaching. Consider, for in-
stance, providing structured exercises to help the
senior operator on the crew convey key knowledge
elements. Establish training goals for each shift —
CP0912_18_20_Maint.indd 19
teaching novices should be as much a part of shift
objectives as meeting production targets.
• Don’t leave important information subject to
interpretation.
• Do ensure tasks are defined. For example, clarify
the meaning of “unsafe” and the conditions
requiring unit shutdown. Discuss one safe
operating limit or production target each day.
Cover failure of compliance and its meaning.
For example, is not achieving feed-rate targets
acceptable if meeting them would require flar-
ing? Spell out the interaction among multiple
constraints an operator faces.
Tailored approach
While operators may come from similar industries
and positions, they likely boast varying levels of expe-
rience. So, training programs focusing on baseline or
rudimentary skills and knowledge may provide little
value for some people. For instance, many experienced
operators have expressed frustration that they didn’t
gain new knowledge during recertification processes
because these didn’t build on expertise they had devel-
oped. Besides wasting peoples’ time “learning” mate-
rial they’ve already mastered, one-size-fits-all training
programs often fail to teach advanced skills.
To support diverse trainees:
• Don’t offer one training program that’s the same
for every trainee.
• Do take into account the experience and knowl-
edge of individuals. Do they already possess
some of the required knowledge from their prior
work? Have they developed more advanced
knowledge through their experiences? The pro-
gram should allow trainees to progress as soon as
they have mastered the material.
The impact of automation
Automation can diminish expertise in three ways.
First, it can dull the skills of veterans. Second, it can
slow the rate of learning, so people take much longer
to build up their expertise. And third, it can teach
dysfunctional skills that will actively interfere with
building expertise in the future.
Information technology can inflict this damage by:
• limiting operators’ abilities to access and inter-
pret trends, understand data interrelationships
and identify data shifts;
• reducing operators’ understanding of processes
by hiding the workings of systems; and
• obstructing operators’ own assessment of a situ-
ation by isolating them from processes and only
19  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009
11/17/09 3:26 PM
 RELATED CONTENT ON CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM
“Operators Get More Help,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/252.html
“Operator Performance Takes Center Stage,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/213.html
“Help Your Operators,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/121.html

providing recommendations and alerts, hamper-
ing operators’ abilities to spot anomalies and pat-
terns by removing variances from representations.
Here’re some tips for using automation to support
operator performance:
• Don’t rely on automated systems that prevent
operators from noticing changes and making
adjustments — that essentially turn them into
passive monitors.
• Do enable trainees to see the workings of
the automation, either directly or through
training material. For example, create deci-
sion trees that reflect the advanced control
program. When the program makes a major
adjustment to the process, have trainees
follow the decision tree to assess why such a
change might have been made (e.g., did cool-
ing water temperature increase and create a
constraint on the process?).
A PRACTICAL APPROACH
Most plants with an aging workforce face an increas-
ingly urgent need to build staff expertise. Some are
counting on high fidelity simulation, as though mere
exposure will create skill. Others are hoping that con-
tact between novices and experts will result in knowl-
edge transfer. A more practical middle ground that
involves doing some simple things to enhance learning
offers a better prospect for increasing expertise.
DAVID A. STROBHAR is principal human factors engineer for
Beville Engineering, Dayton, OH. DANYELE HARRIS-THOMPSON
is a senior scientist at Klein Associates, Fairborn, Ohio. E-mail them
at DStrobhar@beville.com and DHarris@ara.com.

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 Developments provide operational
and economic improvements
HEAT TRANSFER systems serve as crucial utilities
at plants. So, boosts in their performance and ef-
ficiency can significantly impact operations.
Consider stereospecific reactions. Temperature
usually affects relative yield of enantiomers. This has
prompted companies to perform organic synthesis at
low temperature using reagents such as n-butyl lithium
that produce intermediates that after further process-
ing lead to products with greater regularity and better
selectivity. However, n-butyl lithium is very unstable at
room temperature and needs excellent cooling control.
Air Products and Chemicals, Allentown, Pa., has
been working with manufacturers to help them get
better temperature differentials in their exchangers by
using liquid nitrogen (LIN) to cool heat transfer fluids.
“In Air Products’ alternative, intermediate heat
transfer fluid (HTF) — typically methanol, Syltherm
XLT or a similar equivalent — is cooled by LIN in a
counter-current flow heat exchanger. The HTF is then
pumped into the jacket of the reactor vessel, where
it removes heat from the reaction. The warmed fluid
returns to the heat exchanger to be re-cooled by the
LIN. The temperature of the HTF is controlled by
varying the flow of LIN,” says Jon Trembley, lead,
cryogenic applications.
“Cryogenic cooling also provides rapid responses
in cooling that are sometimes necessary to come with
reaction kinetics and provides the flexibility to run re-
actions at lower temperatures should that be required
in the future. Recovery of the vaporized nitrogen also
means the operational running costs of cryogenic
cooling system are controlled,” notes Marna Schmidt,
an industry manager based in Basingstoke, U.K.
Trembley challenges the portrayal of LIN as an
CP0912_21_23_SOLIDS.indd 21
expensive option. “When improved reaction yields
and selectivity, reduced unwanted byproducts, and
the relatively low capital costs involved are taken into
consideration, LIN also becomes an economically
attractive choice. Because LIN is used in the reaction
cooling process merely as a source of refrigeration, it is
not affected by the process other than to vaporize and
warm up slightly. So, if the evaporated LIN from the
cooling process can be recovered and used elsewhere
in the plant — such as for purging and blanketing —
the costs of the system can be dramatically lessened
and are minimal compared to mechanical refrigera-
tion,” he explains.
CRADLE-TO-GRAVE CARE
Vendors of more-conventional heat transfer fluids, of
course, also aim to help producers improve operations.
For instance, Solutia, St. Louis, promotes its no-addi-
tional-cost Total Lifecycle Care (TLC) program that
includes system design support, start-up assistance,
24/7 access to technically trained experts and more.
The experience of Mexichem (formerly Grupo
Primex), a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride resins
and other materials, in Altamira, Mexico, highlights
the importance of such services.
As of 2005, the company was operating two paral-
lel heat-transfer systems — one running for more than
15 years with Therminol 66 fluid, which is suitable
for operation up to 650°F and pumpable to 27°F, and
the other working for several years with a diaryl-alkyl-
based product rated to 660°F.
The system with Therminol 66 has performed with-
out incident, says Mexichem. However, after just three
years, performance of the other system began to decline.
21 CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM DECEMBER 2009
11/17/09 3:28 PM
 “First we experienced pluggage in our instru-
ment tubing,” says Francisco Nava, production
manager. “Soon after, we observed damage to the
mechanical seals and problems began occurring in
the heat transfer process. As a result, we were expe-
riencing losses in distillation efficiency, increases in
system vapor pressures, increased unplanned down-
time, and impacts to our finished product quality.”
Mexichem turned to Solutia for a complimentary
fluid analysis, part of the TLC program. It showed
the non-Solutia fluid was degrading rapidly, reducing
its ability to operate efficiently. Degradation products
accounted for more than half of the fluid composition
and the fluid was precipitating crystalline solids under
certain conditions.
“Because the alternate heat transfer fluid wasn’t
doing a good job, our pump seals were failing and we
were losing yield. At the same time, our system utiliz-
ing Therminol 66 heat transfer fluid was operating
smoothly. The decision to switch to Therminol 66 heat
transfer fluid in the other system was clear,” says Nava.
Steam savings
Many plants rely on steam as a heat transfer fluid
but condensate recovery systems are so effective that
CP0912_21_23_SOLIDS.indd 22
often too much energy is captured. So, steam special-
ist Spirax Sarco, Blythewood, S.C., and Cheltenham,
U.K., has launched a flash recovery energy manage-
ment equipment (FREME) system that’s designed to
overcome that problem.
FREME is a completely closed steam system un-
der constant pressure that can recover energy from re-
turned condensate and flash steam without wastefully
dumping or venting surplus energy from the system.
Instead it feeds energy from the returned condensate
into the high pressure side of boiler feed pumps.
The system passes condensate returning from the
steam distribution system through a flash steam sepa-
ration vessel. The separate flash-steam and condensate
streams travel through a dedicated plate exchanger to
heat pressurized feed water before it enters the boiler.
The two streams then are combined and go to the
boiler feed tank. Because that stream is sub-cooled,
it’s sufficiently warm to begin heating cold feed but
not hot enough to overheat the tank. Heat and water
previously lost from the system can be recovered,
reducing utility bills, water treatment chemical costs
and carbon dioxide emissions.
The FREME system is available as a pre-engi-
neered skid-mounted unit, taking the stress out of
designing, specifying, building and installing steam,
hot water and other systems, says the company. And
with less work to do on-site, the installation process is
simpler, safer and speedier, it adds.
Such a system recently was commissioned by Abbey
Corrugated, Blunham, U.K. Before the project, water
entered the boiler at 154°F–158°F. It now arrives at
280°F–288°F. “…It’s fair to say that the savings from
this project were in the region of 25% of the gas used by
the boiler,” notes Paul Gale, facilities manager.
In early November FREME won the energy cat-
egory in the annual awards for chemical engineering
innovation and excellence presented by the Institution
of Chemical Engineers, Rugby, U.K.
Model results
“Studies around heat exchange equipment show
that about 90% of energy consumption on a typical
process is associated with some sort of heat exchange.
So companies want to get the most return on
investment per BTU,” says Tom Ralston, Reading,
U.K.-based product manager, exchanger design and
rating, for AspenTech, Burlington, Mass. The total
installed cost of heat transfer equipment today typi-
cally accounts for about 30% of overall plant invest-
ment, he notes. “So it’s central to exploring the cost
benefits of almost any energy saving proposal.”
A key issue today is fouling. “Rigorous model-
ing is very important here if, for example, a stream
11/19/09 9:59 AM
 contains materials that polymerize at a certain
temperature and which would lead to a significant
fouling deposit then good predictions can be vital.
The rigorous exchanger model can predict local
fi lm temperatures within an operating process and
allow the operator to ensure he is outside the limits
where polymerization can take place. The process
can be maintained with minimum downtime and
maximum efficiency.”
Perstorp, Perstorp, Sweden, has used Aspen’s
Tasc+ to optimize heat exchanger performance and
eliminate downtime. “A most important factor in
apparatus design is the fact that non-working equip-
ment is often very expensive. Cost of downtime is
$90,000 to $150,000/day for a typical large-scale
polyol factory. For that reason a reliable design tool
such as Tasc+ is of highest importance,” says Oleg
Pajalic, process engineer.
The full impact of new technologies such as twisted
tube exchangers from Koch Heat Transfer, Houston
and hiTRAN wire matrix inserts from Cal Gavin,
Alcester, U.K., only can be gauged by a simulation
including rigorous models of each exchanger, Ralston
also points out. While modeling novel proprietary ex-
changers isn’t a trivial task, the biggest challenge is the
Lower operating costs
with variable pitch rotary screw vacuum pumps
1-800-USA-PUMP • www.buschusa.com
CP0912_21_23_SOLIDS.indd 23
RELATED CONTENT ON
CHEMICALPROCESSING.COM
“Are Your Heat Exchanger Calculations Really Right?,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/122.html
“Effective Simulation Requires a Broader Scope of Process
Heat Transfer Measurements,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2005/491.html
“Keep Heat Transfer Repairs Uneventful,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2005/532.html
“Take the Heat Off,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2004/172.html
conceptual design of the interface between the software
tools, which relies on a strong collaboration between
the partner companies, he says.
However, the rewards can be impressive: optimiza-
tion of a large feed/effluent heat exchanger revamp on
a major European plant by use of Tasc+ and hiTRAN
inserts has resulted in a 20% increase in overall film
coefficient, re-use of the existing shell, annual fired
heater savings of $75,000 and a 1,700-m.t./yr decrease
in carbon dioxide emissions.
COBRA variable pitch dry screw
pumps help optimize vacuum
efficiency and reduce operating
costs by combining high flow rates
with low power consumption and
reduced utilities.
Contact us today for a free cost
analysis for your process application.
11/17/09 3:29 PM
 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) now has assigned sites covered by the Chemi-
cal Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) into
one of four risk-based tiers (for more on CFATS, see
“Defuse CFATS Challenges, www.ChemicalProcess
ing.com/articles/2009/046.html). The tier assign-
ment will drive specific security standards that facili-
ties must implement to comply with the regulation.
Within 120 days of receiving its tier notification
letter, a site must communicate the elements of its
site security plan (SSP) to DHS for administrative
approval. This must outline how it will meet the 18
risk-based performance standards (RBPS).
Compliance likely will incur a substantial
cost. Based on nearly 20 preliminary engineering
studies, estimates have run from $500,000 to $2
million per site.
Using an alternative security program (ASP) for
the SSP offers several potential benefits — including
an initial saving of staff time and thousands of dollars.
In addition, an ASP may provide an overall better
security posture against the entire spectrum of threats,
not just those from terrorism. So, here, we’ll:
• look at possible advantages of preparing an ASP;
• provide a model outline for an operational SSP
that can be used in addition to, or as a substitute
for filing, an online SSP via the DHS Chemical
Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) software;
• illustrate key decisions for determining an ap-
propriate strategy for meeting the RBPS;
• point up the importance of involving law en-
forcement in the gap analysis process as part of
the site’s security planning process; and
• discuss a potential challenge for small- to mid-
size companies.
December 2009 chemicalprocessing.com  24
CP0912_25_28_Instru.indd 24
SSP options
The regulation stipulates three basic requirements for
a SSP:
1. addressing weaknesses identified in the facility’s
security vulnerability assessment (SVA) and
identifying and describing security measures to
handle each;
2. specifying how selected security measures deal
with applicable RBPS and potential modes of
terrorist attacks; and
3. delineating how measures will meet or exceed
each applicable performance standard for the
facility’s assigned tier.
A site can provide information on its SSP to DHS
in one of two ways.
The first is via the DHS’s Chemical Security As-
sessment Tool (CSAT) software, similar to that used by
most sites to file their SVA. Filing the SSP online involves
hundreds of pages of questions and answers. This process
is time-consuming and requires a great deal of up front
data collection before sitting down at the computer.
Another significant downside is that there won’t be any
output from the CSAT software that subsequently can
serve as an operational security plan. Such a plan is nec-
essary to guide security and other employees as they meet
the security commitments on a day-to-day basis. So, the
site still will have the task of developing this plan.
Additionally, the online SSP requests a substantial
amount of detail about physical security such as the
types of access control measures, door hardware, cam-
era types and lighting levels in various parts of the site.
Sites likely will need a qualified security professional
to help collect these data and prepare them for online
submission. That person either can be an in-house
or external resource — but ensure that any outside
11/17/09 3:30 PM
 person you use is Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability
Information (CVI) certified before any information
exchange takes place. It’s not difficult to achieve CVI
certification; it can be done online at (www.dhs.gov/
xprevprot/programs/gc_1181835547413.shtm.)
An ASP also is acceptable for communicating the
SSP to DHS. This alternative to online submission
may make a lot more sense for some organizations and
cost significantly less to implement. This concept is
similar to that of the ASP that Tier Four sites could
submit as part of the SVA process but applies to all
facilities’ SSP requirement. We recommend that com-
panies consider this approach, particularly if they have
a number of regulated sites.
Organizations with multiple sites can prepare a
model corporate ASP. This then can be amended to
meet the unique requirements of each regulated site
and submitted to meet the SSP requirement, creating
additional efficiencies.
A security program sophisticated enough to address
terrorism demands good documentation — to maintain
continuity as personnel changes occur at a facility. Ac-
cording to one chemical industry trade association, “to
sustain a consistent and reliable security program over
time, companies must document the key elements of
their program. Consistency and reliability will translate
into a more secure workplace and community.”
A CFATS security program requires substantial
training for people with security duties, other employ-
ees and even contractors. Such programs need close
coordination with local law enforcement agencies.
Table 1 outlines the contents of a typical security
plan. Whether a facility elects to prepare an operational
security plan after filing online via CSAT or to use it as

ASP Model
Plan DHS CFATS Risk-Based
Title Notes
Section Performance Standard
Leadership commitment • O fficials and organization (RBPS 17) Defines security organization to manage crimi-
1
nal/terrorist risks.
Analysis of threats, vulnerabili- • Specific threats, vulnerabilities and risk Identifies risk based on assessment of threat.
ties and consequences (RBPS 14) Requires ongoing mechanisms to monitor for
2 changes in dynamic threats (see RBPS 15 and 16).

Implementation of security
measures
3
4 Information and cyber security
5 Documentation
• Perimeter security (RBPS 1) Meets the bulk of operational security re-
• Securing site assets (RBPS 2) quirements to safeguard people, assets and
• Screen and control access (RBPS 3) information. Requires implementing baseline
• Deter, detect and delay (RBPS 4) security measures in normal threat conditions.
• Shipping and receiving (RBPS 5)
• Theft and diversion (RBPS 6)
• Sabotage (RBPS 7)
• Personnel Surety (RBPS 12)
• Cyber security (RBPS 8)
• Records (RBPS 18)

6 Training, drills and guidance • Training (RBPS 11)

Communications, dialogue and • Reporting of significant security inci-
7 information exchange dents (RBPS 15 — partial)
• Significant security incidents and suspi-
cious activities (RBPS 16 – partial)
Response to security threats • Elevated threats (RBPS 13) Defines measures that are implemented if DHS
8 elevates threat condition or when threats are
directed at a specific organization.
Response to security incidents • Response (RBPS 9)
• Reporting of significant security inci-
9 dents (RBPS 15 — partial)
• Significant security incidents and suspi-
cious activities (RBPS 16 — partial)
10 Audits/third-party verification • Monitoring (RBPS 10 — partial)
Management of change/con- • Monitoring (RBPS 10 — partial)
11
tinuous improvement
Table 1. This model uses the security management systems cited in the Responsible Care Code of Management Practices of the American
Chemistry Council (ACC). If a site has adopted an operational security plan consistent with the ACC model, risk-based performance stan-
dards should align well with that model. Other models for security management systems also are available.

25  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009

CP0912_25_28_Instru.indd 25 11/17/09 3:30 PM

 a time- and cost-savings initiative
to submit as an ASP, the elements
remain the same.
A properly prepared security
plan satisfies a fundamental
business need to address the full
spectrum of threats, not just those
from terrorism. In many cases,
other risks (i.e., theft, fraud,
ChemProc1109half-ol-cs4.pdf 1 10/7/2009 3:15:30 PM
C
M
Y case-by-case basis.
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
CP0912_25_28_Instru.indd 26
workplace violence, product
pilferage, etc.) represent more
likely worst-case scenarios.
Consequently, a comprehensive
security plan may do more to
improve an organization’s securi-
ty posture and bottom line than
a plan focused solely on terror-
ism. In some cases, the failure
WHAT TYPE OF PHYSICAL
SECURITY IS RIGHT FOR
YOUR SITE?
Performance metrics associated with
the physical security elements of the
RBPS likely will result in the great-
est cost expenditure. Facilities can
choose one of two physical security
approaches — focusing either on the
perimeter or critical assets. The most
appropriate decision depends upon
the unique characteristics of the site.
For example, consider a recent
study for a mining operation cover-
ing more than 11,000 acres. Its criti-
cal assets needing protection are lo-
cated in a 250 ft. × 400 ft. area. So,
it makes most sense to target the
security design on that small area
rather than trying to provide protec-
tion for the entire 11,000 acres.
Compliance could be achieved with
a much lower expenditure.
In contrast, large sites with
widely spread out critical assets may
have to apply security measures such
as intrusion detection, vehicle barri-
ers, surveillance and access control
measures to their perimeters.
So, evaluate each facility on a
Start by identifying the loca-
tion of critical assets that must be
protected (as defined in a facility’s
SVA). Designers must use experi-
ence and common sense to deter-
mine the best way to, among other
things:
• keep vehicles away from the
critical assets;
• control access from unauthor-
ized persons;
• provide a means to detect
unauthorized access attempts;
and
• establish a way to assess
alarms in a timely manner.
While generally more expensive,
the perimeter-based approach does
have an upside from the security
effectiveness standpoint. In theory,
such an approach, if effectively
11/17/09 3:31 PM
 oping the strategy for an opera- are housed. However, depending
designed, likely will detect an tional security plan is whether the on the site’s size and concentra-
unauthorized access attempt physical security defense plan will tion of critical assets, it may be
earlier — providing more time for emphasize the facility’s perimeter far more cost-effective to channel
a facility and local law enforcement or will take a more asset-based investments to specific areas of the
to respond to interdict a terrorist approach. An asset-based approach facility (see sidebar).
attack. may require a greater investment in Involving local law enforcement
You should assess a number barriers and technical measures in- agencies is an important aspect of
of factors when developing a side the facility where critical assets gap analysis and security planning.
physical security design to comply
UltimaXHART-5519_CP.qxp:Layout 1 10/20/09 9:33 AM Page 1
with the RBPS. The best advice is
to carefully consider the results
required in your security program,
use a competent independent
designer (i.e., one not tied to
a vendor of security products
or services), and determine the
appropriate staging plan to
OUR MISSION
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security measures over time. YOUR SAFETY
to properly predict and manage
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RELATED CONTENT ON
CHEMICAL PROCESSING.COM
“Defuse CFATS Challenges,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2009/046.html.
“Feel Secure about Vulnerability Assessments,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/046.html.
“Get Ready to Comply with New Security Mandates,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/095.html.
“Protect the Perimeter and the Process,”
www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2006/054.html.
In a survey of more than a dozen regulated facilities in rural
areas of the U.S., none of the responding Sheriff ’s Depart-
ments was aware of the requirement for CVI training. As a
result, nobody in those agencies has a CVI certificate that
would have allowed the site and its consultant to discuss
regulatory requirements or share detailed security-planning
information for the betterment of the security program.
A review of the National Sheriff ’s Association Web site
reveals no information on CFATS or CVI. This suggests
that additional communication is needed between DHS
and the local law enforcement community. Until then,
sites must address the need for CVI certification on a
case-by-case basis. Keep in mind that it’s illegal for sites to
involve external authorities in detailed planning until CVI
certification can be proven.
An additional challenge for small- to mid-sized compa-
nies is to determine exactly how all of this work to imple-
ment the regulation will get done. Typically, this size firm
assigns security to non-security professionals with other
responsibilities — we call them facility security officers;
they may never have received training in security manage-
ment. A closely related regulation, the Marine Transporta-
tion Security Act, stipulates the skills and competencies re-
quired of a facility security officer. My firm now is training
CFATS facility security officers to close the gap left open
by the lack of specific requirements in the regulation.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
Regulated chemical facilities now must make a SSP com-
mitment to DHS. Corporate management may want to
consider developing an operational security plan to serve
as a substitute for the online filing of a CSAT SSP. At a
minimum, we recommend having a documented security
plan in place by the time a DHS inspector arrives for the
on-site inspection. The ASP approach can help facility and
security managers achieve this goal.
FRANK PISCIOTTA is president of Business Protection Specialists,
Canandaigua, N.Y., and is a Certified Security Consultant. E-mail him
at fp@securingpeople.com.
11/19/09 9:58 AM
 PROCESS puzzler

Guard Against Gas

Readers suggest the source of a safety stumper

FOLLOW SAFETY STANDARDS This month’s puzzler

Prior to any welding or hot work operation, the
room in the affected area should be tested for any
hydrocarbons present above the lower explosive limit
(LEL). Purging the inside of the line is not sufficient.
It is critical that the outside of the line and the adja-
cent area be free of flammable gases as well.
Kenneth Russell, technical manager - compounding
Solvay Advanced Polymers, Alpharetta, Ga.
One of our welders got hurt cutting into a carbon steel header for a
chilled brine line to install another chiller in the closed-loop system. He
purged the piping but not the room. An invisible gas ignited from his
torch. Our plant environment contains chlorine and other corrosives. What
was the source of the gas? How can we prevent future accidents and what
do we need to change in the system to avoid such safety problems?

IT’S A CONFINED SPACE months, you’re stuck with monitoring for a low
Rooms should be reviewed for confined space status. pH and changing some of the process parameters.
If the pH of the circulating water is about neutral,
If there is little or no ventilation, then confined space
can be an issue. When welding or any other hot-work it won’t take much of a leak to change the pH.
activity must be performed, then the preparations mustAlthough the hydrogen reaction is fairly quick, any
leak should change the pH enough to forewarn
include testing to determine if the atmosphere is safe.
The chemical is probably one of the ones you are con- against hydrogen formation.
cerned about and was there in trace amounts that were Another possible safeguard might be a buffering
sufficient to be flammable. An LEL meter or a specificagent. A pH probe could detect the initial dip in pH
and allow the buffer to prevent excess hydrogen genera-
instrument to sense the potential gases is a necessity.
tion. Venting might also help. Maybe this is a solution.
Jim Becker, instrument reliability engineer
Bayer MaterialScience LLC, Baytown, Texas Now it’s time to consider prevention. The pipe
should have been purged with an inert gas before the
CONDUCT A JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS welding. The work should follow lock-out-tag-out and
Hydrogen was the hidden flammable gas. The process enclosed-space entry procedures and include a trained
of rusting depends on the availability of water and sentry to monitor conditions, especially flammable gas
oxygen. In an oxygen-poor environment, if the pH is concentrations and breathable air. Why not simplify
low, perhaps because of a heat exchanger leak or poor things? Move it outside. The tie-in should be located
management of the chemistry of the closed circulating outside in a well-ventilated place to reduce the risk
system, hydrogen gas can be produced: and the regulatory requirements.
Because there’s no way to prevent iron from Dirk Willard, senior process engineer
rusting and minor leaks can go undetected for International Steel Services, Inc., New Caledonia

FEbruary’S PUZZLER
We’re trying to establish the start-up procedure for
burners in a natural draught incinerator. As always,
there’s the danger that a burner may not light in time to
avoid tripping the infrared flame sensors. The standard
practice after a trip is to purge any fuel present accord-
ing to NFPA guidelines. This would be easy if we used
natural gas — but this incinerator is in China and uses
coke oven gas that contains hydrogen cyanide. How
can we modify the purge procedure for this fuel? Do we
need to change the burner design and other incinerator
components to handle it?
Send us your comments, suggestions or solutions for
this question by January 8, 2010. We’ll include as many
of them as possible in the February 2010 issue and all on
CP.com. Send visuals — a sketch is fine. E-mail us at Pro-
cessPuzzler@putman.net or mail to Process Puzzler, Chem-
ical Processing, 555 W. Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL
60143. Fax: (630) 467-1120. Please include your name, title,
location and company affiliation in the response.
And, of course, if you have a process problem you’d
like to pose to our readers, send it along and we’ll be
pleased to consider it for publication.

29  chemicalprocessing.com December 2009

CP0912_29_PUZZ.indd 29 11/17/09 3:32 PM

 plant insites
Assess the Gravity of the Situation
Flow systems without pumps demand particular attention
Due to pumps we tend to get careless in consider-
ing flow systems. A few inches of fluid pressure drop
aren’t very important when we shed multiple psi
across a control valve. In contrast, without a pump,
small pressure drops count. As a result, gravity-
flow, free-surface and open-channel systems cause a
disproportionately high number of flow problems at
Without a pump, plants.
Gravity-flow systems get their driving force from
small pressure static head of liquid. Free-surface flow includes piping
drops count. systems where flow rate (usually generated by gravity)
doesn’t completely fill a pipe or duct. Open-channel
systems are similar except that the flow channel isn’t
fully closed.
Let’s examine two common cases that often go
together: free draining from a vessel and free-surface
flow in a pipe.
Many vessels have had problems with free-
draining connections. Once a nozzle unseals, vapor
can enter with the liquid flow. To prevent vapor
locking the draw line, liquid velocity must be low
enough to allow vapor to vent back into the vessel.
Free-surface flow into a nozzle can be very complex.
Flow behavior depends upon density difference
between vapor and liquid, flow patterns entering
the nozzle, velocity of incoming liquid and many
other factors. The only sure method to provide free-
surface flow is to make the inlet nozzle big enough
that some of the more unusual flow patterns don’t
get established.
Achieving reliable free-surface flow requires evalu-
ating the flowing liquid’s Froude number. In general
this dimensionless number is the ratio of gravity to
inertial forces. Gravity (or applied) forces represent
energy driving flow while inertial forces (opposing
forces) represent resistance to flow.
Fr = V/c (1) cosity fluids (e.g., water and light hydrocarbons). If
where Fr is the Froude number, V is the character-
istic velocity of the system, and c is a characteristic
wave-propagation velocity. Unfortunately, the exact
form V and c take in a specific application depends
upon circumstances.
Modifying the Froude number to a dimensionless
superficial volumetric flux (J*) suitable for use with
venting nozzles we get:
J* = 4Q/[πd2(gd)0.5] (2)
where Q is volumetric rate of flow, d is actual inside
diameter, not nominal pipe diameter, and g is the
gravitational constant, all in consistent units.
December 2009 chemicalprocessing.com  30
CP0912_30_InSites.indd 30
Simpson identified a maximum upper value of
0.3 for the Froude number for reliable self-venting
flow through a nozzle entering a vertical pipe [Perry’s
Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, 8th ed., p. 6-29
(2008)]. This means the outlet nozzle will run less
than half full at the nozzle entrance and gives the
design equations:
d = 4.27Q 0.4 (3)
for d in cm and Q in m3/hr, and
d = 0.928Q 0.4 (4)
for d in in. and Q in gpm.
These equations allow us to find the minimum
required diameter to reliably get a specific flow rate if
the nozzle isn’t fully flooded.
The second common situation involves a partially
full near-horizontal pipe. Flow requires pressure drop.
In gravity-flow systems pressure drop comes from
height of liquid. Partially full pipes must slope to
provide height of liquid to drive fluid flow. The ques-
tion is, how much? Many mechanical and chemical
engineers use arbitrary standards. Few of them have
heard of the Chezy formula for estimating fluid veloc-
ity in a sloped line:
v = (2g/f )0.5(dhs/4)0.5 (5)
where v is fluid velocity, f is Fanning friction factor,
dh is hydraulic diameter, and s is sine of the slope
angle. (The first term sometimes is the Chezy coef-
ficient, C.) At a constant slope, s equals the height
difference divided by the length of pipe.
For sizes smaller than 6 in., pipe should run no
more than 50% full to allow for vapor backflow; for
pipes larger than 6 in., most applications can toler-
ate up to 75%-full pipes. For the relatively short
lengths typically encountered at process plants a
40:1 slope is a good starting point for evaluating
piping systems with commercial pipe and low vis-
available, steeper slopes allow for smaller diameter
pipes.
Use flooded-nozzle sizing to set initial intake
size, establish flow with a gradual slope, then
increase the slope and smoothly decrease pipe
diameter to reduce investment. With large systems,
long pipe runs and more complex layouts, some
research to decide on hydraulic design will reward
your efforts.
andrew sloley, Contributing Editor
ASloley@putman.net
11/17/09 3:33 PM
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 END POINT
Are Chief Execs Paid Too Much?
Engineer applies economic entropy to analyze CEOs’ salaries
A chemical engineer with a background in com-
plex systems management has applied his statistical
thermodynamics expertise to salaries to discover that
many CEOs are being paid more than 100 times
what they should be.
Venkat Venkatasubramanian, a professor of
chemical engineering at Purdue University, West
2008 salaries of Lafayette, Ind., outlines his theory in the November 3
issue of the online journal Entropy. The paper, “What
the top 35 U.S. is Fair Pay for Executives? An Information Theoretic
CEOs were about Analysis of Wage Distributions,” can be downloaded
at www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/11/4/766.
129 times their For many years his research has focused on: risk
ideal fair salaries. analysis and management of complex engineered
systems; molecular products engineering; cyberinfra-
structure for pharmaceutical engineering and materials
design; and complex adaptive systems. He addressed
these problems using artificial intelligence, informatics,
statistics and mathematical programming techniques.
“You might ask why a chemical engineer is con-
cerned with economics and CEO salaries,” Venkata-
subramanian says. “Well, it turns out that the same
concepts and mathematics used to solve problems in
statistical thermodynamics and information theory
also can be applied to economic issues, such as the
determination of fair CEO salaries.”
Central to his theory is the economic interpreta-
tion of entropy. “There have been many attempts to
find a suitable interpretation of entropy for economic
systems without much success,” he explains. “Just as
entropy is a measure of disorder in thermodynamics
and uncertainty in information theory, what would
entropy mean in economics?”
Entropy is a measure of “fairness” in economic
systems, revealing a connection between statistical ther-
modynamics, information theory and economics, says
Venkatasubramanian. Using the theory, the ideal pay
distribution is determined to be ”log normal,” a way of
characterizing data patterns in probability and statistics.
Venkatasubramanian estimates that 2008 salaries
of the top 35 U.S. CEOs were about 129 times their
ideal fair salaries. CEOs in the Standard & Poor’s 500
averaged about 50 times their fair pay, raising ques-
tions about efficiency of the free market to properly
determine fair CEO pay, he says. Fair pay for an
average S&P 500 CEO should ideally be in the range
from eight to 16 times the lowest employee salary.
The ratio of CEO pay to the lowest employee sal-
ary has gone up from about 40-to-1 in the 1970s to as
December 2009 chemicalprocessing.com  34
CP0912_34_ENDPNT.indd 34
high as 344-to-1 in recent years in the U.S. However,
the ratio has remained around 20-to-1 in Europe and
11-to-1 in Japan, according to available data, he says.
“These ratios are not that far off, when compared
to U.S. ratios, from the ideal benchmark estimates from
my theory,” he says. “Even in the U.S., the CEO pay ra-
tios in the 1960s and 1970s were much more reasonable
and in general agreement with the ideal values. So the
executive pay excesses appear to be a recent phenome-
non. This appears to be another valuation bubble — the
CEO valuation bubble — much like the ones we have
witnessed in stocks, real estate and commodities.”
Venkatasubramanian and his co-authors conclude
that a certain amount of seeming inequality of pay
is inevitable in organizations. “Given this reality, the
log-normal distribution is the fairest inequality of pay.
One may view our result as an economic law in the
statistical thermodynamics sense. The free market will
‘discover’ and obey this economic law if allowed to
function freely and efficiently without collusion like
practices or other such unfair interferences.”
This result is the economic equivalent to the
Boltzmann distribution of the energy landscape for
ideal gases. In spirit, it‘s like Boyle‘s law for ideal gases,
which ignores factors such as intermolecular and mo-
lecular forces, but nevertheless provides a useful basis
for developing models for non-ideal systems.
“In a similar manner, our theory has its obvious
limitations and does not take into account industry
or company specific factors, complexities of human
interactions, competition and other market conditions,
and so on,” they conclude. “However, we present it with
the hope of stimulating further research to examine its
implications in greater depth and breadth for a wide
variety of contexts in economics and social sciences.”
“This paper tackles an important problem in a
new way. Venkat is a brilliant engineer who sees pat-
terns that others miss. It’s wonderful to see this kind
of cross-disciplinary investigation, broadening the
range of ideas and mathematical tools being applied
to crucial issues like CEO pay,” says William Masters,
professor and associate head of Purdue’s Department
of Agricultural Economics.
CP’s latest survey shows (www.ChemicalProcessing.
com/articles/2009/072.html), chemical engineers’ aver-
age salary reported by respondents is $107,804.
Seán ottewell, Editor at Large
sottewell@putman.net
11/17/09 3:35 PM
CP0912_FPA.indd 35 11/18/09 11:01 AM
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