For more than two decades, peristaltic (hose) pump technology has proven to offer the performance and reliability that can make it a first-choice pumping option for wastewater treaters who crave highly reliable, environmentally friendly, low-maintenance pump operation.

Leaders from the process automation industry came together at the recently organized Namur meeting which was once again held as a virtual event this year. MTP, NOA, APL, and robots were the core topics discussed at the meeting. PROCESS has summarized the exciting two-day event.

The mixing of a viscoplastic fluid with an anchor impeller is studied visually. Three different types of experiments, documented through videos and still images, demonstrate the existence of an unyielded region, rotating like a rigid body. These results are in good agreement with previous workers’ numerical predictions, and dramatically show the influence of yield stress on mixing effectiveness, even with a well-designed agitation system. The unyielded region is the equivalent, for a close-clearance impeller, of the stagnant region outside the well-known ‘cavern’ forming around a small-diameter impeller. Furthermore, for such systems the presence of motion is not by itself a criterion by which quality of mixing can be assessed.

For process automation specialist Endress+Hauser, the Field Xpert SMT70 plant asset management tablet has become an indispensable mobile workstation for customer applications. The hardware basis for this intelligent mobile device is provided by the Pad-Ex 01 from Pepperl+Fuchs brand Ecom Instruments, an intrinsically safe Windows tablet for industrial use. Thanks to the combination of this hardware and the cloud-based IIoT ecosystem Netilion, Endress+Hauser was able to master a tricky diagnostic task at a customer company and resolve previously inexplicable plant downtimes.

Achema back as a live event for the first time since it was postponed— After some back and forth, the leading trade fair for the process industry opens its doors in August. Despite great anticipation for the upcoming meeting, expectations are mixed. Achema between the Ukraine war and the fading pandemic.

Global chemical company Kuraray switched the documentation procedure at its process plant in Höchst, Germany and opted for Rösberg’s Prodok NG computer aided engineering system for instrumentation and control. Stepwise and automatic migration of the existing plant data to the new consistent CAE system enabled Kuraray to set the course for future plant modernizations.

The cost of natural gas for industrial heating processes, electric power and HVAC is rising while emissions controls also grow more stringent. Engineers must adapt and learn how to better control the calorific value of their gas feeds to optimize industrial heating processes. Controlling your burn reduces consumption, costs and emissions.

The world’s largest chemical company will soon be in China! The merger of chemical giants Sinochem and ChemChina has recently been approved, thus, paving the way for Sinochem Holdings, a mighty single organisation with estimated sales of more than 144 billion dollars! In this background, we bring to you the top 10 chemical companies in China making headlines.

China wants to reduce its ‘import dependence’ on engineering plastics. This is stated in the new 14th five-year plan of the communist leadership in Beijing, which has its eye on the strategic value of these special chemicals used across a number of domestic industries. Recently, concrete targets for ‘self-sufficiency’ in these materials were published, reports the chemical newspaper Zhongguo Huagong Xinxi Zhoukan.

To deal with the global plastic waste problem, at great deal of hope is placed in chemical recycling processes. But can the process hold up to these high expectations? An expert discussion at Achema Pulse addressed the potentials and challenges of the technology. PROCESS worldwide listened in on the session and summarized the most important statements for you.