Activity

  • Control Valve Modeling and Control Best AIChE Spring Meeting Paper

    Jim Cahill
    In an earlier post, Connecting with Experts in the Spring Event Season , I highlighted one of Emerson’s Greg McMillan’s AIChE Spring meeting presentations, Control Valve Modeling and Control . I just heard from Greg that his paper/presentation was awarded the best in its category. Congratulations to Greg! In addition to the link to the presentation above, here is the link to the Control Valve Modeling and Control paper…

  • Improve Carbon Sequestration with Proper Valve Selection

    Jim Cahill
    Carbon capture and storage, often referred to as carbon sequestration, is attracting substantial investments worldwide due to environmental, social and governance initiatives. In the United States, the Department of Energy recently announced $3.7 billion of funding to sequester carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and other projects. But as our article in the March 2023 issue of Hydrocarbon Processing magazine…

  • Reducing Valve Emissions to Drive Sustainability Improvements

    Jim Cahill
    Actions to drive more sustainable operations can include many things including energy optimization, emissions reduction, waste reduction, and more. In a Fugitive Emissions Journal article, ESG Improvements Through Emissions Reduction: Issues and Opportunities , Emerson’s Bruce Ofori shares how new: …technology adoptions, and reviewing outdated practices and equipment retrofits, can build stakeholder confidence with…

  • Optimizing Valve Compressed Air Consumption

    Jim Cahill
    Energy efficiency is a significant focus area in many sustainability-related initiatives. Compressed air consumption is one important area to investigate. When considering technologies to reduce air consumption, looking beyond smart device air consumption data based on static analysis is essential. As an analogy, it would be like measuring fuel consumption while idling instead of when the engine is under load. I caught…

  • Connecting with Experts in the Spring Event Season

    Jim Cahill
    Spring is a busy time for industry events and conferences. Emerson is reprising some of the “Best Of” presentations from last fall’s Emerson Exchange conference. Coming up next week, March 7-9, will be the Emerson Exchange Virtual Edition . There is no charge for reserving a spot. Browse the Session Catalog for sessions that you might want to catch. The following week, March 12-16, is a face-to-face meeting in Houston…

  • Pick the Right Control Valves for Ethylene Service

    Jim Cahill
    Matthew Wagner , Emerson Flow Products Chemical Industry Manager recently published an article in the August 2022 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering. It is titled “ Control Valve Selection for Ethylene Plants ,” and it describes how to choose the right combination of valve style, trim type, materials of construction, and digital positioners for critical valve application in an ethylene unit. A summary of the article follows…

  • The Hydrogen Economy

    Jim Cahill
    Bruce Ofori , Sales Development Manager for ESG at Emerson, recently published an article in the February 2023 issue of H 2 Tech. It is titled “ The Hydrogen Economy, ” and it describes how hydrogen is rapidly developing as a green energy resource. The article is summarized below: Hydrogen has played a key role in industry for decades. It enabled Apollo 11 to reach the moon in 1969, and 50 years later it is playing…

  • Additive Manufacturing the Fisher Cavitrol Hex Trim–The Cool Parts Show

    Jim Cahill
    Additive Manufacturing Media has a vibrant YouTube channel about additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. One of the playlists, The Cool Parts Show , shows how this manufacturing process can create a wide variety of components. In a recent episode, 3D Printed Valve Part Helps Prevent Cavitation , the show’s hosts, Peter Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson spotlighted the Fisher Cavitrol Hex Trim created by additive…

  • Simplifying Safety Valve Installation and Maintenance

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson Portfolio Manager Kurtis Jensen and Product Manager Lura Parrent recently published an article in the Jan 2023 issue of Hydrocarbon Processing . It is titled “ Simplifying Safety Valve Installation and Maintenance ” and it discusses new technologies on how to simplify safety valve installations while improving performance and reliability. The article is summarized below. Hazardous materials and dangerous reactions…

  • Isolate and Protect in Hydrogen Dispensing Maintenance Operations

    Jim Cahill
    Double block and bleed valves enable maintenance on a section of process piping. They allow plant staff to block off and depressurize the section that requires maintenance. They consist of two block valves and one bleed valve. One of the valves blocks the upstream fluid from flowing. The bleed valve relieves the pressure from the downstream side to enable work to be performed. I share this as background for what is…

  • In-Service Testing of Pressure Relief Valves

    Jim Cahill
    June DelGrosso , Sales Director for North America Nuclear and Navy at Emerson, recently published an article in the November 2022 issue of Power. It is titled “In-Service Testing of Pressure Relief Valves” and it discusses equipment that can perform accurate testing of relief valve setpoints without taking them out of operation. The article is summarized below. Pressure relief valves (PRVs) are a critical line of defense…

  • How to Maintain Direct-Operated Pressure Regulator

    Jim Cahill
    Last week , I highlighted a high-capacity, direct-operated pressure regulator, the Fisher 627BM regulator . In our continuing series of “How to” videos , here is a follow-up video shared with me by Darren Mann on how to maintain and service these pressure regulators. This 3:17 video, Maintaining the Fisher 627BM Direct-Operated Pressure Regulator , guides viewers through the procedures required to maintain the new Fisher…

  • Specifying Severe Service Control Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Justin Goodwin , Director of the Steam Conditioning Group at Emerson, recently published an article in the November 2022 issue of InTech Focus. It is titled “Specifying Severe Service Control Valves” and it describes techniques for correctly choosing control valves for severe service applications. The article is summarized below. Choosing valves for severe service applications can be particularly challenging. The process…

  • High-Capacity Direct-Operated Pressure Regulator

    Jim Cahill
    Pressure regulators help manage pressure through industrial processes. Direct-operated pressure regulators respond to changes in the pressure downstream and adjust the flow rate to maintain the desired pressure. Emerson’s Darren Mann shared a quick 2:21 YouTube video with me, Fisher 627BM High-Capacity Direct-Operated Pressure Regulator . The video highlights this addition to the Fisher 627-product family . The balanced…

  • What are Bellows in Pressure Relief Valves?

    Jim Cahill
    We’ve had a couple of recent posts about pressure relief valves (PSVs), including Improving Pressure Relief Valve Safety, Reliability and Performance , and Accurately Monitoring Pressure Relief Events. In them was some discussion about conventional PSVs and ones with bellows. I wanted to learn more, so I found this great explainer video on YouTube. The video, What’s the Difference Between a Conventional and Bellows…

  • Identifying and Minimizing Fugitive Emissions from Control Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Control Valves would control ideally the process without any interface to the outside. Although, that’s not practical with today’s technology. Control valves are by design an interface between the process and the outside. This interface can cause some level of fugitive emissions, which are unintentional leaks from the process. Now whether the leak is below 3 ppm, which is essentially negligible, or over 500 ppm, which…

  • Zero Emission Well Pad of the Future

    Jim Cahill
    Ben Fletcher, Manager of Oil & Gas Industries at Fisher Control Valves, recently published an article in the October 2022 issue of World Oil. It is titled “Achieving the Zero Emission Well Pad of the Future” and it discusses the latest round of EPA regulations, and automation solutions which can be deployed to address them. The article is summarized below. World-wide government entities are targeting greenhouse…

  • Improving Pressure Relief Valve Safety, Reliability and Performance

    Jim Cahill
    I saw the new Crosby Balanced Diaphragm and Bellows Leak Detection pressure relief valve (PRV) solution at this past Emerson Exchange conference. The innovations in it were pretty impressive. The news came out today, Emerson Reinvents Pressure Relief Valves to Improve Performance and Reduce Emissions , which shares how this solution improves “…performance, safety, and reliability while reducing emissions”. The Balanced…

  • Accurately Monitoring Pressure Relief Events

    Jim Cahill
    Pressure relief valves are essential in keeping process manufacturing and production operations safe and operating reliably. But, as environmental regulations grow stricter, knowing how much fluid was vented is vital for regulatory reporting. In this under three-minute YouTube video, Anderson Greenwood & Rosemount Pilot Operated PRV Monitoring Delivers Unparalleled Accuracy , Emerson’s Ricardo Garcia shares how monitoring…

  • Mitigating Control Valve Noise

    Jim Cahill
    Manufacturing and production facilities tend to be noisy, especially where fluids flow through pipes. Control valves can be one of the sources of noise contributing to these conditions. In a Chemical Engineering article, Reducing the Noise from Control Valves , Emerson’s Mark Nord describes ways to reduce noise levels emitted from these control valves. He opens by describing decibels and the dBA scale in how it corrects…

  • Pick the Right Valves for Your LNG Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Jean-Paul Boyer , Massimiliano Franco , Nagendra Maddula , and Eugenio Sudati recently published an article in the November 2022 issue of LNG Industry. It is titled “The Key to Valve Selection for Challenging LNG Applications” and it describes key design parameters for choosing the best valves for LNG terminal operations. A summary of the article follows. Liquified natural gas (LNG) has become a mainstay of the low…

  • The Chip Shortage Continues: How Semiconductor Manufacturers Are Responding

    Jim Cahill
    The global chip shortage continues to put pressure on semiconductor manufacturers, who are searching for ways to increase production yields. One solution is to modernize operations with cutting-edge automation and data analysis tools. However, this is costly. Another option is to digitize components and work toward complete digitalization of the entire process. This would allow manufacturers to monitor and control operations…

  • Wellhead Electrification Drives Optimization Program

    Jim Cahill
    At the 2022 Emerson Exchange conference, Prabhat Behera from Occidental (Oxy) shared insights and lessons learned from a wellhead electrification project. Puffer-Sweiven’s Jack Lee and Emerson’s Damian Trujillo joined him to provide additional context on the integrated model that brought together the application, product and services. Here is their session abstract: Shutdown valves installed at the wellhead for oil…

  • Reducing Emissions from Vessels, Valves, and other Equipment

    Jim Cahill
    Marcel Dultra , Dan Myers , and Emily Thomas of Emerson recently published an article in the September 2022 issue of Valve World Americas. It is titled “Greening Process Equipment One Device at a Time” and it discusses a host of recently introduced technologies designed to significantly reduce emissions. A summary of the article follows. Numerous government standards targeting greenhouse gas emission reductions, as…

  • Innovation in Controlling Exothermic Reactions in Biodiesel Processing

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson Impact Partner Applied Control ’s Julia Imhoff and Miranda Hunter teamed with Renaissance Technologies’ Terry Wilford to discuss a novel way to avoid catalyst damage for a high exothermic reaction. Here is their session’s abstract: When producing renewable biodiesel, a goal during the process is to produce the correct reaction between oils and catalysts. During production, if the reactor undergoes an upset condition…

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