Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with teams from the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague and Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Ústí nad Labem have developed a new 2D material to produce hydrogen, which is the basis of alternative energy. The material efficiently generates hydrogen molecules from fresh, salt, and polluted water by exposure to sunlight.
The developed material is a three-layer structure with a 1-micrometer thickness. The lower layer is a thin film of gold, the second one is made of 10-nanometer platinum, and the third is a film of metal-organic frameworks of chromium compounds and organic molecules.
“During the experiments, we watered material and sealed the container to take periodic gas samples to determine the amount of hydrogen. Infrared light caused the excitation of plasmon resonance on the sample surface. Hot electrons generated on the gold film were transferred to the platinum layer. These electrons initiated the reduction of protons at the interface with the organic layer. If electrons reach the catalytic centers of metal-organic frameworks, the latter were also used to reduce protons and obtain hydrogen,” Olga Guselnikova, one of the authors and a researcher of the TPU Research School of Chemistry & Applied Biomedical Sciences, explains.
Experiments have demonstrated that 100 square centimeters of the material can generate 0.5 liters of hydrogen in an hour. It is one of the highest rates recorded for 2D materials.
“In this case, the metal-organic frame also acted as a filter. It filtered impurities and passed already purified water without impurities to the metal layer. It is very important, because, although there is a lot of water on Earth, its main volume is either salt or polluted water. Thereby, we should be ready to work with this kind of water,” Olga notes.
Hydrogen Generation from Salt and Polluted Water
Tandem Catalytic System for Efficient Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
Inspired by naturally occurring processes, a team of Boston College chemists used a multi-catalyst system to convert carbon dioxide to methanol at the lowest temperatures reported with high activity and selectivity, the researchers reported in a recent online edition of the journal Chem. The team’s discovery was made possible by installing multiple catalysts in a single system constructed within a sponge-like porous crystalline material known as a metal-organic framework, said Boston College Associate Professors of Chemistry Jeffery Byers and Frank Tsung, lead authors of the report.
Held in place by the sponge, the separate catalysts work in harmony. Without isolation of the catalytically active species in this way, the reaction did not proceed and no product was obtained, they reported.
The team drew its inspiration from the biological machinery in cells, which use multicomponent chemical reactions with great efficiency, Tsung said.
The team employed catalyst separation through host-guest chemistry – where a “guest” molecule is encapsulated in a “host” material to form a new chemical compound – in order to convert carbon dioxide to methanol. The approach, inspired by the multicomponent catalytic transformations in nature, converted a greenhouse gas to a renewable fuel while avoiding high catalytic demand on a single species.
Positioning multiple transition metal complex catalysts at the right position in a system is critical to the reaction turning over. At the same time, encapsulating these catalysts allowed for recyclability in the multicomponent catalytic system, said a researcher.
These properties make the multicomponent catalyst construct more industrially relevant, which may pave the way for a carbon-neutral fuel economy, the researchers said.
In addition to achieving site isolation by encapsulating the catalysts, which led to catalyst activity and recyclability, the team discovered an autocatalytic feature of the catalyst that enabled the reaction to be run without the need for large amounts of additives. Most previous reports for similar reactions use large amounts of additives, but the team’s approach avoids this necessity.
Graphene-Based Catalyst to Increase Durability of Fuel Cells
The research team, involving scientists from Queen Mary University of London and University College London (UCL), showed that a new type of graphene-based catalyst was more durable than commercially available catalysts and matched their performance. The study is published in the journal Nanoscale. Scientists produced graphene via a special, scalable technique and used it to develop hydrogen fuel cell catalysts. Hydrogen fuel cells convert chemical energy into electrical power by combining hydrogen and oxygen with the aid of catalysts. As the only by-product of the reaction is water, they provide an efficient and environmentally friendly power source.
Platinum is the most widely used catalyst for these fuel cells, but its high cost is a big problem for the commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cells. To address this issue, commercial catalysts are typically made by decorating tiny nanoparticles of platinum onto a cheaper carbon support, however the poor durability of the material greatly reduces the lifetime of current fuel cells.
The technique described in the study produces high-quality graphene decorated with platinum nanoparticles in a one-pot synthesis. This process could be scaled up for mass production, opening up the use of graphene-based catalysts for widespread energy applications.
The researchers confirmed the durability of the graphene-based catalyst using a type of test based on those recommended by the US Department of Energy (DoE), known as accelerated stress tests. Accelerated stress tests deliberately stress the catalyst rapidly over many cycles in a short space of time, allowing scientists to assess the stability of new materials without having to use them in an operational fuel cell over a period of months or years.
Using these tests, the scientists showed that loss in activity over the same testing period was around 30 per cent lower in the newly developed graphene-based catalyst, compared with commercial catalysts.
Chemical Industry Digest – July Issue 2020
Ushering in an Era of Sustainable Growth
– Alka Talwar- Tata Chemicals
A top management commitment from chemical companies is a must
to make sustainability happen. Challenges towards this are described in
this article along with possible solutions.
Sustainability and Circular Economy in Chemical Projects
– Dr. V.V.Mahajani
Terminologies on sustainability and circular economy are generally
used interchangeably though these are not the same. While sustainability
focuses on preventing harm done to the ecosystem, a circular economy
aims to generate no waste. Our author describes these two terms with
detailed examples in this article.
Sustainable Chemistry in Pharmaceutical Industry
– Dr. Shreerang Joshi, Nachiket N. Dandekar- ICT Mumbai
Pharmaceutical manufacturing is one of the most polluting. However
as the article elaborates, with sustainable chemistry this problem can be
addressed to great extent.
Circular Fuels and Sustainability, a Study on Their Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts
– Arindam Chakraborty, Siddharth Vashisth, Fortum India
Hydrocarbon fuels are the most polluting. A circular economy needs
bio-based circular fuels as explained in this article with an example of
bioethanol.
Industrial Ecological Process of Manufacturing of- Budesonide
– Anant Thakor, Dr. Abhay H. Chheda, Dr. Geeta R. Desai,
Dr.Tejas J. Shah, Avik Pharmaceuticals
A novel, cleaner and better process for manufacturing the bulk drug
budesonide with lesser number of steps is described in this article.
The Current Status of Hydrogen Economy
– Prof. B. Viswanathan
Despite the promise of the hydrogen economy, it has not taken off
due to several factors as described in this article, which gives an overview
of the current status, and the need of more research to overcome these
obstacles.
Landfill Leachate Management: Current Scenario and Future Prospects
– Dr. A Gangagni Rao, Sameena Begum, Sudharshan Juntupally, Vijayalakshmi, Jayanth T.A.S., CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad
It is important to manage and treat landfill leachate, as otherwise it
would contaminate both ground and surface waters. It has been found
that anaerobic digestion is an effective solution in treating leachate. This
article gives these details including the current scenario.
Sugarcane Bagasse as a Sustainable Biomass Source for Different Value Added Products
– Kininge M.M., Gogate P.R. – ICT Mumbai
Switching to biomass-based renewable feedstocks is an important
requirement for sustainability. Sugarcane bagasse available abundantly
in India is one such feedstock. Value added products possible from this,
and the processes are described.
Chemingineering – The Plastic Pandemic
– K. Sahasramanan, Independent Consultant
This pandemic has led to reversing the trend of phasing out plastics.
It has led to greater usage of plastics, in fact affecting sustainability. Our
columnist re-emphasises the importance of sustainability which needs
responsible use of plastics.
BASF Partners with IntelliSense.io to Accelerate Digital Transformation
BASF and IntelliSense.io, a leading industrial artificial intelligence (AI) company, announced an exclusive partnership which will combine their expertise in mineral processing, ore beneficiation chemistry and industrial AI technology. The joint offering is called the ‘BASF Intelligent Mine powered by IntelliSense.io’ and delivers AI solutions embedded with BASF’s mineral processing and chemical expertise. This solution will enable mine operations to become more efficient, sustainable and safe.
BASF Intelligent Mine powered by IntelliSense.io is an open, real-time, decision-making platform that can be configured for individual sites, typically within three months. Each mining process, such as grinding, thickening, flotation and pumping, is supported by an Optimization as a Service (OaaS) application which predicts and simulates future performance, generating process-specific recommendations for insights and optimization. As multiple OaaS applications link together, customers can generate efficiency gains throughout the entire mine-to-market value chain.
Remote operations access allows for 24/7 visibility of mine operational and financial performance, with BASF process experts available to provide real-time support. Additionally, the in-built simulation tool can be used to test alternative operating conditions, train staff and run non-intrusive ‘what if’ scenarios.
The AI solutions are based on a hybrid cloud architecture, enabling both on site and cloud deployments, to help mining industry partners accelerate their digitalization programs in their operations.
Early adopters of the Intelligent Mine, Image Resources, have experienced promising results from the Intelligent Mine deployment in the mineral sands industry.
CEOs on COVID-19: Impact on Industry and Recommendations for Revival
Chemical Industry Digest interviewed Mudit Jain, Managing Director of DCW Ltd, a major manufacturer of industrially important inorganic chemicals, to know his views on the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the chemical and allied industries.
His views on the crisis and some very radical recommendations he makes, to overhaul the entire Indian economy, so that India can become a leading economic power are published here.
Transcripts from the interview:
Chemical industry Digest (CID): What is the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on industry particularly the industry that you are in?
Mudit Jain (MJ): This crisis has been back breaking for all industries and many companies and industries may get totally demolished too, unless remedial measures are taken quickly. At the moment, there is total chaos in industry. There is huge demand destruction, across the board, for all industries. Companies, even in locked down situation, have to meet fixed costs like loan repayments, interest costs, salaries and other overheads. And there is no cash flow coming in. Industries have no money to pay and obviously, there will be salary cuts and retrenchments. I am really worried over the situation as there will be massive unemployment. Those who were earning daily wages whether in industry, trade, construction, auto/ taxi services etc. are in dire straits. I am afraid there will be social unrest and even violence if immediate succour is not made available to the severely distressed class.
CID: How is your company faring?
MJ: We are also adversely impacted, though we are a little lucky, as it is a little less comparatively, mainly because we could keep our plants working, both in Gujarat and in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. Though domestic demand is negligible we have been able to manage due to exports, particularly since our plant in Tuticorin is close to the port. In Gujarat our soda ash plant caters to the domestic demand there, while our plant in Tuticorin which produces caustic chlorine products has been mainly catering to exports. Some amount of sodium hypochlorite is also produced which is a good disinfectant, and particularly important now, for disinfection against the coronavirus. We are also shipping caustic soda to Nalco in India. So overall we are less affected.
CID: To what extent is the lockdown affecting the business and what is your opinion on lengthening the lockdown?
MJ: Very frankly, I am against the lockdown. This has only led to crippling the industry and business with demand destruction. As Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto said, lockdown is a solution looking for a problem. Lockdown should not have been imposed at all. Instead all things should have been kept open and running, while at the same time putting in place stringent protocols for movement of people, on social distancing, on transportation and travelling, on meetings and assembly of people, on the working of offices and industries etc. And the vulnerable sections of the population like the elderly and those with co-morbidities protected. This would have ensured that the challenges on the health front against the virus was taken care of with minimal damage to business & industry. But now with the lockdown gone on for more than 50 days, there is no sight of flattening the curve with cases of infection spiking every day, while at the same time it has played havoc with the economic situation for everybody, for individuals, for business & industry and even for the government, as government revenues have also been hit hard.
India is a densely populated country with our urban areas swamped with slums, where physical distancing, etc. is very difficult. The sudden announcement of the lockdown has created huge problems for migrant labour and daily wage earners whose main concern is not the threat of corona virus but their day to day livelihood without which they would die of hunger. Their problems have been aggravated by the lockdown. The migrants leaving in huge numbers will also create problems for the resumption of business and industry in the respective states.
CID: As an industry and through industry associations and bodies what recommendations have been made to the government on mitigating the economic crisis and what has been the response of the government?
MJ: We are members of different associations which include Alkali Manufacturers Association, Indian Chemical Council, and also of FICCI, which is the apex body with substantial clout. All these associations have made many recommendations to the government; such as not to impose import duties on raw materials, so that we can get raw materials at international prices; to allow a 2 year moratorium on all repayments including GST deferment etc. Today import prices have crashed and we are holding earlier inventory also which adds to the cost. We have been suggesting all these even before the crisis hit us so that domestic manufacturing could be strengthened and we could become globally competitive. Many chemicals that we can easily manufacture here are being imported as they are far cheaper than what would have been the cost to manufacture locally. It is expected according to a recent report that import of chemicals will touch $130 b by 2021, which is unsustainable for our economy. Let me give you one example, that of PVC. The domestic demand is about 3 mtpa, whereas the domestic production from all 5 manufacturers put together is only 1.5 mtpa. Despite the domestic demand, no manufacturer in India wants to expand PVC production or set up greenfield projects.
Somehow, I am not very hopeful government appreciates industry’s point of view from my past experience. Even in this crisis there isn’t any financial support from the government for industry. The old ways of government working, bureaucratic delays, approvals taking time, high taxes are all continuing.
CID: What steps can the industry take independent of government support?
MJ: Whatever steps we need to do as an industry we have been taking. About 20 years back itself we converted to the membrane process to improve energy efficiencies, increase productivity etc. Since we are a power intensive industry and power supplied by govt. electricity boards are costly, we decided to put up captive power plants. For this, at the time we requested for soft loans from the government, which was also not given.
CID: Do you see any silver lining from the crisis? There are reports that because of this crisis the entire world is not happy with China and therefore India has the opportunity to attract fresh investments and MNCs planning to relocate from China. What is your take on this?
MJ: The only silver lining I can see is that all industries are in the same boat.
I have my doubts whether companies will relocate to India from China. Of course, due to the Covid crisis there is a huge outcry to ban companies from China or not to buy products from China. I feel these are all kneejerk reactions. Why ban or restrict any company from anywhere coming to India? Whoever is willing should be allowed to come to India and set shop here. Let Indian companies compete with them. If foreign companies do anything wrong here we have laws to tackle that. Companies will come to India only when there is an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing in India. Infact, Indian companies instead of expanding or putting up projects here are setting up projects overseas. Some are even scaling down their operations here, setting up manufacturing overseas and importing those products into India. We should ponder why this is happening
CID: If you have to suggest few steps in the order of priority that the government has to take to combat the economic meltdown that is taking place due to the crisis, what would these be?
MJ: As you know the pandemic is unprecedented which has caught the world unawares and brought on an economic catastrophe of titanic proportions not seen since the great depression that started in the USA in 1929.
So we need radical and revolutionary steps to tackle this situation; incrementally addressing the economic crisis will not help much.
In fact, we should consider this crisis as an opportunity to totally revamp our economic policy, course correct and create a very enabling economic ecosystem for business & industry to flourish in India.
With this in mind, I am recommending some important steps that ought to be taken – and which can be debated – which I strongly feel, if implemented will make India an economic giant with a 100% increase in our per capital income.
- Formation Of A Body on the lines of MITI In JAPAN
Japan after it was devastated in the Second World War, created the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) to cooperate with business & industry for it to grow. The results have been spectacular with Japan pioneering the Total Quality Movement (TQM) for excellent manufacturing techniques and becoming a world power with the automobile industry in the 1970’s and electronics in the 1980’s. India can learn a lesson from Japan and set up a similar type of body under headed by the Prime Minister and comprising of experts from various fields who will will recommend and create the policies to be implemented. Such MITI type bodies should be formed in all possible areas for industry, agriculture, healthcare, education, sports and so on. Such bodies will provide tremendous growth impetus for all these areas.
- Abolishment of All Indirect and Direct Taxes
The government need not give any stimulus instead abolishing all taxes will be the biggest and best stimulus the government can provide to its people in these financially crippling times. All indirect taxes like GST and other levies and cesses, capital gains tax, STT and CTT in the stock market and direct taxes like income tax and company taxes should be abolished. Other economic packages announced will not be of much help and will not be necessary.
In this way, money will be in the hands of the public and the velocity of circulation of money will be much faster leading to greater consumption than if the government spent the money.
It is like building many check damns rather than one gigantic dam which requires much less capex and maintenance costs and is also more doable and better for the economy.
The government can still meet its expenses by drastically slashing its expenses across the board by a detailed TQM system of implementation as being done in leading corporates. In addition, the government can rely on the receipts of its public sector undertakings which are many and very big and also charge nominal fees for various services rendered such as toll tax on highways, visa fees etc.
- Print Money and Utilize in Developing Infrastructure
In these extra ordinary times, the government should throw the rule book away and focus on what needs to be done. As management experts have said it is more important to do the right thing than doing things right. The money so printed should be only utilised for infrastructure creation for roads, ports, airports, sewage plants, desalination plants etc. This will not lead to any inflation. Much needed huge and essential infrastructure will be created which the private sector cannot do with its limited resources.
- Special Emphasis on Export Promotion
It will take a long time for the Indian economy to limp back to normalcy and there will be a chicken and egg situation on whether to produce if there is no demand and how to create demand in the first place. The world is a huge market but India having less than 2% market share with services occupying the major proportion. To encourage exports and even local production, industry can become competitive if inputs supplied to it by government companies are in line with international prices. For example, state electricity boards can easily reduce their tariffs by 20% by becoming more efficient. A report mentioned that there is over 40% power loss and theft from generation to transmission. Oil companies should have import parity pricing for furnace oil as per policy laid down in the 1990’s, but not being followed. Interest rates by public sector banks should be reduced to 5% for both working capital and term loans and for exports to 1%. In addition, export incentives like MEIS should be hiked to 10% for Indian companies to be competitive in the international markets. All these measures can make Indian industry competitive and increase production.
In the last 20 years, many Indian companies have invested overseas as the costs and business climate in other geographies have been better and also many companies have closed down in India due to cheaper imports for no fault of theirs. For example, the freight costs from China to South India is approximately Re.4000 per ton whereas from South India to Delhi is Rs. 6500 per ton, all due to high taxes on petroleum products.
- Approvals from Regulatory Authorities to be outsourced to Professional Agencies
Any regulatory approvals from various bodies either at the central or state level should be outsourced to expert agencies and the government should only collate and collect a nominal fee for giving it authenticity. For example, approvals from the factories inspectorate can be outsourced to chambers of commerce or engineering standards companies; labour matters to HRD firms and trade unions etc. This will be a totally new way of doing business, as it will eliminate state and central government interference and make them mainly collators of information. This will also professionalise the mechanism of working and enable the governments to sharply reduce their costs in governing this activity.
- Encourage Employment by Companies
Another revolutionary proposal is for the government to incentivise firms employing more people. For example if a company employees 100 people, it should be entitled to cash incentives and a fast track approval system. Unemployment is going to sharply increase in this new world with emphasis on digitization, physical distancing, robotics, artificial intelligence etc. By encouraging employment it will curb social unrest and bring peace to civil society by developing the potential of people who would otherwise be idle.
I feel the above recommendations, if implemented will be transformational for India, which of course will need good leadership and good governance from central as well as state governments. As you know many Indians have been heading global corporations like Google, Microsoft, IBM, Adobe Inc etc. It is high time we created such global giants from India.
Chemical Industry Digest – June Issue 2020
Industrial Emission Control Catalysts
– P.A.E.S. Srinivas, M. Shanmuga Sundaram; Sud Chemie India Pvt Ltd
Various industries use different approaches to reduce pollution. In the bid to reduce pollutants from chemical reactions, many use catalysts to improve the reaction. However, not all catalysts in theory can be used in industries and thus customizing a catalyst for a particular reaction is important. The overall reaction in the end should be able to reduce emissions also. This article gives details about the various catalysts which can
help achieve this objective.
Take a Fresh Look at Your Distillation Columns
– Seán Ottewell, Chemical Processing
Improving the performance of distillation can be done by identifying
the end-points in the process, improving the existing equipment and analyzing
the process simulation. Using analytical tools like pinch analysis, column –pinch analysis and digitalization, the process can be stepped up from linear to continual iteration.
Don’t Slip Up with Slipstream Filtration
– Andrew Sloley, Chemical Processing
Hydraulic pressure, size of slipstream, pump flow rates, etc. are among the factors which are used to choose the configuration of slipstream filtration. It is necessary to evaluate all the factors inorder to achieve an optimum configuration of slipstream filtration. If need be, additional pumps also can be installed to increase the output. The author
explains this entire process with examples in the article.
Solutions to Industrial Problems
– Raghava Chari
The author has provided various solutions related to real-life industry problems he found in his 45 years of operational experience in process plants. In this feature, problems related to control panel instruments, tilting pad, turbines , air compressors, syngas cooler, etc. are covered.
Chemingineering – Unlocking Safety
– K Sahasranaman, Independent Consultant
During the lockdown, several plants had to be shut. As the lockdown is lifted chemical plants are being restarted. This has led to quite a few chemical accidents. Restarting of chemical plants has to follow well-laid down step-by-step procedure, as otherwise it can endanger the safety of plant personnel as well as of people in the vicinity. Through this article,our columnist tries to explain how it is necessary to maintain the safety of
equipment and personnel while restarting the plant.
Chemingineering | Unlocking Safety
Recently the Indian chemical industry has been beset by a string of fatal incidents, all of them occurring when the plants were in the process of starting up after several weeks of lockdown. What can we learn from these incidents? Are there any lessons to be learned to avoid similar occurrences in the future?
Transient Process
These spates of incidents were not entirely unexpected. Starting up and shutting down a chemical plant has always been fraught with risk. Even with a template in place, the operators have to always expect the unexpected. Systems often don’t respond the way we would want them to and this can be very crucial in the transient process of startup and shut-down. Equipment and hardware which are at the end of their useful life can fail catastrophically during start-up. It is the period that requires the utmost attention and concentration of the human mind. Every start-up and shut-down presents unique challenges for the human mind.
Incidents
On 7th May, Styrene vapors leaked from a polymer plant in Visakhapatnam. It left 11 people dead; nearly 1000 people had to be evacuated. While this incident grabbed nationwide media attention because of the fatalities, other incidents that happened around this time evinced little interest. On the same day, 7 workers were injured in a power plant boiler explosion at Neyveli, near Cuddalore. Just hours before the Styrene leak, 7 workers inhaled some toxic gas in a paper mill, which was being readied for resuming operations after a protracted shutdown. Also on the same day, there was a fire in the packaging section of a pharmaceutical plant near Nashik. A couple of weeks later, there was a major
fire in a chemical plant handling ethanol and acetone near Pune. And soon after, 10 people
were killed in a major explosion in a plant at Dahej in Gujarat. At the time of writing this, a gas leak has killed the General Manager of a plant in Kurnool district. And just as were going to press comes the news of yet another incident, again in Andhra Pradesh, on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, where benzimidazole gas leaked from a pharma unit. Two people died and four have been hospitalised.
Human Error
The fact that these incidents happened in close succession immediately after the relaxation of lockdown leads to the suspicion that the pandemic in some way or the other must have been responsible. These are extraordinary times for all of us. It cannot be denied that the pandemic has scarred our minds to varying degrees. While some people have been preoccupied with the security of their jobs and livelihood, others have been worried about the wellbeing of their near and dear ones. That these are stressful times would be an understatement. This series of incidents beg the question about the preparedness of the staff involved. Trevor Kletz, the grandfather of Process Safety, has famously said – All error is human error as people have to decide what to do; people have to decide how to do it; people have to do it. But he went on to add that blaming human error diverts attention from what can be done by better engineering. Prof James Reason eloquently summed this up – we can- not change the human condition, but we can change the conditions under which people work.
NDMA Guidelines
After the Styrene leak, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has come out with a set of guidelines for restarting factories after the lockdown. The guidelines suggest that the first week after restart should be considered as a trial or test run during which companies should not aggressively ramp up production. Employees should be sensitized to identify abnormalities like sounds, smells, vibrations, leaks etc. Most of the ecommendations of NDMA are routine and would figure in the SOPs of major chemical companies, yet may not be in the playbook of some companies in the growing MSME sector. The guidelines call for a safety audit before the restart of the plant.
IChemE Good Practices
UK based IChemE has recently published a collection of good practices that will help businesses manage the extraordinary situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Top on the list is mental health. The guidelines warn that the current situation can adversely affect the mental health of its staff, either because of social isolation and loneliness or due to stress. Organizations should be aware of this and should develop programs that will promote the wellbeing and mental health of its employees. The white paper advocates that the management should “try to show a little less judgment about how others are acting and a bit more compassion for their circumstances, some of which we may not understand”.
CCPS Resources
US-based Centre for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) has published 2 monographs giving helpful pointers on the unprecedented situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. These monographs are freely available on their website. One contributor in the monographs interestingly draws a parallel between the present situation and the 2005 explosion at BP Texas City Refinery which was then operating with much-reduced staffing levels. Another parallel is in the 1998 Longford Esso incident, where the technical staff worked remotely from the plant site. The change in work culture and ethics due to some people working remotely from home needs to be fully understood. CCPS recommends “Activity mapping” to make sure that all tasks are fully covered in the event of understaffing.
Workplace Changes
The White Paper of IChemE has recommended some drastic changes for the shop floor to make sure the safety of the employees. Teams should be broken up into subgroups, so that one subgroup does not contaminate the other in the event of a fresh outbreak. Adequate backups should be ensured for critical roles. The entire shift should be segregated to avoid chances of cross-spreading. Physical distancing has to be observed while handing over shift. Workstations have to be regularly sanitized, while ensuring that the process integrity is not inadvertently altered and compromised. These practices could become permanent if the pandemic lingers on indefinitely.
Safety Science
It is a tragic fact that the science of safety advances mostly through hindsight. Each fatal incident, each near-miss, teaches us new lessons and adds incrementally to our knowledge. The Flixborough disaster of 1974 hastened the adoption of Hazop Studies and introduced the concept of Change Management. The Bhopal Tragedy of 1984 led to the Responsible Care movement. Following the attack on the World Trade Centre, businesses got alerted to the threat of terrorism and started preparing to counter it. The earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima in 2011 is another recent example. Even as recently as 2017, Hurricane Harvey taught us new lessons of how to respond in the face of an unprecedented deluge. The COVID-19 pandemic is another such “Black Swan” event which is making the industry introspect about their safety practices and test their robustness.
Readers’ responses may be sent to:
k.sahasranaman@gmail.com or
chemindigest@gmail.com
Eliminate Risks in Corrosion Monitoring
Challenges in Corrosion Monitoring
- Human error during manual inspection leading to poor accuracy and repeatability of measurements
- Scaffolding support at difficult locations posing to safety risks to Industry personnel and also costly & time-consuming.
- High-Temperature In-Line Monitoring up to 150 Deg. C is not feasible with conventional ultrasonic (UT) and difficult for the operators
- Removal of insulation for frequent inspection at major points becomes costly and time consuming.
- Due to the high frequency of inspection, the process of calling professional at site becomes impractical and costly.
- Battery operated solutions are always risky for the critical fire sensitive location
Existing Conventional Methods
Ultrasonic testing (UT) is an inspection method for determining if there is internal corrosion or erosion in pipework and vessels. It is a manual method requiring skilled inspectors who travel to the assets to take the measurements. Issues can arise with access to the measurement locations (e.g. they can be underneath layers of insulation) and human error can lead to misrepresentative readings.
Fully automated, wireless, permanently installed monitoring systems (PIMS) offer an alternative to UT. These systems can be very cost-intensive, which makes them unfeasible for high volumes of monitoring locations. They may not be suited to a range of locations due to their size and requirement for a network.
Wireless, Battery Free Technology
The solution to the above issues lies in battery free, ultrasonic thickness sensors that are permanently installed to the surface of pipework or vessels. These sensors are activated by the electromagnetic signal sent by a handheld device . When activated, the sensor generates an ultrasonic pulse, which then gets reflected off the back wall of the structure being examined (often more than once).
An electromagnetic signal is transmitted by the Handheld Device , which activates the sensor. When activated, the sensor generates an ultrasonic pulse, which then gets reflected off the back wall of the structure being examined (often more than once) and an electromagnetic signal is returned by the sensor, which gets received by the Handheld Device .
The Handheld Device calculates the material thickness using either: the delay between the first and second ultrasonic echoes (peak to peak), or the delay between the initial ultrasonic pulse (time=0) and the first received ultrasonic echo (first arrival).
In addition to this, each sensor comes with an associated RFID to enable location tracking. The Handheld Device is equipped with an RFID reader which scans for the sensor RFID when a measurement is taken; the Handheld Device then automatically assigns the thickness value to the sensor RFID number. This means the user can know exactly where each thickness measurement comes from.
BENEFITS FOR THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING PLANTS
THE NDT CHALLENGE OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
- Several areas of localized corrosion were identified on a sulfuric acid tank head that required frequent inspection. Manually inspecting at this frequency proved cost inefficient
- Pinpointing the same precise measurement locations during every manual inspection was problematic, due to the corrosion active area being small
- Human error was also leading to poor accuracy and repeatability of measurements for many of the surrounding pipes
THE OUTCOME OF ADAPTING THIS TECHNOLOGY.
- Very precise areas of localized corrosion could be carefully monitored using the sensors, from the exact same point every time and hence trending analysis can be easily done for future references.
- Measurements could be acquired however frequently, easily, and cost-effectively
- Acquiring thickness updates, without the need to perform a full manual inspection, provided greater flexibility to investigate suspected areas of corrosion and/or investigate the effects of changing process conditions on corrosion rates
CONCLUSION
Hence, the above technology, if incorporated by chemical manufacturing plants, would allow them to have more preventive maintenance decisions through accurate repeatable data. It would monitor high value assets economically, using low cost solutions and overcome the access limitations with Manual Ultrasonic Testing.
Anurag Tripathi is a Team Leader – Business Development & Marketing at Arora Technologies Pvt. Ltd. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from JNTU, Kakinada.
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