Put the “NEW” sticker on something and people are bound to look. In today’s society, we always want to be on board with the latest, the hippest, the most cutting edge __________(fill in the blank). This excitement about novelty also extends to process engineering doesn’t it? Sometimes at the expense of evidence-based process.
Who enjoys a new challenge? The latest BHS Filtration newsletter, A&SoF, focuses on “new challenges…and the development of new processes.”
An ACHEMA-2015 Decision Brief noted, “despite their innate conservatism, the chemical, pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries are always looking for new products.” They’re driven by a need for improved efficiency, cost savings, regulatory changes, and a desire to be more environmentally friendly. Yet the impulse is the same…new = better.
Evidence-based process development
Also in the newsletter, authors from SEFAR AG, a leading filter media supplier, outline new possibilities in vacuum and pressure filtration. Highlighting and describing variables and performance criteria to properly select the most efficient filter media Bartholdi, Erlenmaier, Seitz, and Maurer, consider experience and expectations in addressing current demands and trends in various liquid-solid separation applications.
After all, it’s our job as process engineers to make sure the new = better mantra holds true. It’s up to us to take the time and demonstrate the diligence to insure a new process design is actually an improvement. New for the sake of new does no good.
Collaborating with professionals across several different cultures and with varying experiences is one of the best ways to make sure our desire for “new” accomplishes design improvements that actually do make a positive difference.
BHS prides itself on evidence-based process development. We’d love to partner with you via lab and pilot-plant testing or in one our lunch and learn filtration brainstorming sessions. Just let me know!