Global Experts Contribute Know-How in Integration and Optimization of Unit Operations
Over my career of 40 years in the process industry and unit operations, writing has always been a passion for me. It represents an opportunity to convey concepts, ideas, and technical information in a manner that makes sense to the audience. My technical and marketing application articles — more than 150 to date — culminated in 2015 with the publication of my first book for Elsevier, Handbook of Solid-Liquid Filtration. On the strength of the Handbook’s market acceptance, Elsevier asked me…
Mixing Drying Technology Across Industries
Last year, BHS announced its acquisition of AVA-GmbH company and its mixing, drying technology. Combining our engineering expertise and project management know-how helps us both better provide a full process solution including mixing-reacting-filtration-cake washing-dewatering and final bone-dry powder. It’s been a year, so let’s now take a look at the different industry application for AVA dryers. The AVA dryer technology handles mixing, drying, reacting, granulating, sterilizing, evaporating,…
Engineer Checklists and Learning from Apollo
Recently, I discussed the five management lessons that we can learn from the Apollo lunar landing in 1969. Continuing on this theme, an article in The Chemical Engineer, “Houston-We have a checklist” a UK magazine that I write for, had an interesting take on the lunar landing and engineer checklists. I was intrigued, of course, as I periodically invoke Sherlock Holmes and the benefits of checklists for testing, analysis, etc. The magazine article, written by Mark Yates, looks at the…
Innovation Risks & Two Success Stories
Image source: Business Week One key element of innovation success is taking risks. I’ve recently read two articles where major breakthroughs in human health started with innovation risks. The two stories are a great reminder that we need to step up to challenges and look at the world anew to innovate! In our first case, from Business Week, a chemical engineer named David Whitlock became interested in biology after a tubby date asked him why her horse rolls in the dirt, even in the cool…
P&IDs and Process Evolution
P&IDs are par for the course in process engineering. Recently, I was poring over P&IDs and process planning for several projects. Each project was multinational, multicultural, and extremely complex. For one specialty chemical filtration application, part of a plant expansion in the southern United States, the engineering company is in the Southeast while the existing processes were from the Netherlands and Austria. In another project, with a similar scope, the plant expansion and the…